Tongue Weight Engineering Study

[NewMoon]

Hi George,

I too would suggest you consider a diesel, and also a 1-ton with single rear wheels, if you think you may get into towing longer distances and/or mountainous country. Our 3/4-ton Ram/Cummins does very well in the mountains with almost 12K lbs, but it has extra-strong rear springs that make it much like a 1-ton non-dually. I'd also go 4x4 - some ramps are really steep and slippery.

 

[Levitation]

Rich, my data parallels yours - for obvious reasons.
Tongue weight is a measured 940 pounds.
I do not tow with water in either tank and I lack a dinghy.
I would guesstimate my tongue weight in the 9% range also.
Tows like gangbusters.

On towing the 31 - I would suggest a 1 ton dually. In GM trucks the 1 ton has the same power and braking systems as the 3/4 ton trucks so it is not a power or stopping issue. Is is the sway control that a dually wIll give you. The 31 is tall, wide, and has has a higher center of gravity which will put more sideways forces at the trailer tongue when disturbed from going straight ahead.
Now having said that, Wally and Ruth tow their 29 with a 3/4 ton GM. This boat is close to a 31 which tells me they could also tow a 31. However on a winding road in a hard wind it might become more of a chore.

 

[walldog]

One thing about towing the 29 or 31 is that if you are going cross country, you will be routed mainly on the interstates with the permits you will need. The only time you will be on secondary roads is from main routes to marinas. With the wider load of the larger boats, you lose the option of taking the scenic route. 😀 But come to think of it, we did not do much sight seeing with our 27 anyways.

To keep on topic,

Our gross combined vehicle weight is 19,620#. Our truck weighs 8380# by itself, giving us a net weight of 11,240# for the boat and trailer. The tongue weight of the trailer is 1260#

giving us about 11.2% tongue weight. Never a problem with sway on our 2011 Dodge Cummings 2500 4X4 Mega Cab. My goal would be at 10% tongue weight. You probably can safely tow with less, but just how much would require experimentation. Which I hesitate to do as many years ago I experienced the disastrous effects of too little tongue weight. Luckily the only damage was to trailer and truck, it could have been much worse.