Late to the conversation, but I just found it. We tow a r29cb a lot. Just got it this spring. Towed from Mass to Upper Peninsula of Michigan, around Michigan, going down to Lake Cumberland KY next month, then to NC, back to KY to store boat and to Florida after Christmas….. We plan to tow to Anacortes in two years and see no issues other than permits are a bit of a hassle at times. as stated, shower head works perfect for flushing toilet. a 7/8 OD clear hose from hardware store fits perfect and will not slip out of macerating discharge port and you can dump in any RV dumping station. One can use similar for a line to a bucket for sink and shower discharge port too as noted by cmwahl. Just house bank switch is used when boaterhoming and in the boat, otherwise all bat banks are off. We avoid using inverter and just use cook top for boiling water for coffee and making hiker backpacker meals. Don’t use the Walmart choices for hiking food, go to a specialty store like REI as the menus are now large and the food is actually stuff one would want to eat. I use the 30 amp to 15 amp connector too And carry a HD extension cord. I can fully charge batteries and if needed one could run invertor and portable AC unit I suppose.
Tire TPMS. Yes, saved my but twice already. But beware I found I had to change the rubber valve stems to steal as my galvanized wheels had rough hole for valve stem apparently and it is a known issue with TPMS systems that the weight of the tiny sensor can wobble the valve and cut the stem. I had a tire failure from my tpms actually. I use Tire Minder with booster antenna.
Don’t go by Ranger height specs as different trailers have different bunk heights. We have the HD version of the Float ON CAD designed for the Ranger and my height on trailer with Bimini is just shy of legal 13.6 at 13.5. My trailer came with the guide bunks. They add width to around 11 wide. Uncomfortable in construction zones and not needed when towing. I remove them when towing long distances so that trailer width at shoulder height is no wider than my dually truck. This makes trailering in traffic and construction much more stress free. I also added the spare tire and hub option and after having three flats in one summer, added a second spare tire. I carry a 20 ton jack, cheater bar and wheel chocks. Changing a tire is stress free and TPMS gives you time to find a safe location to change a tire before it goes flat or blows tearing up other equipment. We actually picked up a nail the first day we had the boat. Trailer had less than 400 miles on it at the time.
We purchased a 7.3 ford 350 dually. I did not have much of a choice between gas or diesel when we finally found a truck. Read dozens of reviews and each will have their own opinion but I am very happy with the 7.3 gasser. I can forget the boat is being towed as the dually is stable, no sway when passed by a truck tractor and pulls like a mule. Other than my fuel range between fill ups is 200 miles leaving me about 50 in reserve when towing the Ranger. I average 6.5 mpg towing and 12.5 not towing. Getting fuel. Learned this from the RV blogs. Many fuel stops are not designed for 13.6 campers and rigs. Don’t assume the height is good. A few times I have had my wife actually go up on the fly bridge and check height as I pull in. I can pull in far enough to reach the gas pumps leaving the boat sticking out. I can just back up a bit to exit . Advantage to diesel as stations will often have a dedicated diesel pump that is somewhere away from the roof line if it is not a truck stop. But unlike a 5th wheel RV I do not have to disconnect the boat to get truck filled with gas. I use a Weigh Safe hitch. It has a load cell and shows me instant tongue weight. I am at 1500 pounds fully loaded.
Loading boat: typical one can never get the bow tight to the bow stop. I can get it close, about a foot or so. I max out my trailer brake gain, find a safe place in the launch lot. Excellerate a bit and hit my brake controller at same time I brake the truck. And with the bunks wet, it easily slides up to the bow where I use TWO HD ratchet straps in addition to the chain and ratchet for bow tie down. Getting the boat on the trailer straight is easy too with the remote thruster lanyard. I can stand at the bow winch and control stern easily. My wife backs the trailer in and i just drive on the trailer. We get a lot of questions and looks when launching and retrieving but hauling this monster around really is not difficult.
Permits. I talk to a lot of people with boats exceeding 8.5 and few get permits. Having spent 37 years in law enforcement specifically dealing with commercial trucking for Michigan State Police. I cannot count how many times my crew of officers would stop oversize boats checking for permits. They are easy to see, but I will agree most officers around the country don’t know what to look for. I opt for permits Why? Civil liability first, as all it takes is one officer who knows what they are doing and they can shut you down on the side of the road or have your rig towed for not having a permit. Try getting a permit on a Saturday afternoon when on the side of the road. You may be there for a day or more. You are not legally allowed on the roadway without a permit so if someone hits you and it is not your fault your still partially responsible as you had no right to be on the roadway. Permits restrict time of movement, days of movement, and what roads you can be on but you risk $$$$ in civil and local fees and fines if you choose not to get a permit. When I towed from Salem MASS to Michigan every weigh station was closed and I passed a lot of patrol cars. I was not stopped or checked. OH, just because you have signs and flags does not mean you will not get stopped and checked. So if you don’t have a permit but have the signs you still need the permit. Signs. I had 2 CNC cut, powder coated and made out of aluminum. One zip ties to the swim platform fenders and hangs on the back. Front sign is on a removable brackets and it slips under my bumper and is bolted to tapped holes behind wind fairing. I can take it on or off in a minute. I don’t lose my parking sensors nor is my truck scratched by a mesh sign strapped to the front. Flags dont last a day. I have yet to find any that are any good and I will run them until they are shredded but keep spares in case I get told they need to be replaced. Flags are attached to bow railings in each side and off rear strap.
How to get permits. You can do it yourself. Every state system is different and requires different documents. NY and PA were so difficult that I paid for JJ Keller service to get me the permits. They did in one afternoon what I could not do in days working directly with the state permitting services. Get an annual permit if you can for the states you are in frequently. I require signs front and back as well as flags. Permits are not a deal breaker, just an inconvenience. I have a lot of money tied up in my tow rig and choose to keep it and limit the amount of zeros on any lawsuit if some dummy hits me. JJ Keller is a very good permit service. You can call and do it over the phone or sign in and do some of it on line. They charge a fee but they make it easy and can get stuff done when I could not. Example, Pennsylvania required that the state of PA be listed on my insurance policy. New York was NEW York and made it difficult. JJ Keller got me permits in one afternoon without having to do anything with my insurance policy. It just cost me about 100.00 for the permit service to get it done. Ohio, they required my insurance company to create an account and send them directly my documents. Ohio would not permit me to send them my insurance documents.
Long post, but if one has any questions, feel free to reach out me.
Steven Horwood,
horwoodfamily@comcast.net
