You're right, that truck is just right, I myself tow with a 2003 F-450 7.3 Crew Cab 4X4. The differences in boats begins in my opinion with the 29', island bed in separate room is the plus, ten foot beam means permit in each state which is the minus, additional weight you have covered with that tow vehicle.
It's just the wife and I (and four small dogs!) so we're fine on our 25', I replaced the two axle trailer it came on with a triple axle and really really improved the way it goes down the highway! Also, the triple trailer took the bow from being four feet from my bumper to ten feet which really helps keep me dry on the retrieval. Keeping it on the RV pad at the house and doing my own maintenance saves me hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of dollars! I mean hundreds!
My feeling is the way to move a boat is by land, 60 MPH in air conditioned comfort and don't forget it's habitable on land also, it's a trailer that happens to float. Put a hose in the sink outflow and into a bucket and trailer parks are a second option while trailering. We bought a stepladder (steps not rungs) at Home Depo and pull it up in the evening, it's like raising a drawbridge, folks outside are ten feet below!
To make costs worthwhile, we use the boat at least once a month, tow to new location or back to old favorites, try for places within four or so hours of home, there's dozens so we're lucky, Spend two weeks at Christmas at Powell, Willow Beach, Lake Mojave, Laughlin, Havasu, very enjoyable! What's really fun is the evenings when the marina dockworker folks leave, the place is yours and you can break all the rules, dogs off leash, fish, howl at moon, run with scissors etc.
We used to excursively go camping, we have a Host camper with a slide, very comfortable but the crowds at the campgrounds have changed or perhaps I've gotten older so now we go where we're behind key lock gates with our own private security, (Harbor Patrol) surrounded by a crowd that's actually a bit more upscale than we are!
I've learned that it's actually pretty easy to fit in, fill your glass with ice, pour in half a finger of the good stuff, wander down the dock to the next boat party and sooner or later somebodys going to insist on refilling you! Works like a charm!
