Towing setup

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PhilR

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Joined
Feb 3, 2011
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416
Fluid Motion Model
C-28
Vessel Name
TUGALONG
Hello Tugnuts! I have recently joined and am happy to be aboard. I am purchasing a new R-27 from Wilde Yachts in Essex, CT and now have to suffer thru weeks of waiting for winter to go away till it's all mine. I have a question for the factory folks....I will be trailering the boat home on an EZ Loader tri axle trailer with electric/ hydraulic brakes (RT factory trailer) and towing with a 2008 Chevy 2500HD, 4WD, ext. cab pickup. I want to purchase a weight distributing hitch before making the trip tp CT in a few months and need to know the approx. boat/ trailer combined weight and tongue weight and also a suggestion for which wd hitch works well with this setup. The Chevy has a built in brake controller that works with electric trailer brakes only so I will have to install an aftermarket controller for electric/ hydraulic brakes I assume. Anyone have experience with this problem? All input will be greatly appreciated!

Oh, and I have a 2008 C-Dory 19' Angler that I'll be listing for sale on the C Brats web page.

Thanks, Phil
 
I tow my R-29 with my Dodge 2500 turbo diesel all the time. What I have found that works well for me towing 14,000lbs is this.
I installed air bags to stiffen up the rear end. My tongue weight is about 1100lbs. I was going to do the weight distributing hitch but found out on my research that I did not need such a set up for a triple axle trailer.

My boat tows very well and I have no sway issues at all. I towed without the airbags for the first six months and had a slight bounce at times. Only after hitting a bump or being on a funky road. The airbags solved that issue. They were about $400.00 installed.

If you have not towed your boat as of yet, I would start with maybe the airbags and see how it feels. The weight distributing hitch is good to prevent sway. You do not get sway with a triple axle trailer as you would with only a double axle.
I learned most of this stuff by talking to Cory the guy you delivers most of the Ranger tugs and has nothing but total experience on this issue. He is the one that talked me out of the weight distributing hitch, and I am glad he did.

I have towed my R-29 for over 4000 miles and would not change a thing as of now.

Hope this helps,
Stuart
 
Congratulations on the purchase of your new boat, you're going to love it.

I tow our 27' Ranger Tug behind a 2006 Chevy 2500 with the Duramax diesel. It tows perfectly without any modification to the suspension. We towed from Washington state to the southern tip of Texas, over to the Florida Keys, then up to North Carolina, over 3,000 miles without a problem. We had an electronic brake controller added to the truck for the electric over hydraulic brake system and nothing else. I think I would try towing without first and see how it goes.
 
I think that is good advise!
Plus the 27 is much lighter then the 29.
 
I tow the R25 with a Duramax 2500HD... The trailer is built by Loadmaster in Ohio and is a hunk of steel... Boat and trailer, with the boat loaded for cruising is approx 11,000 pounds total... Tongue weight is 970 pounds and the truck sits dead level with the boat hitched up... In towing across 4 states I have not felt the need for any sway bars, etc... I do have electric-hydraulic brakes on the trailer controlled by the truck...

Only one trip where we had a 35-40 mph wind that was from the side and I was determined to maintain 60 mph did we have enough sway when the semis went past that I considered sway bars... However this was a 70 mile stretch and as soon as we turned away from the wind the problem was gone and I did not bother to buy them... I could have simply slowed down, but sometimes I am stubborn (and stoopid).....

The 27 is only a few pounds more than the 25... My advice is to take a trip or two before spending any money...
 
You may want to check with the manufacturer of the electric over hydraulic unit. On mine it was a simple rewiring and I was able to use the control that came with my vehicle. I am also chopping at the bit waiting to pick up my new R-27. I ran some numbers and I figured that all in I will be towing around 10,000 Lbs. This means your tounge weight should be around 1.000 Lbs or 10% of the total weight. With these kind of numbers I figure to just hitch it up and go!
 
One other thing is that the EZ Loader triple axle trailer weighs almost 3000lbs. This must be added to the total towing weight. If this is a issue for anyone when considering buying a trailer for there Ranger then one may want to look at the Float-on triple axle trailers. They are just as strong but weigh 1000lbs less.

Stuart
 
Thanks for all of the helpful information. I'm surprised that towing 10,000 lb.+ trailers without weight distributing hitchs is commonly done. Inasmuch as my trips will usually be a few hundred miles max. I'll save the money and do without the wd hitch initially and see how it works out. My '08 Chevy 4wd 2500HD has the 6 liter gas engine w/ 3.73 axle ratios....it's going to be working with this much weight. If it is too much of a struggle, I'll trade in on a diesel. My boat will be docked at a yacht club on Lake George most of the time, but I want very much to do some trips....the Erie and Champlain Canals and the Hudson and St Lawrence Rivers provide great travel opportunities. I hope to cross paths with other Tugnuts in my future travels!

Phil
 
Your gas 08 2500HD is the same truck as my 08 diesel and I have pulled the R25 through the mountains of Virginia without problems... The gas engine will burn more fuel when loaded being the major difference... You will do fine on flat terrain...
 
Denny-O,
Are you using the OEM brake controller or did you install an aftermarket unit for the electric/ hydraulic brakes?
 
We have a 3/4 ton Dodge diesel truck that was ordered with the factory tow package. The hitch that came with the truck is not heavy duty enought to pull an R-25. You need a hitch that will take a tongue load of at least 750 lbs.
 
Yes it is important when you buy a truck, that it is rated as Heavy Duty, or the factory will give you the cheaper equipment.
Also for Philr, if you ever try towing with a diesel, you will never go back to a gas truck. It is just what a diesel is made for. It does better the more load you put on it.
Your truck with get the job done, but if you ever really want to take that boat somewhere then you may think about a change. No need to change anything till you use it for at least a year, and see what you need.

Stuart
 
Philr, yes we put an aftermarket controller on the 08 truck... The LoadMaster trailer people did the install on the truck when I picked up the trailer (pictures in my album for Levitation)... The controller is a DrawTite Activator II... No mods were needed to either the trailer or the controller.. It was plug in at the bumper hitch and go... They gave me a 30 second demonstration in the parking lot on how to adjust the controller to avoid skidding the tires, and off we went on a four and a half hour pull...
The 011 truck has a factory controller and again it was plug in and go with the LoadMaster trailer on the next trip...

As always, it sounds simple when everything plays together... More hassle when the aftermarket people do not keep up with the times... I have had surge brakes with drums also with no major problems... I prefer the electric over hydraulic disc brakes by a mile though...
 
Your trailer weighs 2200 lbs. The boat is around 6300lbs. Total at 8500lbs dry. Toungue weight should be around 700 lbs which I will confirm with our trailer expert. We do not use anything fancy for towing and have had no issues. We use a Dodge 3/4 ton diesel. Tows the R27 without any trouble.
 
Thanks Andrew.

Phil
 
We use a tandem Float On Aluminum with 11k capacity [16" 8 lug radials] with electric over hydraulic discs . Tows great with 2005 3/4 ton HD D Max Chevy with no suspension mods . Triple is not necessary at all in my opinion [more stuff to go wrong]till you get to the R 29. BTW if you have torsion axles the MFGs DO NOT recommend WD hitches.
Congratulations on your new boat!
Marc
 
Phil,
You didn’t mention if your trailer is aluminum Ibeam or steel frame. If it is aluminum, I don’t believe you want to use a weight distribution hitch. Steel framed is ok for a weight distribution hitch. Please check with EZ Loader if it is an aluminum Ibeam frame before using a weight distribution hitch.
 
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