Trailering a Ranger Tug 31

[bob daily]

Why not contact the California department of transportation (CALTRANS) there number is (916) 654-2852 for general information, (916) 322-1297 for oversize permits.
Unless your hauling for profit, you do not need a CDL. IE: Commercial Drivers License
Or you could pull into any truck stop and ask the state patrol, that is there job and they would be the one giving you a ticket for violating / not conforming to the law.
Just my two and a half cents worth. Bob

 

[knersus4711]

Why not contact the California department of transportation (CALTRANS) there number is (916) 654-2852 for general information, (916) 322-1297 for oversize permits.
Unless your hauling for profit, you do not need a CDL. IE: Commercial Drivers License
Or you could pull into any truck stop and ask the state patrol, that is there job and they would be the one giving you a ticket for violating / not conforming to the law.
Just my two and a half cents worth. Bob

Thanks Bob, good idea!

 

[Palouser]

Hi all,

This is my first post here. I landed here by searching for information on trailering the 31CB. We already have the right truck (GMC Sierra 3500HD Duramax), all we need is the boat! Most of my questions were answered by reading the thread, so the only one left is: Does anyone have a photo of their 31CB on the trailer? I'd like to see it with the CB stowed and all packaged up for the haul, just to get an idea of what I'd be dealing with. I've got a lot of experience towing, but this would be the largest and heaviest asset yet.

We live on the Palouse in eastern Washington and would use it to cruise the Snake River and Columbia (below Clarkston obviously), and would also take her to Lake Coeur d'Alene and the Puget Sound.

Thanks!

 

[knersus4711]

Hi all,

This is my first post here. I landed here by searching for information on trailering the 31CB. We already have the right truck (GMC Sierra 3500HD Duramax), all we need is the boat! Most of my questions were answered by reading the thread, so the only one left is: Does anyone have a photo of their 31CB on the trailer? I'd like to see it with the CB stowed and all packaged up for the haul, just to get an idea of what I'd be dealing with. I've got a lot of experience towing, but this would be the largest and heaviest asset yet.

We live on the Palouse in eastern Washington and would use it to cruise the Snake River and Columbia (below Clarkston obviously), and would also take her to Lake Coeur d'Alene and the Puget Sound.

Thanks!

I have towed my R31CB on a custom trailer, not the one Ranger sells. How do I attach a picture here?

 

[Bruce Moore]

There are two ways to embed images in your posts.

If the picture you want to include is in one of your gallery folders (on Tugnuts), click on the g2Imgbutton. That will open another window which will allow you to browse your galleries and select a picture. Be patient, it can take a while for the new window to populate. It should default to your album when it opens.

Click the box in the upper left of the picture you want to post. Scroll (way) down to the bottom of the window and click Submit. That will attach the picture to your post.

If the picture isn't in your gallery, perhaps something you've seen elsewhere on the web, or in another personal web collection (i.e. flickr, iCloud, google, etc.) then you click the Img button. The image/collection must be open to the public.

This will create the following string in your posting window - then you copy and paste the URL (http://whatever...jpg) of the desired image in the middle, between the ][ brackets. The trick here is to determine the direct URL of the image. Various image hosting sites show it in different ways. Sometimes it's right up in the address bar. Other times it's listed under "Share This Image", etc.

You can determine if you have the correct URL by hitting the Preview button. If it displays, you're good to go. If it's not correct, the form will give you some kind of clue so you can go back and dig around. You'll only have to figure it out once for each host.


Cheers,


Bruce

 

[Bruce Moore]

Getting a User Photo Album is easy but it requires submitting a request from within the site structure.

1. Sign on to the site. 

2. Select the User Control Panel link from the upper left corner of any page. Note: On the home page, this link is in your user menu in the upper right.

3. Click the Usergroups tab, then select the radio button next to the User Albums group.
Scroll down, choose "Join selected" in the drop-down menu, and click the Submit button.

Once you do this, an email is automatically sent to the administrator (me). That message will trigger my ability to approve your request, and you'll receive an email indicating your membership in the UserAlbums group has been activated.

I'll watch for the message, and look forward to seeing your pictures.

Cheers,


Bruce

 

[knersus4711]

There are two ways to embed images in your posts.

If the picture you want to include is in one of your gallery folders (on Tugnuts), click on the g2Imgbutton. That will open another window which will allow you to browse your galleries and select a picture. Be patient, it can take a while for the new window to populate. It should default to your album when it opens.

Click the box in the upper left of the picture you want to post. Scroll (way) down to the bottom of the window and click Submit. That will attach the picture to your post.

If the picture isn't in your gallery, perhaps something you've seen elsewhere on the web, or in another personal web collection (i.e. flickr, iCloud, google, etc.) then you click the Img button. The image/collection must be open to the public.

This will create the following string in your posting window - then you copy and paste the URL (http://whatever...jpg) of the desired image in the middle, between the ][ brackets. The trick here is to determine the direct URL of the image. Various image hosting sites show it in different ways. Sometimes it's right up in the address bar. Other times it's listed under "Share This Image", etc.

You can determine if you have the correct URL by hitting the Preview button. If it displays, you're good to go. If it's not correct, the form will give you some kind of clue so you can go back and dig around. You'll only have to figure it out once for each host.


Cheers,

Bruce

Thanks! The pictures are on my local drive. Looks like I must create a gallery on Tugnuts and upload it there? Can anyone create that?

 

[Bruce Moore]

See the prior post in this thread "Getting a photo album..."

Bruce

 

[knersus4711]

Hi all,

This is my first post here. I landed here by searching for information on trailering the 31CB. We already have the right truck (GMC Sierra 3500HD Duramax), all we need is the boat! Most of my questions were answered by reading the thread, so the only one left is: Does anyone have a photo of their 31CB on the trailer? I'd like to see it with the CB stowed and all packaged up for the haul, just to get an idea of what I'd be dealing with. I've got a lot of experience towing, but this would be the largest and heaviest asset yet.

We live on the Palouse in eastern Washington and would use it to cruise the Snake River and Columbia (below Clarkston obviously), and would also take her to Lake Coeur d'Alene and the Puget Sound.

Thanks!

 

[Palouser]

Hi all,

This is my first post here. I landed here by searching for information on trailering the 31CB. We already have the right truck (GMC Sierra 3500HD Duramax), all we need is the boat! Most of my questions were answered by reading the thread, so the only one left is: Does anyone have a photo of their 31CB on the trailer? I'd like to see it with the CB stowed and all packaged up for the haul, just to get an idea of what I'd be dealing with. I've got a lot of experience towing, but this would be the largest and heaviest asset yet.

We live on the Palouse in eastern Washington and would use it to cruise the Snake River and Columbia (below Clarkston obviously), and would also take her to Lake Coeur d'Alene and the Puget Sound.

Thanks!

Thank you for making the effort to share those! Looks like a great setup.

 

[HopTug]

I have yet to bring her home, but this is my R31CB on an Integrity Trailer (made in Michigan)

 

[Alpina]

Hi,

Thanks for all the helpful info on this site. My clients are looking at a Ranger Tug 31 CB, and love the layout including especially the flybridge. Looking to buy in WA, and take to Lake Tahoe area and trailer it a few times a year, into California (Coastal) and back to the lake.

We have an F350 pickup, and would get a gooseneck trailer.

The question is, you need licenses to travel, and it it's quite a bit bigger than, say, a Cutwater 28. With the 31 we will be "wide load". Do you think it's too much of a hassle to tow a 31 vs a simpler, smaller Cutwater 28?

Who has experience trailering a RT 31 CB and can share their experience?

Thanks!

I guess everything is possible, but I was looking for input on the practicality of regularly trailering a boat this large using a vehicle that in theory meets and exceeds the capacity requirements, without a white-knuckle experience every time.

Those of you who have done it; Would you, for instance tow it 200 miles for a long weekend trip? It seems from other responses here that the permit would not have to be taken out for every trip, so that was another concern, doing that, at how much cost, trouble and waiting time. Would you take on a trip from Seattle to San Francisco with that load on a one-off?

For the states that I've checked, you cannot tow wide load on a Sunday, holiday and after dark. So unless you have flexibility in your schedule, that will rule out a weekend trip to a boating location. I knew that going in but it's still a hassle to plan around as I have to take vacation for these trips. I have an R29 which I tow with a long bed F350. No issues towing, but it's a long rig which makes parking at boat launches a challenge as I'm definitely on the long end of the range. Your gooseneck might help with the overall length issue.

 

[MV Toujours]

Hi,

Thanks for all the helpful info on this site. My clients are looking at a Ranger Tug 31 CB, and love the layout including especially the flybridge. Looking to buy in WA, and take to Lake Tahoe area and trailer it a few times a year, into California (Coastal) and back to the lake.

We have an F350 pickup, and would get a gooseneck trailer.

The question is, you need licenses to travel, and it it's quite a bit bigger than, say, a Cutwater 28. With the 31 we will be "wide load". Do you think it's too much of a hassle to tow a 31 vs a simpler, smaller Cutwater 28?

Who has experience trailering a RT 31 CB and can share their experience?

Thanks!

I have a 31CB and tow it with an F350 DRW. I have an EZ Loader trailer specifically built for my boat. I personally don't have any anxiety when towing my boat while taking my time and selectively choosing routing. With a 10' beam, it always requires a wide load permit.

I discussed design with a couple of boat trailer manufacturers. If you look at the triple axle boat trailer as compared to a travel trailer, you will notice that the axles are much further aft on a boat trailer than a travel trailer. That is because most of the weight of the boat is towards the rear, as opposed to nearer to the mid portion of a travel trailer.

The whole idea is to get the center of gravity as far forward as possible without having to deal with excessive tongue weight.

When you start to look at 30+ foot travel trailers, they transition to a fifth wheel design and are required to shift the weight forward enough that tongue weight limits are exceeded. They then shift the forward weight over the truck axle using a fifth wheel or gooseneck hitch.

The bottom line is..... boat weight is naturally far enough aft that you really don't have a go with a gooseneck. Another issue I personally considered with a gooseneck is with a steep boat ramp. Not sure if it would be a problem, but I am not one to reinvent the wheel.

I am planning a tow to from OR to CA this fall. I talked to CHP and confirmed that if you are legal to tow in the state you are licensed in, you to not need a CDL for a 10' load in CA. If you are a CA resident, you need a CDL.

I believe that most states have reciprocal agreements with each other to honor the others' laws. Otherwise, interstate transportation becomes cumbersome and restrictive.

Hope this helps.


Patrick