Serious Thoughts About Safe Towing - G-Series Nautiques

[NautiqueJeff]

Weird. My hitch ball is rated for 20,000 pounds (yes, really), and my receiver is rated for 5,000 without weight distribution and 12,500 with weight distribution (which is above the 11,000 pound rating of the truck itself as published in the Ford Towing Guide for 2005). This is on my 2005 Excursion diesel.

[shag]

Always better to have a little more than a little less... I believe that makes it a class 5

[Noahsark]

That's kinda what I was hinting to Jeff, but just didn't want to get into an arguing session. Those Towing guides can be quite misleading as my friend in the trailer business has told me a few times. Again I could go into great details of towing limit and specifications and senarios, but's it useless. People are going to hookup and go !

I think it is good that you at least brought this issue to everyone's attention, and hopefully it will get them to look and review their towing habits, and know more about them.

Like I said before and you mentioned Jeff, CHECK your tire ratings, there's where a lot of trouble can come from.

This is a great board and glad to be a part of it ! At least it seems like we can agree and disagree without a bunch of name calling and smart remarks! Kudos to all !!

[Beach-TJ]

Jeff,

Thanks for posting! It's good info that everyone needs to think about for there own tow vehicle and trailer.

I agree that tire weight rating is important, both on the tow vehicle and trailer. I would also throw in that everyone should consider the GVWR, GFAWR (Gross Front Axle Weight Rating) and GRAWR (Gross Rear Axle Weight Rating) for there tow vehicle as well. When you get into a boat as heavy as a G series, there is a lot to think about.

Trailer: 2015 Ram-Lin G23 Tandem Axle / 288
Trailer Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR): 9,990 lbs.
Trailer Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) Capacity (Each Axle): 4545 lbs. (TOTAL: 9,090 lbs.) <-- LIMITING FACTOR
Trailer Tires: Goodyear Marathon ST225/75R15 Load Range D - Capacity (Each Tire): 2,540 lbs. at 65 PSI (TOTAL: 10,160 lbs.)

Not sure if you were thinking about it or not, but it seams you didn't include the tongue weight when considering what your trailer's capacity is. With a tag trailer manufacturers normally factor in 10% tongue weight, or 999 lbs in your case. So 9,090 lbs on the axles plus 999 lbs on the tongue gives you 10,089 lbs total. So your trailers GVWR of 9,990 lbs would be your limiting factor.

[NautiqueJeff]

Very interesting point. I hadn't thought about that!

I finally broke down and ordered my weight distributing hitch tonight. When it arrives, I'll post pictures of the setup.

[nauty220]

[Dandy21]

I will be picking my G23 up tomorrow with my new tow rig. Had been towing last year with our 2013 Toyota Sequoia and it did OK, granted I am sure I was above the 7200 lb towing capacity. The self leveling system worked nice. Now we have a 2011 Chev 2500HD DMax with a 10,000 lb hitch with a 10,000 lb ball and the truck and receiver are rated at 13,000. Now I will legally be safe and am looking forward to the better towing, but will still miss the SUV. I can see why guys like the Excursions.

[cstiles]

FWIW I successfully towed a friend's G from storage to the marina - probably about 15 miles at or under 45mph. Vehicle is a 2000 GMC Yukon XL with the 5.3, so I was over capacity. As you can see the air shocks do a great job leveling the rig out. I wasn't winning any races, but the tow went very smooth, and the trailer brakes were excellent. I'll just brace myself for the accusations now




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[NautiqueJeff]

That's certainly more level than my Excursion sits with a normal hitch. I FINALLY received the last pieces to my new Equal-i-zer weight distributing hitch about 30 minutes ago, so I will be setting that up on my Excursion today and tomorrow, and towing with it for the first time on Saturday from Charlotte to Raleigh. I am very interested to see if it feels any different.

[kodiak]

I have airbags in my 2011 Sequoia and pump them up to 20 psi and keeps it nice and level. I pull my G21 thru Mountains from Salt Lake to Lake Powell 3 times a year. You go from 4500 feet to 6500 feet and back down to 3500 feet in about 6 hours, and it does great. I use a Curt adjustable ball mount that can handle up to 10k for the 2" and 14K for the 2-5/16". The 2011 and up Sequoia is rated at 7400 lbs, so yes Im at that limit if not over by a bit with gear and 3 people. I have never felt the Sequoia could not handle the load. Boatman trailers have great brakes and ride so nice.

[swankster]

Had to tow the G23 with the 2005 F150 this weekend instead of the 6.7l diesel 2013 F250. What a difference not only in power but stopping. Can't believe I did it with the 150 in the past.

[Jfuller]

Hello Jeff, did you end up with any pictures of your equalizer installed? I ordered mine and will be having a dealer install it but I am not sure it will work on my Phoenix trailer because of the bow ladder on it? Towing from finger lakes in NY to Denver in a couple weeks with my suburban and hope the weight distribution will be compatible. Went with the 8k model per dealor recommendation.

[shag]

There are a number of threads on this site related to boat weight, trailer weight, trailer capacity, tow vehicle capacities, etc. I wanted to post a thread with the information directly from Ram-Lin, Goodyear, and Ford, to reflect my experiences towing and the recommended towing setup for my specific vehicle (2005 Ford Excursion with 6.0L Diesel).

Boat: 2015 Super Air Nautique G23
Weight (Dry) 5,400 lbs.
Extra Gear: (Lead) 1,000 lbs., (Gear, Fuel, etc.) 600 lbs.
Trailer Weight: 1,900 lbs.
TOTAL BEING TOWED: 8,900 lbs.

Trailer: 2015 Ram-Lin G23 Tandem Axle / 288
Trailer Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR): 9,990 lbs.
Trailer Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) Capacity (Each Axle): 4545 lbs. (TOTAL: 9,090 lbs.) <-- LIMITING FACTOR
Trailer Tires: Goodyear Marathon ST225/75R15 Load Range D - Capacity (Each Tire): 2,540 lbs. at 65 PSI (TOTAL: 10,160 lbs.)

I tow with a 2005 Ford Excursion Diesel. On the trailer hitch itself, it has stamped that it has a maximum towing capacity of 12,500 lbs. This is misleading for several reasons.

1. That is the rating of the HITCH, not the vehicle.

2. The 2005 Ford Towing Guide lists the official maximum capacity of the Excursion with the 6.0 Diesel and the 3.73 rear end as 11,000 lbs. (2002 - Present Ford owners can get their towing information here.)

3. This 11,000 lbs. capacity is only valid when using a weight-distributing hitch.

4. Like many tow vehicles, the towing capacity of the 2005 Excursion without use of a weight distributing hitch is limited to 5,000 lbs.

I feel confident that the trailer itself, the axles, and the tires are within spec for the weight of my G23 as I normally load it (including the lead). The limiting factor appears to be the axles, at 9,090 lbs. capacity.

I used a weight distributing hitch in the past when towing my 2003 210 (with the lead) with a Jeep Grand Cherokee, but sold the hitch years ago. I'll be purchasing another one soon, likely the Equal-i-zer 90-00-1200 12,000 lbs. capacity hitch along with the pole tongue adapter that allows this hitch to work with boat trailers and other trailers with pole tongues. This should make towing the G23 more stable, safer, and completely legal, and also reduce the rear-end squatting that occurs when towing heavy now.

I am posting this so that others towing these heavy boats will look into the TRUE limitations of their vehicles, trailers and hitch systems, and upgrade them accordingly. These are heavy boats, and it is important to tow them safely.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n453798[/ATTACH]

I would be nervous being within 200# of the max axle rating... I'm sure it's fine and over engineered, but just my .02

[hondaprlud]

This year I bought a 08 230. Heaviest boat to date. I also started towing a lot farther than before. Instead of 20 min to the water with the annual long distance tow, I now go 2 hours each way to get good water. The boat is 4300lbs, trailer is 1300lbs, gas etc I figure I'm close to 6k if not a little over.

I have a load leveler to tow my camper that is rated at 14,000lbs. So I'd been considering using it, but really wanted to avoid if possible. My truck is rated at 9000lbs so I'm OK there. But my ball mount is 6000 (I really didn't know but knew it was class 3/4). I've made the tow 5-6 times this season without issue. On the way back last Sunday I noticed more sway and vibration than I'd had in the past. I stopped to check.

The experience reminded me of this thread, you are only as safe as your weakest part.

[shag]

6000 pounds is a probably the bare minimum... I always take into account the force with braking and panic actions... That could be much higher than 6000 pounds... Not to mention the condition of some roads.... Your photos are an excellent reason to always go 'over' in terms of capacity carrying...