Posted: 21 June 2009 at 4:22pm | IP Logged

Plan on removing all of the extra weight from the boat you can, fuel, water and accumulated gear (I started to say junk).

The lighter you can make the boat, the better.

Last summer I towed my 1989 Searay 2500da to Branson and the Lake of the Ozarks with my '98 2500 Suburban rated at 10,000# without any problems.  Going up hills at 3500 rpm was not my choice, but it did work.  Most of the driving in the hills was with the cruise control off.  It shifted too much for my liking.  On the flat, it worked great.

Despite  all of the comments, I do run in high with the cruise control on.  When it starts to shift, I turn it off and use my judgement to keep the engine at its most comfortable level (for me).

Posted: 21 June 2009 at 10:32pm | IP Logged

Remember gas is about 6lb per gallon.  If you can reduce that you will add to your ease of pulling.

If you try to drain any out be careful.

Posted: 22 June 2009 at 9:15am | IP Logged

flyerst wrote:   I am not that worried about braking ability, more about power and handling.

That is exactly what you should be worried about.  The reason the knock the tow rating down with the 20's is because the rolling inertia of a large wheel is very high.  If you slap on big wheels and don't upgrade the brakes youre crazy.  Ford took in to account your reduced braking with the larger wheel and it was not due to increased diameter, but increased rolling weight. 

I'd upgrade your vehicle brake system.  I'll bet the boat and trailer as they sit are probably close to 11k, but whats a ton or two. Your surge brakes rely on the trucks ability to stop to apply more pressure.  If the truck can't stop the inertia, the surge won't save you.  At a minimum I'd go to electric over hydraulic on the trailer and add a controller. 

Posted: 23 June 2009 at 9:55pm | IP Logged

I have found surge brakes work as well as required.

I have had them lock up in an emergency situation.

An idiot pulled into a gas station drive way, slowed down a little and then right back out in front of me.

Posted: 25 June 2009 at 10:44am | IP Logged

I hope you bought the right equalizer. 

From EZ Loader trailers.

Can I use load anti-sway (load equalizers) bars on my EZ Loader custom trailer that has brakes?

Yes and No. If you have "hydraulic surge" brakes, the brakes work when you slow down and the momentum of the trailer tries to catch up with you which "surges" the trailer forward, activating the hydraulic plunger in the actuator. This compresses the brake fluid and activates the brakes. Most anti-sway bars or load equalizer bars attach from the towing vehicle to the frame or the trailer and prevent the trailer from surging forward, and therefore prevent the brakes from working. There are a few companies now making an anti-sway bar that is made specifically to work with hydraulic surge brakes. This is the only acceptable ones that you can use and still have your trailer brakes work. If you have electric cab controlled brakes, there shouldn't be a problem using anti-sway bars as the trailer does not have an actuator or hydraulics.

Posted: 29 June 2009 at 3:39pm | IP Logged

Don't froget to subtract "Big and Heavy" from your GVWR and hitch weights. 

Great Bay: "Certainly no more than that of a 3000 lb un-braked trailer" 

??? Thats the difference between stopping and rear end collision.  With a controller or the ability to get more pressure built between the coupler and tow vehicle you'll get more stopping out of the trailer.  The truck is going to be brake faded after two successive stops.  jh

Posted: 29 June 2009 at 8:30pm | IP Logged

The truck is designed to stop at least its normal GVW. The normal payload of the truck is nearly 2000lb. - it's designed to stop at least that much and certainly will not suffer from brake fade after a few stops.

Brake fade in itself is a term left over from drum-braked vehicles where the brake pedal actually would sink towards the floor or fade when the drums would increase in diameter due to the heat they were absorbing. Disc brakes suffer no such phenomena but can loose efficiency if forced to absorb more energy than their design.

If you examine the manufacturer tow ratings of most pickup trucks you will see the ratings go up with lower gear ratios and/or bigger engines, the brake size stays the same. My K2500HD has the exact same brakes, and axle ratio (exact same axle, in fact) as my buddy's 3500 yet his truck has a higher tow rating due to a bigger engine, 6 speed transmission, larger tires, and heavier rear springs. Even the frame is the same! When my tires wore out I put the 1 ton size on and re-calibrated the speedometer.

Posted: 30 June 2009 at 9:40am | IP Logged

I think you would be ok with the 150 for short trips where you are very familiar with the route and conditions. For the longer trip(s) you might want to consider renting a 3/4-1 ton for the tow. Just Google "Truck rentals"

Uhaul, Budget, Penske, Enterprise all appear to have pickups and 3/4 ton cargo vans for rent. You should be able to find one that will handle your SR easily.

Posted: 01 July 2009 at 9:23am | IP Logged

I know Uhaul let's you tow your own trailer, they reference it in their User Instructions. http://www.uhaul.com/about/publication.ashx?id=20515

Posted: 02 July 2009 at 9:22am | IP Logged

I know everyone gets caught up in the 1/2 ton vs. 3/4 ton war on power, braking, handling, etc. but my '08 Toyota Tundra stops my 22'er much better than my '04 F-250 Powerstroke ever did and YES I have functioning single-axle surge disc brakes!  The Tundra also accelerates faster than the F-250 with THAT same load.  

That being said, the F-250 towed my 32' Bayliner with ease and I would not even think about hooking that same load to my Tundra and towing on the road!

My advice is to see how the F-150 handles the load on short trips.  (I think you will be fine!)  Then get a feel for it on the highway and Interstates and keep it at 55-60 MPH.  You might be overloaded by a 1/2 ton or so, but that is not going to cause significant changes in how the truck responds vs. being AT the max GCWR.

I've seen many 24-26' cruisers and larger (27-31') center consoles being towed by 1/2-ton trucks and SUV's with no problems.  Just exercise caution.