What towing capacity would you need to tow a boat with a listed weight of 7500lbs?
- Thread starter Rain City
- Start date
Newf
Crew Member
If the 7500lbs is the listed dry weight of your boat my "guess" is that you will be towing more than 10,000. My little boat has a dry weight of 2800lbs. Add in fluids (18gal fuel & 10gal water), trailer(single Axle) and gear and junk and the scales tell me I'm at 4800lbs. (I realize that you can tow without fluids such as fuel and water etc and get it when you get to your destination but that may not always be the case)
Rain City
Crew Member
Haha not a chance. I've had my truck for almost 10 years now and I'm scared to factor in a replacement at today's prices.Of course you will need a black Denali 3500 duramax diesel with Allison tranny. Please add $120k to budget. The whole setup is going to look smoking though
kaelc
Crew Member
Yes, a good electric over hydraulic trailer, the right hitch and short towing distances you can do it safely. Problem is all the yahoos passing you and slamming on their brakes. A very very very small amount of 1500 are rated for over 10k pounds. Salesmen will say oh yeah it’s rated for 10k but finding the official sticker, don’t believe them. Like others have said, boats the manufactures say are 10k are likely 12k w downriggers and everything else, 3 years later after you have added autopilot, second screen, backup cannon balls, tuna gear just in case 14k. Borrow a buddies 1ton the few times a year and enjoy yourself.
Once again trying to save money at everyone else's expense rc. Crack that bulging bill fold if u want to up your game and save us the delusional excerpts.
MikePA
Well-Known Member
I would take it to a weigh station and get an accurate measure of how much it weighs loaded like you would typically be towing it before making a decision. I did that with my Gulfstream before buying a truck and it was 8000lbs loaded with fuel in both tanks. I towed it with 3 guys and full gear (prob 9000lbs) over the hump to Port Alberni this summer without issue in a 2015 tundra (10,000lb capacity). It has a 4.3:1 rear axel ratio and a transmission cooler, but had more than enough power on the ups and the breaks on the truck + trailer made the downs feel more than safe.
Rain City
Crew Member
Ah I'm already just dreaming away here. I don't ever NEED to trailer it. I just had some friends asking if it was plausible to tow a boat this size up to the Okanagan. I'll eventually need to replace my truck so that also got me asking the questions. I had already come to terms with needing a professional tow to get this thing anywhere, but I was wondering what the real world numbers would look like the for trailer and truck size.
SpringVelocity
Crew Member
3/4 ton minimum for that weight.
Ask those friends to cough up the $$$ for a new F350 or pay for a professional porter. Towing up the Coq with heavy and oversized load isn’t for half tons. I’d keep her in the water locally and give the old 1500 more time to live.
baddogg
Crew Member
These are the towing capacity for 2024 1500 GMC models as per their website. My 3 litre diesel is apparently rated for 12,500 lbs. Don't think my Campion 542 is anywhere near that.
Keith Brown
Member
I have past experience towing heavy trailers with a light duty vehicle. Here are a few tips you may be interested in. I am assume that you do not have hydraulic disk brakes, but even if you do this still applies.
1) Trailer brakes have to be perfect. The trailer brakes them selves and the controller must be perfect, at least if you would like to reduce your risk. Most recreational trailers are equipped with 10" x 2 1/4" drum brakes. There not bad but even if there not 10x21/4 they must be serviced at a minimum of once a year. The brake control should be set to pull back the truck in any braking condition. The easiest test for brakes is to pull the break away switch and drive the truck forward if you can pull forward more than 10ft your brakes are knackered. In my experience 90% of trailer brakes fall into the knackered category. In my experience you are often better of changing all components from the backing plate out than changing individual brake components. The whole kit is often is cheaper than to what a couple of components add up to be and you end up with new brakes.
2) The hitch should be a equalizer. Its important to spend some time setting up the hitch, being careful to have the front axel loaded slightly less that the rear and the trailer sitting level.
If you have your half ton rig setup properly you will still be dealing with steering issues created by frame flex on bumps, so its important to moderate your speed especially if you plan on trailing your boat to destination over heaves. Also by moderating your speed you will reduce thermal ageing of your drive train. Everything from your transmission to your alternator are effected by the operating temperature. The drastic increase in towing capacities of 3/4 and 1 ton trucks was accompanied by frame stiffening. GM boxed there frame in 2014 and move to 20" wheels to accommodate bigger brakes. The brakes on your half ton are virtually oversize sedan brakes and are not capable of stopping a 10,000 pound boat alone.
1) Trailer brakes have to be perfect. The trailer brakes them selves and the controller must be perfect, at least if you would like to reduce your risk. Most recreational trailers are equipped with 10" x 2 1/4" drum brakes. There not bad but even if there not 10x21/4 they must be serviced at a minimum of once a year. The brake control should be set to pull back the truck in any braking condition. The easiest test for brakes is to pull the break away switch and drive the truck forward if you can pull forward more than 10ft your brakes are knackered. In my experience 90% of trailer brakes fall into the knackered category. In my experience you are often better of changing all components from the backing plate out than changing individual brake components. The whole kit is often is cheaper than to what a couple of components add up to be and you end up with new brakes.
2) The hitch should be a equalizer. Its important to spend some time setting up the hitch, being careful to have the front axel loaded slightly less that the rear and the trailer sitting level.
If you have your half ton rig setup properly you will still be dealing with steering issues created by frame flex on bumps, so its important to moderate your speed especially if you plan on trailing your boat to destination over heaves. Also by moderating your speed you will reduce thermal ageing of your drive train. Everything from your transmission to your alternator are effected by the operating temperature. The drastic increase in towing capacities of 3/4 and 1 ton trucks was accompanied by frame stiffening. GM boxed there frame in 2014 and move to 20" wheels to accommodate bigger brakes. The brakes on your half ton are virtually oversize sedan brakes and are not capable of stopping a 10,000 pound boat alone.
You are probably low on your total weight estimate. 7500lbs is right at the border between a dual and triple axle trailer. Both are going to be over 2000lbs or very near. Dry boat with trailer is almost 10,000lbs without fuel, water, or any gear.
Keep in mind towing capacity is usually mutually exclusive of payload capacity. To stay with the official rating you get to choose either full load in the truck or max trailer weight but not both. Max trailer weight ratings often only allow for a few hundred pounds in the vehicle.
Often SUV's and the lighter full size pickups will recommend/require a load distributing hitch above 5000lbs trailer weight. Depends on the manufacturer. I've seen it from Toyota and Ram.
All of the above is fairly academic. Keith Brown covers the important practical aspects in the above post.
Keep in mind towing capacity is usually mutually exclusive of payload capacity. To stay with the official rating you get to choose either full load in the truck or max trailer weight but not both. Max trailer weight ratings often only allow for a few hundred pounds in the vehicle.
Often SUV's and the lighter full size pickups will recommend/require a load distributing hitch above 5000lbs trailer weight. Depends on the manufacturer. I've seen it from Toyota and Ram.
All of the above is fairly academic. Keith Brown covers the important practical aspects in the above post.
Rain City
Crew Member
Ah ok that's more what I'm wanting to hear. If it's not even close then I wouldn't even get to the point of optimization in the setup. If a 7500lb boat loaded with a 2000 lb trailer is going to put me at closer to 12500lb + then it's not even a conversation.
Rain City
Crew Member
You guys are just the best...
I don't really want lake adventures. I had a fake wakeboarding boat in my 20s and towed it all over the place looking for party girls. Being that guy at this age, weight, income, marital and family status, would be pretty pathetic lol.
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Didn’t mean that kind of adventure
Driving around and having good times with friends (and family) on a lake is also considered an “adventure”. This is the adjusted term considering all the limiting factors that you mentioned.
Yes, there is, that world is called Saskatchewan or some other flat land.
Renting is a great option. Get the truck you need or more, and then take it back when you’re done.
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