Boat Upgrade

[JeepHouse]

Hi everyone, I have a JT Sport S w/ max tow package. I'm looking to upgrade my boat. Currently have a single axel trailer with a 19 foot ski boat, comes in at under 3000 lbs and haven't really thought much about towing it because although it tows easy with my Jeep, we typically use my wife's Pilot (5000 lb towing capacity) because it's more of a beater. I'm looking to upgrade to a 26' foot boat on a dual axel trailer. The current owner says that the weight is approx ~7200lbs full and 5860lbs dry. If you haven't guessed, with my little boat i'm currently not a serious tower, so I'm wondering if I'm going to get myself in trouble. Even if under my vehicles towing specs (but could be very close), I'd rather be smart and safe. Plus, I know this forum is a good resource where someone like me could learn from others experience and get better info. My plan now would be to launch and recover once a year which is about 8 miles from where I currently store my boat (the sale would be about 15 miles away). Long term, I will probably have to move for my job in a few years at which time I'd have to understand if I can tow the boat that distance or just sell it and start over where ever I land.

Thanks in advance for thoughts on this potential upgrade.

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[Silvertruck]

Towing twice a year that short a distance with that load probably won’t matter, but if you did it regularly a midsize truck is probably the wrong answer. Its not about how much you can pull, its about how much you can stop and control. A full size platform would be much better to control against sway and to control the weight in a stop or downhill - in other words keep you from a situation where the load wants to pass the tow vehicle from inertia.

also, and i know this isnt what you asked, but going 19 to 26 is a major move on the water too. Dynamics and costs are all different. Just be ready.

all that said, good luck with your toys, thats awesome!

 

[JeepHouse]

I really appreciate the input on both points. We bought the boat (on impulse) saying it's a starter boat if we don’t like it we sell it and if we do like it we would continue to get more into it. We love it. Although I do expect a move to something more suited for what we want to do will be a serious step increase in cost.

 

[TJDave]

I tow our old 20' open bow with a V8 engine. I do not know exactly what it weighs, but she is heavy. Usually only a couple blocks to our local launch, but a few times last summer I had it on the hiway to launch at different locations. The Gladiator did fine. I could definitely tell it was back there.
That being said, I would not want to tow anything heavier on the hi way for long distances.

 

[Phljeeper]

I would think you will be fine towing it. Does it have brakes and do you tow with a weight distribution hitch? While not a boat, I am towing a travel trailer that is 5,200lb dry with my lifted Gladiator on 37s with no issues. I do have it regeared to 4.88s though. As long as you are under your max weight (gross vehicle numbers including truck, trailer and cargo) and brakes and weight distribution is setup right you should be fine and safe to tow. Would a full size truck do better? For sure. But you shouldn’t have any issues with the Gladiator at the weights you describe.

 

[JeepHouse]

I would think you will be fine towing it. Does it have brakes and do you tow with a weight distribution hitch? While not a boat, I am towing a travel trailer that is 5,200lb dry with my lifted Gladiator on 37s with no issues. I do have it regeared to 4.88s though. As long as you are under your max weight (gross vehicle numbers including truck, trailer and cargo) and brakes and weight distribution is setup right you should be fine and safe to tow. Would a full size truck do better? For sure. But you shouldn’t have any issues with the Gladiator at the weights you describe.

I didn't specifically ask if it had brakes, but at that weight by law its supposed to. I don't have a weight distribution hitch and am only have cursory understanding of them, would a WDH typically be added to a boat trailer?

 

[KVJ]

If you're a skier, stick with the 19' ski boat.

 

[JeepHouse]

If you're a skier, stick with the 19' ski boat.

That’s the problem, I’m more of a fisher. I want to fish more. We never ski or tube. Just drive around and sun and fish. Plus we bought the boat when we lived on a bay. Now we live on the ocean.

 

[KVJ]

That makes perfect sense. I was a skier in the day and over a period of time I owned four ski boats, some I liked better than others. All inboards and none of the trailers had brakes. Single axial trailers are a breeze to maneuver and EZ (as in EZ Lube) to maintain.

Back to the JT towing. It should be fine for the short tow to the lake twice a year.

 

[Hockeypilot44]

We keep our boat in the water. I'm trying to decide if my Gladiator can pull it to the Keys. Considering buying a trailer. Our 26 footer weighs about 5000 empty. I figure with fuel and gear, 6000 is about right plus a 1500 pound trailer. I'm right at limit for a max tow, but it's all at sea level and flat in Florida other than the bridges.

 

[Phljeeper]

I didn't specifically ask if it had brakes, but at that weight by law its supposed to. I don't have a weight distribution hitch and am only have cursory understanding of them, would a WDH typically be added to a boat trailer?

you would need to check tongue weight or the trailer and go from there. My experience with stock gladiator suspension is that the rear end squats a lot with tongue weight. Here is an article discussing it:

https://www.boatus.com/magazine/trailering/2016/april/setting-up-a-hitch-for-the-perfect-tow.asp

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