CHEVRACER83

ok... long story short... i bought this truck to tow around my sea doo's... well my fiance's dad gave us a 25' charger custom big block boat. Now i am worried as to weather this will be able to tow it... especially through some hills. he said it should be fine because they towed it with her grandpas old truck with a 327 with a 2bbl in it. i am just worried it will be too much for this truck.... i dont wanna embarass myself.... anyone know what it is safe to tow?

nonnieselman

iTrader: (10)

how much does that boat weigh? approx?
and how far will you have to pull it?

I have pulled several things with my truck some that weighed wayy too much..

~12,000lb Ditchwitch because my boss F-150 would hardly budge it.. haha. hauled it about 30miles to the rental place...
~9,500lb Cat Trackhoe because my brother was hauling a ~16,000lb Tractor with his Duramax.
~5,000lb trailer with 5 Honda Foreman 4x4s and 1 Yamaha Grizzly to Hattiesburg from my house.. ~90miles.
and used to haul them every other weekend to go riding at different places ~30 miles.

My tranny still hasnt puked on me yet.. Mind ya i wasnt abusing it while i hauled that stuff. But im supprised it has lasted this long.

CHEVRACER83

only about 15 miles of hills otherwise about 220 miles alot of just flatland.... i dont need to go 85 mph... i dont mind towing like a human at 50-55 or whatever it takes... i just dont wanna hurt my truck


sorry boat im not sure how much it weighs... its a 25' deep v boat... but he towed it with an 78-81 chevrolet blazer with 2bbl 327

Dock Rocker

Is it a standard or auto. If it is an auto then get a really good trans cooler (this will save your tranny) get a good class 3 or above hitch mounted to your frame. this will alow you to pull 5k or greater. Make SURE that you have a good set of trailer brakes on your trailer and a controler in the cab. Your truck will pull the boat no problem but it will NOT stop it. Also make sure that the boat is balanced well on the trailer you only want about 10% of the wait of the boat on the actual toung of the traler( most of the weight should be on the trailer axles not the tounge) if you have to much tounge weight it will be quiet a ride. I pulled my 22 ft donzi with a 500efi (502 ci) with a 1/2 ton stepside with a 6cl It was a standard and the only time I had any trouble was on a wet boatramp.

CHEVRACER83

thank you.... tahts what im worried about also is the wet boat ramp... being a pegleg diff.... its got 3.73 so should tow good.... and it has hydraulic surge brakes... cause on a boat you cant have electric brakes....

it is auto trans

02BlueStepside

iTrader: (1)

Not long after I got my truck, I pulled our boat and it seemed to do ok. Truck was stock, 4.8, except a K&N FIPK and a Flowmaster muffler. The boat was a 21ft Wakeboard boat, single axle, a good many supplies, and it had tongue brakes (don't really know what they are called). Didn't have any problems that I can remember, on the ramp or otherwise. Only did it once, but like said above, make sure you have a good tranny cooler cause it will heat up fast.

laynlow77

iTrader: (8)

like everyone else said, make sure you have a tranny cooler and you should be ok.

CHEVRACER83

thanks alot guys.... really appreciate it... just didnt wanna tear up the brand new truck.... i guess i could use this as an excuse and say motor cant tow it... so i need to swap 6.0

Dock Rocker

Just make sure that you try to pull the boat on the dryest ramp you can find. I also had a peg leg and it could be a pain to get up.

Tootall

iTrader: (79)

I've done it, with an 18ft, tandem, with a big block. This was with my old 4.3 v6, with a 5-speed.
I've towed some heave stuff, but the biggest thing that you need to worry about is the trailer breaks. There's nothing worse than pulling a big expensive load and not being able to stop. The rear will squat, and teeder some over the bumps, but it'll live.
Be sure that you ALWAYS use your parking break on ramps. It can be used kinda like a PTO, but most of all it'll save your trans from making the huge clunking noise from going from park to drive on a incline. Some ramps are steeper than others, vs a man made lake or a county built shallow ramp.
If you ever have trouble pulling out of a steep ramp, use the parking/e-brake before putting the trans in park. After loading up, put the trans in gear, 1st, or D, give it some gas, and hold the RPMs around 1200, 1400, and pop the parking break. You're just trying to keep yourself from rolling backwards.
25ft is a long boat, don't try to find the "drop-off" at the end of the ramp on your first time out.