Towing boat question

shouldn't your first question be "is it legal where I want to tow it"?.
bumpy

You already know the special problem, backing up. Most boat trailers have a wheel on the tongue, so if you are in a bind, you will have to disconnect. Tip, don't get yourself in that situation.:) To hook up, I park second trailer where it is convenient to back FW up to it. If you get close, it's easy to wiggle/roll the tongue to the ball. It helps to have a spotter.

In my experience, the second trailer follows the FW very nicely, through turns/corners, so don't fret, you'll get used to it quickly.

Jerry

Farsidefan

Bumpyroad has the most important point, I towed like that for 3 years, my f250 with the 7.3 handled the 5ver and 17 foot Carolina skiff like a dream. I don't know what Utah laws are but if its legal I say go for it. In my three years towing triple I can't remember any real problems, the boat always just followed the Sunnybrook and was always there when we stopped, except in turns I never saw her back there till we stopped.

I would still be towing triple but for one stop by the Florida highway patrol, he had pulled up along side us coming back from camping and then eased on back and lit us up for the pull over. He didn't write a ticket and instead just said I can't tow like that and had the same boat as us and we spent 30 minutes talking boat.

Well the next day I called Florida DOT for an explanation and explained I had a commercial license with a triples endorsement and all, and after a back and forth he agreed I might be legal if I licensed my truck for 26,000 gvwr, painted my company name permanent on side of door, kept my drivers log on board and more. So I just kind of said no more Florida towing, too hard.

Then towing triple in Georgia one campout I was talking with a fellow camper about the triple towing and he was a lawyer and said it wasn't a good idea. He stated if ever I had a accident, my fault or not, a guy like him will attempt to take everything I had and more. So that was our last campout triple towing, wife towed the boat after that, worked okay, but a little more of a chore.

Anyway, sorry so long winded, but if Legal in your state go for it, if not good luck and stay off hwy 17 in mid Florida, I bet that FHP guy is still there. LOL

Keith

It's Utah, we get away with a lot when compared to neighboring states.

I've done it a few times (24' goseneck plus something attached to it). It really isn't a big deal, and can be backed if the 2nd trailer is a decent length and you can SEE it.

Just remember that it is there for lane changes, turns onto streets (go wide enough), ect.

We have been double towing for a long time now. I wouldn't say it's overly difficult provided you know your dimensions. You eventually become comfortable with the rig and it becomes second nature. We have a 2018 Montana, 20ft crestliner sportfish. All being pulled with a 2015 ram dually. Were sitting at 3ft over length due to our outboard but haven't ran into issue yet. Also requires class 3 licensing to pull. I quite enjoy pulling it all.

As mentioned the boat is almost not felt while towing. Initially, I installed a camera in the 5er back window to keep an eye on the boat. I had a flat one day and did not know it until someone flagged me down so moved the camera to the bottom of the bumper to keep an eye on the boat wheels. I recommend the bumper camera, it also helped when hooking up. I could hook up by myself. I towed all through TX, AZ, and NM where it is legal behind a 5er.

:Yup, I had already checked on the legality of it. My concerns are how do you hook up without backing and do you just drop the boat off on the road while you park the RV then go back and pick it up and put the boat in, take it to a slip (I can rent a slip at the 3 reservoirs I want to take it - Lake Powell, Strawberry and Flaming Gorge) then just drop off the trailer for the boats?

I have a trip to Flaming Gorge planned for July and I have rented a truck for my wife to drive with the boat. After that I plan on trying to triple.

I have only been on one trip with the 5ver so far so I'm just getting the hang of it.

Triple towing (towing two trailers) is allowed for non commercial drivers in many states, but I am pretty sure Florida, among a number of other east coast states, is not one of them.

I've done it for years. Make sure you have a good welder fab the hitch. It will put a lot of strain on both the boat trailer as well as the RV. I have had to have both reinforced.

When going somewhere I am less familiar with, I drop the boat in the boat ramp parking lot. Go, park the 5er, go back and get the boat.

I am able to hitch up the boat myself. Just takes a few trips walking back and forth to check things out. If you have a 2nd person with you, much easier.

You can back up if you have to. Not ideal, but possible.

Fuel stations can be trouble. Truck stops are the easiest. I added a 60 gallon aux tank so I don't have to worry about it.

If your boat has much tongue weight, you will get more chucking than you had before. Lighter boats you won't really feel much of anything.

Have you actually weighed your boat? I don't know of a 19' boat that when loaded and on the trailer would be that light. I towed my 21' sterndrive for years. It was 5500 pounds on the trailer. I have a 16' Lund that is somewhere between 2000 - 2500 pounds. Don't really notice it. My new ski boat is a 23' Malibu, and just too heavy to pull tandem.

Here is my old 21' Crownline .



And with my Lund.

Moderator edit to re-size pictures to forum limit of 640px maximum width.

Great information, Thanks

My boat is an aluminum Crestliner 1850 with the sst transom. The dry weight is 1750, overall length is 19'9 inches.
Truck has a 36 gal. tank and I can get most places and back on 2 tanks