Tow a ski boat behind a TC?
Hi everyone - been studying up on how to tow a boat behind a truck camper. Kind of out of the blue, my wife and I have recently bought a ski/surf boat (2005 Mastercraft x10) and have absolutely fallen in love with boating. We have two small kids and been planning on buying a trailer in the future, and with the addition of the boat our focus has quickly shifted to a Truck + Truck Camper Magazine + Boat combo.
I know people do this, but I am trying to figure out how because as far as I can tell this kind of combination is going to more than max out even the most extreme trucks.
It seems like the limiting factor is overall payload. Do I have this math right?
Payload = GVWR - truck weight
Weight of camper + **tongue weight (??)** of trailer + all people, gear, water and fuel = must be less than overall payload.
We’re contemplating buying both the pickup and the camper (probably recent models but used), so here’s a rough example of what we’re considering:
GMC 3500 diesel, single rear wheel (not dually) - payload: ~4,200
Lance 855S - wet weight: ~3,300 pounds
Mastercraft x10 - trailer weight: ~4,200 pounds, tongue weight:~ 400 lbs
In this scenario, our payload situation would be 3,300 TC +. 400 boat TW = 3,700 pounds. Deducted from a 4,200 pound payload, we’d have 500 pounds available for all passengers, fuel, and gear.
This is where things seem to run aground (pun!). You’re probably going to have at least 250 pounds of gas in the truck, I’m a 200 pounder, my wife is 140, our kids are 50 (each - as of today), we could easily have a few hundred pounds of gear, an 80 pound black lab... you can see that we’re going to be way over the payload limit.
And that’s with a 1-ton truck!
So.... how do you pull this off? Do you have to go to a 1-ton dually?
I know people do this, but I am trying to figure out how because as far as I can tell this kind of combination is going to more than max out even the most extreme trucks.
It seems like the limiting factor is overall payload. Do I have this math right?
Payload = GVWR - truck weight
Weight of camper + **tongue weight (??)** of trailer + all people, gear, water and fuel = must be less than overall payload.
We’re contemplating buying both the pickup and the camper (probably recent models but used), so here’s a rough example of what we’re considering:
GMC 3500 diesel, single rear wheel (not dually) - payload: ~4,200
Lance 855S - wet weight: ~3,300 pounds
Mastercraft x10 - trailer weight: ~4,200 pounds, tongue weight:~ 400 lbs
In this scenario, our payload situation would be 3,300 TC +. 400 boat TW = 3,700 pounds. Deducted from a 4,200 pound payload, we’d have 500 pounds available for all passengers, fuel, and gear.
This is where things seem to run aground (pun!). You’re probably going to have at least 250 pounds of gas in the truck, I’m a 200 pounder, my wife is 140, our kids are 50 (each - as of today), we could easily have a few hundred pounds of gear, an 80 pound black lab... you can see that we’re going to be way over the payload limit.
And that’s with a 1-ton truck!
So.... how do you pull this off? Do you have to go to a 1-ton dually?
