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Topic: Towing boat question
Posted By: farsidefan1 on 05/27/17 10:55am

I just got a 5th wheel and I have a boat that I'd like to take to a couple of places with the 5ver. I'm pretty sure I have plenty of truck (2017 GMC Sierra Denali 3500 with the largest Duramax and Allison Tranny)for my 31 foot rig. The boat will add another 19 feet and 1800 lbs. I've been towing my boat for years but towing 2 things??? Scares the hell out of me.

Wondering if any of you do it and how it works for you. I have figured out I can't back the combination up no matter what so how the heck do you hood up the boat? Any special problems?

Typos are for the entertainment of the reader. Don't let it go to your head

Posted By: Bumpyroad on 05/27/17 10:58am

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




Posted By: MFL on 05/27/17 11:10am

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.[emoticon] 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




Posted By: kapnkirk on 05/27/17 11:47am

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




Posted By: boogie_4wheel on 05/27/17 11:56am

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.

2005 2500 Cummins/48RE/3.73, QCLB, 4wd, BigHorn, Edge Juice w/ CTS + Turbo Timer,Transgo Shift Kit ISSPro Oil and LP pressure gauges, GDP 20/2 filters, Custom Diesel Steering Box Brace
'10 Forest River Shockwave Toy Hauler 21'
Honda EU3000I Genny

Posted By: pressure_welder on 05/27/17 12:04pm

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.

2015 RAM cummins 3500 dually Limited
2018 Montana high country
crestliner sportfish

Posted By: NMDriver on 05/27/17 12:06pm

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.

5er/2500Duramax/18ftBoat

Posted By: farsidefan1 on 05/27/17 12:09pm

: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.

Posted By: BB_TX on 05/27/17 12:15pm

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.

Posted By: Bionic Man on 05/27/17 12:53pm

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 .

[image]

And with my Lund.
[image]
Moderator edit to re-size pictures to forum limit of 640px maximum width.

* This post was edited 05/29/17 11:51am by an administrator/moderator *

2012 RAM 3500 Laramie Longhorn DRW CC 4x4 Max Tow, Cummins HO, 60 gallon RDS aux fuel tank, Reese 18k Elite hitch
2003 Dodge Ram 3500 QC SB 4x4 Cummins HO NV5600 with Smarty JR, Jacobs EB (sold)
2002 Gulf Stream Sea Hawk 29FRB with Honda EV6010

Posted By: farsidefan1 on 05/27/17 01:34pm

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

* This post was edited 05/27/17 01:46pm by farsidefan1 *

Posted By: JIMNLIN on 05/27/17 05:46pm

We double towed with a 27' 5th wheel and a 18' Astro/150 Johnson (3480 lbs boat and trailer) for 8 years in the late '80s all over OK/AR/MO/TX/KS making some of the many COE lakes and rivers. The combo was 62' long.

As you mentioned I dropped the boat some where out of the way while we parked the trailer. Be sure and padlock the boat hitch and don't park in a position where someone can block you in. My boat trailer has a tongue wheel. I also used a hitching guide
 which is a big help when your alone.

I found the boat trailer pretty much tracks the trailer when going around a corner. The back of the camper swings out taking the boat trailer with it.
At a certain point while going around the corner you can crank the steering wheel extra to move the back of the trailer out which takes the boat trailer outside the campers tracks if the corner is short and sharp.

Backing other than a short distance in normal situations ie; camp grounds...forgets it.
Don't just turn down any street as it may be a dead end or a street you can't maneuver. Plan ahead.
And take it easy out on the road and forget about keeping up with the flow.

We actually tow triples (three trailers) in my state mostly in the summer months....one ton DRW/5th wheel trailer/ski boat/PWC trailer bringing up the rear.
Late fall hunting season the same DRW/5th wheel/horse trailer/ATV trailer.

"good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" ............ Will Rogers

'03 2500 QC Dodge/Cummins HO 3.73 6 speed manual Jacobs Westach
'97 Park Avanue 28' 5er 11200 two slides

Posted By: WE-C-USA on 05/27/17 06:36pm

farsidefan1 wrote:

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


I've been towing a bass boat behind a 5th Wheel since 2004,
#1- You can't hookup your boat without backing up, unless it's a lite boat that you can move around by hand. With practice & help, you'll be able to back the 5W to any boat.
#2- I always have been able to find a wide spot in the road to unhook & hook back up. Before and after.

Frank & PJ
2022 2500HD GMC Duramax 4X4
2018 Grand Design-Refection 303RLS


Posted By: Cummins12V98 on 05/28/17 01:03am

Bumpyroad wrote:

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


His profile says Utah, a freedom state so it's legal. [emoticon]

2015 RAM LongHorn 3500 Dually CrewCab 4X4 CUMMINS/AISIN RearAir 385HP/865TQ 4:10's
37,800# GCVWR "Towing Beast"

"HeavyWeight" B&W RVK3600

2016 MobileSuites 39TKSB3 highly "Elited" In the stable

2007.5 Mobile Suites 36 SB3 29,000# Combined SOLD

Posted By: Cummins12V98 on 05/28/17 01:07am

It's a great way to take along a favorite toy! Just be sure the hitch is rated to tow the weight.

[image]

Posted By: Bumpyroad on 05/28/17 05:12am

Cummins12V98 wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:

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


His profile says Utah, a freedom state so it's legal. [emoticon]


so is having a second/third/fourth wife. [emoticon]
as long as he doesn't want to tow it out of state.
bumpy

Posted By: memtb on 05/28/17 09:42am

I've an additional comment..... probably unwarranted, but I'm paranoid/cautious/careful. We tow "doubles" quite a bit here in Wyoming. So far, only a 12 foot utility trailer (heavily loaded), with Polaris Ranger, 55 gallon drum of water(boondocking while hunting,ect.), 50 gallon propane tank, and some other gear. We also have have a 21 foot Bayliner Trophy Hardtop(heavy) which hasn't been towed yet (We haven't had it in the water in 5 years), but hope to start this summer (now retired)!

Now my concerns.... If I'm going to tow a fairly heavy "second" trailer,I want a fairly heavy 5th wheel rv. I want to know the if something happens to the second trailer(blow-out, burned bearing, broken axle, or it gets hit by another vehicle), it will not cause "loss of control" to the lead trailer.

OK,I've got my FRC's on.... Let the "flaming" begin! [emoticon] memtb

Todd & Marianne
Miniature Schnauzer's - Sundai, Nellie & Maggie Mae
2007 Dodge Ram 3500, 6.7 Cummins, 6 speed manual, 3.73 ratio, 4x4
2004 Teton Grand Freedom, 39'
2007 Bigfoot 30MH26Sl


Posted By: Cummins12V98 on 05/28/17 09:43am

Bumpyroad wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:

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


His profile says Utah, a freedom state so it's legal. [emoticon]


so is having a second/third/fourth wife. [emoticon]
as long as he doesn't want to tow it out of state.
bumpy


Too funny!

Posted By: Searching_Ut on 05/28/17 07:55pm

You're good to go in Utah, and most of our neighboring states. I've towed doubles a lot with bumper pulls, but am still debating putting a hitch on the back of my 5er. My bighorn, and virtually all of the other similar 5ers I looked at when buying this rig aren't at all overbuilt in the frame department. I'm not sure It's up to even towing my little utility trailer and RZR. I should just be able to keep int under 65 feet total length if I decide to go that route.

As mentioned, backing up is difficult, especially if the trailers are of significantly different lengths. You have to watch your turns a little more carefully as well. The biggest problem I ran into however was parking everything in the campsite. Big sites tend to be at a premium if you're a weekend warrior. Sand Hollow has a lot of good options, and you'll probably be okay at Flaming Gorge. Lake Powell depends on where you're looking to camp. Even at the developed sites you can always leave the truck and boat trailer in the launch parking area if needed so it's all good there.

Again, the only concern I would have is making sure the combination is solid enough to not end up damaging something.

2015 Ram 3500 Laramie CTD, 4X4, AISIN, B&W Companion Puck Mount
2016 Heartland Bighorn 3270RS, 1kw solar with Trimetric and dual SC2030, 600 watt and 2k inverters.

Posted By: attuco on 05/29/17 09:54am

There's no problem in the mountain west states. California is... well is California. You'll probably have something like 300 pounds hitch weight so make sure you can handle that. Backing up is limited to just a few feet until the boat jack knifes. A rear TV camera is a great help in backing uo to to the boat and peace of mind on the road. I drop the boat, set up the camper and then go pick up the boat with the truck.

Posted By: jalichty on 05/30/17 08:39am

We have been towing both our fifth-wheel(FW) and a boat behind since 1993 when we bought our first FW. Have towed up to a 5,000 boat/trailer combo behind our FW but are currently towing a Jayco HT 26.5 RLS and a 19' Crestliner Super Hawk. We have never had to back this combo up and hope to never have to do so. We put the boat in the street prior to hooking up the FW and then back the FW up to the boat, using my wife as a spotter. Has worked great for 20+ years. When we get to our fishing spot, we drop the boat and then go find out camping spot, drop the FW, have lunch and then take the boat out fishing. You shouldn't have any problems with your set-up at Flaming Gorge or Lake Powell, there's plenty of room at those lakes. Our set-up is about 70' more or less and tows just fine behind our GMC D/A combo.

John A. Lichty

Posted By: RCMAN46 on 05/30/17 10:19am

I believe Utah has a max length of 65 ft.

Many have said no problem if over 65ft as the law is not always enforced.

But as has been mentioned if you were in an accident regardless of who was at fault and you were over length then all bets are off in this law sue society.

I highly recommend brakes on the boat trailer which it most likely already has surge brakes. If not recommend brakes as it will not take much for an 1800 lb boat and trailer to turn the 5th wheel sideways.

I tow a utility trailer behind my 5th wheel with no problem.

But it is easy to forget the trailer is there as it can not be seen in your mirrors. I use a camera on the back of the 5th wheel to check on the trailer and make sure it is not swaying etc.

I have TPMS sensors on the utility trailer tires as a flat on the utility trailer will never be known until someone flags you down.

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