Boating Fool

My cousin used to pull their 342 with a suburban. The only problem they had was the back end wanted to walk at interstate speeds. The have move to a dually and have no complaints. Another friend of ours pulls his 47 fountain with a new chevy dually. People have argued with him that the boat is too big for a dually, till they see him pull the boat out of the water w/o a prob and go flying down the interstate with it in tow.

Holy Smokes

I tow a 240 Baja with the same engine and gears on my 2000 GMC Sierra 1/2 ton 4x4.

Just be sure to use the Tow/Haul mode exclusively while trailering and keep it out of overdrive. Let the rpm's run on up. You may spend a little more in gas, but at least you won't burn up your tranny.

Luxy60

Thanks, great info.. I don't plan to tow the boat all that much but I wanted to get a vehicle that could solidly tow the weight. The Outlaw is a heavy boat for it's size> With a trailer and fuel the weight adds up fast. I had a small Blazer previously, only rated for 5500# but I wouldn't attempt anything even close to that. The short wheel base and narrow stance just doesn't give a real solid feel on the HWY with any kind of load. I thought about a 2500HD but the Tahoe was much more practical/ comfortable and I love the truck. Could've also opt'd for the 4.11 gears and 8100# capacity but figured that would just be burning extra gas most of the time. Sounds like it should handle the 25 fine but not much more. Oh well, if I'm lucky enough to move up some day I'll worry about it then!!

buck183

MikeBaja232,

Might want to look at your gearing a little better. You said you put a larger tire size on and lowered you gear ratio a notch. You actually raised your ratio, or made it higher. This makes your rig work harder and reduces mileage.

Buck
#183

Smitty

I would recommend installing an airbag setup on the rear. I did and WOW what a difference. You can add or subtract air as needed and have total control over the ride by adjusting for the load at that time. Really makes a difference on long trips with alot of gear. I installed Airlift brand with onboard compressor that is cockpit adjustable.

birdog

What most people aren't aware of, @ what the dealers don't want you to know { if they even know themselves} is that the manufacturers tow ratings are for dead level ground @ below 50 MPH NO expresway! Sometimes you can get a copy of the Manu. tow ratings from youre dealer { Not the brochure!}

FWK

Jason DO NOT take your boat and truck to a DOT scale. When you do this you have voluntarily went to the scale. If you are over your plated GVW you will get a ticket. If you are interested in knowing your GVW go to a truck stop they almost all have scales and they will not go over your rig and depending on the rules in your state you could end up in more trouble than you would expect. Every state law is diferrent but if you have commercial plates you are fair game for the DOT. Missouri for example requires a name on the side of your pickup with plates over12k and you are supposed to scale your vehicle even if you do not have anything attached. I transported horses all over the country and it is bad getting stopped at a scale. Don't believe that ignorance is bliss as you travel from state to state you need to know the regulations of each state. Forrest

kcmiotto

Reading the responses, I guess I am not smoking some off brand @#$%^%, I run an '86 Force 280 w/t-SBC, it weighed in on a local grain scale @ 8600 dry on an aluminum tandem. This seemed heavy to me, but after surviving 8-12's on Erie during a run to PIB from Det, and a run back from Tawas in 6-8's, I guess weight can come in handy (Pulled w/2500 HD PU ext cab w/BBC, what a truck-80/85 mph loaded, great brakes, and 10 MPG)

29 OUTLAW

I previously had a 24 Outlaw. I had the opportunity to tow this boat with 3 different vehicles.

1. - 1997 Dodge Ram 2500 with V-10 - It towed the 24 like there was nothing even back there.
2. - 1998 Dodge Dakota with 5.2-V8 - Did OK but had to install an air suspension in the rear to avoid major ass-drag. Also - this was a small truck so I had deal with the “tail wagging the dog” syndrome.
3. – 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 with 5.9-V8 - Didn’t do much better than the Dakota but at least it was a larger trunk so I didn’t have to deal with ass-drag or “tail wagging the dog”.

I now tow with a Ram 2500 Cummins. I still think the V-10 I had could out-tow this current truck but you can’t have a V-10 as an every-day driver. That’s why I have the Cummins. It’s great and I will never buy another gas truck.

BajaBoss252

I tow my 26' Boss 252 with a '99 Chevy Tahoe, 5.7L and it tows fine. The boat sat a little too far forward on the trailer when I got it (the bunks were sticking out about 6" in the back). I moved the bow stop back on the trailer to get the boat to sit all the way back on the bunks and then it started swaying at speeds over 65. Not enough tounge weight. If you have a problem with your trailer swaying on the highway, try moving your bow stop forward a little to add more tounge weight. The next step for me is to move the bow stop back again and also move the axles back the same amount. That should put the boat on the trailer in the right place and not remove any weight from the tounge. The dealer should have set the trailer up right in the first place but I wanted my boat right away and didn't leave them much time to set up the new trailer. When I bought the boat it didn't have a trailer so I had to buy one (the boat was used). Maybe I'll just take it back to them and have them do it right...