Anybody pull a 38 w a 3/4 ton?
10-19-2011, 06:12 PM
#21
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I have been pulling my 38 foot Fountain Fever for the last 5 years with a 2002 Chevy Suburban 1/2 ton 4 wheel drive 5.3 liter engine. The boat is on an aluminum I beam trailer that is a triaxle with surge brakes on all axles. My Suburban sits level with the boat hooked up and stops with no problem at all. Once you are moving you do not even notice the boat behind you. I would not want to use it to go through a mountainous area but I tow my boat almost every weekend in the summer with out a problem, I normally tow it between 20 to 70 miles. I agree additional would be great but I have no trouble towing it 70 mph down the road, it stops in the same distance that the truck alone would stop in and handles very well. Just to let you know I normally have the truck full of people (Seating for 8) about 150 gallons of fuel and all kind of supplies for the day.
10-19-2011, 06:53 PM
#23
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I live in a suburb of Buffalo NY. I have towed it to Syracuse, The Finger Lakes, Cleveland and a few other places. I am not saying it is a perfect set up, I have towed it with a Duramax when I picked it up in Tennessee and the power was great. With the trailer properly set up it really tows well. When I first picked up the boat in Tennessee the triaxle trailer only had brakes on one axle it even pushed around the Chevy 2500HD with a Duramax I used to pick it up. I rebuilt the whole suspension springs, axles, brakes on all axles, and all related components then balanced the boat on the trailer so it has the proper tongue weight now my suburban handles it very well. It handles well and stops on a dime. I used to be an owner operator ( had my own tractor trailer ) so I never had any problem pulling the boat. I will say where I normally launch at the small boat harbor in Buffalo the ramp is very steep I pull the boat out in 4 wheel drive low range, doing it like that makes the boat pull out very easy.
10-19-2011, 06:59 PM
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10-20-2011, 12:09 AM
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Are you getting a new boat? 38' Fountain, wow, I am jealous.
You are going to love that.
I used to tow the 35' with a single wheel F-350 4x4 diesel and it did a really good job, but when I towed it with the Diesel Excursion (similar size to your pick up) it did ok, but not nearly as stable as the crew cab was. You will probably be ok short term, but I am going to predict that before long you will have a crewcab diesel of one brand or another.
take care,
Dave
10-20-2011, 09:03 AM
#27
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What is the conventional tow rating for the truck? I never worry about the pulling part, I worry about stopping and if I had a wreck what a Lawyer would do if I was over my rating,,,,,,,,,,,,,
I looked up in my trucks manual and it is rated for 12.5K conventional, but it is a old 1996 7.3 F250. Doesn't take much to hit that number, Goose neck or 5th wheel is where you really get a good rating.
I think Shogen said once that a 38 is about 300lbs more then the same year 35 (I think he was talking twin step side by side 35).
Has anybody put a 38 with trailer on a scale?
I looked up in my trucks manual and it is rated for 12.5K conventional, but it is a old 1996 7.3 F250. Doesn't take much to hit that number, Goose neck or 5th wheel is where you really get a good rating.
I think Shogen said once that a 38 is about 300lbs more then the same year 35 (I think he was talking twin step side by side 35).
Has anybody put a 38 with trailer on a scale?
Last year at Emerald Coast a guy was towing a Baja 38 with a Nissan Armada. He was in the hotel bar talking about how stupid all the guys towing their boats with F450's were.
This is when I started thinking about getting a new truck more capable of handling my boat.
My dad always said " Towing is one thing, but stopping is a whole other story"
Last edited by BarryB; 10-20-2011 at 09:06 AM.
10-20-2011, 12:46 PM
#28
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OH: one really important thing. Surge brakes don't work at these weights. You truly need electric controlled hydraulic brakes. With such brakes, the truck can stop about as well towing as not: the brakes on my trailer (disc on all wheels) really work!
Surge brakes don't always release all the way, so the brakes drag, heat up, grease gets thin, seeps out, and soon the dry bearings just blow up.
The brakes on the trailer, and the electronics that control those brakes, are FAR FAR more important than the engine, springs, dually, brakes, brand, fuel, etc of the truck. The brakes can save your life.
Surge brakes don't always release all the way, so the brakes drag, heat up, grease gets thin, seeps out, and soon the dry bearings just blow up.
The brakes on the trailer, and the electronics that control those brakes, are FAR FAR more important than the engine, springs, dually, brakes, brand, fuel, etc of the truck. The brakes can save your life.
10-20-2011, 12:58 PM
#29
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OH: one really important thing. Surge brakes don't work at these weights. You truly need electric controlled hydraulic brakes. With such brakes, the truck can stop about as well towing as not: the brakes on my trailer (disc on all wheels) really work!
Surge brakes don't always release all the way, so the brakes drag, heat up, grease gets thin, seeps out, and soon the dry bearings just blow up.
The brakes on the trailer, and the electronics that control those brakes, are FAR FAR more important than the engine, springs, dually, brakes, brand, fuel, etc of the truck. The brakes can save your life.
Surge brakes don't always release all the way, so the brakes drag, heat up, grease gets thin, seeps out, and soon the dry bearings just blow up.
The brakes on the trailer, and the electronics that control those brakes, are FAR FAR more important than the engine, springs, dually, brakes, brand, fuel, etc of the truck. The brakes can save your life.
One more really, REALLY important thing: Surge brakes only work when the truck and trailer are in a straight line!
If you are in a curve,
If you you swerve,
If you change lanes,
If you get blown to the side,
If you get bumped over...
Instant jack-knife.
Don't believe me? Take your surge brake rig out to a parking lot and make a slight corner at 10 mph, and cram on your truck brakes. Then go look at the slide marks your back tires made.
To add insult to injury, after the weight of the trailer/boat pushes you around, the spring release on the surge brakes will push you a little further.
10-20-2011, 10:44 PM
#30
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Hi Chad,
Are you getting a new boat? 38' Fountain, wow, I am jealous.
You are going to love that.
I used to tow the 35' with a single wheel F-350 4x4 diesel and it did a really good job, but when I towed it with the Diesel Excursion (similar size to your pick up) it did ok, but not nearly as stable as the crew cab was. You will probably be ok short term, but I am going to predict that before long you will have a crewcab diesel of one brand or another.
take care,
Dave
Are you getting a new boat? 38' Fountain, wow, I am jealous.
You are going to love that.
I used to tow the 35' with a single wheel F-350 4x4 diesel and it did a really good job, but when I towed it with the Diesel Excursion (similar size to your pick up) it did ok, but not nearly as stable as the crew cab was. You will probably be ok short term, but I am going to predict that before long you will have a crewcab diesel of one brand or another.
take care,
Dave
I'm gonna hook it to my pusher for the hell of it. I'll be a touch over 80 feet. Probly need one of my friends that has a class A lic. to come with. 
