What's up everyone? I recently got back from a vacation to South Carolina, and on the way back I towed my father's boat back to Wisconsin.
I just want to share my experience towing it home.
A bit of background is it is a 26 ft. boat weighing in around 4500-5000 lbs depending on how much water and fuel are in it. The trailer comes in just under 1000 lbs, so in total I was pulling about 5500 to 6000 lbs. plus luggage and my father and me.
When we were at the trailer dealer, I inquired about a weight distribution hitch stating I was thinking about purchasing one (from him) if he thought it would be necessary. Told him the specs of the Expy and he said it would just be a waste of money. I was a little taken back as I thought they made the towing much more stable and safer. He said that they really are hyped more than necessary. OooooooK......... I also asked about a higher rating ball receiver and he said that they are all severely underated and that mine rated at 5000 lbs is more than adequate. OooooooK again.....
So I made a decision to trust his judgement as I was contemplating on going without the WDH anyway.
So my dad and I head out the next day to trailer the boat to Wisconsin and we are taking it fairly easy (no more than 65 mph). We decided to not go the mountainous route through Asheville, NC, so we ended up going a bit out of way through Atlanta. We encountered a concrete highway along the way that had the seams spaced perfectly to bounce our heads up and back simultaneously when the truck's wheels and trailer wheels hit the seams. Needless to say, my neck was a bit sore over those 75 miles or so.
Unfortunately we hit Atlanta at the start of rush hour and lost a bit of time sitting in traffic. When we got out of there, I decided to step up the speed to 70-72 mph. Not a hitch in the performance of the Expy, and the trailer rode perfectly. Water temp never got above half gauge.
As we got into Tennessee, we hit some hills, and still not a hitch. Then we came to a 5 mile long 5% inline just north of Chatanooga that I was sure we were going to have some problems. NOT. I had to keep the OD off obviously, but about halfway up, I had to kick it down to 2 for a stretch and then back to 3, then back to 2 Etc. Finally I just kept it floored and the Expy just pulled like a race horse the rest of the way. Water temp never budged.
As we were getting late into the night and we were pushing to go as far as we could on day 1, I found myself going a bit faster (about 75) and I couldn't believe how well the trailer and Expy were handling it. It felt like I could have gone even faster but I knew better.
As seen in the pic above, the Expy sat about 3 inches, but rode pretty well. The trailer dealer said it would be wise to invest in some air shocks if I was going to be pulling the boat frequently.
Overall I was impressed with the Expy in pulling this load. As it turned out, the WDH was not necessary, and the ball mount was no worse for the wear. I do have to say that the Expy's mirrors are incredible as I thought for sure I would need extensions....wrong. The stock mirrors were plenty for an 8.5 ft. beam boat. As it turns out, I couldn't be happier as to a completely uneventful 1,220 mile journey pulling at least 5,500 lbs plus truck load. Damn glad I bought this truck.
Oh, and the gas mileage ended up right at 11 mpg. About what I had expected.
I just want to share my experience towing it home.
A bit of background is it is a 26 ft. boat weighing in around 4500-5000 lbs depending on how much water and fuel are in it. The trailer comes in just under 1000 lbs, so in total I was pulling about 5500 to 6000 lbs. plus luggage and my father and me.
When we were at the trailer dealer, I inquired about a weight distribution hitch stating I was thinking about purchasing one (from him) if he thought it would be necessary. Told him the specs of the Expy and he said it would just be a waste of money. I was a little taken back as I thought they made the towing much more stable and safer. He said that they really are hyped more than necessary. OooooooK......... I also asked about a higher rating ball receiver and he said that they are all severely underated and that mine rated at 5000 lbs is more than adequate. OooooooK again.....
So I made a decision to trust his judgement as I was contemplating on going without the WDH anyway.
So my dad and I head out the next day to trailer the boat to Wisconsin and we are taking it fairly easy (no more than 65 mph). We decided to not go the mountainous route through Asheville, NC, so we ended up going a bit out of way through Atlanta. We encountered a concrete highway along the way that had the seams spaced perfectly to bounce our heads up and back simultaneously when the truck's wheels and trailer wheels hit the seams. Needless to say, my neck was a bit sore over those 75 miles or so.
Unfortunately we hit Atlanta at the start of rush hour and lost a bit of time sitting in traffic. When we got out of there, I decided to step up the speed to 70-72 mph. Not a hitch in the performance of the Expy, and the trailer rode perfectly. Water temp never got above half gauge.
As we got into Tennessee, we hit some hills, and still not a hitch. Then we came to a 5 mile long 5% inline just north of Chatanooga that I was sure we were going to have some problems. NOT. I had to keep the OD off obviously, but about halfway up, I had to kick it down to 2 for a stretch and then back to 3, then back to 2 Etc. Finally I just kept it floored and the Expy just pulled like a race horse the rest of the way. Water temp never budged.
As we were getting late into the night and we were pushing to go as far as we could on day 1, I found myself going a bit faster (about 75) and I couldn't believe how well the trailer and Expy were handling it. It felt like I could have gone even faster but I knew better.
As seen in the pic above, the Expy sat about 3 inches, but rode pretty well. The trailer dealer said it would be wise to invest in some air shocks if I was going to be pulling the boat frequently.
Overall I was impressed with the Expy in pulling this load. As it turned out, the WDH was not necessary, and the ball mount was no worse for the wear. I do have to say that the Expy's mirrors are incredible as I thought for sure I would need extensions....wrong. The stock mirrors were plenty for an 8.5 ft. beam boat. As it turns out, I couldn't be happier as to a completely uneventful 1,220 mile journey pulling at least 5,500 lbs plus truck load. Damn glad I bought this truck.
Oh, and the gas mileage ended up right at 11 mpg. About what I had expected.
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