Longest Round Trip Tow

RWilson2526

RWilson2526

God
So whats the longest round trip tow you guys have made? We rented a house for first week in August in Florida (Little Gasparilla Island). Boat access only. Had pretty much made up my mind we would rent a boat for the week but as the prices and types of boats available start to become more clear its getting harder and harder to stroke that check when I have a perfectly functional boat and trailer sitting in the driveway.

With the reasonable cost of gas it is a net add of about $250 in fuel. Trailer is in great shape although it is a single axle. Truck is new (new to me, 2012 V8 Silverado) so that part is not an issue.

Did tow it once to Charleston SC which some of you guys know with a much lesser truck and didn't bother me.....

Not that I'll let any single one of you make up my mind I am curious as to how many varying opinions I will get.
 
I would say your estimate of only an extra $250 in fuel is pretty low. Alos keep in mind wear and tear and such on your trailer and boat need to be factored in. If you had a tandem I would say it would be a safer bet, a single axle with a V on it going across the roads between Jersey and Florida is BEGGING for trouble. I've done the trip now several times with our travel trailer in tow, and it costs us close to $500 or more extra to tow it. I know it's an apples to oranges comparison, but it gives you an idea. We spend well over $1200 in fuel and costs for just the drive with my diesel BURb getting 11-12 MPG. I know you can rent a skiff down here for a week for $1250 on craigslist, and then you don't have to worry about losing a tire on those wonderful DC roads or the likes. If your going to make the trip, I would ssay step up to a tandem axle trailer just for the safety factor towing, and having less strain on the tires getting pummelled across all of them concrete roads.
 
I used to make the trip to my aunts house in Naples, Fla every year. 1600 miles one way. Gas was about 10 mpg on my Jeep Cherokee 4.0L engine. So the cost was about $50 one way in gas. But gas is a dollar cheaper now, so knock off about a hundred from that cost. Single axle Load Rite trailer. Never really had a problem. Never really noticed the boat back there except when braking hard in traffic. Just make sure you carry an extra set of bearings, a spare tire, a tire repair kit, an air compressor and a grease gun. I know several people that have a complete hub, pre-assembled with bearings, that they carry for good measure. It's completely do-able Rob, choice is yours though.
 
Ferm has it right. Will make the trip A LOT faster and easier with A LOT less driver fatigue.

Besides, who wants to play with wheel bearings in a truck stop parking lot in south Georgia in the middle of summer when you're supposed to be on vacation.

Lots of flats down that way too. Rent a boat and tear up someone else's lower unit.
 
never towed the V far but towed the original Skunkboat 16' Sylvan/ single axel to Key West from Jersey, twice!

First time with a 84 Dodge Ramcharger 4x4. Looked just like this :sand:

A million gallons of gas, 1 alternator in NC on the way down, Front Driver side wheel bearing in a parking lot in Delaware on the way back. Had a blast, caught my first ever grouper,cuda,snapper. Jammed to the Out'a'hand Band in Sloppy Joe's. Camped at Boyd's.

Did it again the next year, towed with my brother's Chevy van, Non-stop except for gas....peed out the gap in the back door while driving 80mph...

I know, none of this helps you but I got lost in yester-year
:beer:
 
I have never even flinched at 2000 mile round trip tows.... I regularly travel between Indiana and Texas for work and the only reason I don't tow a boat every trip is I don't think I could get away with it... I am already towing a 38' tri axle fifth wheel and a jeep wrangler... 30,600 lbs with room for 70 more gallons of fuel and 78' long (over legal length in every state)... pretty sure if I added another 24' for a boat behind the jeep I'd get popped pretty quick.......
 
i've towed my V to the keys 4 or 5 times, 1500 miles ,round trip. i have also met friends down there who rented boats. i think i'd rather have my own boat. i like my boat and i like boating in my boat, so if i'm more comfortable in my boat, that's what i want to be in. just do your prep work and it shouldn't be a problem.

as far as tandem vs single, i have a tandem and love it. i tow with a tahoe w 5.3 and get bout 10 mpg and i know it's back there.
i take spare hubs, 2 of them, already packed with grease. just take off the castle nut, slide the old one off and new one on. take 2 spare tires, because if you need one, then you feel naked without one for the rest of the trip.
if you have a good gps, running aground can be avoided, blue is good, white go slow, brown, turn around.

is it worth it, up to you. i'd rather spend the money on my boat and rig. plus it's kinda cool to take the old girl to some new places every now and then
 
We have towed the v 4 or 5 times down to key west. 2100 miles round trip. If hubs and bearings have been done go for it. Its not that bad. Or even carry a spare hub so if you have a problem just stick new assy on and keep trucking. We tow with a 95 burb. Mph 9 to 10 any way you do it. I have thought about renting a boat also but just cant get over the cost. Have not put a pen to it (cost of towing less mpg) but i like having my own boat there!!!!!!
 
mawshj

I've towed my v20 for thousands of miles on a single axle ez load with big 10 ply tires and only had tire trouble after the tires were 14 years old. always carried spare tire and wheel bearings always serviced bearings yearly always checked wheels for heat whenever we stopped for gas etc. trailer has surge brakes , these need service yearly particular if kept outside . traveled Md to key west and would do it. I like to have my own boat, then I know what I can trust
 
Interesting comments.
Our plans are to spend two weeks in the Port Charlotte area.
Doesn't make sense to try to rent a boat for that length of time.
 
I say go for it Rob. There's nothing like having the bragging rights about taking your boat that far. The only cooler thing would be if you actually drove the boat by water to Florida. Just do your bearings before you go. Bring a spare tire. When I trailer that far I check my bearings every time I get gas. Just give the trailer a little wiggle to check for sloppiness and put your hand on each hub to see how hot they are.
 
capt pete, i have one of those lasar temp guns. every stop i go back and shoot the hubs checking temp.

also use it to know when the grease is ready when we fry fish down there
 
Y'all are changing my mind, lol. I say go for it.

The only thing that concerns me really is the single axle. Is the trailer set up right with the proper tongue weight etc., makes a huge difference when towing, especially that far. Too much tongue weight is bad, and not enough is a whole lot worse. Got good heavy duty tires and springs? Loosing one on a single is a whole lot worse than on a tandem. Could you justify trading up to a tandem? Then again a tandem has more weight, more rolling resistance, twice the maintainence. I would rather have a good heavy duty, properly set up, single axle than a cheap flimsy tandem. Just thinking off the top of my head.

If you like to read check out some Randy Wayne White novels from the library, especially the Doc Ford series, all take place in that area. John D. MacDonald and James W. Hall novels are excellent as well.
 
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Great information guys....I must say I am surprised there were more Yay's than Nays. Even "Captain Cautious" (AKA Destroyer) was saying go for it :fam:

I've gone back and forth at least three times....Ferm...great info on the craigslist ad. I am going to call them today. Those are much better boats and much better prices than what I was seeing at local marina's down there. I'm sure I'll spend more in gas than what I am estimating but below is a spreadsheet I put together to calculate differential cost....havent towed enough with the new truck to get a good number but ran it at 10,11,12, 13 mpg.

$/gal miles mpg w/ mpg w/o Gal w/ $ w/ Gal w/o $ w/o $ diff
$2.62 2674 10 18 267.40 $700.59 148.56 $389.22 $311.37
$2.62 2674 11 18 243.09 $636.90 148.56 $389.22 $247.68
$2.62 2674 12 18 222.83 $583.82 148.56 $389.22 $194.61
$2.62 2674 13 18 205.69 $538.91 148.56 $389.22 $149.70

With the money I'll spend in gas and what I'll probably spend making sure the trailer is completely perfect I dont think it will come down too much to a money thing....I do like the comment about putting money into my own rig if I have to spend it. Would need to be done anyway sooner or later.

I am also spending 3-4 days on the east cost visiting my family so could get some boating in on that side too which would be fun.

Will keep you guys updated.
 
Also keep in mind the possibility of problems w a strange boat..

You drive 1000 miles and pick up someone else's boat... The motor blows, they double book a weekend, for whatever reason they bail...

Do they try to blame you for the engine prob?.... Do they refund your money right away? Do they have another boat? Is all of their safety gear up to USCG standards?
Is your vacation ruined because you counted on a stranger and a strange boat? Do you WISH you had brought your own boat?????


On the mpg.... Possibly if you slow down 5 mph you will make up for towing the boat.
 
Having spent most of yesterday running around gasparilla island, another thing to keep in mind is the actual boating on the water. Are you prepared to lose a prop or lower unit? There is alot of boating to be done down that way, but there are also ALOT of water hazards down there as well. There is also a ferry that does non stop trips all day long from ELDRIDS marina to GASPARILLA ISLAND. Also on another note, it is just plain STOOPID that they have a ferry to bring your car over to the north side of the island, but no roads to connect it to the southside of the island because they decided to make the middle of the island part of Don Pedro Island State Park. Also if you do come down here to boat, I STRONGLY reccomend you have a hand held GPS or something with accurate charts in it. This area can go from deep water of 10-12 feet in the channels, to nothing in less than 3 feet. The ICW isn't marked the best in all areas anymore, and it is sandbars on either side of the channel through much of it.

If you do bring your boat with you, I would strongly suggest stepping up to a tandem axle trailer. Yes the tolls through the socialist north will eat you alive, but the safety factor is nice in having 2 tires on each side in case of a blowout. And when you come down, let us know, I may be able to break away and take the wife and kids to the inlaws in Port Charlotte and bring the skiff with me. Still trying to learn how and where to fish in the area as it is COMPLETELY different than what I am used to up to the north.
 
don't know if that area is as bad as the keys (remember, that chain of islands was founded by people who took advantage of stranded travlers in peril), but trailer storage can be costly as well.

we rented a house in key colony(marathon) and had to pay a $50 a week storage fee to the key colony police force to store a trailer in their yard, other option was a $25 a day fine for keeepin it at the rental house.


apparently their attitude has not changed in 300 years
 
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Check with ELDRED'S MARINA. They are located right at the bridge to BOCA GRANDE, and do long term storage. The ferry boat to GASPARILLA ISLAND runs from that marina over. They have an older ramp(but still good) along with a large parking lot and several boat slips to park at.
 
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