23' CC Trailers

[Blue197320]

i have the power to move it, the thing is, my truck is a regular cab short bed. its a light truck with a short wheel base. id just be a little worried the boat would have its way with it.

[MasterBaiter]

I do.
I tow with an F-150 that is usually loaded pretty good for several weeks in the Keys. I'm pretty sure the limits of my truck are pushed on the trip. It seems to do OK. There have been a few hard braking times but if you remember you are towing and leave extra space you should have no problems.

[FELLOW-SHIP]

The F-150 will work BUT the question is for How Long???

When I got my 23 I had a F-150 V8 automatic with the limited slip rear end it was a short bed with the small cab and it worked just fine.

The problem is in the transmission I fried mine after a few years. It had the towing packet with the extra transmission oil and I changed it out every 40,000 miles.

I have burned out transmissions on most every towing vehicle for the last 40 years.

This time I kicked it up a notch and went with a F-250 with the V-8 gas and limited slip transmission and the super cab. Now I am sure I will never burn out another transmission pulling a 6,000 - 7,000 boat.




FellowShip

………………………….

Just for the Grins

Official 23’ SF Antique Classic SeaCraft Owner

[Old'sCool]

I began towing mine w/'98 Chev. Z71 4wd, 5.7 auto w/big rear. The 07 Dodge CTD does much better

[Fr. Frank]

I have burned out transmissions on most every towing vehicle for the last 40 years.

Wow, Ken. I have had to rebuild exactly one transmission on a tow vehicle in the past 41 years. It was a manual transmission on my '85 Ford Bronco II. It had 280,000 miles on it before I rebuilt it. It didn't fail, it was just getting loose and sloppy.

I used my '75 El Camino to pull a 38' Wellcraft Excaliber from Miami to the Jersey shore. (454ci, TH400 trans, NP203 txfr case, full-time 4wd, 8 mpg average)

I used my '66 CJ3B to pull everything. That was not original motor, trans, or suspension, though. It had a Dauntless 225ci V6 taken out of a '71 CJ5, along with a T-150 3 spd and Dana 20 txfr case. I even used it to pull my Wellcraft 255 Suncruiser for 6 months, about twice a week, but just 8 miles RT to the ramp.

Knock wood, thanks be to God, I have been very blessed with reliable tow vehicles.

[Islandtrader]

I used my '75 El Camino to pull a 38' Wellcraft Excaliber from Miami to the Jersey shore. (454ci, TH400 trans, NP203 txfr case, full-time 4wd, 8 mpg average)

No doubt this was a stock vehicle from the factory...

[pelican]

my "work truck" a '95 ford F250 5.8 4WD has 350k miles on it...original engine,original trans and original transfer case
it gets worked hard-no offense,it problably hauls more boats in and out of the water in the month of may,than most of you guys will launch and haul in ten years...best truck i ever owned !

[Fr. Frank]

No doubt this was a stock vehicle from the factory...

As a matter of fact, it was all factory original, one of 26 made with that equipment as a special-order vehicle. It even had a two-tone white over burgundy paint scheme, a leather bench seat and a quadraphonic 8-track sound system.

It was stolen from me in December 1987, and it took me 4 years to collect the insurance on its "actual cash value" from Allstate. I paid $7k for it in '86 with 21K miles on it. It had nearly 27K miles when it was stolen. Allstate wanted to give me $3000. I showed them two for sale in Hemmings over a 9 month period for $20K and and $26K. Finally, a court judgment made them pay me my $7K purchase price plus legal fees, plus all my expenses in trying to collect on the insurance.

I have had a number of rare and collector vehicles over the years. I don't restore them except mechanically. I just like to drive 'em!

[FELLOW-SHIP]

I tow my boat approx 50 miles round trip approx 30 to 40 times a year lately. In the past was approx 50 times a yr same 50 miles round trip on a interstate running approx 60MPH plus one or two trips per year to the keys approx 300 miles round trip approx same speed.

Always when with just enough vehicle for boat towing using the car’s towing capacity sheets just like ever one else.

This time I decided that my tow vehicle would not be the weakest link but More Than Enough now approx 12,000 towing capacity.
I really don’t like the ride of the F-250 because of the shock absorption and the poor radios in its turning and parking BUT I don’t think I will have a transmission problem again.




FellowShip

………………………….

Just for the Grins

Official 23’ SF Antique Classic SeaCraft Owner

[swalton12]

Thanks for the welcome and thanks to all for your help. You all have been more helpful than the dealer. They seem to think a 5kGVWR trailer will be more than adequate, but you guys seem to mostly have 7k trailers. It will be for a longer haul around 600 miles intially. Any opinions on Venture trailers anyone? To bad there aren't a lot of good used trailers out there!