The Carolinas - Trailering a boat long distance

I'm trailering a 29' Regulator from North Carolina to Florida Keys and looking for advice!

I have towed boats to Florida several times. What is your beam? You may need a permit. NC, SC, & GA are easy interstate runs. Time your trip around Jacksonville to avoid morning commute, noon, and the 5pm commute. The area you need to really avoid is Miami, be sure to take the bypass. Take the Fl turnpike before you get to Miami. Also, once you get to the Keys, watch your speed -- they are notorious for speed traps & boats.

If your boat is new, you'll need to be careful in FL as boats and engines are thief targets. When we stopped overnight, we asked and was granted, to park our boat at the motel's entrance so it would be in clear view of the front door.

I'd suggest posting this question on the Fl forum, those guys will give you some really good advice I am sure. Have a safe trip.

Thanks! hopefully we can make it in one day.......

Also make sure your trailer brakes work and you have transom straps. Its been years since I trailered a boat to the keys but I have been stopped twice and they always check the trailer. Mark

I'm trailering a 29' Regulator from North Carolina to Florida Keys and looking for advice!

You probably already know this, but I'll say it anyway just in case:

As with trailering short distance as well, make sure you have a bottle jack, spare tire, tire iron, wheel chocks and extra bearing grease all within easy access should you have trailer tire failure.

Stinks having to unpack the entire truck to get at your truck's tire iron to find out it doesn't even fit your trailer tires' lugs!

that would be my luck! Thanks

The most important thing above all the extra precautions is to take your time and don't rush your trip. Stop every so often and check your tires and tie downs. Make sure the vehicle you are towing with is up to snuff too. Safe travels!

Get your fuel at the following stops to save money:
Latta/Dillon, SC (Flying J)
Brunswick, GA (exit 3 - Raceway)
Flying J - St. Augustine
FLying J - Ft. Pierce (exit 131)
After that, try to stick to RaceTrac or Raceway along the way...they have the best prices and easy in and out. The major brands, i.e. Shell, Mobil, Exxon, etc, rape you at the pump! When you get to the very top of the keys, fuel up there, too...it's gets more expensive as you get further south.

Cheers,

I second, third and fourth the spare tire, bearing and jack. After an hour or so stop and check your truck and trailer tires, wheel bearing temps and transmission on your truck, then hammer down. As stated above the turnpike around Miami is a must. Also, Don't overload your truck and or trailer. Run as much fuel out of the boat before you leave-your boat holds nearly 2000 pounds of gas! I would always run almost all of my fuel out of the boat and put most of my gear and tackle in the boat. Leave NC @ 6:00AM, stop only to fuel (you will stop often unless you have a diesel) and pull into Key West around 11:30PM. It takes me a day and a half to get home though! If you are going to KW reserve locked trailer storage at the city marina in advance. Wish I was going this year....

pulling with a GMC 2500 diesel

Take extra spares. You do not want to hit an obstruction that takes out two tires and have only one spare. I haven't needed my second one yet, but when I do, I will have it.
Make sure to take a 2.8 or something similar to sit the jack on. You never know where bad luck will hit and if it is a soft shoulder you might have trouble keeping the jack from sinking.

Don't know if you are with Boat US or not but the trailer assist package that comes with the towing insurance only cost about 10 or so dollars more. Gives me piece of mind that if something happens on the side of the road that I can't handle, I can make a phone call and get help.

We did that trip last september, it took forever... We left Wilmington about 3:30pm in the afternoon, drove straight thru and stopped at our destination in Little Torch Key at 6:30am. Just got gas and hit the fast food joints. Don't forget to bring cash for the tolls $1.00 per axel when you switch to the turn pike.

Wish I was going back sooner than I am.....

Go to Harbor Freight and get an infrared thermometer to check wheel bearings and hub temps--great for piece of mind--usually less that $10

I have read tire pressure is also key to keeping you moving down the road versus being on the side of it. Low pressure tends to cause more tread to run against the asphalt and thus more friction, more friction means more heat. I live in western North Carolina and trailer my boat to Fla, to the Keys, to Charleston, to the NC coast, to where ever and before every long trip, I inspect the tires, tire pressure and if I am running to Fla, I pull the hubs and repack them. Others mentioned brakes and that is true as well as the bottle jack and so forth. I think after reading this thread, I might pick up a second spare for those long trips as well as a fully built hub assembly. As a side note I use to run bias-ply tires and now I only run trailer radials. They are better built and run cooler. Have fun in the Keys.

Be sure to take a SunPass.

plan and make lists.
Been dragging a 34 Yellowfin from NH to Charleston, Miami & Cudjo and just last week we got back from Venice, LA.
Put some reflective tape along back side of outboards.
Fla requires trailer to truck chains not cables.
Flashlights....
Keep truck & trailer tire pressures pressed up (good gauge).
12V air pump and several Walmart plug kits saved our tail 4th July night (Boat US coverage in the area would only sell us a B rated tire...)
Tools to replace bearings, outer races & seals in a hub.
Grease gun and additional tubes, give the wheel bearings a shot prior to launching after the haul.
Plan on cleaning off some bugs: boat & truck radiator.
Sunday has the least amount of big trucks but they are usually more courteous.
Be sure your motors are up enough to enter/exit without dragging.
The Keys are awesome.

Second the infrared thermometer. Peace of mind if anything. If a bearing is running warm, you can catch it before it craps out. Doesn't take long to warm up and check.

Just came back from key west its take 10 hrs from the fla line to key west 550 miles if you beat that your are one hell of a man. HAVE FUN I WILL BE TRAILER MY 26 REGULATOR DOWN THIS WINTER.

And Capt Kevin is hauling arse...its 8 hours to Jax form Sanford (center of NC)... that is a good 17-18 hour run to Key West, if you are going that far.

There recently was another thread about the same subject and one of the posts recommended wrapping up your boats windshield with some shrink wrap material to make it easier to remove the bugs and road grime when you get there.

I just did an 11 1/2 pull straight. I had an extra tire, a 4 way tire changer, jack, metal pipe to put on the 4 way to get leverage. Before you go, shoot all bearings with grease. Loosen and re tighten all lug nuts so you know you can get them off. The gas burn at 70 vs 60 is crazy. Pull at 60 and you will make better time due to less stops. Watch the freaking trucks. A wind suction occurs sometimes when 18 wheelers pull past you which will pull the trailer all nuts. I did not get a buddy bearing because I had my trailer looked at and the guys said it was fine so I just said f it. There is a low risk of blowouts this time of year due to temps so if you have an issue, it will most likely be a bearing failure. if you have decent tires, you'll be fine. At every gas stop, check the temp of the tires and the rims. Go slow, have fun, and dont rush.

Also, no need to pam the boat or wrap with ceran wrap because there are hardly any bugs now cause its cold.

I have read this post with some interest. What are normal temperatures of the bearing and hub with an infrared thermometer?

Also, no need to pam the boat or wrap with ceran wrap because there are hardly any bugs now cause its cold.



You bring up a good point, but I would think down in parts in Florida bugs are year round. The mosquitoes tore our butts up here in NC on OKI a couple weeks back and it was cool then.