Trucks & Trailers - F250 Diesel 4 x 4 hauling Regulator 32Fs, Thoughts?

My plan is to trailer by boat to Fort Lauderdale (550 miles) behind my 2003 Ford Diesel 4x4. The boat is sitting on a tri-axle trailer with all new brakes, calipers and rotors and master cylinder. Should I be hesitant? I just noticed the truck rating is 10,000# and I think the boat weight less the trailer (dry) is 8,800#. Your thoughts?

I'm not sure what engine you have in it..7.3 or did you get one of the first 6.0, but I have a '02 with the 7.3. I dropped off my 6x10 10KGVW dump trailer at a buddys house the other week to help him get rid of some concrete. When I came back a few days later I thougth the full trailer was a little overloaded and bitched at him but we still made the 25 mile trip to the dump.

I have 315 Fierce attitude's on the truck so if your running stock tires your better of than I am but I really didn't have any issues. I knew it was back there but took it easy. Some highway and some stop and go city traffic. When I got back on the scales driving out I found out it was just under a 8300# load. Trailer weights another 2400 so 10700# total. This is with two axels and electrc brakes. Just double checked and found 12,500 for max towing on a ford site for 2003. Are you sure you aren't looking at GVW insead of Max towing?

https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/rv_trailer_towing/2003/2003_default.asp

I would double check the weight of the boat on a certified truck scale before considering a 1000 mile round trip if you're just at the limit. Don't forget to add the gear you will be taking.

I have a 2001 F250 7.3 and a 2001 26 Regulator which sits on an aluminum tandem axle trailer. I can definately feel the boat behind me, but I keep the speed at 60 or below. Stopping with surge brakes is not great with the 26, so it will be tougher for you. Guys with really heavy boats like yours use an electric over hydraulic set up. For that long a haul, you may consider a Class V hitch( check your rating), electric over hydraulic brakes, and maybe airbags (especially if your truck is an F-250). I would say go for it, but do it with the best equipment possible.

One of the things you'll learn quickly here is that THT has two different schools of thought about towing. There are those who are firmly within the rules and those who are willing to bend them some. I personally tow my 34 Venture behind my single rear wheel F-250 4 x 4 diesel. I towed that same boat from Florida to California with a 2WD F-250 diesel with zero issues or problems. Yes, the tag says 10,000, but the neither truck seemed to care.

My own feeling is that tow ratings are driven as much by warranty considerations as anything. You'll notice that the tow ratings go up as the powertrain gets tougher, not just because the springs and brakes got better. Brakes are the most critical issue in the whole setup and you have not mentioned if the trailer has surge, electric or electric over hydraulic. Brakes which are operated by a controller offer a whole lot more CONTROL. If the trailer begins to sway because a semi blew by you, a touch on the controller lever can apply just the trailer brakes and the trailer will promptly stop the sway and fall right back into line. There is no way to do that with surge brakes, where applying the tow vehicle brakes with a swaying trailer can rapidly go from bad to spin. If you do have surge brakes, take the trailer on a test tow at the speed you will be towing and make sure it has enough tongue weight to track properly. Making a 550 mile tow with an unbalanced trailer that loves to sway is no fun at all.

I'm with Kerno...
I have towed 30-36 CC's anywhere from around town or 500 mile highway trips with a 2007 F-250 6.0l CC 4x4 and have never felt like I was doing anything wrong or uncomfortable.

What I have found out is there are 2 important items that need to be considered when towing these lengths-weight with a single rear wheel truck.

1- Tire pressure for truck and trailer.
Make sure all tires on truck and trailer are adjusted to manufacturers recomendation's while towing this amount of weight.
You will be suprised of how much sway you can take out if rear truck tires are filled up to max cold and trailer tires have what the manufacturer recomends.

2- Boat weight evenly distributed on trailer(ie proper tounge weight etc).
Learned this lesson when I pulled 2 identical 33 cc boats on the exact brand-model trailer and same route....back to back.
The first boat I pulled 65-70mph with no sway, no transmission gear changing etc etc.
The second was a different story...I noticed it was pulled way forward on the trailer, had 2-3 times the tounge weight and it was a completly different feeling to say the least.

Check into this. I have to check mine because I can't remember, but make sure you don't go over your GCWR for the truck or if and I say IF the friendly DOT pulls you over for lack of anything better to do, he might pop you for being voerweight. Now I know you should be well within the trucks cababilities, but if you aren't registered at that weight, they can write you up.

On the class 8 trucks, they are registered at GCWR but I don't remember what the light trucks are. I'll have to take a look at my reg. to see what it says.

Either way, I think your chances of anything happening is extremely rare.

Most important thing is to make sure tires have right pressures, make sure wheel bearings are good and greased and have a nice ride!

Towing that much weight, the safety is mostly determined by the driver. Heed the advice above using a brake controller and the truck will do just fine (especially since that is all flatland towing).

I've got a 2007 31' Cape Horn that I've towed with my 04 2500HD and have not had any problems. This last trip was from HHI to Boca Grande, FL...it was very light on fuel (would make sure yours would be as well) but loaded with food, beer, soda, etc from a Sam's Club run for a family of 8 on a 10 day vacation. I filled the boat (290 gallons) before dropping her in the water to save about $2 a gallon and on the scale, the whole set up weighed in at 19,900 lbs. I couldn’t believe it when he told me….I was shocked. I could tell all he fuel made a difference, but was still able to pull the boat on the highway at 65 MPH. I wouldn’t think you would have an issue and as long as you have good tires, breaks, etc. you should be good to go. Two things I’ve thought about doing to make towing it even easier. 1) Use a weight distributing hitch. I’ve pulled a boat with one in the past and it makes a bid difference. 2) Add an electric over hydraulic brake actuator. I friend of mine had one for his 28’ Mckee Craft and pulled the boat to the ramp with an F150. I could barely get moving, but would stop on a dime.

Good luck with your trip.

I have a 29 Reg. If your tow rating is only 10 K you will be overloaded with the 32. My boat with a half tank of fuel weighs 8780lbs on a scale, add a 2500lb triple axle trailer (which is about what an aluminum trailer rated to pull that boat will weigh if not heavier) and I am at 11,280. That 32 is heavier than you think, plus fuel which is about 6.1 lbs/gal.

You would probably be fine unless you are in an accident and a lawyer gets involved then you can plan on being liable for towing over the trucks rated limit. Going to trial will only take a year or two, not too bad. Insurance might pay your attorney's fees. Your insurance (hope you have enough) may pay for the judgement or settlement against you and then probably drop you. Hey you might win a jury trial. Rich guy, big boat, in a hurry, and towing over the trucks limit vs some poor guy or family you ran over, poor, injured, out of work now and in pain with doctors bills.


Good luck.....doing the right thing is usually the most difficult and I'm sure everybody telling you its ok will certainly be there to back you up financially right???

My plan is to trailer by boat to Fort Lauderdale (550 miles) behind my 2003 Ford Diesel 4x4. The boat is sitting on a tri-axle trailer with all new brakes, calipers and rotors and master cylinder. Should I be hesitant? I just noticed the truck rating is 10,000# and I think the boat weight less the trailer (dry) is 8,800#. Your thoughts?

What engine?: 7.3 yea. 6.0 No. I would not tow and have already refused to tow the same boat for a friend because I had not reinstalled My electric brake control on my cummins diesel 4x4 dodge. With out electric over hydraulic control I would not tow that boat, Way Too heavy to stop.

I wouldn't hesitate to tow it comfortably with a Chevrolet 2500HD. The early Fords will tow it with no problem but the rear end suspension is much looser than the chevrolet so it is not nearly as comfortable.

Also, your conventional towing capacity is 12,500. Check out the Ford towing guides for towing capacity of model and year.

https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/rv_trailer_towing/2003/2003_All.pdf

I would have to say no- long distance. local ok. I used to tow a 26 Reg behind a F250 diesel 6.0, it towed fine but the suspension was marginal at that weight. I towed back and fourth from N.Y to Fla every winter. Now i tow a 33T behind a 3500 chevy srw and it towes well and i have electric/hyd brakes on all 3 axles, i got pulled into a N.C weight station and they could have given me alot more tickets, i was 1400lbs over the gross combined weight rating for the truck/trailer of 22000lbs, they were nice and gave me a $60 ticket, what i didn,t know was that you need CDL for towing weight that heavy even if its with your pickup, I did have one so no problem.Anyway the 32 reg is a heavy boat for a f250 even with a good set of brakes. you will probably make it just fine , but when you get back i bet you,ll buy a new truck.If you try it make sure everything is topnotch condition. I wouls personally try it out on a small jaunt down the highway at 55-60mph and see how she feels, you will know.

your fine dude, 7.3 or 6.0 (just the 6.0 may break down) your gonna know it's there and you need to drive like you have some sense.

You don't have to buy a Kenworth to pull your boat