Rouge River

I have a 2008 F-150 Screw with 4x4, 5.4, tow package and 3.73LS. Last month I ditched the 20" Lariat wheels in favor of Method 17's and BFG AT tires rated at 3,200#s The shocks were also replaced with Bilsteins that somewhat leveled the truck by adding an inch to the front (we used the middle notch). The truck handles noticeably better than stock.

Last week I bought a used Boston Whaler 26' Outrage sitting on a tandem axle Pacific traiiler with surge brakes. I am guessing the boaty weighs 5100 with no fuel and the trailer weighs 2000 or so. Hitched up I am getting about 2" of rear drop on the springs and the front is coming up about an inch (the rear normally sits one inch higher at rest). I am guessing the tongue weight is 700 to 1000 pounds, will weigh next week. After spending considerable time on the various forums it appears I am grossly overweight without a weight distribution hitch. Power is sufficient on breakaway and good enough to hold 55 mph up the steepest grades along the coast but experimenting with a little bit of sway makes me hesitant about towing on the freeway where much faster vehicles may be present or god forbid a panic situation.

I am looking into a weight distribution hitch that is compatible with surge brakes and appropriate for my boat trailer. The ideal setup would be galvanized for salt water, maybe most disconnect the setup prior to immersing in water. One post said you cannot back up with a WD hitch attached? Just trying to learn before making a mistake. Photos below.

Thanks in advance,

Rich Hawkins

joe mcmillan

Before you spend those $$$, try inflating all trailer tires and rear truck tires to maximum PSI rating. This has worked for me especially on overloaded trailers.

brulaz

With 7000# boat + trailer, you will want at least 700# on the ball and, yes, that requires a WDH. And yes, you can back up with a WDH, no problem.

Trouble is, and that's why nobody has responded, is that the tongue of your trailer with the surge brake extends a long ways from the trailer's A frame where the WDH tension bars are usually mounted. You may need a pole tongue adapter, and will probably have to move the front jack.

Only some WDH's will work with a pole tongue adapter. I just looked around the etrailer.com site and found this: http://www.etrailer.com/question-57594.html
and this: http://www.etrailer.com/question-57677.html

To control sway, the Equal-i-zer 4 pt in the first link has a good reputation.

Rouge River

Excellent and thanks!! That's exactly what I was looking for. Safe towing everyone and I will post some before and after pics with measurements.

Rouge River

Update. Weighed everything. Truck and trailer 14,660, truck 5900 and boat 8760, barely under the GCVW. The tongue is around 700. I bumped up the tire pressures to 60# on the BFG and she tows like a dream. Thanks for all the suggestions.

bobkyle2

Kick those Yami's off, And add some Mercs outback ..... Super nice rig!!

Rouge River

Thanks but for the longest time Yamaha made outboards for Merc. Out west the Yamahas represent likely what is 90% of all new engines sold. You can now order a new Boston Whaler with them.

NOLAGT

I know kinda old thread but I just bought that same boat and have a dual axle trailer. I have not towed with my 150 yet but I wanted to see the weight im dealing with first. That 8760 was with a full tank (200gal)? Any other gear in the boat? I am just wondering if I should re-power my truck to a 250 lol. Thanks!

smokeywren

"and boat 8760, .... The tongue is around 700. "

Do a better job of adjusting tongue weight than the OP did. He had less than 10% tongue weight. You need a minimum of 10%, or 876 pounds, and preferably over 900 pounds or even better would be 1,000 pounds tongue weight. You can increase the weight on the tongue by moving weight from behind the trailer axles to in front of the trailer axles. The simple way is to move the entire boat forward on the trailer, but if your trailer is identical to the OP's trailer that will require you to do some fabrication of the front stop so the boat can be moved forward a few inches.

You definitely want a weight-distributing hitch for that heavy a trailer. With the surge brakes on the trailer, not much choice in WD hitches that will work with surge brakes. But an excellent WD hitch that will work with surge brakes is the Equal-I-Zer. Retail is around $1,000 but on-line price is around $500 to $600. You need at least the 1,000 pound model, but the 1,200 pound version will work just as good if you can find a used one cheaper than $500.

Amazon.com: Equal-i-zer 90001000 Hitch:


Now for the bad news. Almost all F-150s will be overloaded with that boat and trailer. Only if your F-150 has the HD Payload package will you maybe be able to tow that much boat without exceeding the GVWR of the tow vehicle. You may not have a big problem pulling the trailer, but your suspension and maybe your rear axle will be overloaded. So you don't need the drivetrain of an F-250, but you'll probably need the increased payload capacity of the F-250 to tow that much boat without exceeding any of Ford's weight limits.

Rouge River

Except that boat trailers are setup to be 5-7% on the tongue, not 10%. So my setup is golden. As far as the rear axle I would not worry about it if you have the HD tow package which gives you the larger rear end and lower gear ratios (on my generation). I towed 2,500 miles and over 7% grades and never once had an issue. Still towing the same setup just thousands of miles later.