Towing a Large Sailboat

[jeagles]

Has anyone tried towing a large (32 ft., x 12 ft. x 12000lbs) sailboat over a long distance? I have a truck with cooling etc. a trailer with brakes on each axle.
How hard is this? How hard is it to get wide load permits? What other issues?

[a64pilot]

Done all the time, many professionals pull much larger with specialized trailers with usually 3/4 ton or larger trucks.
Personally I'd want a Dually. Permits are I think State specific, one may be easy and the next a bear. Best to call and check
There may be insurence requirements, most of my overweight / oversize pulling was farm related and right or wrong agricultural stuff is exempt from a lot of requirements

[toddster8]

First you need a trailer that is rated for that much weight and yet somehow keeps you below the 20,000 lb gcvw limit that would require a commercial driver. I barely squeak by with my 10,000 lb boat and existing farm trailer.
Getting an over-sized permit is easy if you go to a truckers agent (fill out form, pay fee), darned near impossible if you go to the DMV, especially if multiple states are involved. Patty and Selma really enjoy torturing people over stuff like this. Once signed up, you get a packet that lists all of the requirements for your load and a map of approved routes. Then as long as its in effect, you get notifications of all construction and detours every week.
I used the flatbed farm truck, because that's how the trailer is licensed. Also the bow overhung the trailer and needed to be able to pass over the end of the truck on corners. It worked fine except going up steep grades - not enough traction on the drive axle - really should have had 4WD. After that, I avoided the boatyard with the steep access road.

[gjordan]

I recently had my 34 foot by 10.2 boat, 15000 lbs, including trailer, towed by a mobile home mover. Much less expensive than the boat movers I contacted. I tried the bidding (cant recall the name) web site and got bids from guys with 3/4 ton pickups that would hardly have payed for their fuel. Be wary of who you let tow your boat. You mention you have a truck. Check with your local Department of Transportation to see what your weight limits and your hitch limits are. Best of Luck, Grant

[a64pilot]

Way back when it was $1 a mile to have your load of that sized towed, that was the Mobile Home rate.
I was talking to the Gentleman that manufactures the Solo tank monitor the other day, he lives in some kind of large 5th wheel in Central Fl.
He pays $2 a mile when he has it moved I assume back home up North.
Of course that is just towing fee

[sailah]

I think the width is what gets the most problematic. Beyond 8.5' the permits get a lot more complicated and expensive. There's a certain point where you need escort vehicles. I know it's very state specific and I think you need a permit for all the states.

Most 3/4 & 1 ton trucks can easily pull that amount so I assume if you have a well set up rig you should be fine with a good brake controller. I've hauled close to 12k total behind my Tundra which was above the limit for it, did fine with power and brakes since my equipment trailer has brakes on both axles. But I could def tell the difference in how the truck "felt" vs my old Chevy Duramax 1 ton. The chassis and axles on that truck were much stronger and I could tell.

If the boat weighs 12,000, the trailer to haul it has to be close to 3-4k. The truck is most likely in the 7-8k range. Once you hit 26,000 GVW I think you need a commercial license as well.

[jstevens]

No direct experience with this type of towing, but ...

As others have pointed out, a lot depends on where you are starting from and where you want to end up. If it is just towing a 15-20 miles from a marina to your driveway over relatively flat land that's one thing, but towing across state lines or over steep grades is another.
I remember discussing this years ago with a yacht broker in MD. In MD, at the time, you could not tow an oversize load after dark. So the truckers all stopped for the night at the motels just short of the US 301 bridge before heading over the Potomac into MD the next day. Best to leave this kind of towing to the firms that do it for a business.

For the first case, I'd still be reluctant unless I had some experience towing a heavy load in strong winds on wet highways.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

John

[jeagles]

Thanks for all your great input
Jim

[spearfish3]

In college I would tow my dad's 34 and 35 ft fishing boats. They​we're both 10 ft wide and required permits in FL, but they were easy to obtain. Towing a 12 ft wide boat is going to be more complicated and likely require specific permits, signage, and potentially even a second vehicle to help with traffic.

I can say this about towing a larger boat. It is not fun and you have to be on your toes the whole time. People seem oblivious and pull out in front of you and construction zones can amp up the stress level when there is no room for error. That said, I wouldn't trade a single memory for the fun we had diving, fishing and cruising around.

Also, our boats we're in the 12,000 to 16,000 range depending on fuel, dive tanks, etc. I used a 3/4 ton and my dad had a 1 ton. A diesel is nice but not required despite what some will say. Just don't expect Prius gas mileage.

Good luck.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by jeagles

Has anyone tried towing a large (32 ft., x 12 ft. x 12000lbs) sailboat over a long distance? I have a truck with cooling etc. a trailer with brakes on each axle.
How hard is this? How hard is it to get wide load permits? What other issues?

I have towed a JD350 dozer with a Chevy C1500. Dozer 10600 lbs. on a heavy equipment trailer on a class 3 ball hitch. Good trailer breaks are a must. You don't want the tail waging the dog, trailer brakes first. Make sure you are not light on tongue weight.

[UNCIVILIZED]

An oversized transmission oil cooler's a nice (fairly mandatory) thing to have, ditto a temperature gauge for the fluid.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

An oversized transmission oil cooler's a nice (fairly mandatory) thing to have, ditto a temperature gauge for the fluid.

You have that right. The tranny will go long before the engine with a little over temp..

[michaelratinter]

Bridge overhead clearances may be critical also.

[Suijin]

And be very careful about height.

Twenty years ago I lived in a house near the high speed line into Philadelphia, right next to a low trestle overpass on a well-travelled main road in town. Seemed like once a week we'd here BOOM, and go out and someone in a U-Haul had not cleared it. Those box trucks literally just explode and stuff goes everywhere lol. I would always tell them "You're not the first one. Maybe the first one this week though."

Air draft is something that the average driver never thinks about because they don't have to...and it's easy to forget about it when you're driving something where it matters because it's not part of your usual and customary "driving mode".

[canyonbat]

Pretty well covered above. Height is a biggie! The towing itself will be easy if you have a good truck. One ton or bigger. My 3/4 ton has a rating of 12,500 lbs but I wouldn't do it with less than a one ton. At 12 ft you are in the second stage of permits for most states. The easy permits are for loads between 8.5 and 10 ft and pretty much only require a placard. At 12 ft, each state is going to give you restrictions including flagging requirements, possible escort requirements through cities, routing requirements and time of day limitations. This is where a good permit broker is worth the money. Sorry I can't recommend one as we had one in house. It was a full time job. Expect hassles and delays at ports of entry. It won't always happen but it is not uncommon even for the prepared. Oh, and warm up your credit card. Some states are just crazy for permit fees.