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Old 05-12-2012, 07:52   #1
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Renting a truck to tow a 7,000 lb boat

I need to bring a 7,000 lb boat (including trailer weight) from Virginia to S. Florida for a survey and seatrial. My vehicle is not capable of hauling the boat that distance. Can you please recommend who I should contact for a vehicle rental. I know some companies refuse to rent vehicles for towing purposes. Your advice is greatly appreciated.
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Old 05-12-2012, 08:04   #2
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Re: Renting a truck to tow a 7,000 lb boat

Sounds like a 22' or 25'. If you don't have a friend or family member with a suitable truck you may just want to have a shipping service move the boat for you. It may be more cost effective to put it in the water locally and fly the surveyor up.

If you plan on keeping the boat and trailering it about I would think a new truck is in order. I told my wife if we puchased a trailer sailer my truck would need leather seats for towing safety.
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Old 05-12-2012, 08:12   #3
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Re: Renting a truck to tow a 7,000 lb boat

A Ford F250 pickup would do the job. Or probably any large-sized pickup with a 6+ liter engine.

I see Enterprise rents trucks with a tow package. Might be worth calling them and asking what model the truck is, and what its towing capacity is.

Enterprise Commercial Trucks - Pickup Truck
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Old 05-12-2012, 08:16   #4
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Re: Renting a truck to tow a 7,000 lb boat

U-Haul has pickups for rent. This might be your best option. Can be done with a 1/2 ton truck, but would recommend a 3/4 or one ton model. I tow mine w/ a one ton dually. Sorry I'm in Oregon, or I would help you out.. Michael..
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Old 05-12-2012, 08:24   #5
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Re: Renting a truck to tow a 7,000 lb boat

The space shuttle is nearly weightless in space, but when a stock Toyota Tundra pulled it through Los Anglese that bad boy weighed 292000 pounds......best truck ad ever!
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Old 05-12-2012, 12:56   #6
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Re: Renting a truck to tow a 7,000 lb boat

buy one off craigslist, sell when you reach your destination.
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Old 05-12-2012, 14:03   #7
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Re: Renting a truck to tow a 7,000 lb boat

One of the issues you may run into is that a rental truck may not have a trailer brake controller. Not a problem if you have working trailer surge brakes, but I think brakes are required on trailers over 3,000#. My company truck is a 2012 Tundra Limited, rated at 10,800# towing. The electric trailer brakes failed on a trailer I was towing a few weeks ago with only a total trailer weight of 8,000# and it was amazing how little effect the truck brakes had on slowing down the combined truck and trailer weight. I bet the stopping distance was tripled. In any event, chose the tow vehicle setup carefully.
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Old 05-12-2012, 14:18   #8
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Re: Renting a truck to tow a 7,000 lb boat

I used to tow a twin O/B 30' cabin cruiser which was 12,500 lb all included on the trailer. I used a Ford F350 dually with the (no longer available) 7.3L turbo diesel. When towing something heavy, it's not about how much can you tow, it's more about how much can you stop. You can't over-estimate the importance of good brakes. It's a good feeling when you feel the trailer brakes engage and slow the truck down.

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Old 05-12-2012, 15:04   #9
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There are many auction like tow/delivery web sites. I have used them before to transport my one-design racer all the way across the country. Although the team has a an appropriate vehicle, it is often cheaper and faster to hire someone for the job.
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Old 05-12-2012, 16:10   #10
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Get the truck for the job you are doing. Peoples lives depend on it.

My white truck weighs 20,000 pounds and my black truck weighs 11,000 pounds. Either pulls my 32' sailboats down the road safely.

Each axle needs brakes to be as safe as possible, (law in most states anymore) and your tow vehicle should out weigh your trailer. When the trailer out weighs the tow vehicle, other safety considerations should be taking place, like a vehicle made to haul heavy trailers.

Be safe.

Think about using uShip.

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Old 05-12-2012, 16:11   #11
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Re: Renting a truck to tow a 7,000 lb boat

Just don't use the guy named somewhere around the middle of this thread:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...any-90327.html
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Old 05-12-2012, 18:34   #12
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Re: Renting a truck to tow a 7,000 lb boat

What GaryMayo said.

Most rental companies will NOT rent out pickup trucks for towing.

If you rent from Uhaul, you will probably have to get one of their largest trucks.
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Old 05-12-2012, 18:57   #13
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Re: Renting a truck to tow a 7,000 lb boat

Here's what I did when I towed my boat and trailer, weight 8,000 lbs. I rented a truck, a Chevy, from a tool rental place. Not UHaul, they don't allow towing. I tapped into the brake light wire with a long wire that I led to a brake control unit mounted on a board that I had on the floor of the cab and led the wire from that back to the trailer plug. I used a load leveling hitch. I also had to run a wire direct from the truck battery to the brake control unit, it needs plenty of power when you apply the brakes. Everything worked perfectly. It sounds like a lot of work but when you know what you're doing you can set it all up in 20 minutes and remove all traces of what you've done before you return the truck. After all you've only stripped a tiny bit of insulation from one of the brake light wires where you spliced in your brake controller wire and you tape it up when you are done. Some newer trucks may have a plug under the dash where you can plug in your brake control, at least my 98 F150 does, and that can save you all this other malarky but you must still mount the brake control on a piece on board to sit on the cab floor where you can reach it for adjustment when you first start towing. Of course if you own the truck you can mount it permanently under the dash.
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Old 05-12-2012, 20:24   #14
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Re: Renting a truck to tow a 7,000 lb boat

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rhendry View Post
I need to bring a 7,000 lb boat (including trailer weight) from Virginia to S. Florida for a survey and seatrial. My vehicle is not capable of hauling the boat that distance. Can you please recommend who I should contact for a vehicle rental. I know some companies refuse to rent vehicles for towing purposes. Your advice is greatly appreciated.
I'm shocked at how many forum members are willing to recommend a tow vehicle without first learning about: (1) tongue weight; (2) the number of axels; (3) whether the trailer has brakes, and; (4) the basic height, width and length of the boat/trailer combinationR to be towed.

Rhendry: all you've given us is the combined weight of the trailer and boat. People responding to your question have already recommended vehicles that weigh less than the tow, without ever knowing what sort of trailer you've got (whether it has brakes, multiple axels, et cetera.) If you don't see potential problems with this, please hire a commercial towing company to do the job.

Forum members: Just because your 3/4-ton pickup was able to get your boat from the launch ramp to your cabin on Lake Zulamucka last summer, doesn't mean it's the proper vehicle to transport the OP's rig from Virginia to S. Florida. There's no possible way you could render an informed opinion on this question based on the sketchy information the OP provided.
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Old 05-12-2012, 20:40   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bash View Post

I'm shocked at how many forum members are willing to recommend a tow vehicle without first learning about: (1) tongue weight; (2) the number of axels; (3) whether the trailer has brakes, and; (4) the basic height, width and length of the boat/trailer combinationR to be towed.

Rhendry: all you've given us is the combined weight of the trailer and boat. People responding to your question have already recommended vehicles that weigh less than the tow, without ever knowing what sort of trailer you've got (whether it has brakes, multiple axels, et cetera.) If you don't see potential problems with this, please hire a commercial towing company to do the job.

Forum members: Just because your 3/4-ton pickup was able to get your boat from the launch ramp to your cabin on Lake Zulamucka last summer, doesn't mean it's the proper vehicle to transport the OP's rig from Virginia to S. Florida. There's no possible way you could render an informed opinion on this question based on the sketchy information the OP provided.
I mentioned brakes on all axles, big trucks, and getting it done professionally. I did not mention brake lights, safe speeds, plenty of sleep or a good multivitamin. Sorry if I (we) missed anything.

Another trick I have learned, chains from trailer to receiver is not enough. Occasionally, receivers become divorced from the tow vehicle at highway speeds without warning, by broken welds, broken bolts etc. I always run a stout, long log chain, twice, between the trailer and the frame of my truck.

When my CM32 from California shipped by uShip, truck broke down in Colorado, I fueled up my Kenworth toterhome and drove 10 hours to rescue my sailboat in Denver. The proper truck makes all the difference. The uShip driver pulled with an Excursion diesel, which is a big truck, but still no match for mountains pulling a 32 foot long sailboat. Ended up with a blown Waterpump and some head gasket issues.

My Kenworth floates down the highway with tripple air suspension. Axles, cab, seats. Own two Seville's, and would rather travel in the big truck. All the way home, not a peep from the trailer. Could not tell it was behind me, except by rear view mirrors. My F550 is also capable of towing big loads, but I only use that around our area. No match for the much bigger Kenworth.

I do not launch or recover with the Kenworth. Steep slick wet inclines like boat ramps seem like a very bad judgment call. Not something I want lost in the lake. That is where my F550 6x4 comes into play. 4 low and complete control.
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