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jeanathon · 10-01-2024, 09:04

A close up of the cradle I built ahead of time, but cut the angles of the posts with a chainsaw and put the pads on while the boat was in the sling.

Bill Seal · 10-01-2024, 09:30

I used to tow a 24' foot "toy box" full of sand toys with a 1980 E350 diesel V8 van. Auto trans.

Cheechako · 10-01-2024, 09:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by SomeGuyInaShirt

So my 6700lb displacement twin keeled pocket-cruiser sloop is in the Sea of Cortez and so far I'm not enjoying it here. Thinking of buying a trailer and tow vehicle to head back to British Columbia or perhaps Florda to go visit the Bahamas for a time.

Been looking at 60s-90s Ford pickups as tow vehicles. I like the relative simplicity of the engine bay on older cars but was surprised to find the manual transmissions on these older vehicles have a considerably lower towing capacity than their automatic transmission equipped equivalents.

Basically I have never towed with such small vehicles and don't have a clue what I need to consider. Would love to hear advice on this.

I really wanted a Ford 300 inline 6 carbureted and straight piped with the aftermarket intake and exhaust etc for simplicity and power. I saw several such builds online with something in excess of 400 ft lbs of torque and you can't beat those engines for compactness and reliability but the 300 was only in the lighter duty models to my knowledge and I'd definitely need a heavy duty model. Not sure if the swap would require custom engine mounts but presumably not. Would ideally love a heavier duty 5 (or more) speed manual transmission with 2 speed rear axle but those would probably not be simple swaps.

Anyway would love to hear advice on all this. I don't have lots of money but I have time. The boat will stay stored in Mexico probably for at least a year.

Regarding the trailer, my first inclination is to get a 3 axle version to have a balanced load and minimize weight on the hitch. A bit of redundancy doesn't hurt either as one axle could be cannibalized in an emergency. Since it's a twin keeled boat that stands up on its own without bracing could I just buy a normal wood floored flatdeck and use wood blocks for extra support under the bow and stern? Like a normal commercial truck flatdeck?

I know 2 people still with the old Ford in line 6. Both have constant issues at this point in time. I never felt it was a good engine at least compared with the more common V8.

I had a diesel F250 for hauling my Contessa 26. Probably about 6000# + trailer. SO maybe 7500-8000 lbs.
The trailer was two axle.
It's a deep draft boat so sat pretty high. With the F250 it felt a bit ungainly at times. I had the trailer brake lever inside the truck cab style of brakes.
Not sure I would have wanted to take your long trip with that rig, but it probably would have made it with care.

We loved the Sea of Cortez, but not this time of year.
Can you get the boat to a place where a trucker could haul it? (San Carlos?) If you have a flexible time line. Maybe get a "haul back" deal? I imagine people have boats returned or taken down often enough.

When you consider the cost of truck and trailer and the risks etc. Trucking may not seem so expensive.
However your boat may not sit too high so just a flat bed? Might not be too bad.
4000 miles at 10 mpg - $1600 just for fuel...

SomeGuyInaShirt · 15-01-2024, 11:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeanathon

No. Now I have a 91' F-150, 05' Ranger, 63' Nova Wagon, 95' Triumph Trophy, 78' Sabre 28, forget the year stingray. Too many!
Jammer is right about fuel. I spent a fortune on gas behind the 77', but when I took that boat back to the coast I rented a newish Dodge dually with a Cummins diesel with the same trailer. Fuel was much cheaper. The biggest problem was keeping my speed down. That truck acted like the boat and trailer weren't even back there. I think I rented it from Enterprise truck.

That's quite the collection. Yeah I probably should just rent a truck. My last pickup just sat around 99% of the time because the last thing I want to do on my day off is drive. Not sure I'd want to drive a new Dodge in Mexico though, the roads aren't great. Thanks for the advice 🙂

SomeGuyInaShirt · 15-01-2024, 11:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I know 2 people still with the old Ford in line 6. Both have constant issues at this point in time. I never felt it was a good engine at least compared with the more common V8.

I had a diesel F250 for hauling my Contessa 26. Probably about 6000# + trailer. SO maybe 7500-8000 lbs.
The trailer was two axle.
It's a deep draft boat so sat pretty high. With the F250 it felt a bit ungainly at times. I had the trailer brake lever inside the truck cab style of brakes.
Not sure I would have wanted to take your long trip with that rig, but it probably would have made it with care.

We loved the Sea of Cortez, but not this time of year.
Can you get the boat to a place where a trucker could haul it? (San Carlos?) If you have a flexible time line. Maybe get a "haul back" deal? I imagine people have boats returned or taken down often enough.

When you consider the cost of truck and trailer and the risks etc. Trucking may not seem so expensive.
However your boat may not sit too high so just a flat bed? Might not be too bad.
4000 miles at 10 mpg - $1600 just for fuel...

Yeah I'll probably end up getting a commercial truck to do it.

What sort of issues are your friends having with their 300 i6 engines? I was thinking of getting mine rebuilt with over bored cylinders and pistons for a 390FE with new electronic ignition and the aftermarket intake and exhaust manifolds. Seems like that yields at least 350 ft lbs of torque if I remember correctly. Straight piping wouldn't hurt either. But yeah, probably more trouble than it's worth for a guy who rarely needs to drive anywhere for personal reasons.

Cheechako · 15-01-2024, 12:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by SomeGuyInaShirt

Yeah I'll probably end up getting a commercial truck to do it.

What sort of issues are your friends having with their 300 i6 engines? I was thinking of getting mine rebuilt with over bored cylinders and pistons for a 390FE with new electronic ignition and the aftermarket intake and exhaust manifolds. Seems like that yields at least 350 ft lbs of torque if I remember correctly. Straight piping wouldn't hurt either. But yeah, probably more trouble than it's worth for a guy who rarely needs to drive anywhere for personal reasons.

I don't know that HP is a big issue. But stability and trailer braking is what made me nervous. Cooling of the engine also needs to be the best.

What sort of issues are your friends having with their 300 i6 engines?
Oh, those engines are pretty dated so probably an unfair statement on my part. They say the MPG is no better than the 390 V8. But my neighbor's had water pump & timing chain issues a couple years back. The other guy's has some sort of Fuel problem and the 4WD transfer case gave up out of the blue.

Grith · 15-01-2024, 13:00

I have towed thousands of miles with this setup. Tiny 3 litre turbo diesel engine and a combined weight of 7950kgs or 17,500lbs.
It’s barely adequate but gets there whilst my previous tow tug was a 3 litre turbo diesel VW Touareg SUV and used to tow my 28 foot yacht weighing 7500lbs straight up the side of steep mountains and achieve fabulous fuel economy combined with superb long range driving /towing comfort in the process.
The switch to the agricultural and underpowered truck was to accommodate my partners love of inland wilderness camping and walking as the Touareg had to be almost empty of stuff to remain legal when towing the fully laden for extended cruising yacht.
We have kept the Touareg for fast super comfortable long range drives to various state capital cities, local shopping/outings and similar duties.
I feel they are thoroughly underrated as a towing vehicle and shown here parked between huge road trains whilst crossing Australia with yacht in tow.

jeanathon · 17-01-2024, 05:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by SomeGuyInaShirt

That's quite the collection. Yeah I probably should just rent a truck. My last pickup just sat around 99% of the time because the last thing I want to do on my day off is drive. Not sure I'd want to drive a new Dodge in Mexico though, the roads aren't great. Thanks for the advice 🙂

If you do rent just get as much insurance as you can to keep your stress/worry levels down. For rough roads make sure your cradle is up to the task. Starting off around the beltway in D.C. I was bouncing may around that rough patch of 5 lanes. Thought I was going to have a heart attack worrying about that boat coming off and taking out 5 lanes of traffic.

Seaward22 · 19-01-2024, 07:39

Been towing a 3600# GVW boat for 37 years. Some points:
The 10-15% hitch weight recommendation is spot on if you don’t want to walk the dog.

Some states require stabilizing hitches and have beam restrictions for when your rig is considered a wide load.

I love the spindles that let you repack your bearings just using a grease gun, jack, and plastic bottle to catch the grease. Replacing bearings and especially oil seals along the road is not where you want to be. You can buy the complete spindle etc. and remove and replace with 4 bolts.

Auto transmissions have the ability to add a tranny cooler which is what you want.

Most ramps are for power boats ( short and flat) measuring tape and some trig will let you figure out the angle you need. If you go off the end of the ramp your going to need a serious truck to retrieve. You can build a wedge where the short side is a tad longer than the midway height of your tire and bolt it on the frame in front of the leading wheel so you don’t shear your springs off pulling over the edge.

Spare tire, plug kit and compressor, jack that can lift trailer high enough, spare bearing (kit), star lug wrench, wheel chocks, wrenches, and a thorough review of the state’s laws you’ll be traveling through.

lestersails · 19-01-2024, 08:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by SomeGuyInaShirt

My last pickup just sat around 99% of the time...

Yeah and if you have a pickup sitting around you get the inevitable and innumerable "Hey, can I borrow your pickup?" asks.

cdcorl · 19-01-2024, 09:16

I wonder if you could save money by sailing to PV and have it trucked to Veracruz? I am not sure of costs in Mexico, but it would get you out of where you are.

h20man · 19-01-2024, 09:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by SomeGuyInaShirt

So my 6700lb displacement twin keeled pocket-cruiser sloop is in the Sea of Cortez and so far I'm not enjoying it here. Thinking of buying a trailer and tow vehicle to head back to British Columbia or perhaps Florda to go visit the Bahamas for a time.

Been looking at 60s-90s Ford pickups as tow vehicles. I like the relative simplicity of the engine bay on older cars but was surprised to find the manual transmissions on these older vehicles have a considerably lower towing capacity than their automatic transmission equipped equivalents.

Basically I have never towed with such small vehicles and don't have a clue what I need to consider. Would love to hear advice on this.

I really wanted a Ford 300 inline 6 carbureted and straight piped with the aftermarket intake and exhaust etc for simplicity and power. I saw several such builds online with something in excess of 400 ft lbs of torque and you can't beat those engines for compactness and reliability but the 300 was only in the lighter duty models to my knowledge and I'd definitely need a heavy duty model. Not sure if the swap would require custom engine mounts but presumably not. Would ideally love a heavier duty 5 (or more) speed manual transmission with 2 speed rear axle but those would probably not be simple swaps.

Anyway would love to hear advice on all this. I don't have lots of money but I have time. The boat will stay stored in Mexico probably for at least a year.

Regarding the trailer, my first inclination is to get a 3 axle version to have a balanced load and minimize weight on the hitch. A bit of redundancy doesn't hurt either as one axle could be cannibalized in an emergency. Since it's a twin keeled boat that stands up on its own without bracing could I just buy a normal wood floored flatdeck and use wood blocks for extra support under the bow and stern? Like a normal commercial truck flatdeck?

Regardless of how you get your boat out of Mexico... MAKE SURE YOU CANCEL YOUR TIP. (Temporary Import Permit).

Otherwise it is a huge problem to rectify. I know of boats that are unable to get back to Mexico, as they had the old TIP (1996) that was not cancelled by previous owners....

Good Luck....

(Also if using auto insurance, make sure that the coverage is recognised by Mexico.. and is worthwhile.. I have used Baja Bound (https://www.bajabound.com/ ) in the past.. never had to make a claim.. but.. have heard good things about them.

SomeGuyInaShirt · 19-01-2024, 20:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I don't know that HP is a big issue. But stability and trailer braking is what made me nervous. Cooling of the engine also needs to be the best.

What sort of issues are your friends having with their 300 i6 engines?
Oh, those engines are pretty dated so probably an unfair statement on my part. They say the MPG is no better than the 390 V8. But my neighbor's had water pump & timing chain issues a couple years back. The other guy's has some sort of Fuel problem and the 4WD transfer case gave up out of the blue.

Those sound like pretty simple issues to fix. I thought you meant there was an issue with the engines themselves as opposed to the external parts. Nothing you mentioned would take more than a few hours to fix.

Aren't boat trailers equipped with electric brakes? I must admit I've only towed air brake equipped trailers but I can't imagine any trailer that heavy would be permitted on roads in north America without brakes. I sure won't attempt it.

SomeGuyInaShirt · 19-01-2024, 20:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdcorl

I wonder if you could save money by sailing to PV and have it trucked to Veracruz? I am not sure of costs in Mexico, but it would get you out of where you are.

That's definitely worth looking into! Thanks.