Long distance hauling-1400 miles

[thiyagav]

Fellow Triumph owners,

I am hauling my 2004 Triumph 191SC boat from Arkansas to Long Island, NY this month end. It is 1400 miles and planning to make it in three days. I have my son accompanying me to share the drive.

I request advice from the experts in this forum.

1. I am towing with my 2016 F150 Eco-boost truck with tow package, rated for more than 8000 lbs. So, no concerns there.
2. Trailer has dual axle with almost new tires, one spare with rim and additional new tire, just in case.
3. Trailer bearings checked last year and have done about 100 miles after that. I have a new set of bearings and bearing protectors\covers for the journey.
4. Boat has the seats, engine, PFDs and light weight fenders in it. Removed the Deck Mate anchor and trolling motor to reduce weight. Keeping about 20 gallons of fuel as emergency measure, in case of fuel shortage during travel (Memorial Day weekend). Boat will be covered with heavy duty covers and strapped. Motor supported by transom saver and rubber holders. Prop covered. Trailer tongue and spare wheel locked.
5. Carrying the tool kit for tire and bearing replacements, grease with guns, jack+jack stands, wheel chocks, Inflators and roadside emergency signs.
6. I have the Insurance coverage for road-side assistance for truck and boat.

I am not certain about my last leg of the journey into New York, due the restrictions for trailer. Some suggest Sygic GPS maps for trailers\RVs.

Any suggestions and advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Dave LeGear]

So far so good on your list, I would add though...

1. Make sure all the tires are balanced and if you good over 1.5 oz of lead weight to balance each one, then I would have them break the tire down and twist it 180 degrees on the rim, so you are not getting the high side of the tire and the rim at the same position.

2. Your choice naturally, but I am not a fan of grease and even more so for long distance hauls where you can build up more heat. As such you might want to consider installing Oil Bath Hubs and I like these a lot, since I can always see how much oil is present, as well as add some oil at any point no matter the position of the wheel (unlike others)

https://www.kodiaktrailerbrakes.com/Kodiak-XL-Pro-Lube-Components_c_170.html

Hope this helps!
Dave

 

[dboyd351]

I would break each lug nut loose, spin it off and grease the threads before re-installing it. Doesn't sound like your trailer is neglected, but it is nice to know ahead of time that you will be able to change the tire if you need to.

 

[thiyagav]

So far so good on your list, I would add though...

1. Make sure all the tires are balanced and if you good over 1.5 oz of lead weight to balance each one, then I would have them break the tire down and twist it 180 degrees on the rim, so you are not getting the high side of the tire and the rim at the same position.

2. Your choice naturally, but I am not a fan of grease and even more so for long distance hauls where you can build up more heat. As such you might want to consider installing Oil Bath Hubs and I like these a lot, since I can always see how much oil is present, as well as add some oil at any point no matter the position of the wheel (unlike others)

https://www.kodiaktrailerbrakes.com/Kodiak-XL-Pro-Lube-Components_c_170.html

Hope this helps!
Dave

Thanks, Dave. I will get the tires balanced, as suggested. I had A Ranger before with oil bath lubrication and liked it. However, I do not have enough time to switch from grease to oil bath bearings. May be I will switch to oil, after reaching LI.

 

[Alex621]

Sounds like this trip is pretty well thought out and not much is being left to chance. I will just throw the one trailer fail story I have for reference: one time the stitching on my winch strap got old and decided to fail at the bow hook. There was no obvious indication that it was on its last legs either. I was looking in my rear view mirror and saw the bow of my 170 bouncing around a little more than normal. I stopped the truck and sure enough the strap was dangling and the doubled over and stitched piece that secures the hook on the strap came apart. I was close enough to home that I tied a knot in the strap right to the bow eye and it got me home.
So I guess it wouldn’t hurt to take a look at yours and think about how old it is before the trip.

 

[Dave LeGear]

Tire pressure can also make a big difference in how she tows... Many make the mistake of over filling them once they read the pressure recommendations on the side of the tire and think they need to get fill up to Max Pressure. This is simply not the case and that reading of that that amount of weight on one single tire.

In many cases that amount of weight on the side of the tire, is more than the entire rig they are towing and just makes those tire into rocks and make it bounce like a basketball.

 

[thiyagav]

Sounds like this trip is pretty well thought out and not much is being left to chance. I will just throw the one trailer fail story I have for reference: one time the stitching on my winch strap got old and decided to fail at the bow hook. There was no obvious indication that it was on its last legs either. I was looking in my rear view mirror and saw the bow of my 170 bouncing around a little more than normal. I stopped the truck and sure enough the strap was dangling and the doubled over and stitched piece that secures the hook on the strap came apart. I was close enough to home that I tied a knot in the strap right to the bow eye and it got me home.
So I guess it wouldn’t hurt to take a look at yours and think about how old it is before the trip.

Valid point. My strap is only two years old. In addition, the trailer has the chain and hook as back up to strap. To reduce the strain on the bow eye, I am using a ratchet strap in the front, as support.

 

[thiyagav]

Tire pressure can also make a big difference in how she tows... Many make the mistake of over filling them once they read the pressure recommendations on the side of the tire and think they need to get fill up to Max Pressure. This is simply not the case and that reading of that that amount of weight on one single tire.

In many cases that amount of weight on the side of the tire, is more than the entire rig they are towing and just makes those tire into rocks and make it bounce like a basketball.

Hi Dave,

That is correct. I am planning to fill all the tires with same pressure of 55 lb.

By the way, I am in the CGAUX, active volunteer.

 

[Dave LeGear]

Too high, that sidewall recommendation is the amount of max weight (usually near or over a ton) on that one "single" tire.

Quite sure you will find she rides much better in the 40’s which also leaves plenty of room / space heat expansion.

Over filling a tire is just as bad as under filling, and only wears out the center of the treads much faster. On a boat trailer some of the suspension effect is due to sidewall flex. This is simply not possible when it is punched out like a rock.

Let’s see what those tires read as max TP cold and the max weight denoted on them, then we can see what would be a more logical starting point

 

[thiyagav]

Too high, that sidewall recommendation is the amount of max weight (usually near or over a ton) on that one "single" tire.

Quite sure you will find she rides much better in the 40’s which also leaves plenty of room / space heat expansion.

Over filling a tire is just as bad as under filling, and only wears out the center of the treads much faster. On a boat trailer some of the suspension effect is due to sidewall flex. This is simply not possible when it is punched out like a rock.

Let’s see what those tires read as max TP cold and the max weight denoted on them, then we can see what would be a more logical starting point

Dave,

Managed to get to the boat only yesterday. Two of my tires are new with Speed rating D, Max load Single 1610 LBS at 65 PSI. Both are the in the rear axle. Two others are almost new, with Speed rating C, Max Load single 1360 LBS at 50 PSI.

Two spare tires are Speed rating D with Max load single 1610 LBS at 65 PSI.

I am planning to keep 48 PSI on all tires.

Let me know your thoughts.

 

[Dave LeGear]

Try it and see how she rides? We want that puppy back there, rolling along as smooth as snakes on glass

Speed rating I am not really concerned with (it’s not a Porsche 911 Turbo) and I never was a fan of dragging any Skiff / Boat around over 65 MPH as it is. Just takes a lot of space to bring it all to a whoa, much less, burns a ton more fuel.

I would also measure the trailer weight down on the truck and see if that meets the recommended % of total weight? From what I have found, many are too nose heavy… And the fast fix for that is to move the wench stand further aft so the boat sits further back over the axles. Just make sure the hull “does not” pass over the bunks and is supported all the way to the stern. If not over time, it can cause a lip that acts like always deployed trim tab driving the bow down.

Adjusting trailer tongue weight for the best handling of your boat.

Got a new or older trailer that is fish tailing behind your tow vehicle? Well if you have no more space to adjust the boat position "on" the trailer... Then this way of adjusting the trailer axle position, should do the trick :cool...

www.performanceoutdoors.net

Hope this helps!
Dave

 

[thiyagav]

Try it and see how she rides? We want that puppy back there, rolling along as smooth as snakes on glass

Speed rating I am not really concerned with (it’s not a Porsche 911 Turbo) and I never was a fan of dragging any Skiff / Boat around over 65 MPH as it is. Just takes a lot of space to bring it all to a whoa, much less, burns a ton more fuel.

I would also measure the trailer weight down on the truck and see if that meets the recommended % of total weight? From what I have found, many are too nose heavy… And the fast fix for that is to move the wench stand further aft so the boat sits further back over the axles. Just make sure the hull “does not” pass over the bunks and is supported all the way to the stern. If not over time, it can cause a lip that acts like always deployed trim tab driving the bow down.

Adjusting trailer tongue weight for the best handling of your boat.

Got a new or older trailer that is fish tailing behind your tow vehicle? Well if you have no more space to adjust the boat position "on" the trailer... Then this way of adjusting the trailer axle position, should do the trick :cool...

www.performanceoutdoors.net

Hope this helps!
Dave

Update

Thanks Dave and all others for the valuable inputs. My son and I started on Thursday and drove through the storms, from Arkansas to Long Island, in about 40 hours, with about 28 hrs of driving time. Stressful, but eventless trip

Two lesson though.
I should have used stronger ratchet straps for holding the heavy and wet boat cover in place. At 60 mph, 40 mph headwind gusts, weaker straps snapped.

I should not have taken the alternate route suggested by Mapping App, when there was a crash in I70.

 

[Dave LeGear]

Glad you made it back!
And I always had covers for my Skiffs, I just (even though they were made for such) never towed with them on. I would just cover the consoles with a separate cover so it would keep the bugs off of them