Towing vehicles and towing issues

[cobalter]

Thought I would see what comments/advice are out there concerning tow vehicles and any towing issues with the Cobalt 20 ft. to 24 ft. boats. When we owned a 224 back in 2003 the boat was kept at Lake Powell, UT and we didn't do much towing. Now with our 210 due the end of this month and realizing we will be doing much more towing to various lakes accessible to Eastern Kansas thought it would make a good discussion. We also plan one trip in August where we will tow to lake Powell, UT, about 1100 miles one way and two days travel.

We'll be using a Ram 1500 with 3.91 rear axle , 5.7 hemi and air suspension. I'm estimating actual weight of trailer and boat at around 5200 lbs including some equipment in boat. This is well within the truck's capacity. I will use a KWIK PFYT rear truck rock deflector to protect boat. The boat will be on a Heritage 2 axle trailer with Goodyear Marathon tires. I have attachable towing mirrors that work well when going longer distances.

I have towed a 23 ft. triton quite a bit that weighed about the same but caught a lot more wind. Will plan to use the mooring cover and at times the snap-on bow and helm cover for travel. I do run the trailer tires near their cold max rating as they take a beating with heat, weight and high revolutions.

Just wondered if anyone had any travel/towing stories, advice they would like to pass on concerning this general size of Cobalts and double axle trailers.

[jhnmdahl]

I don't have a ton of experience, but we tow our Cobalt 210 (a little under 5000lbs) with a VW Touareg TDI on a EZ Loader Custom twin-axle trailer with surge disc brakes that the local dealer orders decked out with Cobalt logos. We got the mooring cover, which works great (next to no buffeting at freeway speeds). The trailer was also ordered with a spare wheel/tire, which I think is a big plus. No complaints so far, other than the expected decrease in fuel economy.

The one piece of advice the dealer gave us was that some people find a heavy twin axle trailer a little easier to tow with the front axle tires inflated slightly less than the rear axle tires on the trailer. After trying it both ways, it certainly doesn't hurt, but I don't know that it improved it a ton either. The Touareg is 6200lbs, but can still get bounced a little by the trailer going over train tracks, etc.

In searching for vehicle tow ratings, some source such as this included other information about towing that I found useful, being relatively new to towing something this heavy:

http://webcontent.goodsam.com/trailerli ... de2015.pdf

[cobalter]

Some good info. here. The Touareg has a higher capacity than I would have thought. I was told a good rule of thumb and peace of mind was to not tow more than 75% of vehicle tow capacity. Course it makes a difference how far, terrain and altitude.

Had not heard the difference in air pressure on a twin axle front and rear. Will have to look into that. Many of these tires have a maximum of 90 psi cold and they say to run at or near that. The dealer did tell me the mooring cover was good for towing - looks like it would give real good protection with the ratchet affair. Don't plan to do gravel roads but have heard some horror stories on the gelcoat with just a little towing without a good rock protection on the vehicle. And then there is the normal highway construction during the summer with tar, chip sealing, etc.

My previous tri-toon trailer had really small diameter tires to accommodate the trailer and tubes. They did not last a long time and I went through 3 of them in one day on a summer day from UT to KC - but I was driving 70-75 and they had some miles on them. Was lucky to find the replacements along the way. The trailers for the open bow type boats can use a taller tire and will last longer but one article said no boat trailer tire is specced for above 60-65. Don't see many trailers doing that on the interstates - most of KS and CO is 75 mph on I-70. I agree a spare is essential.

[AsLan7]

I don't have a ton of experience, but we tow our Cobalt 210 (a little under 5000lbs) with a VW Touareg TDI on a EZ Loader Custom twin-axle trailer with surge disc brakes that the local dealer orders decked out with Cobalt logos. We got the mooring cover, which works great (next to no buffeting at freeway speeds). The trailer was also ordered with a spare wheel/tire, which I think is a big plus. No complaints so far, other than the expected decrease in fuel economy.

The one piece of advice the dealer gave us was that some people find a heavy twin axle trailer a little easier to tow with the front axle tires inflated slightly less than the rear axle tires on the trailer. After trying it both ways, it certainly doesn't hurt, but I don't know that it improved it a ton either. The Touareg is 6200lbs, but can still get bounced a little by the trailer going over train tracks, etc.

In searching for vehicle tow ratings, some source such as this included other information about towing that I found useful, being relatively new to towing something this heavy:

http://webcontent.goodsam.com/trailerli ... de2015.pdf

.

John, had not hear about the less inflated front axle compared to the rear axle technique. Interesting.

In any event, the link you provided above regarding tow knowledge is fantastic. Probably a great review for everyone here. Towing guide for various vehicles is still relevant too. Nice job finding that.

.

[Big Block Power]

Ok not sure how many Ram truck owners are on here. But if you have the air suspension did you think of lowering the truck to hitch up and then raising the truck to pick up the boat. No more cranking the Jack.

[Silverbullet555]

Since I'm new here I can necropost for a bit.

We two our 226 with a 3/4 ton chevy diesel. We used to tow it with an '88 3/4 ton suburban. The diesel tows it much nicer.

We've done a few trips a couple hundred miles each way.

As far as advice, gas stations with big lots and good entrance/exits are life savers when towing. Restaurants where you can pull around to park are a must.

On our old boat, I lost a bow roller letting the bow bang on the winch post. Found a tire shop and got an old tube yo wrap it around. Always carried a spare bow stop after that.

[Big Block Power]

Ouch that will leave a mark.