Trailering Your Boat
Are you ready to head out on the open ocean this summer? Some people live right on the marina, but most of us don’t. Whether you live a mile from the coast or further inland, you’ll need to haul your boat to the water before you can get in it! If you’ve never trailered and towed your boat, then you may be a little uncertain as to how to go about the process. Riva Motorsports & Marine of the Keys in Key Largo is your southern Florida boat dealer, so we’ve provided this guide to trailering and boat towing to help you stay safe on the highway.
Follow Legal Weight Limits
Knowing the weight limits of both your tow vehicle and your trailer is vital to your success in this endeavor. You’re legally prohibited from going overweight on the highway and will be fined if caught by law enforcement. Also, hauling too much weight endangers yourself and others on the road. You could suffer a tire blowout or a hitch failure!
Your boat towing vehicle has a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) usually listed in the driver’s side door jamb or in the owner’s manual. This weight rating covers the vehicle itself, the towed item, all cargo, and passengers. Smaller boats will be easier to tow, but larger boats will need a much larger towing vehicle with a higher GCWR.
Hitch Up Your Trailer WIth Care
Now that you’ve established safe weight limits, it’s time to hitch up the trailer. Both the trailer and vehicle should be on flat, even ground. Lower the ball joint below the hitch and put your towing vehicle in reverse, backing up slowly until the hitch is right over the joint. Now it’s time to lower the hitch until the joint fits in place.
Secure everything with the pin or clasp, then cross your towing chains beneath the hitch and anchor them to the trailer as a security measure. If you have wiring for brake and turn signals to attach, do it now. Then perform a final inspection to make sure everything is functional and secure.
Practice Safe Driving
Before you head to the water, you’ll likely want to put in some practice time so you can become confident in your boat towing skills. Take your hitched-up and empty trailer to an empty lot to practice turning, reversing, braking, and parking with it. Then you can practice merging onto the highway and exiting it safely.
When it comes time to actually haul your boat, you’ll want to be vigilant and extra-cautious. The length and width added to the vehicle will change how it behaves. To compensate, increase your following distance so that you have more space to bring your towing setup to a complete stop if you have to brake suddenly.
Make sure that you’re not going faster than 55 or 60 miles per hour, since trailer tires aren’t made to go much faster than that. Try to stay in one lane as much as you can, and signal all your maneuvers well in advance so other drivers can get out of your way. Remove any distractions by letting a friend handle navigation, radio changes, and any other issues. If you’re driving for a very long time, it can help to switch drivers or take a break every few hours.
We hope this guide helps you with your upcoming boat towing excursions. Don’t be intimidated! This process is much easier than it might appear at first blush. Still don’t have the perfect boat? Come into our Key Largo dealership to check out our selection of new and used boats for sale. Riva Motorsports & Marine of the Keys proudly serves all the Florida Keys.