Wind and towing safety

S

schiavodn

New member
Hi all,

How windy is too windy to tow a boat safely? I'll be towing a 25' Cruiser soon with an appropriately rated Toyota Tundra. The forecast for days this week where I am in MN calls for gusts up to 26 mph. Any recommendations for where I can look for good advice on this?

I am a rookie boater after having inherited my dad's 25' Cruiser (Skimmer) last year. I had a short season on the Mississippi last year. I learned basic maintenance, online boater safety course, how to operate the trailer, etc. In planning for this short upcoming tow (about 80 miles), it hadn't dawned on me until now to mind the wind.

Thanks. I am new posting, so sorry if I posted this in somewhere other than the best spot.

DNS
 
DNS, Welcome and congrats on your "inheritance". You are in the right place, both the forum category and the C-BRAT site.

You are wise to consider windage. It can make a difference. You are towing a CD-25 so I am guessing that you are using a tandem axel trailer. That will help, as the tandem will follow straighter without swinging -- up to a point. If you have a dingy up top, and canvass (a camper back or bimini) up, those will definitely increase your side profile and increase the tendency to sway downwind. (I personally would not tow with that canvas up, or a dingy up, for more than a couple of slow miles to a marina. For hiway towing the antennas are down, and the dingy is down. If I had bimini or camperback that would all be folded forward or rolled and in the cabin.

Your boat and trailer is probably close to 8-10K pounds. I tow my 22 with a Tundra, and it hardly knows it is there, (5K#). You will notice yours a bit more. It it hard to say what wind level due to gusting and direction, but a fore or aft wind will be most noticeable in MPG changes. Side winds will show up in handling. A 25mpg side wind will be noticeable. I just saw on the news a 50 foot semi get blown over by a 40 mpg gust. Do not know if it was loaded or empty, but guessing empty or very light. I would consider a side wind of 25 to 30 about the top of the comfortable safety range. Over that you are subject ot gust that could be very uncomfortably dangerous.
YMMV,

There are tons of threads on the RV forums that address this but not much on boats. Use caution for sure,

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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My 25, on a tandem axle aluminum trailer, weighs in at 7100 - 8300 lbs, depending upon load (fuel, water, etc.). I tow with a F150. I have towed in gusty conditions, with winds up to 35 mph, maybe a bit more. While I don't tow over 65 mph, I have slowed down to as little as 50 in high cross winds, as you'll definitely feel in on the boat. You really have to be alert as well in regards to other traffic you are sharing the road with. Your gas mileage will go to heck, and you may find your boat will shift on the trailer a bit downwind, regardless how well you have it strapped on. I think with a forecast of gusts up to 26, you'll be ok. But you will be working harder towing in the wind than on a calm day. Just slow down and stay alert. Colby
 
Gusts to 26 should be alright if ya keep the speed down. It will handle better on the trailer than it will in a tight boat launch. We live in a trailer for a good portion of the year, and it seems we are always checking wind. The boat is a pleasure to tow vs our little 18 foot trailer and I find my comfort threshold to be more relaxed at higher wind speeds than with the flat sided trailer. Just keep that speed down even when not taking a gust on the side, and be ready for it at any time. If it escalates and gets stressful for you, pull over and hop in the boat and make a cup of coffee and wait it out! Cooking in a cdory at a rest area always turns some heads!
 
Welcome DNS,
As far as the wind goes I'd say 26mph cross wind isn't horrible under the right circumstances. When towing any thing there are some basics to adhere to. You've probably already considered these but, First of all what is the truck rated to tow and does it have the hitch to match the load you plan on hauling. Next, be sure your trailer tires are not outdated or have weather checks from UV damage while sitting idle. You may want to have the bearings serviced if you aren't comfortable doing it yourself. If they have sit idle with water in the bearings you could be in for trouble. Finally make sure the breaks are in proper working order as salt water can play havoc with them.
Bottom line is: If your properly set up you shouldn't have a problem, be safe and enjoy that boat.
 
I'm also a relatively new C-Dory owner (22' with tandem trailer purchased just over a year ago). We had a small 15' fishing boat and trailer that introduced us to motorboating after a lifetime with paddle and oar-powered boats. Everything from towing to mooring to ramp etiquette was new. This was not intentional but helped establish up skills and confidence in more benign conditions.

When we purchased the C-Dory it was a crash course in differences -- and there were many (I couldn't just manhandle a poorly aligned boat onto the trailer, for example). The first to was long but fairly benign weather. I'm glad it was as it helped me get habituated to how things were supposed to feel. Otherwise, you may not be able to sense whether it was a wind gust, a strap breaking, or a trailer tire blowout.

Just like learning to fly, it really is quite simple if you have some kinesthetic IQ (some people don't). Towing a large object on highways with relatively small tow vehicles is a skill. Do it well and you will enjoy many trouble-free miles. Do it poorly and it may be catastrophic.
 
I agree that 26 mph is not an issue towing, but do keep speed down in the 55 mph range with winds. If you have electric over hydraulic brakes it would be a major help if swaying occurs with winds. You can use the trailer brakes manually controlled to brake the trailer and stop the sway. Hitting the truck brakes or surge brakes with the truck brakes can worsen the situation.

If the rig starts swaying keep some light accelerator on, slow down, and prepare to get off the main road at that point, as you allow speed to reduce. Some weight distribution hitches have anti sway bars, and will be a good way to prevent trailer sway.
 
26 mph winds are completely doable. If you have a heavy long bed crew cab tow vehicle you may not even notice them. My E450 motorhome doesn't even drive differently with the boat in tow....until a big hill....But, if you're towing with something short and light, you will be more comfortable and arguably a lot safer going a bit slower than usual.
 
Hi and congrats on the windfall (forgive the pun).
Bob is absolutely right about the trailer adapter. I tow our 25 with a Sequoia and recently added the Blue Ox weight distribution/sway controller adapter to our package. It made a world of difference regarding stability. Should have done it immediately. We also run the electric over hydraulic brakes.
The folks at etrailer were super helpful with consulting on which model and weight. One thing they recommend is matching the correct spring bar strength to the tongue weight of your package... everyone usually goes for the most beefy solution. Instead what you want is an appropriate setup for your package. There are two basic sway controllers, one is friction (reactive) and the other is spring bars (anticipatory) to start controlling before it gets out of hand. I chose the latter...
The Sequoia works great so far and 69 is the sweet spot for mileage and handling on the highway, 63 is better for highway in traffic, but since I've added the unit, trucks don't seem to set things in motion as they did before. I have not yet done mountains, but with the hills and dips east of Tallahassee those two speeds keep the transmission from trying to downshift for the most part. 80 miles should be a good limited test run for you.
Best of Luck
 
Be careful about using any weight distribution systems. Some boat trailer manufacturers recommend against them. For one thing, a boat trailer is not the same as a utility or camping trailer "A" style frame. The boat trailer has a long pole tongue. The weight distribution system works by distributing weight off the hitch and vehicles back wheels to the trailer wheels and vehicles front wheels. IOW, you are placing more torque on the trailers single pole tongue. Colby
 
colbysmith":3b8zqegx said:
Be careful about using any weight distribution systems. Some boat trailer manufacturers recommend against them. For one thing, a boat trailer is not the same as a utility or camping trailer "A" style frame. The boat trailer has a long pole tongue. The weight distribution system works by distributing weight off the hitch and vehicles back wheels to the trailer wheels and vehicles front wheels. IOW, you are placing more torque on the trailers single pole tongue. Colby
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You're not wrong. I'm sure how much they help with a pole tongue - even the ones designed to work with one. They're out there though and are stupid expensive. Sometimes one just needs a bigger truck.
 
Here's some personal experience:

I purchased a single-pole attachment that allows the wt distribution hitch from my camping trailer (similar tongue wt) to work on my tomcat trailer. Even with significant torque on the bars, I didn't see any real difference in the road handling while difference in handling with the camping trailer is stark.

I've been talking w/ the Float-On folks about a new trailer and I mentioned a wt distributing hitch and was told the don't recommend them and may not honor the warranty if one is used.

YMMV
 
For my father in laws 2016 tundra the manual says a weight distribution is needed for anything over 5000 pounds. I use one with my camper extension as well for my C-Dory 25.
 
Many trucks, esp 1/2 ton, require weight dist. hitch over 5000 LBS weight. There is the tongue pole adaptor which is a standard item. We used one towing well over 10,000 miles, with definite improvement in handling and much better tire wear. With surge brakes one has to be sure that the weight dist. hitch is comparable. But I feel that both TC 255 and C Dory 25 should have electric over hydraulic. In British Columbia (Canada) both of these are required to have a braking system which is controlled from the cab of the truck for any trailer weight over 6160 Lbs.

Gross trailer weight of more than 2,800 kg (6,160 Ibs) – Brakes are required, and the trailer brakes must be capable of being applied by the driver independently of the towing vehicle's brakes. A surge brake does NOT meet this requirement. A breakaway brake is also required. Brakes are required on all axles.
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There is no question that electric over hydraulic is the way to go with heavier loads. Distribution hitches can make a huge difference, or none at all....lots of variables on that one. I remember selling them years ago at the RV dealership I worked in, and it was totally a mixed bag - some people were like wow....others were like what the heck did I buy that for? But the dialog is correct, most 1/2 ton trucks require them when towing over 5-6k on the frame hitch. My 45 year old 1 ton Ford 4x4 doesn't really care either way....really heavy, giant brakes, 10 ply tires, big sway bars front and rear, air bags, and beefy solid axles. It makes a difference. With that said, follow what the law and your truck manufacture say to do.
 
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