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07 280 Weight on Trailer
junebug
Member Posts: 31 ✭✭
I just wanted to share as i was kind of shocked on the weight of my boat and trailer combined. So I have a new tri-axle Excalibur trailer that is rated at 10500lbs. The boat is a 2007 280 with 8.1 Volvo, I have three batteries, just over a half a tank of fuel, about 12 gallons of water, 5 gallons of waste water, and all my gear. I weighed the boat and trailer at a grain mill scale which is owned by a friend. I was shocked to see it tip the scales at 11176 lbs. The trailer is galvanized not aluminum.
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I don't know how much tongue weight my 270 has, it squats my 2500 about an inch when on there and it makes for a bouncy ride over highway overpasses and dips in the highway.
I was honestly shocked. The published weight is 7640 - I expected that was with Genny and AC, but now I suspect that's without, and with a smaller engine. I have the 8.1L 496MAG.
I had very little fuel/water/poo/stuff on board.
Couple comments. I used to tow my 270 Pachanga (boat about 6,500# with fuel and twin 350's) on a crappy tandem trailer. Trailer weighed about 1,800#. combined that's 8,300#. tongue weight with that set up was about 500# (in spite of the fact you should have 10% tongue load - at least for single or double axle trailers). I towed with 2000 Dodge ram 1500 (same thing air bags and it had the heavy half ton 360 not the wheezy 5.3L). Lived up a big, BIG hill. Ram got it up and down no problem. BUT, 8,300# exceeded the GCWR. Its not just whether it can tow it up that hill its also what's the GCWR. If you got in an accident on that 8 mile trip to the water and it was your fault, could be bad if anyone checked the GCWR vs actual. For me, after about 7 years of the tandem and the dodge, I went to a triple axle 11,500# rated trailer and a one ton 1990 Ford (color matched the boat and I love the square bodies). Well within the GCWR (10,000#). What I found astounding about the triple axle trailer, because of the extra axle, the tongue would sit almost level to the ground without being on the hitch. This even after I moved the bow hitch a foot farther forward. I had to go with an elevated ball hitch to get 350# tongue load on the ball. The boat was well situated over the triple axles but just didn't have a significant front load. I Suppose putting a 6,500# load on a 11,500# rated trailer (California Trailer works formerly HMD) is overkill but it looked really good. But also, that extra axle really helps spread the load out. Also very very stable to tow with.
One of the things I absolutely hated though about the triple axle was the pressure exerted on the wheel hubs during any kind of a tight turn. Watching the forklift at the boat yard move it around during maintenance just made me cringe. I never did formally weigh either set up but using manufacturer specs will get you close to actual (accounting for about 6#/gallon for fuel.
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