I just purchased a 30' 5th wheel trailer that I will be towed by my SWB extended cab F250. I also want to pull my 14' fishing boat. Has anyone had any experience doing this? The guys at the RV store told me that they do not make a hitch that attaches to the trailer and don't recommend towing a boat behind. What do ya'll say?

I have seen this done by plenty of people. Find it kinda crazy since you cannot see the boat at all, but it seems to work for them. Just measure the trailer for how big of a hitch you need and then just go buy one and install it yourself.

aclaimsman:
As long as it doesn't exceed 50 feet.
Good Luck

kinda reminds me of a progressive insurance commercial, but i think they were longer than allowed

Back in the '70s I knew a guy that came up with a different solution. He had a custom rack built (similar to a ladder rack) so he could carry his boat and trailer ON TOP of his truck, and tow his RV trailer behind. He had ramps made of channel iron, and used a front bumper mounted winch with a roller on the front of the rack to pull the boat and trailer on top. The rig was slightly sloped down to the rear so it would easily offload with the winch in reverse. He even had a trailer ball mounted up top to secure the trailer. He said when he got to a campground, he would drop the RV trailer, lower the boat trailer, then tie the boat trailer on normally to go to the boat ramp. I know it sounds weird, but he said he was much more comfortable doing it this way than towing two trailers and maybe getting stuck somewhere he had to try and back up that train.

My dad pulls his 20 foot fish & ski behind his fifth wheel trailer, though not quite as big a fifth wheel as you're talking. They bought their trailer from Billy Sims in Lubbock and they put a reciever style hitch on it and wired it for a 4-wire trailer connecter (for the boat). He's got a Dodge with the Cummins and 6 speeed. It pulls like a dream.

Probabally the biggest difference between pulling your boat behind and just pulling the fifth wheel is you can't back it up (unless everything is straight and still not for very long then). So you just have to make sure not to pull forward into anything you can't pull forward through. He got a cheap set of walkie talkies which helps greatly for backing the fifth wheel up to the boat to hook on, etc.

I don't know exactly what the restrictions are but I've seen lots of 3 part rigs on the Interstates all over the country. I was thinking that the length max was 60 feet overall. I was told years ago by a guy at a gas station in Ohio that was headed to Utah with a Tongue tow and Jeep behind his 1 ton to go hunting that you have to be careful about the weight distribution...something about the last vehicle can't weigh more than half or two thirds the middle vehicle and yes the last vehicle should be some significantly narrower than the middle...also some restriction about only legal on Interstates. I know back in the late 60's when I worked on a freight dock I set up lots & lots of double pup rigs and had to be sure the weight was right and the overall length was ???90 feet or less...and the total gross was under ???? but the stuff we sent to OKC and KC sometimes would reach 90K gross... but we had to be careful with California outbounds.
Ron

Well, I guess that I better get to welding a hitch.

Texas RV length laws:
http://www.southwesternassn.com/images/Trucking-TX.pdf


You may want to post the same question on this website:

http://forums.vmag.com/cgi-bin/wwwboard.pl?RVTowingVehicles5thwheel


http://www.trailerlife.com/cforum/index.cfm

or

http://www.rv.net/

I have done it with a 30 footer and a 18 foot bass boat, the only problems that I came across was that you couldnt see the boat, but did have someone following me with a phone to let me know how it looked, also on my trailer the hitch it mounted higher that most trucks so be sure to have a drop hitch so your motor doesnt hit the groung on the bumps.

Good luck

You will never know your boat is back there, use to do this with a 29 ft 5th wheel and a 20 ft Bayliner on a tandem. Used a 1 ton dooley. Had to have a custom hitch put on the 5th wheel. I believe the total length is 60 ft but nobody ever checked me. Just remember when figuring your length to figure it with the 5th wheel hooked to the truck as the nose is over the truck.
Good Luck!

Big Un!!!!

For several years I pulled a 19' Stratos behind a 29' Prowler. Not that hard to do--the boat tracks the rv pretty well. Then, on two separate occasions, I had a flat on the boat trailer. YOU WON'T KNOW YOU HAVE A FLAT ON THE BOAT TRAILER. You can't see it, and you can't feel it. Only found out when someone honks at you, or points backward as they pass you. (That's never a good thing.) Both times, I ruined a tire and a rim.
It could get worse than that, I suppose. After that, I don't touble-tow anymore.

2004 State Towing Laws
http://www.glen-l.com/designs/trailer/trailer-laws.html

my dad in his infinate wisdom tried to pull a 20 foot boat behind a 20 goot trailer. dont know if it was that they were both tongue pull or that the boat was perhaps lighter than the trailer or what, but it was not pretty. it worked fine when he pulled it down the road at the house, but when he hit the highway ouch. test run the rig as fast as you plan on pullin git during the trip. finding out it wont work on the way to rayburn for a tourney was not good.

I have pulled tandem for years. I have a Ford Crew Cab Superduty short bed, 3/4 ton diesel. I pull a 27 foot fifth wheel and a 20 foot bass boat.

I am right at 68'10" and it is still perfectly legal. The legal limit in Texas is 65 feet when pulling tandem. The reason why this is legal is that when the second trailer is a boat, they allow an extra 4 feet for the motor kickback.

Be sure to watch state by state regs. I have pulled this all the way to Florida. But some state like Alabama will not allow tandem pulling of recreational trailers. Louisana's limit is 70 feet and Oklahoma is unlimited.

I carry a photo copy of TX-Dot's regulations in my glove box just in case I am stopped. Have never even had a trooper look twice.