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PostPosted: Wed May 30, 2018 7:06 pm 
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I have a manual transmission Dakota, 4x4 with the 4.7L V8 and 5-speed manual trans. It's rated for 5100lbs. with the current rear end gears.

Any tips for safe towing? I have a 2006 H200 on a tandem axle galvanized trailer.

I've never towed anything before in my life, let alone launched a boat. The ramp is about 8 miles from my house with minimal traffic. My e-brake doesn't really work too good. I was thinking of leaving the truck in 4x4 low when launching, and then chocking a wheel in case the truck pops out of gear. I can also adjust the e-brake but I like the idea of a failsafe just in case something happens. I'll probably be launching by myself 90% of the time.

Any tips or tricks would be much appreciated.

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PostPosted: Wed May 30, 2018 7:10 pm 
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Something like this is what I had in mind for the chock:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_pHVNwKkFU

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PostPosted: Wed May 30, 2018 7:22 pm 
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If it was me, I would Get the E-brake working correctly. Too important.

I would Go practice when no one is at the launch, during the week, early in the morning, or after work

Then if you are doing it Saturday, avoid the rush times. For my launch, it’s pretty slow from 9-10am on the weekends to launch. Then after 5 it seems to slow down. There is a small window around 2.

It shouldn’t matter, but people that know what they are doing get impatient waiting for the lone launcher.... especially if they lack experience.....

If you can tie the boat off to the opposite side of a dock from the launch area, do that..... usually it’s not hard to find someone to go for a day. My wife doesn’t always go, so I usually Get a friend to come along....

Good luck, take your time, Stay calm!

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PostPosted: Wed May 30, 2018 7:32 pm 
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Thanks for the tips. I might go really early on Friday or Saturday and practice before the crowds get there. Fortunately the ramp is well maintained and isn't very steep.

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PostPosted: Wed May 30, 2018 11:42 pm 
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You will be fine...but get your brakes checked out and the ebrake adjusted...putting in 4wd is good idea....i would get tall chocks just in case so it doesn't roll over it. Being downhill the short ones are like little ramps. Launching alone is a chore.

Find a big open parking lot with no poles around to practice backing...backing downhill is same thing...being that boat and trailer is long it is forgiving on the left and right. Actually easier to back than a short trailer that over reacts like an exwife...

The biggest tip I can give is to get your routine together and take care of necessities on level ground before entering ramp...thats the biggest frustration for you and others.

Plug in..stern straps off...boat loaded up...tie off lines at the ready then your ready for the ramp....if u have a backup highway bow chain I unhook it before ramp also.

It will take you longer to handle the launch alone so don't stress over it as long as you are prepared. I never have issue helping at the ramp and totally get it's work to handle alone. Only time I get frustrated is waiting for people to hog ramp while they load ice chest...water toys...insert plugs and play grabass while there's a line waiting.

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 8:52 am 
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I'm having the rear brakes done, parking brake adjusted, and one of the leaf shackles was rusted apart. She should be ready to tow by this afternoon!

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PostPosted: Sun Jun 10, 2018 8:46 am 
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Make sure the traiker brakes work and the bearings are in good shape. It will be tough to stop that boat even from low speeds with only the truck brakes working. I learned this long ago when towing our H200 with our '98 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Did that once or twice then installed surge brakes and check them every season.

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PostPosted: Sun Jun 10, 2018 3:15 pm 
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LouC wrote:
Make sure the traiker brakes work and the bearings are in good shape. It will be tough to stop that boat even from low speeds with only the truck brakes working. I learned this long ago when towing our H200 with our '98 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Did that once or twice then installed surge brakes and check them every season.


Trailer brakes work well. The trailer is only a year old. Also, the whole thing was serviced at the beginning of the season. I did disable the trailer brakes for backing (only have four pin connector at the moment) and even driving slow around the launch i could tell it was much harder to stop.

Some guy pulled up in a truck after I put my boat in and said "You made that look easy!" I told him it was my second time and he was amazed at my launching procedure, so I guess all those years of boating as a child paid off because I remembered pretty much the entire process.

4LO is also definitely the way to go when pulling the boat out, especially with a manual. Basically I creep up the ramp, then at the top I switch back to 2HI and continue on to the staging area. After the truck is backed down the ramp I also chock the front tires as a precaution, especially since the rears are partially in the water at my hometown launch.

Thanks again for the tips.

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 4:37 pm 
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At our local ramp we joke it is the cheapest entertainment in town. Forgetting to put in the plug, remove straps, tow vehicle launching itself, ramming the dock, 2wd pickup spinning it's tire, unable to pull the boat out of the water..... A lot of people obviously are newbies so I and my friends are quick to offer a hand...in the long run it speeds up the process for everyone. Another observation, the smallest boat always has the most passengers :-)

You didn't mention whether you have a bunk or roller trailer.... Bunk trailers usually have to be rolled in a bit deeper to float the boat off but in either case, once the boat starts to float you don't have too much more than the trailer to deal with. Sounds to me like you've given everything careful thought and I suspect things will go smoothly for you. Preparation is the key to efficient launching and recovery. I don't think I'd want to try by myself if I didn't have to. Launching wouldn't be too bad but recovery would present more challenges.

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 2:41 pm 
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The only thing I don't like about this truck is the side-view mirrors. It has the smaller sport mirrors, and it makes it hard to see behind the trailer while driving unless I am turning. I might look into tow mirrors, but for now for the short 8 mile trip to the launch on back roads I am happy with it.

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 2:43 pm 
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Oldav8tor wrote:
At our local ramp we joke it is the cheapest entertainment in town. Forgetting to put in the plug, remove straps, tow vehicle launching itself, ramming the dock, 2wd pickup spinning it's tire, unable to pull the boat out of the water..... A lot of people obviously are newbies so I and my friends are quick to offer a hand...in the long run it speeds up the process for everyone. Another observation, the smallest boat always has the most passengers :-)

You didn't mention whether you have a bunk or roller trailer.... Bunk trailers usually have to be rolled in a bit deeper to float the boat off but in either case, once the boat starts to float you don't have too much more than the trailer to deal with. Sounds to me like you've given everything careful thought and I suspect things will go smoothly for you. Preparation is the key to efficient launching and recovery. I don't think I'd want to try by myself if I didn't have to. Launching wouldn't be too bad but recovery would present more challenges.


I have a bunk trailer with teflon strips on the bunks, which makes it incredibly easy to load and unload the boat. Each time I've put it in I have been by myself. It's pretty easy actually.

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 6:09 pm 
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Oldav8tor wrote:
At our local ramp we joke it is the cheapest entertainment in town. Forgetting to put in the plug, remove straps, tow vehicle launching itself, ramming the dock, 2wd pickup spinning it's tire, unable to pull the boat out of the water..... A lot of people obviously are newbies so I and my friends are quick to offer a hand...in the long run it speeds up the process for everyone. Another observation, the smallest boat always has the most passengers :-)

You didn't mention whether you have a bunk or roller trailer.... Bunk trailers usually have to be rolled in a bit deeper to float the boat off but in either case, once the boat starts to float you don't have too much more than the trailer to deal with. Sounds to me like you've given everything careful thought and I suspect things will go smoothly for you. Preparation is the key to efficient launching and recovery. I don't think I'd want to try by myself if I didn't have to. Launching wouldn't be too bad but recovery would present more challenges.


+1 on the entertainment value. I have even been "boo'ed" by the audience for not having any problems that were amusing enough to those watching! Thankfully that didn't happen very often...

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 9:18 pm 
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Hey Surface Interval... nice to hear from you.

I don't know about booing but I've heard applause for some major screwups. Like the guy who violated the rule against power loading, hit the trailer at an angle and put the bow into the back of his pickup camper..... One of those really expensive jet boats.

I try not to take too much pleasure in such things as karma has a way of turning the tables.

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 10:24 pm 
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The vehicle towing charts I've seen recently usually identify a much lower tow rating for manual transmissions because of the clutch. Any way that you do it, using a manual transmission on a boat ramp takes some fancy foot work. Hmmmm...3 or 4 pedals and only 2 feet... Yes, it can be done. It really helps if your vehicle has a hand release for the parking brake. A little bit of gas pedal, let the clutch out enough to start to engage, and release the e brake as you let out the clutch and add a bit more gas. I'll stick with the automatic transmission for my 268.

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PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2018 8:32 am 
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Surface Interval wrote:
The vehicle towing charts I've seen recently usually identify a much lower tow rating for manual transmissions because of the clutch. Any way that you do it, using a manual transmission on a boat ramp takes some fancy foot work. Hmmmm...3 or 4 pedals and only 2 feet... Yes, it can be done. It really helps if your vehicle has a hand release for the parking brake. A little bit of gas pedal, let the clutch out enough to start to engage, and release the e brake as you let out the clutch and add a bit more gas. I'll stick with the automatic transmission for my 268.


In 4LO I don't even need the parking brake. I let the clutch out until it grabs, which holds the truck and boat on the incline, then give it a tiny bit of gas so the RPMs stay around 800 while letting the clutch out. Minimal to no riding of the clutch is done thanks to the short gearing.

If I had 2WD only it would probably be a nightmare, especially since my truck has 3.55 rear end and a tall 1st gear.

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