www.iFourWinns.com

Are you saying you have a trailer for your 348?

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Jeff

'14 Cruisers 380 Express "Simon Sez"
Merc 8.2 Mag MPI 380
DTS B3X, (x2) Axius Premier


(SOLD)
'08 V318
Merc 350 Mag MPI 300
DTS Seacore, B3 (x2)

Yes we do. It makes it easer to move in and out for the season. When you don't have to relay on other people. We can store it easer also. We have a friend at the lake that helps us. I help him put his 348 Rinker in. And he helps put ours in. He has a Ford 350. We don't have to go far where we store it. Also when we got our dealer brought it up for free with our trailer. So we saved money there. The trailer is rated for 22,000 lbs. Like I sad before my friend has a trailer for his 37' Maxum. That is a quad axle trailer.

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348 Vista ( Last Call )
Raystown PA

As far as towing that much boat, I would do it with no problem. I would want a goose neck trailer if I were going to tow it much. That boat is not much more weight than my 5th wheel RV (12k then 2k of jet skis behind 5th), and height, the a/c unit is right at 13 feet. I have never had any issues, yes I got watch where you go and watch clearances, but very do able. Boats tow better than a big square rv.
I would recomend a little more truck if your thinking of hauling any distance and often, but your truck is more than capable for short occasional use, with the right set up/trailer. Just my opinion.

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2000 248 5.7L DP
'92, '94 SXI 750, '08 STX 15F, '12 Ultra LX 300
Videos

I think that's a great point Powellcrazy...

You are fine with towing... but just consider this:

1) Gooseneck trailer if possible
2) Check your local physical restrictions on height -- ie, do you have overpasses or bridges that would hurt you? If not, you are probably close enough that nobody would notice if you are an inch or 2 over height.


JSimon - so what's the word? Are you picking it up or what???

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2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

hello all

My wife and I have been pondering/angonizing on this for over a week. We have decieded to wait. As we talked about coaugar, the vessel we were looking at (a repo) wasnt in the best of shape, but even more an issue was the height. I dont mind the over width, but over height is a bit more of an issue for me. I had a trailer mfg that he thought he could keep the height under 13'6" on the trailer, but wansnt sure.

By waiting (which I have a tough time doing) we will save some more $$ for it and look for a used 08 model with the hinged arch. That would take all the worries of being over height. I can just see us traveling to a new launch having made any and all overpasses then going down a secondary road and ripping everyones electric or phone lines down

Thanks for all your input.

Jeff

'03 268 Vista "Simon Sez"

_________________
Jeff

'14 Cruisers 380 Express "Simon Sez"
Merc 8.2 Mag MPI 380
DTS B3X, (x2) Axius Premier


(SOLD)
'08 V318
Merc 350 Mag MPI 300
DTS Seacore, B3 (x2)

hi, I trailer my 2000 328 vista thats on a 11' 9" beam. I have a loadmaster thats built in port clinton ohio. its a tri-axle trailer. I am 13'3" tall. I have towed this boat from franklin furnance ohio to youngstown to lorain and back. I tow 32 miles each way to the ohio river and back, I also tow 30 miles each way for inside storage.I have not a problem with height execpt for some low branches.I tow with a 2006 dodge ram 3500 with a cummins diesel, and it pulls great, also I have a factory exhaust brake that is really great with braking.I also suggest that you get a permit ,just to be safe.to sum this up the loadmaster trailer company in port clinton builds a very good trailer. I also weigh in at 17.900lbs, boat, engines ,generator, 1/2 tank of fuel and the trailer. if you call loadmaster talk to gary and ask him what the height of the 318 is on the trailer, he should have that info, thanks Joe.

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"Lady Lexie"
Port of Chester, WV
2000 328 Vista
Towed with a Dodge Cummins!

Wow, trailering a 328.... I am impressed. 11'9 beam, everyone must get the h** out of your way. As far as height the specs call out your boat at 11' 4" tall so if you measure out at 13'3" thats 23" of trailer height. For some reason the 318 comes in at 12'2" high. Assuming the same 21" that makes it 14'1", from what i can find 13'6" is the height limit in Michigan.

Are you using an Aluminum I beam trailer? At 17,900 seems heavy considering the dry weight of the boat is 12.500# (by the specs ) unless you have alot of "stuff" on it too. The 318 specs 12000# dry and I thought a 15000# trailer would do the job.

Thanks for the info.... by the way what is the max trailering capacity for your rig?

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Jeff

'14 Cruisers 380 Express "Simon Sez"
Merc 8.2 Mag MPI 380
DTS B3X, (x2) Axius Premier


(SOLD)
'08 V318
Merc 350 Mag MPI 300
DTS Seacore, B3 (x2)

I think my dodge is rated at 14,500 lbs. I am sure my truck could handle 2000 additional lbs. the 17,900 lbs was on a cat scale at a truck stop, but i had I think 1/2 tank of fuel and yes there was a lot of gear in our boat. and dont forget that 17,900lbs includes the trailer which weighs over 2500 lbs. the trailer is steel. the hinged arch is now standard on the 338-358. I know you could retro fit a 348 into a hinged arch since its the same hull as the 358. good luck, Joe.

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"Lady Lexie"
Port of Chester, WV
2000 328 Vista
Towed with a Dodge Cummins!

JSimon,

As I posted earlier in this thread, I have done allot of talking with Loadmaster and even with a different trailer axle they could only get me to 13.8 (not counting electronics). I really wanted a trailer but decided against it because it was too risky for the investment. If you want I can share the specific emails exchanged with Loadmaster on this

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Bridgewater, PA
2008 Vista 318

JXP:

Did you come up to Bridgewater Landings one weekend this past summer (beaver river)?
I think you docked next to me

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Bridgewater, PA
2008 Vista 318

To party cove, yes we were there a few times this past summer, great place. I think your name as jeff? i would call four winns and see if you could use the hinges that they use on the 338 on your 318. The new hinged arch is the cats ass. it realy puts you at ease when towing and when looking for inside storage options, good luck, Joe.

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"Lady Lexie"
Port of Chester, WV
2000 328 Vista
Towed with a Dodge Cummins!

Can't remember the specs for weight & beam on a 318. My 2003 298 is about 9780 dry with a 10'6" beam. Throw on 1100 lbs of fuel, 300lbs of water plus all the gear and groceries and I'll bet I'm dragging 12,400 around. I put a new Venture tri-axle I-beam trailer under it which I got in Utica, MI (can't remember the trailer dealer's name right off).

You do need a permit here in MI. Technically, I should have used a permit to tow my old '95 278V but never bothered and was never hassled. Currently, these type of permits prohibit you from towing over the weekends or after dark. But due to Michigan's "robust" economy, the brains in Lansing are actually thinking about relaxing the law for trailer boaters in order to promote more boating. Imagine that.... lawmakers actually using their heads!

Back to my boat, my '05 Silverado 2500HD 4x4 "chipped" Duramax seems to move my 298 down the road adequately. I'm using a Diablo downloader program that adds about 70hp to my truck. The biggest concern is whether Larry the Cable Guy put all his wires above the required 13'6". I am having a hinged radar bracket fabricated this off season for that very reason. As I sit right now, the top of my radome is at 13'10" when I'm on wheels. By the way, when I fit my trailer to the boat I had to move the bunks all the way out as far as they would go. Then using 4 cardboard templates that matched various locations along the hull, I shaved & tapered the bunks to get my boat as low as possible and still allow for maximum axle travel. Don't forget our endless supply of Michigan potholes! With the bunks spread and tapered, the boat virtually self-centers because I aligned them directly outside the chines. Your next task is to be sure of the depth and run-out for ramps where you decide to launch.

As far as power goes, I've got the 5.0L VP DP's rated at 270hp. It's not a rocket ship but with me, my wife, daughter and gear aboard it gets out of the hole quickly and maintains plane with ease. A few of the people we boat with are constantly having to play with their throttles in Lake Michigan seas, whereas I pretend I'm Ron Popiel and set it and forget it!

One thing I did and strongly recommend is adding a real engine synchronizer (not a guage). In a former life I worked as an electronics installer and put many of the Glendenning units in. Complicated and pricey. I opted for an AccuSync unit from Sturdy Corp. Simple to install, easy to operate and very accurate. It eliminates the need to have a "dead" throttle. If you keep the engines throttled to within 15% of each other, they will stay synched. They made mileage and performance improve and I dont have to listen to engine pulses or rely on a sticky slow guage anymore

Good luck!