Towing a Bass Boat? 1500 sucks at towing?

[Krusty]

So I have been towing my Ranger Bass boat. It is a Ranger z520 which is 20'9" long, on the trailer its a total of 24 feet.

 

I feel the rear end is too "bouncy" at times. Is there a tongue ratio or something I should be worried about? Also the truck feels very bouncy when hitting a bump and towing.

 

 

Just wondering what others have seen.

 

 

 

 

Ive been pondering changing over to a Diesel, possibly Ford and or the new Ford Raptor.

 

 

Max weight is all covered in the owners manual and towing guide - no way are you exceeding anything. Any truck will feel different towing - even a diesel - I just came from a 2500 Duramax myself - the 1500 does everything I want to pull and more......

 

[FreeAmerican]

When you say bouncy, do you mean porpoising? I'm not familiar with boat trailers but I assume you have a weight distributing hitch like a travel trailer.

 

If so you need more weight on the front maybe.

 

I had some issues like you are describing but 3 out of the 4 Rancho shocks were bad (and I had 20k miles) I would Swap over to some Bilstein HD shocks, Made a world of difference to mine.

 

I did add some Timbrens to mine too but I'm towing 7000#

 

I have no idea how heavy your boat is but you should get some bounce, just not uncontrolled bounce or bottoming out or porpoising.

[Nick The Great]

I want to know the weight of the boat as well

[TxTruckMan]

So I have been towing my Ranger Bass boat. It is a Ranger z520 which is 20'9" long, on the trailer its a total of 24 feet.

 

I feel the rear end is too "bouncy" at times. Is there a tongue ratio or something I should be worried about? Also the truck feels very bouncy when hitting a bump and towing.

 

 

Just wondering what others have seen.

 

 

Ive been pondering changing over to a Diesel, possibly Ford and or the new Ford Raptor.

You need to give us much more information. Specs of your truck? 4.3L? 6.2L? 3.08 gears? 3.73 gears? Trailer specs?

 

And a Raptor is not a towing vehicle.

 

They just are not great tow vehicles in my opinion especially it you have a 3.08. I had my first experience towing heavy with my 3.08 a week ago and with a 5000 lb trailer it felt pretty gutless. It was also very bouncy like you described even though I had made shure to get the load balanced correctly.

 

Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk

That's because the 3.08 gears are mileage gears, not towing gears. Gutless is what I would expect from such low ratio gears. If you plan on towing often, you should at least get the 3.42 gears.

[aseibel]

this video illustrates how weight placement affects handling of the tow vehicle:

 

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/192544-a-visual-representation-of-how-important-load-balancing-is/?hl=a+visual+representation+of+how+important+load+balancing+is.

[LyleLukas11]

if your still using the stock god awfull ranchos thats a start. ditch those. i added an air bag to the back to help squat and that helped tremendously.

 

 

 

This is what I thought my problem was also. i have been looking into the Bilsteins to get rid of the ranchos. The rear end is just so bouncy.

[ct_corey]

sometimes I tow a 5200 pound backhoe on a 2000 lb trailer and the truck does fine

[Rkaroll953]

 

 

 

This is what I thought my problem was also. i have been looking into the Bilsteins to get rid of the ranchos. The rear end is just so bouncy.

yea u wont belive how much better it is. Blistiens are a good option, i have fox 2.0 and its night and day better as well.

[Krusty]

^{I went Bilstiens on my 2500 - sure made it more planted going over railroad tracks etc.......}

[Billy346]

So I have been towing my Ranger Bass boat. It is a Ranger z520 which is 20'9" long, on the trailer its a total of 24 feet.

 

I feel the rear end is too "bouncy" at times. Is there a tongue ratio or something I should be worried about? Also the truck feels very bouncy when hitting a bump and towing.

 

 

Just wondering what others have seen.

 

 

 

 

Ive been pondering changing over to a Diesel, possibly Ford and or the new Ford Raptor.

Along the lines of what others have said, I doubt the bouncing is a capability issue on the part of your truck. I had a 1999 Ford Ranger that I used to tow my 5300 lb boat/ trailer rig. It had 165 hp, just to give you some perspective. (However, it did have a 4.10 rear with the tow package)

 

A 1500 Silverado should have no problem towing that boat, even with the 4.3L V6, which is a pretty powerful engine.

 

That being said, a 1500 with a 4.3 or even a 5.3 is not going to stack up well against a 2500 or 3500. The difference in frame strength and springs is going to make a huge difference in and of itself. (That being said, the 6.2 will probably drag whatever you want all over town even if the suspension is crying uncle.)

 

If you double check your rig's settings and you are still not happy with the towing characteristics, get a heavier truck. Personally, Im a big fan of the Ford Super Duty. I don't think the power stroke is quite as strong as the Duramax or Cummins, but when it comes to chassis strength, Ford wins.

[Orlando8]

Boat , motor, trailer is around 4000lbs. I am guessing as others its the tounge weight isnt right

[amxguy1970]

First OP a Raptor is not something you want to go after if towing is why you are considering switching. Second you in no way shape or form need a HD diesel for your little bass boat... If you are that uncomfortable towing 4k'ish pounds with a 1500 you should probably leave it in a slip somewhere as I can only imagine the boat ramp issues you might have.

 

As others have said it is probably off balance some. Weight the tongue weight and go from there. Shocks may help some but springs are a bigger player when towing. Consider adding a helper spring that picks up after the initial stage.

 

If you do replace the shocks don't go with an off road shock, they are softer and worse for towing regardless of what some here say.

 

The stock tires aren't your reason, changing them won't change your issue. You may have more traction though.

 

Finally those that say they can't even feel their 5k plus pounds on the hitch are just lying, period. I always laugh when they say that. The tundra guys were always big proponents of that statement "towed 9k yesterday like it wasn't even there". BS.... I am a big fan of our trucks but even with a couple jet skis out back you know there is something back there regardless of how little it affects the truck all around.

 

Tyler

[Orlando8]

My 20 ft Ranger tows very, very easy

[O_J_Simpson]

Boat , motor, trailer is around 4000lbs. I am guessing as others its the tounge weight isnt right

That is not the only issue.

[Orlando8]

That is not the only issue.

 

OK, What is the issue? A 1500 will easiy tow such a load