Towing sizes and practicality

[IamSam]

This thread is a gold mine for the legislation around towing: https://www.rib.net/forum/f49/towing...ons-79040.html

But what do you guys actually tow? How far? How much is too much?

I'm in a position where I am looking at buying a decent size RIB (7m+) and want to keep it on a trailer so I'm not confined to a particular area as I don't live by the sea.

I probably won't buy this year, hoping the prices settle a little for next season, but what are the practicalities of towing a larger boat?

I'm keen to hear from people with more experience than me. I have plenty of experience boating, but not towing, so getting in and out of marinas and slipways, driving down narrow cornish roads etc are all things I want to think about before pushing the button.

My dream RIB is Brig Eagle 8, which I understand is technically towable and maybe within the realms of possibility in the next year, but I am not sure how practical it would be under real-life circumstances to actually get on the water without massive effort

[GuyC]

I've towed my Pac 22 with a Merc Sprinter motorhome and a Toyota Land Cruiser - 16.3m and 14.3m long respectively up to and around the Outer Hebrides from Hampshire and then launched at a number of slipways. With a bit of forward planning, it's fine. Practice your manoeuvring before you go and if you have a non-panicking banksman or woman, it's very helpful. There aren't that many roads you can't take quite a sizeable trailer although single track with passing places in holiday season mixed with hired motorhomes who don't understand the concept of passing places (or reversing) does increase your blood pressure somewhat.

The tow vehicle is pretty important. My full fat Land Cruiser makes the towing aspect pretty easy. Other less reliable (but more popular and possibly refined) marques are available.

But I'm not a frequent tow-er as I'm fortunate enough to have the boat in a dry stack most of the time. I do ponder whether I'd be visiting different places - Cornwall, Wales etc if I had the boat permanently on a trailer and without the 'luxury' of a dry stack. Would the perceived faff put me off the spontaneous decision to take the boat out? I think if you were to base your estimate of faffage on the first few occasions, it could very well put you off but launching and retrieving the boat becomes more efficient with practice until it probably doesn't impact on your day too much.

I think if I was to solely rely on towing everywhere, I'd consider a smaller RIB in the 5.5 to 6.0m range because whilst I don't have an issue driving around in something the same length as an artic, I do recognise it is probably at the bigger end of the spectrum when it comes to towing and smaller is easier to manage.

All IMHO

[Poly]

I’d say your tow vehicle is going to be critical to answering the question.

[Nasher]

As has been said it's going to be down to your tow vehicle.

I have one of the:

Originally Posted by GuyC

Other less reliable (but more popular and possibly refined) marques are available.

vehicles that GuyC alludes to, it's rated at 3.5Tns towing capacity in the UK, but like GuyC's Landcruiser will tow and stop more with ease, but most importantly safely without weaving all over the road.

There is no substitute for weight in a tow vehicle.

The big issue not just legally, but practically, is width of the trailer, that's where you come unstuck, especially when you meet an elderly caravan owner coming the other way down an A road wanting 3' between his Tin box and the hedge.

Oh, and of course your ability behind the wheel of the tow car is key, along with setting up the load on the hitch.

I'd happily tow what you are suggesting behind my 'Other less reliable marque', but I've been towing a large trailer for years and done a lot of miles with it.

Nasher.

[beerbelly]

i also have the other less reliable marque towing only a mere 5.5 metre rib but also use it for my larger tin tent .its my second one and to be fair apart from fixing the things prev owners have neglected to do mine have been pretty good will tow anything in a very comfortable manner ( as long as the crank doesn't snap )

[Iankristy]

Don’t forget to take width into account as well as tow vehicle etc above. I’ve had two ribs circa 8mtr. Ribcraft 7.8 was 2.7 wide and humber 8.5 was 2.8 wide. No bother on motorways but country roads with trees/ hedges either side and lorries/ vans coming at you gives you the odd ‘clench’. Also small streets near Harbours take a wee bit of planning. My local port I had to do 20mtrs wrong way down a one way street to get to the harbour as the main access was one way system and had cars parked either side. I couldn’t get down without a runner going ahead folding in wing mirrors [emoji23]
In brief entirely doable and I would say very much worth it but the extra length does necessitate a bit more planning. With a decent trailer and a plan easily one man launch/ retrieve at that size.

[beamishken]

We used to tow a 25ft hard cruiser which was bang on 3500kg empty, probably substantially overweight when full but we never had any issues or problems towing or launching in various places. 9ft6" load width is the magic number stay under that & 3500kgs & its towable with the right vehicle. Landcruiser amazon was our weapon of choice. Also towed a 7.4m delta quite a bit with a hilux & a merc ml both fine for towing & launching.
Pickups in general aren't the best tow vehicles as the distance from the tow bar to rear wheel makes them less stable & give a crap ride unless fairly well loaded. That said we currently have a 6.5m ribcraft & the hilux is the tool of choice as it doesnt have a canopy & I can back down till the rear tyres are at the waters edge & jump over the bed to un hitch or recover without getting wet feet.
Plenty of options for tow vehicles as you'll unlikely be close to the 3500 limit & in reality most big 4x4s are reasonably reliable nowadays. Whether your comfortable towing around narrow lanes etc is a question only you can answer but if you careful & patient then no reason why you cant do it

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by IamSam

My dream RIB is Brig Eagle 8, which I understand is technically towable and maybe within the realms of possibility in the next year, but I am not sure how practical it would be under real-life circumstances to actually get on the water without massive effort

I used to tow a Ballistic 7.8 from Swindon to Cornwall and various locations on the South coast.

Realistically, from my experiences:-

Towing 80 miles each way plus keeping an extra large tow vehicle is expensive in fuel.
Most slipways that offer parking for a trailer that big charge quite a bit.
Once you've factored the costs of both of those plus the sheer hassle of getting it out, putting it away etc, drystacking becomes very very tempting (this is what I did in the end.)

A lot of slipways just aren't set up for a rig that big. No room to turn round is a common problem, along with nowhere to embark and parking spaces don't fit a trailer that big. Shallow slips can be a nightmare.

It's a bit harder loading people at the beach when the bow is high enough that they can't get aboard easily and the boat draws a little more water.

Saying that, the smiles per mile from it were something else.


For comparison with my 5.4 Searider I could use almost all the public slips and hards from Weymouth to Hayling.

With the Ballistic I used Cobbs Quay (£50) and could launch/recover solo) ,Calshot £25) and could have used the Ferryboat on Hayling(need 2 people who can drive for those 2 )