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Tandem Towing


RZRCO23

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Thinking about getting a fifth wheel for extended stay boating trips. I've had thought's about tandem towing.... not something I want to do but its the most efficient way to get camper and boat there. I will be getting a new truck if I go down that road and 1 ton will be my choice.... unknown on manufacturer yet.


Looking to get some real world opinions about towing tandem. Have the beefed up hitches you've installed on the back of the trailer held up for towing the boat? A dually is obviously a plus but will a single rear wheeled 1 ton handle it.


Looking at something in the low 30 foot range for fifth wheels so that total length will keep me around 70' for here in Colorado.

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Do the 5th wheel trailer manufacturers include a hitch option? If they do, see how they are rated.

You are going to be adding weight to the axle on the trailer, plus the extra weight you will be pulling.

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I would also look at the pin weights advertized when you look for a camper, and where the majority of the cargo space (and water tanks) is located. Find a heavier pin weight one. Adding weight to the rear (I assume your boat has a good amount of tongue weight) of a camper is going to lighten the pin weight, something you dont want to do! This can be fixed to an extent by loading gear/luggage to the front of the camper when loading it. It amazes me how differently some campers are built, one 30ft may be 8in frame and another 5in. I would be sure to look at all the frame, axle and pin specs. The pin area may not be designed to pull an extra couple thousand pounds, most manufactures have this info if you call them directly.

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Pretty sure we can't tandem tow in WV now. So we can either drive two vehicles to tow both; or get a Motor home to tow the boat. Or some guys at the lake here (Summersville), just store their trailers each weekend at the local VFD for $1 a day in the summer, and then trailer their boats each weekend to the lake. They Get to the lake and drop off the boat; then drive a mile further and pick up their trailer. Pretty good deal.

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  • 4 weeks later...

So we can either drive two vehicles to tow both; or get a Motor home to tow the boat.

This is one of the main reasons why I got a motorhome. Makes things a lot easier. One drawback though is launching the boat with the motorhome. Luckily for me, the friends we camped with had a truck that we used to launch and retrieve the boat each day.

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I fabbed the rear hitch myself. It was tied into the camper frame all the way to the axles. It worked well, but ended up being a pain. Trying to get into tight campgrounds was a bit scary. Oh, and my wife hated it. Whenever we towed the train as it became known, she was uncomfortable. In the end, we still have the boat, but the other pieces are gone.

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We did this for years at great expense. Since then we purchased a E450 Thor trailer with a front and rear hitch (easier to put in) and our life has changed. One vehicle, one boat. Saves us cash and headaches.

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Back in the day, my father (truck driver by profession) did the double tow. We had a fish tailing experience that was very scary. By the time we got stopped the boat was side wise on the boat trailer, winch thru the side of the boat, and dents on the corners of the camper. Lesson learned.... don't get in a big hurry, added side flags to the boat so we could see how it was towing. Now days it would probably be nice to have a camera pointed at the boat to view while towing.

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I did it for years with my old boat (a 21' stern drive) and 32' fifthwheel.

Most of the years I had a 2003 Dodge 3500 quad cab short bed SRW. I now have a 2012 DRW. DRW makes a big difference, but they are a pain to drive other wise.

Before I tried towing tandem with my 23LSV, I had a guy in Brighton (let me know if you want his name) reinforce the back of my 5er, and upgrade my hitch. Cost around $2k. When he had it apart, he found that my old boat (about 5000 pounds) had actually cracked my hitch and I was probably on borrowed time.

Adding a bigger boat to the back of the 5er REALLY degrades the ride of the truck. Enough so that I put an air ride pin box on my trailer. If I were to do it again, I would start with an air ride fifth wheel hitch.

Trying to find fuel when you are 70' where you can easily get in and out is very stressful. I added a 60 gallon RDS aux tank so I never have to worry about filling when towing tandem.

After all of this, I have mostly given up on towing my Malibu with the 5er (still will tow my fishing boat.). The ride is just too bad, and the stress after 10 years is too much. This spring I bought a 2500 8.1 Burb. I tow the boat, the wife tows the 5er.

I have buddies that still tow tandem, but they don't go as often as we do.

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