Anyone tow a surf boat with a truck camper?

[OtherBoatisaCessna]

We tow our older ~5000lb (on the trailer) boat on a supertruss hitch extension behind our 2020 SRW F350 diesel with a ~3000lb Lance 855S truck camper on the back.  Does awesome.  Would like to upgrade to a larger boat like a newish T23 or A24, and still be able to take the whole rig camping.  Weight on the rear axle and rear tires is the major point of concern.  I’ve done some research that suggests by adding a weight distributing hitch, we might actually be better off, net, than our current boat without one (I.e., better off meaning overall slightly less weight on the rear axle, more on the front axle, which is good).  
 

But... I’d love some real world examples/experience.  Anyone out there doing this or something similar?

[anutami]

 

I have a 2001 f350 long bed with 2015 Wolf Creek 850 towing a 2015 23 LSV, but since upgraded to a 2018 25 LSV.  Nice thing about the long bed and our camper is you don’t need a hitch extension. 

[popsdz]

I did this for a few years no problem.  But the aftermath was rims were wore out and needed rear end rebuilt. I was definitely overloaded. 
We went with a motor home.

Edited July 5, 2022 by popsdz
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[IJM]

Done it for years. 1995 F-350 SRW PSD, Lance 1071, and our boat. The past two years with our 2009 VTX. Had overloads and airbags on the rear with 4.10 gears. Upgraded heavy duty brakes all the way around too. Heavy duty extender hitch. Scale at the port of entry came in at a whopping 17,500 pounds. Way too much according to Ford but the truck handled it well. 

[OtherBoatisaCessna]

1 hour ago, popsdz said:

I did this for a few years no problem.  But the aftermath was rims were wore out and needed rear end rebuilt. I was definitely overloaded. 
We went with a motor home.

Couple questions: what do you mean by rear end rebuild?  Also, re: motorhomes - I’ve thought about that when our boys outgrow the bunks in our Lance, but I haven’t found any that I’m all that excited about from a 4WD and towing capacity standpoint.  What did you get, and are you happy with it towing?  Is it 4WD (ski trips)?

[OtherBoatisaCessna]

26 minutes ago, IJM said:

Done it for years. 1995 F-350 SRW PSD, Lance 1071, and our boat. The past two years with our 2009 VTX. Had overloads and airbags on the rear with 4.10 gears. Upgraded heavy duty brakes all the way around too. Heavy duty extender hitch. Scale at the port of entry came in at a whopping 17,500 pounds. Way too much according to Ford but the truck handled it well. 

Damn that’s impressive on a 27 year old truck.  Trucks have come a long ways since then.  What’s your VTX weigh?

[IJM]

Yeah huh that old truck was a beast. Solid steel everything. 😂 Truck and camper alone is 12500 pounds so doing some second grade math. Which btw above that I need a calculator. Boat and trailer weighed in at 5000.

[Cole2001]

I think to do it properly with a heavy boat you need a long box truck with a 8ft camper. Basically not having to use a hitch extension as most aren’t rated for over 5k. Looked into it a few years back and that seemed like the best option. 

[OtherBoatisaCessna]

@Cole2001 It’s true that most hitch extensions are pretty weak-sauce, but the supertruss is a beast (rated for 6500lbs without a w/d hitch, 12,000lbs with a w/d hitch).  But yes, in general it is at least simpler without one.  

Edited July 5, 2022 by OtherBoatisaCessna