Trailering 2120 or 2320

[Lottadawg]

Hi all-
I'm really close to buying either a 2120 or 2320. I'd like to use it on the Long Island Sound, the bays and inlets, and the ocean when it's not too nasty out. My issue is towing the thing. Because I want to do a little of everything on Long Island, I want to trailer instead of paying for a slip in one place.
Will my 2001 Dodge Ram 1500(somewhere around 7200 pounds listed towing capacity) have the guts to tow these boats? I'd really like to go with the 2320 if trailering is not too crazy of an idea. Will getting an aluminum trailer help reduce the load? Any ideas?

 

[pfish]

Hey Lotta!

I have a 2320 and tow it with a Ford 250 XL diesel. No problems for me. I had a Ford Bronco that towed a 21 cc fairly easily. I would check your drivers manual that the truck came with and see what the towing capacity is. If you are not going to be trailering too far, you should be fine...

Pat

 

[Aircoastie]

My 2320 is is 7200 lbs @ the trailer axels and about 400 @ the tung. Yes, you could tow it with a 1/2 ton but not wise. When you need to make an emergency lane change or panic stop, then your going to wish you had at least a 3/4 ton truck.

 

[Sully]

My 2320 is is 7200 lbs @ the trailer axels and about 400 @ the tung. Yes, you could tow it with a 1/2 ton but not wise. When you need to make an emergency lane change or panic stop, then your going to wish you had at least a 3/4 ton truck.

I would agree ! :wink:

 

[jeffnick]

http://classicparker.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5940

 

[Mokee]

My 2120 with aluminum trailer weighs in at a little over 6,300 lbs with 100 gallons of gas. Tongue weight is 383 lbs. The trailer rated to 7,200 lbs and is oversized on purpose. I tow it comfortably with an 2010 SCrew F-150 equipped with the max tow package rated to tow 11,300 lbs. MPG runs 9-14 depending on terrain and headwinds (the PH presents a lot of drag in a headwind). Before the new trailer that weighed 280 lbs less, I towed with an AWD Mountaineer with TT package rated to tow 7,200 lbs. It averaged 11 MPG east to west coast and back.

You need to know: 1) weights of tongue, passengers, load in truck including gas and curb weight so you don't exceed gross vehicle weight rating, 2) weight of trailer and boat with gas so you don't exceed tow rating; and 3) add weights of 1 and 2 together so as not to exceed the combined gross vehicle weight rating of your tow vehicle. A SAFETY MARGIN is highly desirable. I personally don't like to exceed 80% of ratings.

Hope this helps.

 

[Sara F]

Lotta, when I made my Parker purchase in 2007, I originally wanted the 23' PH as well. However, because I only had an F-150, my dealer convinced me to go with the 21' PH instead for safety reasons. My F-150 was too light for the 23' so I took their recomendation and purchased the 21'. My F-150 tows the 21' well with no issues to-date. I am very happy witn my selection and also glad my dealer made the recomendation. Safety first!

 

[hyper striper]

i own a 23 ft, towed with a 3/4 ton dodge, 2004, just went to a 2010 f350 1 ton diesal power stroke, i tow 2 hours each way, mass to rhode island 120 miles, the dodge would do the job, but struggled on the hills, i wpuld not tow with a ram 1500, very far, the 21 ft parker would probable be better for that truck shawn ludlow ma

 

[Luv2fish]

I have a 2120 PH and tow it with a 2008 Toyota Tundra Crewmax. It has the 5.7 liter V8 and it tows it with no issues. I'm not a bit fan of surge brakes so part of the towing equation is stopping. I'm not sure how well the small Dodge would be at stopping the 2320.

 

[ReelyNauti]

SO what ...u wanna struggle up hills and sway down hills, fry an tranny in less than 75k miles,

Listen to these guy they are correct......

U should only pull 75% of listed allowing for those big grades !!!

3/4 ton is the way to go or 1 ton if yo u can, safety.......acceleration and longevity all come into play...

I killed a 2500 series truck tranny only lasted 75k by towing 7000 per yr for 5 years..... plus regular driving.....and the block only lasted to 151k due to constant strain and running hotter ....

my buddy has a 1 ton Siera and does the same trips i do his truck is still going strong

Both r boats were on identical 56 roller two axel trailers and both our boats were 6800 laiden with all and fuel !!!

 

[Lottadawg]

First of all, thanks to everyone for their replies.

I was afraid the 2320 was a bit out of my league with the 1500 pulling it. So the 2120 is a better choice, not perfect, considering the fairly lame tow rating of my truck. My tow distances will vary from 5 miles to 50 miles, on Long Island, so I'm not crossing the Rockies with this thing. And no, I can't swing a new truck right now- my plan is to keep the 1500 as a tow/weekend vehicle only and get my wife's hand-me-down car to commute to work. I get (I mean WE get :wink: ) the boat, she gets a new car.

Can someone give me a basic breakdown of how I should reach a total trailer weight with the 2120? Boat: 3250lbs, 150 Hpdi: 420lbs?, aluminum trailer: ?lbs, Fuel: ???(do I need to haul around 100 gallons if I rarely need that range?), "Stuff": ???
I think I can keep total trailer weight below 6000lbs easy, which should be okay with my tow capacity?
Again, thanks for your time!

 

[Mokee]

I think I can keep total trailer weight below 6000lbs easy,

You shouldn't have a problem, but the only way to truly tell is to run your rig over truck scales (get weight for front axle, drive axle and trailer) and compare to your trucks GVWR, Tow Rating and GCVWR.

aluminum trailer: ?lbs

Go on the manufacturers web site. They often times give weight by model trailer.

Fuel: ???

Gas weighs 6-6.25 lbs. per gal.

 

[big tuna]

I tow my 2320 with a 2008 Tundra 5.7L V8. No problem going up, but does sway a bit going downhill. I am now having a new welded aluminum bunk trailer built. It will be lighter and have a lower center of gravity (vs. rollers). It will also have brakes on both axels rather than just the front. New trailer will be 8,400# while the old one was rated at 7,200#. Should be finished next week!