Double Towing Capacity

[Ace18]

I have a 2008 Rockwood 8244s Fifth Wheel and was wondering if anyone knew if it would be ok to tow a ski boat behind it. I have pulled a bass boat with no problem but the ski boat is about 6000-7000lbs. does anyone know if this would cause any major problems since my camper weighs about the same?

[bikendan]

since your frame warranty is expired, it's your call.

but that is an ultralite trailer with an ultralite frame, not designed for what you want to do.
and double towing is illegal in some states.

no way would i do what you're thinking of, with an ultralite trailer, 5th wheel or TT.

[jwedell]

How could,you even control it in an emergency.

[Cajun Po-Boy]

Well since you have towed a smaller boat behind the fiver already...means it's doable from a driving stand point BUT adding 6-7 lbs to an ultra light frame, IMO I'd be reluctant...

[transamz9]

I agree with others. I tow doubles and my boat is 4500-5000# and I wouldn't do it behind a 5er that is no heavier than what you are towing.

[BigBaron]

What the heck? A 6-7,000 lb. ski boat? That's a BIG boat.
You can do anything if you're willing to do your legwork (and a significant amount of engineering/reinforcing).
You'd need dual brake controllers and a WDH on the boat, plus a significant amount ore-engineering on the trailer frame. Also, you may need to get a special license to tow doubles in some states.
Taking two vehicles is a much simpler option IMHO...

[MillerTime]

Op. We aren't too far from you, in Chandler.
Our boat Is only about 4k or so and has a very heavy tongue, it actually squats my wifes tahoe so we added air shocks.
Anyway, there is no way I would even think for a minute about towing it behind the 5er.
We ALWAYS just take 2 vehicles, I pull the camper, and Dw pulls the boat, unless someone else is headed with us, and they pull the boat.

MillerTime- Future Sabre Handler!!

[Lynkage]

That seems pretty heavy.

I tow doubles but my ATV trailer is #2400 fully loaded and I move stuff around to achieve a 250-300 lb tongue weight.

My fiver is also 13500lbs and I tow with an F450.

It is also the same frame as the big toy haulers and yet I still had an entire sub frame fabricated from the axle hangers back to the end of the trailer frame with 2 X 4" 12 gauge tube and 4 cross-members. Then the 4' receiver tube through 3 of the cross members.

I am not sure I would have more than a 400lb tongue weight back there. I do have brakes on all trailers but the second one is really well behaved and stays true all the time. It is also a tandem axle aluminum ATV trailer so it only weighs 750lbs.

The Ultra-lite frames are just barely good on there own IMO.

This is just food for thought.

[EnduroRdr]

Saw this guy traveling west on I-12 close to my town.
My guess is he is towing somewhere around 18k maybe even 20k lbs total here. And his truck was a 3/4 ton F250.
That's a lot for that truck. Good thing it is all flat land around here -

Maybe he should get some advice from you guys too?
That is a bit more than I would be comfortable with.





I double tow also, my camper is about 8500-9000 when loaded and the second trailer is under 3000 or less (depends if I pull the utility trailer for cart or 4 wheeler or if I just pull the jet ski which is under 1000lb)

Obviously the guy in this photo is towing about a 12k trailer when loaded with his stuff and 6K to 8K extra load here with that friggin party barge

But even with a light load you will need to re-enforce your hitch to the trailer frame (not the thin wall bumper that holds your sewer line!)

[EnduroRdr]

One nice thing about having a smart phone is, as long as you have your phone you can snap up photos of stuff like this.

Here are a coupe other guys I passed while traveling:
While I went looking for the previous photo I found these from a couple other trips:




And then there was this guy - which maybe also pushing the limits of his equipment. That triple axel Raptor has gotta weigh at least 16K by itself!




It was mentioned earlier about the legality of it. Each state has its own rules so if traveling across lines you have to consider the more restrictive law. Louisiana is 70' total - Mississippi is 99', but I used to live in TX and their website said 65' total counting the tow vehicle for regular driver license. All the states I travel in the south allow triple towing but there are others around the country that don't.
Although I sure see a lot of rigs longer than 70' here in Louisiana. I guess it is not something that officials must be worried about or i live among a bunch of law breakers that done care -

(So using conservative numbers) Obviously 40' Rapture toy hauler and 20 ' boat plus the 18' truck would be over the limit in TX.
Something else to consider!

Anyway I found this interactive site that lists each state rules.
Towing World Official Website

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by EnduroRdr

Anyway I found this interactive site that lists each state rules.
Towing World Official Website

I'm not for or against double towing. I honestly couldn't imagine doing it myself- but there's a lot out there that I wouldn't do that others will.

BUT- IMO, if you're going to double-tow, check the actual state web sites for details on double towing. I know when I've looked at the Towing World link for info about Maryland, it's not always correct or doesn't include the caveats that the laws have.

[Cajun Po-Boy]

If you look at it from a frame point of view only...gas motor homes have a much higher GVWR number than fifth wheel frames and they only provide a hitch to handle 5-7500K lbs...just another way to think about it, IMO

[Ace18]

Ok all of the laws its legal if you guys would actually read them. I have a Class A CDL i was a truck driver for some time and not afraid to make the pull. My truck has pulled heavier loads with a dump trailer i know it can handle it. the boat trailer has hydraulic brakes its not like its just going to be the camper stopping it. I talked to a camper repair shop and he said NO PROBLEM AT ALL in his mind just as long as i ad some more steel to the bumper which i planned on already, and if my frame is a square tube frame. if my frame is an i-beam frame then he suggested to ad flat strap to the outsides of the beams to make walls then no problem with it. I also talked to a state trooper that double tows and he said they NEVER pull someone over that is double towing just to check and see if they are under the legal length the only time the check is if they were involved in an accident. Also for the people that say they would never tow anything behind a 5th wheel are wrong. In the laws and from the trooper you are only supposed to double tow behind a 5th wheel never behind a TT, but some states allow TT double towing, others say only behind 5th wheels. And when i said my boat weighs 6-7k im including FUEL, TRAILER, AND GEAR (the boats dry weight is 4500-5500 depending on what source i read)

[Cajun Po-Boy]

Ace18...

If you had the time, it would be very interesting for you to pose this question to the rv manufacturer on your model and your intentions to get another angle of how safe it is for the fifth wheel frame.

These topics come up frequently but we all state our opinions but really the best guys to give a definitive answer would be the FR designer/engineers...just a thought, either way...Happy Camping! ,)

[transamz9]

Originally Posted by Ace18

Ok all of the laws its legal if you guys would actually read them. I have a Class A CDL i was a truck driver for some time and not afraid to make the pull. My truck has pulled heavier loads with a dump trailer i know it can handle it. the boat trailer has hydraulic brakes its not like its just going to be the camper stopping it. I talked to a camper repair shop and he said NO PROBLEM AT ALL in his mind just as long as i ad some more steel to the bumper which i planned on already, and if my frame is a square tube frame. if my frame is an i-beam frame then he suggested to ad flat strap to the outsides of the beams to make walls then no problem with it. I also talked to a state trooper that double tows and he said they NEVER pull someone over that is double towing just to check and see if they are under the legal length the only time the check is if they were involved in an accident. Also for the people that say they would never tow anything behind a 5th wheel are wrong. In the laws and from the trooper you are only supposed to double tow behind a 5th wheel never behind a TT, but some states allow TT double towing, others say only behind 5th wheels. And when i said my boat weighs 6-7k im including FUEL, TRAILER, AND GEAR (the boats dry weight is 4500-5500 depending on what source i read)

It's not the amount of weight you are wanting to pull that has me concerned. It's the fact that the boat when wet will weight close to the 5ers weight.
If your boat is like mine your tongue weight will be around 600 lbs or so.How much tongue weight does the boat have and how much tongue weight is the boat and hitch that you put on the back of the 5er going to remove from the tongue on the fifthwheel?

I wouldn't have a problem at all hooking you boat to my 5er but mine is a lot heavier than yours. My pin weight is 3000#. I'm not saying you can't do it, Lord knows I push my stuff to the limit every day, just wish I knew a little more about the set up you are going to have.

Towing doubles in a big truck is no where near the same set up as towing doubles with and RV unless you plan on putting the boat tongue on a dolly so it doesn't remove your RV pin weight.