Actual weight of 300 marlin

[Kingfish321]

I looked at old post and found a few "ball park weights" but has anyone actually put there 300 marlin on a scale. Loaded with gas and twin 300 outboards with the a aluminum trailer included. I dont have a truck or boat yet but I'm buying a truck first and most 2500 HD say 15k max and I figured that's right about what it would be. I have a 24 offshore right now and tow it with a 1500 HD when I go to the keys I wish I had a bigger truck. I think I might have to step into a 3500 to tow a 300 on the interstate comfortably.

 

[ocnslr]

This is from the GW site, with Yamaha 300s, and gets you in the ball park. I doubt that it is fully loaded with fuel, but it does have persons, and they wouldn't be on the trailer.



So, add the weight of the trailer and see what you think.

 

[g0tagrip]

Here is my 2 pennies worth: My 2007 Marlin with twin F250s, loaded with full fuel, water, big outriggers, center rigger, radar, auto pilot, eight rods, additional fishing gear, etc., topped out just shy of 14,000 pounds. I pulled it once from DeFuniak Springs to Panama City with an F-350. My guess is the 250 would be a struggle, especially on I-95/Turnpike.
After that experience, I vowed never to pull it on the highway again. My buddy and I were scared sh-less for the first 100 miles never said a word, that is a lot of boat on the road.
When we moved South, I had it professionally shipped and sold that 3 axel trailer.

 

[Meanwhile]

Mine weighs much like g0atagrip, maybe a bit less. I tow with a 2005 3500 Dodge 4 x 4. I have 2 hills that slow me down to 50 mph. Wish I had a dually. The electric/hydraulic brakes are the only way to go. I'd never tow this without E/H.

 

[Jargon]

I agree with the previous two replies...ship professionally for distance, tow locally as needed; let a professional do the hard work at speed and distance.

However, do you really think a 2500 couldn’t handle 14,000 lbs load with E/H???

 

[g0tagrip]

14K for the boat, plus the trailer.........3.5K for a three axel trailer..........probably over the max for a 250.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

I know my 228 is no Marlin. With that said, when I tow it long distances I rarely tow it with more than 1/4 tank of gas. I do my best to run it down as much as possible. My tank is 125 gallons. If I had a Marlin I would do the same. It's just less weight to haul and stop.

The electric over hydraulic brakes are a must on that boat. Towing is easy. Stopping is the trick.

 

[seasick]

Regarding the comment about "you wouldn't have passengers in the boat" when calculating total weight, note that the towing capacity for a vehicle includes the stuff in the vehicle like people and whatever you have loaded in the back so 3 people in the boat or three passengers in the truck are the same towing loads.
It kind of reminds me of a Honeymooners episode about moving a dresser. Does anyone recall that scene

 

[RussGW270]

I tow my 270 with my Ford f-150. It tows it really well, and stops well also. I was surprised, considering it is full of gas atm. The truck is rated at 9200lbs max, but I like to keep it at least 15% below max, so am looking forward to burning off some of that 200 gallons of fuel heh, but....would have liked to have had a 250... parking garage at work, so could not get one.

Limited me on the boat I could get. Would have loved a 282, but...this will do fine

If I had a Marlin, I'd just leave it at the coast heh

R

 

[Biscayne208]

I towed my old marlin home with a 1794 Tundra..... Hairy as hell. However a 2500 would have been ok. 3500 better. I slip kept it but if i towed it regularly a duallie would be the vehicle of choice.

 

[ltid8732]

I personally tow my 300 Marlin on a regular basis twin f250's, with an 11' 2500 ram with no problems, full of fuel and gear. Sitting on the right trailer with EOH brakes and sitting on the trailer properly it pulls like anything else, just a little wider. 14k is nothing the truck can't handle as long as you feel comfortable pulling it, if you don't then i would not as it is a lot to tow> just my 2 cents worth

 

[Family Tradition Fishing]

One more opinion, I two my Marlin with a 2005 Chevy 2500. When I first got the boat I didnt like the way it pulled at all, you could feel every movement very exaggerated. The biggest concern to me was pitch and roll at speeds. Since, I have done helper airbags on the rear and upgraded my hitch receiver, hitch and ball. The bags made a considerable difference to the point I would feel ok pulling on the highway. I bought the boat in SC and pulled it home to Fl with a buddy's dually.... I wish I had a dually to pull it with. Congratulations on the upcoming purchase.

 

[RussGW270]

I added Firestone Air Bags to my F-150. Then I saw a video online about weight distribution. The air bags look like they help, and do to some degree, but the true weight distribution only occurs with the right hitch.

That being said.. heh., I have not installed right hitch yet, albeit I have one. I just need to get it on the truck

I did, however, upgrade the receiver to a Curt 10klb one. The standard Ford comes with a 5k one...unless you have a WD hitch.. then it does 11,200, but I was not taking the risk.

R

 

[Shannon C.]

I agree with the previous two replies...ship professionally for distance, tow locally as needed; let a professional do the hard work at speed and distance.

However, do you really think a 2500 couldn’t handle 14,000 lbs load with E/H???

Yes it can, I pull mine from Santa Cruz to San Diego with a 2018 2500 Ram over the grape vine in the summer and don’t notice the load until it shifts down for the climb. It’s awesome..

 

[Salmondogs]

I have a 2003 Marlin with 4.2l Yamaha 300's on a triple axle aluminum I-beam trailer. With full tanks of fuel, including the weight of my truck with a full tank of fuel, the scale weight was 21,940lbs. The very next day I did a dump run and the truck weighed in at 8,540lbs on the way out, and of you want to get picky you could add in 10 lbs of fuel burnt from the day before so lets say 8,550lbs. This puts the boat and trailer at 13,390lbs. I plan on weighing the trailer empty but I'm guessing the trailer is somewhere around 3,000 give or take a couple hundred, so I'm pretty confident the boat weighs in at around 10,000lbs give or take a 500lbs.

I tow with a 2017 Ram 2500 Cummins and my trailer has surge brakes. It could use airbags and I do plan on upgrading to electric over hydraulic brakes at some point but it's totally fine. That being said I've been towing large boats more or less for a living for the last 8 years so my interpretation of "fine" may be different than others. Poeple get too caught up trying to do the speed limit or more while towing heavy, Any large truck will slow down over even moderate elevation change with this kind of weight and if you want your truck to last you shouldn't be pushing it that hard. I used to tow a 17k lb boat from Western Washington to Montana (6 major mountain passes depending on the route) on the regular with either an F550 or an f650 with a QSB Cummins and after awhile I just accepted that the truck performed the best doing 60.

For what it's worth in my experience any newer diesel 3/4 ton will have a drivetrain capable of towing that boat, it's all about how the suspension loads out. I will say that our truck does have the factory rear coil springs and four link set up and it does do some weird things on really uneven roads, I think a leaf spring truck might track a little straighter, but again I have no problem hauling it around.

 

[magicalbill]

My Marlin & trailer weight combined was 14,600 lbs.

My trailer scaled separately at 2640 lbs. It was a tri axle aluminum with three 7K axles.

Therefore, doing the math, the Marlin itself with full fuel & gear powered by Yam 350's weighs 11,960 lbs.

 

[Shannon C.]

I have a 2003 Marlin with 4.2l Yamaha 300's on a triple axle aluminum I-beam trailer. With full tanks of fuel, including the weight of my truck with a full tank of fuel, the scale weight was 21,940lbs. The very next day I did a dump run and the truck weighed in at 8,540lbs on the way out, and of you want to get picky you could add in 10 lbs of fuel burnt from the day before so lets say 8,550lbs. This puts the boat and trailer at 13,390lbs. I plan on weighing the trailer empty but I'm guessing the trailer is somewhere around 3,000 give or take a couple hundred, so I'm pretty confident the boat weighs in at around 10,000lbs give or take a 500lbs.

I tow with a 2017 Ram 2500 Cummins and my trailer has surge brakes. It could use airbags and I do plan on upgrading to electric over hydraulic brakes at some point but it's totally fine. That being said I've been towing large boats more or less for a living for the last 8 years so my interpretation of "fine" may be different than others. Poeple get too caught up trying to do the speed limit or more while towing heavy, Any large truck will slow down over even moderate elevation change with this kind of weight and if you want your truck to last you shouldn't be pushing it that hard. I used to tow a 17k lb boat from Western Washington to Montana (6 major mountain passes depending on the route) on the regular with either an F550 or an f650 with a QSB Cummins and after awhile I just accepted that the truck performed the best doing 60.

For what it's worth in my experience any newer diesel 3/4 ton will have a drivetrain capable of towing that boat, it's all about how the suspension loads out. I will say that our truck does have the factory rear coil springs and four link set up and it does do some weird things on really uneven roads, I think a leaf spring truck might track a little straighter, but again I have no problem hauling it around.

Yes sir! I’ll agree with you salmon. There is a little squat in the back but hardly noticeable, with the right setup you really don’t notice your pulling it until you look at the MPG! Oh well, MPG over fun, I’ll take the fun!! Watch out, I’m headed your way soon! Lol!!

 

[Salmondogs]

One more thing... I bought the 2500 Ram specifically because of the rear coil springs. My wife has a bad back and while we almost exclusively tow our boat rather than moor it, we use the truck way more for in town and for light haul road trips than we do heavy hauling. I have a few friends with newer 1 ton trucks and they hate life when driving empty or with light loads. By all means buy the truck that you feel the safest in, I'm just here to give food for thought.

 

[Capnjim7]

There is one other thing to bear in mind as I notice how many different numbers are coming up here for total weight on the same boat. Getting your boat and trailer weighed on a scale is important. If you are off in your calculations and you are over the towing weight limit for your truck, and you have (heaven forbid ) an accident, your insurance will not cover your loss. I ended up over on my 2018 Ram by just a few hundred pounds...the truck handled it fine but an insurance adjuster pal set me straight. Moved up to a new 2500.

 

[magicalbill]

Salmondogs is correct on the subject of going too fast and pushing your truck too hard.

I towed my Marlin last summer from Fla to Michigan and back with my 3500 Cummins Dodge dually. I stayed in the right lane between 50-55 MPH and just watched the world go by. It took 3 days to get to Michigan and I didn't care in the least. The truck ran smooth and although it went up a few degrees on the temp gauge, it was well within the safe zone. Averaged 11MPG, which was good in my book.

To those planning to haul your Marlin; make sure your hitch assembly is rated to adequately tow the load your planning for. You would've thought my Dodge dually would've been equipped properly, but it came with a 3500 LB hitch from the factory. (I bought it new.) I had to go up to a Class 5, I believe: That hitch was rated at 17K. Don't forget to upgrade your 2" 5/16 ball and insert as well. I ordered a 17K package for that.

Your only as safe as your weakest link; None of the rest of it matters if the hitch or ball insert gives way.