Bimini 306 Tow

[Zee4Fish]

Hey members,

Question, i'm looking into buying a Ford truck so that I can launch and pull up the Bimini 306 (weight approx 12,500 lbs) including trailer.
I don't want to go up to the F250 being that I don't need to tow anything else with it and it would be an overkill. I also won't be towing the boat on the road or anywhere for that matter. Just to pull it from the shed, a few meters and launch it down the ramp, about 20 meters in total. Can the F-150 do that?

 

[Ekea]

so, the storage location and ramp are on the same property? literally only 20 meters of towing? the f150 could do that. make sure the tongue weight isnt too high. it will probably need to be 4wd to get it out of the water.

there is no way i would leave the property with that boat and truck though

 

[JJF]

^^^ I concur with the above.

 

[Zee4Fish]

Yes, both are kept on the same property. I never have the need to move it out the property. We have a winch that usually does that but it's almost always faulty so we have to revert to our trucks.

 

[family affair]

Hey members,

Question, i'm looking into buying a Ford truck so that I can launch and pull up the Bimini 306 (weight approx 12,500 lbs) including trailer.
I don't want to go up to the F250 being that I don't need to tow anything else with it and it would be an overkill. I also won't be towing the boat on the road or anywhere for that matter. Just to pull it from the shed, a few meters and launch it down the ramp, about 20 meters in total. Can the F-150 do that?

Yes, a properly equipped one will. 4x4 will be a must for low range. The 5.0 or 3.5 Ecoboost is a must also. At the minimum it should also have the tow package or ideally a max tow package.
Lastly, the tongue weight of the trailer should be no more than 700 lbs.

 

[Zee4Fish]

Thank you for the tips and info

 

[billyttpd]

How steep is the ramp?? pulling that rig up a ramp seems alot on an f-150....since you are not going over the road with this rig is a tractor an option??

 

[DennisG01]

Truthfully, you can pull it out with just about anything including an older 1/2 ton - especially if has 4WD low for the pull. However, I would be more concerned with backing it down the ramp if you went with too light of a truck - or at least go r-e-a-l-l-y slow down the ramp. Unless you have EOH brakes?

I like the tractor idea - especially if you can find other uses for it.

 

[Zee4Fish]

Unfortunately i wouldn't have any use for a tractor and even if i decided to put it to work in the marina, it wouldn't be doing much as most boats are a lot smaller and everyone uses their smaller suv’s to put em down. So i want something that i can use daily as i also travel long distances frequently and pull up/down the boat which is also weekly. The ramp is on the steeper side.

 

[billyttpd]

Like Dennis said I would be concerned that 12500 pounds would pull you down the ramp...If its tidal water I suggest launching and recovering at high tide. The F-150 should handle it but you are gonna be working that truck

 

[Family Tradition]

For what it's worth I've towed my Marlin which is similar in weight with a 2005 2500 diesel 4wd. I've had to use 4wd the majority of the time retrieving the boat and it does put a good amount of pull on the truck while launching. The two ramps I use most often aren't super steep but are fairly steep. One thing to remember if you're not solo retrieving you can always use your outboards to assist the truck in getting moving then drop to neutral and shutdown.

 

[Hookup1]

I had a bass boat and a Dodge Ram tow vehicle years ago. Fished Smith Mountain Lake. Power generating lake and water levels fluctuated throughout the day so ramps were steep.

First incident was a pre-mature launch 20 feet short of the water. Only happened once. Pushed the boat in and went fishing.

Several other launches dragged the truck down the ramp until the boat floated. Spooky. Probably bad rear brakes.

Back when I knew everything!

This was a 15' bass boat! But I'm sure the 306 will have more flotation!