Can 3/4-Ton Pickup Safely Tow 13,000-lb Boat and Bumper-Pull Trailer  

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You don't necessarily need to have a dually truck for towing your 13K-lb combined boat and trailer weight but naturally you do want to ensure your vehicle has at least some safety margin in its towing capacity relative to the loaded trailer weight. For a 5th wheel RV type trailer that has a high pin weight resting in the bed a dually setup can be preferred but most boat trailers do not put that much tongue weight on the vehicle, especially if it is a power boat that tends to be rear-heavy.

Many 3/4-ton pickups (Ford F-250 / Silverado 2500 / Sierra 2500 / Ram 2500) can tow as much as 13,000 to 14,000-lbs but the particular truck's specific OEM equipment will determine whether you'll be right at maximum capacity. I recommend that you have at least a 1000-lb safety margin in the truck's capacity, meaning the truck should be capable of towing that much more weight than what you're actually going to tow.

Just the same you may want to consider some rear axle suspension support for your single rear wheel truck. Adding rear air springs can make a big difference in how the truck handles the weight of the trailer. We have air springs and compressors for pickups that will make it easy to level the setup to avoid loss of front axle traction from the trailer weight lifting the front end.

Another worthwhile addition to a tow vehicle to avoid thermal stress is a supplementary transmission cooler that works in tandem with the OEM cooler to further reduce the transmission's operating temperature. Coolers like Derale # D13504 install on the OEM cooler's return line and further reduce heat before sending the fluid back into the transmission.

You may care to check out the linked articles on both air springs and transmission coolers.

expert reply by: Adam R

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