Boat towing, loading.

I have 2wd double cab with 4.0 does anyone with this setup regularly tow a large boat? The manual says its rated to 6500 lbs with towing package ( which i have). The boats that i am looking at on the trailer will be between 5500-6500 lbs. I am pretty sure towing will not be a problem but i am worried about getting it out on the ramp since it is 2wd.

 

You should be fine as long as the ramp isn't wet, then you might get a little slippage. Is yours a TRD offroad or sport? You could always use the locker if you start spinning however I would only use it going in a straight line (turn it off once you get to the top of the ramp)

The only boat I tow is a 16' Aluminum john boat which doesn't weigh much.

 

I tow a 20.5 Ft Four Winns Cuddy. Its about 5k unloaded. I dont typically have a problem in 2wd on the boat ramp. The weight of the boat on the tongue gives me enough traction. But I have been to a few ramps I dont use that often and they have a little bit of gravel or are slippery from the water going down. In this case my truck usually wont move and I have to put it in 4wd. It really just depends on the boat ramp conditions but overall I think you should be ok. If you do have problems you can always get a bunch of people to sit in the bed for extra weight/traction. What kind of boat you looking at?

 

Macgyver.... off road.

Looking at 20-24 foot deck or cuddy.

The ramp is my worry as they are not all equal the one i would use most is always slick and the trailer is in sand.

 

Those are pretty heavy boats. IMHO I probably wouldn't want to tow anything bigger than a 20-21 ft long distances b/c of the weight. I've had to upgrade my rear suspension to handle the weight or my boat. I usually only have to tow it 10 miles round trip to the ramp but a couple of weeks ago towed it 8 hours south. I would have felt more comfortable in a bigger truck. These are great trucks dont get me wrong but towing a boat over 22ft might be to much. GL with finding a boat!