Yea the trailer has surge brakes, I wouldn't feel comfortable pulling it with out them. Not that I am too terribly comfortable pulling it with the Ranger.

I have been looking into the weight distribution kits, but is that something that I can just slap on in the dealership parking lot?

 

Should be. I had my car hauler loaded when I stopped at an RV dealer to buy the hitch. Just bring simple hand tools, the kit should come with the rest.

Basically, you put together the head and shank at a height that would keep the trailer and truck sitting level, mount the brackets for the bars onto the tongue of the trailer, and then hitch it together.

With surge brakes, you'll need the Equilizer hitch, since it allows full operation. The others that are connected with chains wouldn't allow the head of the surge brakes to compress properly.

Here it is with free shipping: Don't worry about the weight rating

Just keep the overdrive off. Boats, in my experience, seem to pull easier than other loads because a boat is naturally aerodynamic, except for pontoons haha.

I drove from Texas to Wisconsin with a way too overloaded trailer (6k+), and was able to do the speedlimit with the hitch properly set up.

 

Thanks for the info!
I have air shocks in the back of the truck, so that I can pump them up to level out the load. I am wondering will this play a big enough role such that I wouldn't need the weight distribution kit right away.
What do you guys think about this?

 

I have never used air shocks, and don't think I will. Yes, now its level, but it doesn't place the weight correctly on the wheels. Plus it does nothing for sway control. And the longer the trailer, the more leverage it has to sway the truck. So you need something that applies force to keep that nice boat behind your truck.

Everyone has their own ideas, just letting you know what I would do if I were in your shoes.

 

have fun towing 6000 lbs with a 5000 lb rated truck!
get ready for people taking a lot of pics and posting them on the internet in a "how not to tow" section or a WTF section.

 

It is rated for more than the trailer weighs... but barely

 

Surge brakes blow!
But they are better than nothing, especially on a Ranger. What will really suck about them is that they do not work in reverse either. Better be slow when you're backing that puppy in.

 

Brian that's a beautiful boat you got there, not my style but i bet you got a hell of a deal for it being a 3yr old new boat. I think your truck is capable of taking it to the ramp and back, but you won't enjoy it, especially the algae infested ramps. I see a full size mod coming in your near future lol. I know once i get rid of my boat im gonna keep the new one under 2k dry weight.

Is that what you do in your spare time? He's not even touching his limit. I see 18 wheelers do much worse things like driving on all bald tires.

 

Soo in the end can it be done? Yes. but it won't be a fun trip.

If you lived near me i would let you hook up to my boat to get an idea of what your in for.

If you do decide to go ahead with this i would invest in a scan gauge to keep an eye on the tranny temp and water temp.

 

x2

Good luck is all I have to say.

 

Yea I have a scan gauge and will be monitoring the vitals. And hopefully there will be a full-size in the not too distant future for me.