Trailering

B

Billybo168

New Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2026
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Age
49
Model
Fisherman 257
Any suggestions on trailers for a Grady White Fisherman 257? Also, is a 150/1500 truck acceptable or do you recommend a 250/2500? Thanks!
 
I have no personal experience with the model in question, that being said... a quick search on the Grady White website shows that a 257 Fisherman with twin Yamaha F200's on it had a test weight of 6,646 lbs. That figure includes "persons, fuel, water, gear, engines & accessories." What it doesn't include would be the weight of the trailer, which my aluminum I-beam trailer for my 228 Seafarer is I believe 925 lbs? So I imagine yours will likely be at least that, if not considerably more, maybe 1,100-1,200 lbs? On top of that, I imagine that's probably with as little fuel on board as possible, of which the 257 Fisherman has a 135 gallon fuel capacity, and the test boat I'm guessing likely ran at 25 gallons or less to get the best fuel economy numbers possible. So... long story short, if you have a pretty heavily loaded down boat with full fuel, lots of fishing gear, coolers/ice, food, water and so forth... I imagine your towing weight could be upwards of 8,000-8,500+ lbs. Of which I imagine you would want something with a 10k lb towing capacity for a boat of that weight/size, so you aren't maxed out and aren't towing at or above your maximum tow rating/capacity. Per Google, a brand new Ford F-150 with the 3.5L eco-boost as well as the 5.0 v8 both have a 10k+ lb towing capacity, same with the Chevrolet 1500. Again, this is just per Google. My tow rig is a 2010 Toyota Tundra with the 5.7L v8 that has just under an 11k lb towing capacity and she tows my boat just fine. My boat itself was around 5,500 lbs and the trailer, again I believe is 925 lbs per the registration sheet... so around 6,500-7,000 lbs total, and that's with just a half tank of fuel, two downriggers, four rods and a few other small items... nothing crazy in size or weight. Not entirely an apples to apples comparison, but should get you in the ballpark, and as stated above... per Google it appears several of the newer 150/1500 trucks should have more than enough towing capacity to do what you need. Good luck!

 
I had a single engine 248 without a hardtop. The hull is very similar to your 257. It weighed around 5500 lbs fully fueled, watered, etc. I towed thousands of miles over 10 years with 2 different f150s. Both were specially equipped for max towing per engine type. One was a 2.7 ecoboost, the other was a 3.5 ecoboost. Both of pulled the boat extremely well, including in mountains.
As for the trailer, I had a Loadrite Elite that I bought new and paid to have it set up for the boat. The model maxed out at 7200 lbs gross. With around 425 lbs of tongue weight, it pulled perfectly.
Be aware that a Loadrite Elite bought today is not like the trailers of old. Frame, actuator, and lights are similar, but it ends there. Brakes, axles, and spindles are proprietary and are not interchangeable with other manufacturers. I would only order one if you can get one with brakes and axles that are universal. Otherwise you will be stuck with overpriced, underperforming parts that can't be replaced by something better.
 
Billy, what weight have you calculated your boat's "wet" weight to be? This means the boat, engine, gear, fuel, etc. After that, figure close to 1,500lbs for an aluminum trailer and close to 2,000lbs for a steel trailer. How does that fall in line with your truck?

Half ton trailering weight ranges fall all over the place depending on year, model, gearing, etc.

Trailer brand? Buy local. Stay away from Venutre and other "value priced" brands - too many issues.
 
I think it depends on what type of trailering you are targeting.

House to local ramp?
Up/down East Coast?
Cross country?
Hilly terrain?
 
I have been happy with my Owen's trailer now approaching 5 years of ownership. I drove to St. Pete to buy it. Most half ton trucks can tow your boat. I would however, spend extra on electric over hydraulic brake system. Your truck and nerves will thank you.
 
I personally would hesitate to use a 1/2 ton truck to pull that boat. Even though they have those high tow ratings, most of them have turbo's and they will do the job, but it is very stressful on the engine and brakes to handle that much weight. Like others have said, what is your tow like? Flat ground, not long distance? If so, I am sure a 1/2 ton truck rated to 10K plus will do the job and you do the service maintenance on time to the truck. However, if you tow more than that and have hills, etc, I for sure would say go to a 3/4 ton truck.
In my case, pulling the 252G model, she is very heavy and I use my Ford Excursion rated to tow 10K with a V10 gas engine and it tows very well. However, if I have some steep hills, it will slow down and you will have your foot to the floor the entire time. I was 3 hours from the coast and it was a active tow for that distance with some hills. I have moved closer to the coast and now tow about an hour and twenty minutes and is mostly all level. Towing is very easy for this rig now. The main issue I had at the beginning was the brakes trying to stop a near 10K load. I had to switch to Kodiak brakes on both axles on the trailer as they have more stopping power than the other brands I was using and on the Excursion, I went with the SSBC 8 piston calipers on the front to dial in really good stopping power. I can't tell you how many times I have had the brakes to the floor in a panic stop and the rig stopped very well considering and I didn't end up eating the back end of the person that pulled in front of me and stopped quickly. You have to keep really good distance and people don't understand about stopping a tow rig.
Just my viewpoint on the towing experience.
 
A well equipped and maintained 1/2 that has a high GVWR option and full tow package is capable. If you tow distance at highway speeds or in hilly terrain the fuel mileage will be punishing. Heavy tongue weights can significantly reduces remaining payload capacity. The transmissions in 1/2 ton trucks have not proven super sturdy except for the ZF 8-speed and the Toyota six speed (in the 5.7L up to 2022). I prefer my tow vehicles to have 25% reserve, meaning a max 7,500lb load for a truck rated at 10,000lb. Like prior comments, mechanicals are not running with huge stress and plenty of reserve power and brakes.

A 3/4 ton esp with a diesel will deliver a stress free tow. Might be worth it if you do a lot of mileage or tow in challenging conditions. Expensive to maintain.
 
Same.... that and the other thread on repowering, to where the OP hasn't been back now in a week. Oh well, onward and upward...
 
I tow with a Silverado EV with the huge battery pack. I can do a 116 mile round trip from the Santa Cruz mountains to Half Moon Bay harbor and back on about a half a charge. I babied it the first time and I used 49% of the battery, drove it like I stole it the second time, used under 60%.

My trailer is a Pacific, I replaced the surge brakes with electric over hydraulic, that's a must if you are going up and down. Surge works on flat land only.

The EV works for me because I have solar, easy to charge at home. I have a Duramax for times when the EV isn't enough, but it is enough to get to any of the local harbors and back, and enough to get to Bodega Bay on one charge. Fort Bragg I would need to stop and charge up somewhere. I'm very happy with it as a tow vehicle.
 
Peter A said:
A well equipped and maintained 1/2 that has a high GVWR option and full tow package is capable. If you tow distance at highway speeds or in hilly terrain the fuel mileage will be punishing. Heavy tongue weights can significantly reduces remaining payload capacity. The transmissions in 1/2 ton trucks have not proven super sturdy except for the ZF 8-speed and the Toyota six speed (in the 5.7L up to 2022). I prefer my tow vehicles to have 25% reserve, meaning a max 7,500lb load for a truck rated at 10,000lb. Like prior comments, mechanicals are not running with huge stress and plenty of reserve power and brakes.

A 3/4 ton esp with a diesel will deliver a stress free tow. Might be worth it if you do a lot of mileage or tow in challenging conditions. Expensive to maintain.
Click to expand...
I tow with a Ford F250 diesel, other than oil changes I'm not sure what you mean by 'expensive to maintain'?
 
More quarts of oil and frequent fuel filter changes as well as DEF fluid, etc. They cost more than gas.
 
ROBERTH said:
More quarts of oil and frequent fuel filter changes as well as DEF fluid, etc. They cost more than gas.
Click to expand...
But no spark plugs :)

It's all relative, and there is a bit more maintenance - but in the grand scheme of things, it's minimal.

Besides... once you trailer with a diesel, you'll never go back to a gasser! So much more power - and noticeably better fuel economy. Although that economy is somewhat offset by the stupid amount of taxes that is put on diesel.
 
Yeah, we could go back and forth all day....lol. :) I want a diesel also. Would love to have one, but they are not always practical for everyone.
Diesels are made to run longer distance and pull loads to survive. Not mom and pop engine to run to store and not fully warm up. They cost about $11k more in purchase price than a gasser. I agree diesel mileage benefit vs gas and price of the fuels are a toss up any given day. The regen is a pita. DEF fluid goes bad and contaminates the entire fuel system if not used up timely...ect, etc...They do take more care and consideration.
Bottom line, each person has to decide what is best for them and their tow needs. I pulled 2 times last year any distance. Hope to pull more this year. Tow now is only 1.5 hours on relative flat ground. My V10 has no issue. Do I want a new F250/F350 Diesel truck? Sure, just drove by dealer lot 2 days ago and they had the one on the lot I would buy, but the sticker was $93K! Nope, moving on....lol.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.