Im also taking it in concerderation that im only 24 and im sure my 226 Captiva will turn into a bigger boat few years down the road. Thinking long-term. Course, I could just wait it out and pull the trigger on a deisel once the time comes to get a bigger boat. Thats a whole different topic to post on!!! Im going to try lowering the tongue weight first and see what happens there. Thanks you guys

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2007 Rinker 226 captiva
Fassler than you!
350mag w/ bravo 3

Drew -

I tow my LTD with a '05 Ava with 3.73 rear end and have been pleasantly surprised with how it tows. This includes the tow to Cumberland/Norris. I will say though, that I have been peaking at 3/4 ton or 1 ton deisels....but really love my Ava and can't see me parting with it.

Talk to Mike Williams or Brad Evans about the V10. I know Bob was looking at a V10 and Brad talked him out of it and get a deisel. It was probably the gas milage, but bounce it off of Mike/Brad/Bob. Also, Mike and Brad work for Ford.

Good luck!!
 

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Justin Henderson
266LTD "Never Enough"
450HP Shumacker Performance 454 w/BIII

Mike, i do have the 4.10 gears in my truck as well i have been thinking of the air ride setup the truck sags just a bit but if i took another 300 Lbs off of the tounge it would probably be fine

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Danny and Jennifer Phillips
2007 250CR 496MAG MPi
"MONEY 2 BURN"
Portage Public Marina
Burns Harbor, IN

Drew, if you dont have access to a scale(truck stop) just move the roller back one inch and try it out and the another if nessesary, little adjustments add up fast, and also make sure your transom is not hanging off of the end of the bunk too far i would say 6-10 inches but no more

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Danny and Jennifer Phillips
2007 250CR 496MAG MPi
"MONEY 2 BURN"
Portage Public Marina
Burns Harbor, IN

How does one check the tounge weight on the vehicle? And how much should the correct amount be? I have a 2001 Sierra 1500 with a 5.3L and 3.73 gears. I don't like the way the truck pulls the 225BR have. It seems like it is all the truck wants. I will almost NEVER shift into overdrive when I am on the interstate and not a hill around. The truck doesn't squat much at all when I am hooked to the trailer. Just curious. That is if this rambling makes any sense.

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1995 225BR 5.7L w/ Bravo One & Thunderbolt Ignition

Boat Name: Cent$less

Life's Journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting, 'Holy sh!t... What a Ride!! ' '

dustin, what i did is go to a truck stop, grain elevator, or someone with a heavy duty scale and set just the jack on the scale not truck or trailer axles, make sure the tounge is at the same height as it would be on a level surface attached to the truck. do you have the tow/haul button? i think all Silvrs do, you should not really be in overdrive when towing unless you are going fast too fast to be towing anything 75mph+, you also never want the trans to be "searching" for the right gear, that is a sure fire way to take out your trans

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Danny and Jennifer Phillips
2007 250CR 496MAG MPi
"MONEY 2 BURN"
Portage Public Marina
Burns Harbor, IN

Danny,

Thanks for explaning that to me. So what should be the normal % of tounge weight? Or should I go to just under the max of what the hitch is rated for? Is there an easy way to change the tounge weight wityh the boat on the trailer or would I need to take it off to change it. Sorry for all the noob questions, but I am planning on doing alot of traveling this next season with the boat and I just want to get it right where the truck isn't pulling it's guts out. I do tow with the tow/haul button on too. I meant to say that in my earlier post. It just seems the truck wants to stay out of OD even on long flat parts of the highway. I guess that is normal I am thinking of adding a set of E-Fans to the truck as well as a Tranny Cooler this next spring. I might even ad a set of light duty air bags to the back of the truck to help when towing.

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1995 225BR 5.7L w/ Bravo One & Thunderbolt Ignition

Boat Name: Cent$less

Life's Journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting, 'Holy sh!t... What a Ride!! ' '

About 5-7 % Dustin but I'd say play with it till it's enough that you don't get trailer sway at highway speeds.  It's harder to lighten the tongue weight since you need to move the boat back.  You could loosen the winch strap and attach the rear lifting hooks of the boat though to something that won't move and very gently ease the trailer forward.  If it's not really squatting your truck much, you probably are close to good though.  How does the transom sit on the trailer?  Most custom built trailers will be nearly flush on the back end. 

I'm surprised that your truck doesn't tow better with that package.  My '02 Yukon was setup the same and towed our 225BR beautifully.  The '07 is a bit better though.  I wouldn' t worry too much about the whole O/D thing though.  If it wants to stay in 3, it won't hurt anything and will be easier on the tranny.  Remember too, trailer tires are only rated to 65mph.  You can bump the air pressure in them but you should be able to tow nicely at 70mph. 

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O'
"Little Mascara 3"
2003 266BR,496 MAG w/Bravo III

Mike,

 The transom sits pretty much flush with the back of the trailer. It might be about 1" or so off the back but not much. The trailer pulls great now, I just wasn't sure if I would change the tounge weight if it would pull easier or not. It will tow at 70 no problem, but I thought I should be getting a little better MOG than I am. Just from what i towed it with my truck this year I was averaging about 180-200 miles per tank. Which is averaging around 7-9 mpg. That stinks IMO. I am going to be doing some research this off season to see if I can bump up the HP and torque in the truck to maybe gain a little MPG while towing. If I can get 12-14 I will be happy. I know it is a long shot, but I will try.

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1995 225BR 5.7L w/ Bravo One & Thunderbolt Ignition

Boat Name: Cent$less

Life's Journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting, 'Holy sh!t... What a Ride!! ' '

Good luck man!  If you're getting around 10 with a gasser, that's about right.  I towed a trailer of some friends of ours who are in a band to Cinci and back and got like 7.8 mpg with the '02 Yukon.  That thing was like pulling a wall.  Got about 10 pulling the 266BR with it if you can believe that.  Better than a trailer with some amps and keyboards.  I did have to stay out of O/D most of the time with the '02 version - like your's, it would shift into O/D and then feel like you had to really press the pedal to keep up any speed.  I don't know if it's the extra 35hp the new ones are rated for or the 4.10 rear end we have now but it is noticably stronger and O/D is more of a possiblity.  I got around 10.5mpg towing round trip to TN this past June which included some mountain terrain.   Don't watch the gas monitor in real time during those pulls.  That'll make you sick.  Seeing 1-3mpg is gut wrenching.  I like the coast down when it says 99.   

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O'
"Little Mascara 3"
2003 266BR,496 MAG w/Bravo III