Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

I like the boat. Splash well is the same as mine also. Duallys are rare and a fresh water one to boot. Drive safe and wave as you pass Michigan. Ken is a member here and lives in the Chicago area PM him. Billy Mac ;D

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

Sounds like yer goin' ... have a great trip...take some pix along the way ... is trailer single axle or tandem?...


...if ya gotta buy tires ... and all the mileage yer gonna do to VA, then FL ...might as well go w/ a set of Goodyear Marathon Radials ... I've been runnin' 'em for years now ... and FLAWLESS ... you won't regret it ...and don't fergit the spare ;) ...

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

Kajun, you can always check out the boat and then have it delivered to you. I had a marginal trailer under my V20 when I left Virginia. I hired a company to deliver it and figuering my time, gas, and everything else it was just a couple of dollars more to have it done that way with no worries of trailer related problems.

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

Tow It, Tow It, Tow It

I not scared!! I would tow it in a new york min! But I tow my V20 90 MPH down the highway!! :o

good luck!! want to see all the pic when you get back! Cause i know you buying!!

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

;D ...Hope yer kiddin' ... ;D ...

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

Hey MJ, I know you got a lot of balls, I've seen the extra pair you had hangin' on the back of your truck. That being said, you service your trailer, you know what shape it's in and how it tows. Better safe than sorry!

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

Rap yes I have hit 90 a few times when I am trying to get home fast!

Franco, yes I have a brand new trailer, plus it is a tandam, well two years old with not even one season use cause of all the motor problems.

And you are right I can tell you were every bolt is, and the last time it was checked!!

But I would still tow that puppy home, maybe not 90mph but a quick ck of all systems and your off!!

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

well MJ...i will be doing that friday :) just finished talking to the guy on phone..snow is melted.. asked him to clearify just what was wrong with motor and he said after the season was over they took it in to mechanic to winterize it...and the mechanic said it was missing but said he could still use it like it was, but his mom didnt want to pay the mechanic the extra $ to diagnose/fix it and she said to just sell it...so whos knows..it might be a good engine afterall!

i told him only thing i was worried about was trailer at the moment..he said all he would do is put new tires on it...and that every year he greased the bearings buddies and never had a prob....and that all lights work on it....i'll do some basic checks and bring it to a tire place and have tires replaced...hubs checked and then hit the road.

so..i'm leaving tommorow at noon...headin to somonauk,Illinois to rescue this old dually from a life of kid skiiing lake duty and put her to work catching fish *;D hopefully its an uneventful trip back ...but i'm gonna try to plan and bring extra stuff..like a spare or 2..hubs and stuff.


anyone know the dry weight of this boat and trailer? approx?

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

sweet we want pics of the whole trip........ ;D ;D ;D have a safe trip ..... oh i forgot the v-20 gods are watchin over ya...lol

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

Hey Kajun, do you have 14" wheels on your 18' trailer? Why don't you block it up and throw both tires in the back of your truck.

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

hmm dont know..i'll check it soon as i get home....the guy just called me back and gave me the tire numbers on his trailer.. they are 215-65R15, but he didnt know if they was 5 lug or 4 lug....i have brand new tires on my trailer C rated...and i also have another set of brand new trailer tire/rims..but they B rated....i was bringing the B rated ones ..but i might just take all 4 now..good idea.

lumberslinger...what is the dry weight on the 87 dually? ya aint got to worry about pics *;D you know i got that covered lol

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

Kajun, Your totally Hardcore. ;D So your gonna go for it. ;D ;D Good luck, stay safe, and the V-Gods will be waiting to hear from you Grasshopper ;D. Seacrets had a good idea. Grab the tires off your 18' and take with ya. Most of all, if your not happy with what ya see when you get there, dont be afraid to just walk away. When I bought my V. I sent the guy a deposit. After seeing the boat, I felt a bit stuck with it. Dont make the same mistakes that I did.
The boat looks good, hopefully just some good hard cleaning and teaking. The Gods want lots and lots of pictures now of your V-20 journey. Take a lap top computer with ya if you got one, to keep us all informed. ;D

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

Good Luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

As far as weight goes, I would say you are no more then 3500# Boat is like 2200 and 1000 for trailer, 400 for motor give or take a few.

F150 will tow that like nothing!!

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

Go git her Bro! Have a safe trip.

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

Iam not sure would that be on my title???

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

hammer..i dont know about hardcore....maybe crazy..obsessive ..implusive yea lol

thanks MJ..i thought it was around 2300-2500 or so...my v18 is 2200....i can stop pretty quick too without brakes ...so this shouldnt be hard to pull at all.

lumber..it might be on your title

i'll bring my laptop..if i stop at a hotel with net..i'll upload some pics :P

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

Kajun, so what happens if the trailer is shot ??
When I bought my V, I just made it into the driveway before the tire fell off. I was lucky.

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

i'm bringing it too a tire place or trailer place if i can find one to have all 4 tires replaced.......i'm also gonna buy a couple extra hubs...and prob repack all bearings before i leave.....if it breaks down...i got 7 days vacation ready to go into effect when i call work ..then i fix whatever is broke and continue on....also have roadside assistance and seatow trailer care......at this point, all i can do is pray is its in decent enough condition to make it back and i dont kill myself or someone else lol...bags are packed...truck is loaded...it's on!! next stop podunk,Il ;D

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

Good luck Kajun....bring a grease gun for bearing buddies. Feel the hubs for excessive heat after the first 10 minutes or so of highway towing and every gas stop.

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

Good luck, Kajun...

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

Happy Hunting Bro, get back safe

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

Good luck and watch out for State Troopers :o ;D

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

i always wanted a dually, i am jealous! :'(

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

thanks folks..i'm off! ;D

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

Kajun, its 8:20pm, where are you ?, what state are you in. ;D ;D ;D
This is one devoted guy. ;D

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

Almost 4 am. You must be be 80 mph, a coffee in one hand, and a donut in the other. OOPS, $hit, thats me at work. ;D ;D ;D

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

wellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll......i PULLED IT!!!.....i was 50 miles from indianapolis and I pulled it!.....that WILD HAIR IN MY AZZ!

i just walked in the house at 8pm....long story..short of it is..yesterday when i drove over the applachian mountains i got cold feet ...basically there was no way in hell i was pulling a 3500+ boat across those mountains with no brakes!...made it too the kentucky line and pulled over at a rest stop and called the guy and told him i was having second thoughts about it because of the mountains and no brakes thing.....he called some places and either they wanted a arm and leg to fix everything or they were booked up....but then he said he would knock some cash off the price...he went down to $700 and said he would help me fix everything and get it ready for the road by saturday afternoon....i took the bait and agreed.. and took off again determined as ever to pull it back....

12hrs since i left norfolk...700+ miles into the trip at midnight 50 miles from Indy..after much stress and thought i made the decision to turn around..anyway i thought about it , i could not justify towing this thing back with no brakes across those hills and mountains and did not want to chance being stuck there for days trying to get parts and crap for it.... or paying the outrageous prices for someone to fix it...turned around and headed back.....

about 2am i stop outside of lexington,ky..got a room and slept till 1030 this morning....called the guy when i woke up and told him the deal....he said no problem he understood...got back on the road headed home...:(


i had big kahona's sitting in my computer and thought i could do it.......i have never driven or been across these mountains in my life.......i definetly under estimated them...not to mention that the whole state of west virginia is mountains...and most of kentucky is big hills.....so it was like 400 miles of mountains and hills.......i wouldnt tow MY boat across this..hell i wouldnt tow anything across them lol......anway..i chickened out..i'm a WUSS! 2 days of my time...$250+....1400+ miles on my truck to learn that i didnt have the ballz to do it lol..i'll chalk this one up as a valuable lesson and "scenic" roadtrip lol....i'll get me a V20 one day...but it won't be this dually!

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

I hear you bro.

when I was going down to NC to get mine I got some really strange thoughts. I like to think I was lucky not to find BIG surprises. Hey, you did what your heart told you to do, that's the main thing.

Keep looking, one of these days you'll get rewarded.

Good luck

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

Wow!! Thats to bad!! :'( :'( I wish I was there I would have towed it for ya!!

O well if it was meant to be it would be in your yard right now, so I guess it wasn't.

O well there will always be a next time!!

I just don't see what the problem was? Truck 6000# = Boat 3000# almost 10,000#

Just think 1/2 of that was uphill and you did not need breaks!
So that was only 200 mile 10,000 pound sleigh ride ;D ;) You old guys have no adventure left in ya! :-/

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

I'da done it. ;D I understand your concern, and applaud you on your decision. Most wouldn't have done that. But I'da done it. ;)

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

WoW, you turned around. :-/
Why are all the good deals so far away. :-/
You'll find something in Fl. when ya move. So how much for your 18 ???

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

yea i'll prob regret it for the rest of my life but even now i still feel it was the best decision.....i cant put into words how uncomfortable and stressed out i was with those mountains...all i know is i'm out a couple hundred bucks and some time....and still alive lol

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

When are you moving to Panama city? I'll keep an eye out for one down here. I'll see if I can locate the one that flounder was looking at. If the vibes were bad, then it probaly was a good reason to back out. I know when I pull to the keys its a hairy ride and there is only about 100 ft elevation rise & fall in 750 miles.

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

i will be in PCB no later than july 25th...


i'm not gonna look for boats anymore until i get down there...lets just say this trip "cured" me of the gotta have a another boat" disease lol gonna concentrate on fixing the 18 to sell and getting my house ready to sell...prob will get a second job to pad the v20 fund..that way i'll be ready for when a nice CC or dually comes up.

hammer..i got about 8k in my 18...hoping to get about 4000-4500 for it....4500 is what i paid for it...would dip down into the 3800's if not i'll just tow to Fl and use or sell it there.

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

So close...yet so far. Sorry it didn't work out. :'(

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

man i thought i had another dually brother :-/

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

I can understand the no brakes concern....coming down out of the mountains can be scary.

I had an F250 with a 10 foot slide on camper, coming down a mountain pass in CO I lost my brakes, pedal went to the floor....talk about sphincter factor:O. I was able to pump them quickly and get enough pressure to stop but was scary as hell.

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

Kajun,

I think you made the right decision. Like I had said, I made that trip last summer and there is no easy /flat/level/direct way to do it from here in Tidewater.

On the way up was better becasue I went via Youngstown Ohio and then Michigan first. Coming back though (the more direct way) was hairy even in just a car coming through West Virginia especially. I had my hand held GPS with me and at times it was reading that we were on mile high mountains.

Like others have said. If it was meant to be it would have happended.

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

Don't regret it for another minute!!...It's in the past and no harm/ no foul ;) ...the right boat and situation will come along...pleanty boats in FL !!... ;D ...

Re: i'm buying a V20!
 

Smart move, really. Unless you went down the passes in first gear @10-15 mph, you would've had your hands full, even then the sphincter pucker factor wouldn't be worth it. Those runaway truck ramps are there for a reason! Flat ground or some hills are no big deal without brakes, but not those passes! Glad to see you used your head!