Advice on Buying '72 Land n Sea 28' Trailerable Houseboat

Thinking of taking the big plunge..from kayaks to a houseboat..guess i am getting old and tired plus i finally got married at 60... so you know the rest...
and ..no mate ..bob is not my uncle. (a rich guy in australia) my immediate concern is pulling it ..it appears to have 3 wheels and a surge or elect brake system. Would i be nuts (well i am nuts) ...would it be possible to tow it with my 01 grand cherokee ..even a short distance? Or what would be the minimum in a tow vehicle. Also what could you tell me about the engine's from this picture. Fire away..much appreciated!!!
How do you post a picture?

THE PICTURE OF THE ENGINES IN QUESTION IN ON MY PROFILE..i KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THEM AT THIS POINT SO ANY GUESS WOULD BE HELPFUL...

A trailer with three wheels is going to be very difficult to tow.

I suggest joining a forum that's more focused on trailerable boats and asking your questions there.

Surge and electric brake systems are very different. An electric brake system requires a cab mounted controller and a battery on the trailer. Surge brakes do not, but electric is a better system for heavy trailers.

You need to know the total weight of the boat and trailer and compare it to the tow rating of your vehicle. It's not safe to go over that rating although a small amount for a short distance on relatively level ground without a lot of traffic is probably OK.

A three axle trailer implies a weight of 10,000 lbs or better. Your Grand Cherokee has a tow rating of at most 7,000 lbs. You could tow for a few miles slowly with little traffic and be ok but any distance, no.

To tow any distance you need a 1 ton pickup or a 1 ton Chevy Suburban SUV.

There are several types of brakes: 1,2 or 3 axle and electric or electric over hydraulic. 2 axle is ok, 3 is best. Electric brakes won't last a year in salt water, maybe more in fresh.

The best system is electric over hydraulic. The tow vehicle's electric brake signal energizes an actuator that moves a hydraulic cylinder that moves the brakes. All of the electrics stay out of the water and only the hydraulics get submerged. But few trailers have these and it will cost several thousand dollars to add them.

David

Its only a 28 foot boat. My first reaction is that of course it can be towed for a short distance but what the heck is it doing on a triple axle trailer? This sounds like no houseboat I know as I would be used to a houseboat being lighter and being on pontoons. Also the engines are hard to decipher - maybe a bigger picture would help. I sort of looks like twin inboards but that is overkill if it is a houseboat designed for trawler speeds.
I suspect this is more like a steel hulled Gibson or an old Georgian Steel or something. Then you would get more serious weight and twins plus a triple axle. If that is correct I would also start to wonder about towing it.
More info might be helpful

There is a houseboat forum - google. Maybe someone there has some info such as weight which you will need to figure out if your current vehicle can safely tow the boat.

Do you have a commercail truck scale anywhere close? A commercial boat towing company could take the boat and weigh it, although for a price. But at least you would know before commiting yourself.

You will also need to know the beam. At 28' I expect the beam would be within the allowable road limits without pilot cars and serious restrictions but you should find out first.

Depending on the State the overall tow size can be limited to 55ft.

That is from the front of the tow vehicle to the end of the tow.Commercial rules are VERY different.

Many States are 65ft , and in the West some have higher limits.

For short towing home to marina (not coast to coast) the tow can weigh double the weight of the tow vehicle if fitted with a proper hitch and of course proper brakes..

the engines are volvo B 30's any guess on the fuel burn?

zinco said:

the engines are volvo B 30's any guess on the fuel burn?

Click to expand...

How fast do you want to go? At 6 kts, maybe 3-4 gph for both. At wot, 30-40 gph for both. Those are old carbureted engines designed during the days of (relatively) cheap gas, so they aren't very efficient. And neither is that hull.

David