First Time Towing a Boat

If you have never towed anything, read the general first-time guide first - mirrors, speed, braking distance and turning all apply here unchanged. This page covers the parts that are specific to a boat, which is where first-timers actually come unstuck.

1. 1Match the ball to the coupler stamp. The diameter is stamped on the coupler, commonly 1-7/8 in or 2 in on boat trailers. A coupler latched onto an undersize ball can come off, and it is the most consequential mistake available. Ball sizes lists what each carries.
2. 2Check the coupler latches and locks. Latch it, lock the pin, then lift the tongue with the jack. If the trailer lifts the ball mount, it is latched. If it pops off, it is not.
3. 3Cross the safety chains under the tongue. Crossed, with enough slack to turn but not enough to drag. The cross forms a cradle that catches the tongue if the coupler releases.
4. 4Plug in and walk the lights. Running lights, brake lights, both indicators. Have someone watch, or use a reflective surface.
5. 5Check the tires, including the spare. Boat trailer tires sit unused for months and age out rather than wear out. Cold pressure to the sidewall figure.
6. 6Winch the bow eye tight against the bow stop, and fit the transom straps. The winch strap holds the bow; the transom straps stop the hull walking back on the bunks.

• Tongue weight in the 10 to 15 percent band. On a boat trailer this is adjusted by where the boat sits and where the heavy gear is, not by rearranging cargo. If the trailer wanders, the boat-specific causes start with the boat being too far back.
• Wider turns than feel natural. The trailer cuts the corner. Swing wide and watch the trailer's inside wheel, not the tow vehicle's.
• Longer stopping distances. Especially with surge brakes, which apply only once the trailer pushes. Leave more room than feels necessary and you will be about right.
• Mirrors that show the lane beside the trailer. A boat on a trailer is usually wider than the tow vehicle, and often taller than people expect.

Recovery is the same sequence reversed, with one addition: winch the boat fully forward until the bow eye meets the stop before pulling up the ramp. A boat recovered short sits back on the bunks, which takes weight off the tongue, and that is how a trailer that towed fine on the way out fishtails on the way home.

Quick picks

Tap any row to jump to the full write-up. How these are chosen - and what we do and do not claim to know - is published in full on our research methodology page.

#	Product	Best for	Our read	Price
1	CURT 2 in Stainless Trailer Ball (1 in shank, 6,000 lb) Get this right first	Replacing a worn or wrong-size ball	Stainless, sized to your coupler stamp	Check price on Amazon→ #ad Affiliate link - we publish no price; Amazon shows the current one
2	CURT Safety Chain Assembly with Hooks Replace if worn	Replacing worn or unrated chains	Rated chain and hooks, crossed under the tongue	Check price on Amazon→ #ad Affiliate link - we publish no price; Amazon shows the current one
3	Camco Trailer Wheel Chocks Before you unhitch	Every trailer, without exception	Every trailer, every time	Check price on Amazon→ #ad Affiliate link - we publish no price; Amazon shows the current one
4	Blazer LED Submersible Trailer Light Kit If the lights are tired	Old trailers with tired wiring	Sealed LED, submersible kit	Check price on Amazon→ #ad Affiliate link - we publish no price; Amazon shows the current one

1. Get this right first

CURT 2 in Stainless Trailer Ball (1 in shank, 6,000 lb)

CURT · Best for replacing a worn or wrong-size ball

A replacement 2 in ball on a 1 in shank, rated to 6,000 lb, with a published torque figure of 250 ft-lb. That torque number is the reason to buy a ball from a manufacturer that publishes specs: an under-torqued ball nut is a genuine failure mode.

Published specifications

Ball capacity

6,000 lb source

Ball diameter

2 in source

Shank

1 in diameter, 2-1/8 in long source

Mounting torque

250 ft-lb source

What works

• +Published torque specification, which many balls do not come with
• +Stainless finish survives a boat ramp better than plain zinc
• +Correct shank sizing is spelled out rather than assumed

What does not

• −6,000 lb ceiling is below what many 2 in couplers are rated to carry
• −Needs a torque wrench to fit properly, which many people do not own

Skip it if

Not enough ball if your coupler is rated above 6,000 lb - match the ball to the coupler's rating, not to the hole in your mount.

Check price on Amazon→

#ad Affiliate link - we publish no price; Amazon shows the current one

Raw specifications: CURT’s own page. We earn nothing on that link.

2. Replace if worn

CURT Safety Chain Assembly with Hooks

CURT · Best for replacing worn or unrated chains

Replacement safety chains with rated hooks. Two things decide whether chains do their job: the rating has to meet or exceed the trailer's gross weight, and they have to be crossed under the coupler so they cradle it if the ball lets go.

We have not sourced a full specification table for this model from the manufacturer’s own site at a stable address. Rather than repeat figures we cannot cite, the assessment above is limited to what the design and the maker’s published description genuinely establish.

What works

• +Rated assemblies, rather than hardware-store chain of unknown grade
• +Hooks sized to engage a receiver loop properly
• +Cheap relative to what they are insuring against

What does not

• −Length must be right - too long drags, too short binds in turns
• −Hooks without latches can bounce off on rough surfaces

Skip it if

Do not buy a set rated below your trailer's gross weight to save money - that is the one specification on the whole part that matters.

Check price on Amazon→

#ad Affiliate link - we publish no price; Amazon shows the current one

Raw specifications: CURT’s own page. We earn nothing on that link.

3. Before you unhitch

Camco Trailer Wheel Chocks

Camco · Best for every trailer, without exception

Chocks go in before you unhitch, every time. They are not an upgrade and they are not interesting; they are the thing standing between a parked trailer and a slow roll down a campground slope.

We have not sourced a full specification table for this model from the manufacturer’s own site at a stable address. Rather than repeat figures we cannot cite, the assessment above is limited to what the design and the maker’s published description genuinely establish.

What works

• +Cheap insurance against the most preventable trailer accident there is
• +Works on any trailer regardless of brakes or jack type
• +Takes seconds and needs no setup

What does not

• −Plastic chocks degrade in sun over several seasons
• −Easy to leave behind at a site

Skip it if

There is no situation where you should skip chocks - if these do not suit your tire size, buy different ones rather than none.

Check price on Amazon→

#ad Affiliate link - we publish no price; Amazon shows the current one

4. If the lights are tired

Blazer LED Submersible Trailer Light Kit

Blazer International · Best for old trailers with tired wiring

LED lamps draw less current than incandescent, which matters on an old trailer with marginal wiring and a tired ground. They also come on instantly, and the cheap failure mode of a sealed LED unit is the whole lamp rather than a bulb.

We have not sourced a full specification table for this model from the manufacturer’s own site at a stable address. Rather than repeat figures we cannot cite, the assessment above is limited to what the design and the maker’s published description genuinely establish.

What works

• +Low current draw is kinder to old wiring and weak grounds
• +Sealed units with no bulbs to corrode in their sockets
• +Instant-on, which gives following traffic slightly more warning

What does not

• −A failed LED lamp is replaced whole, not repaired
• −Low current can confuse some vehicles' bulb-out monitoring

Skip it if

Not a cure for a bad ground - if your lights dim when you brake, fix the ground strap first or you will blame the new lamps.

Check price on Amazon→

#ad Affiliate link - we publish no price; Amazon shows the current one

• Rinse everything with fresh water if the launch was salt: hubs, ball, coupler, chains, connector and brake components.
• Check the hub temperature at your first stop. A hub noticeably hotter than its partner is a bearing telling you something.
• Look at the lights again before the next trip rather than at the ramp.
• Grease the ball and coupler socket once the water has dried off. What to grease and what to keep dry matters more on a trailer that gets immersed.

None of this is difficult, and after three or four trips the sequence is automatic. The reason to learn it deliberately the first time is that a ramp is a public place with an audience and a queue, and that is the worst possible setting in which to work something out.