Well, the time has come to say goodbye...

Andy, I would personally keep them inflated as close to max as you can. There is a reason that the mfg. put that on the sidewall. Tom's suggestion for the infrared temp sensor is a pretty good idea as well. Back when i used to tow, I'd just stop and grab the hub by hand. Thankfully, it was always cool so I knew there wasn't any trouble brewing. I'd also bring along two spares. If you purchase from a national retailer, you could always return them once you get to Florida. All I can say is that on our weekly trips to the cottage, I can always count on seeing at least one boat with a flat. Don't let it be you!
 
If it were me. I'd entertain having a 3rd part trailer it/them down, or maybe rent a trailer big enough to put both boat and Jet ski's on. Moving is stressful enough, paying a little extra to keep your sanity might be worth it.
 
All great points so thank you. We're just going to take our time and live in the slow lane. We won't be in a hurry. I guess picking up another spare isn't a bad idea. Cheap insurance.
 
Since this will be a long tow with the boat I'm looking for any tips and tricks. I need to order mirror extenders so I can actually see going down the road. Also, my trailer has little 12" wheels so that makes me a little nervous. I do have a spare but hopefully I won't need it. I've done some research and if memory serves me right these tires are supposed to be 80psi cold. Should they really be inflated to that figure???? Seems high. I'll of course hit all bearings with a couple pumps of the grease gun as well before taking off. I'll have my floor jack and associated tools as well should the spare be called into duty.

Use the specified air pressures. You might get by with dropping it 10#, but not more than that. I've been towing a 33' 5th wheel for over 10 years, and I always use the pressure on the side of the tire. They will heat up and blow out quickly if you under inflate. May sure they aren't dry rotted. If they are over 6 years old, replace before taking a long highway trip. As far as mirror extenders, I don't know what you are pulling with, but I pull with the F-250 turbo diesel, and I just pull my mirrors out to get the ext. visual. BTW, this may have already been addressed, but I didn't read past the quoted lines above.
 
I'll be towing with a 2017 Silverado 1500. It does not have the towing mirrors so I was looking at the slip on ones. I'll have to bump the pressure up on the tires. I always thought 80lbs seemed ridiculous. This isn't a cross town trip!
 
Don't worry about the 12" tires. We have the 10" on the Hoosier trailer at 90 psi. Never had a problem until we got the new trailer with a different brand of tires. Lost 2 tires on the Canada trip. I bought 4 new tires of the old brand that I never had a problem with. We take a bottle jack, big 1/2" drive breaker bar, 6" extension and the proper 1/2 drive sockets. I can change a tire by myself in 8 minutes. (I found that out in a bad section of Detroit this year)
 
Good to know Bruce. You fit right in with the locals being able to remove and rim and tire that fast!!!
 
I pull my boat from Garden City, Michigan to Cape Coral, Florida every fall and back to Michigan in the spring. I also travel from Michigan to places like Table Rock, Lake Lanier and Torch Lake during the summer and back to Michigan. I drive between 70 and 75 mph all the time. My advise is good tires properly inflated and grease the bearing. Also, repack the bearing every other year. After the first 100 miles or so, I forget the boat is back there, until I need gas. You need to plan how to get in and out of gas stations when pulling a boat.
 
Since this will be a long tow with the boat I'm looking for any tips and tricks. I need to order mirror extenders so I can actually see going down the road. Also, my trailer has little 12" wheels so that makes me a little nervous. I do have a spare but hopefully I won't need it. I've done some research and if memory serves me right these tires are supposed to be 80psi cold. Should they really be inflated to that figure???? Seems high. I'll of course hit all bearings with a couple pumps of the grease gun as well before taking off. I'll have my floor jack and associated tools as well should the spare be called into duty.

Just take your time. My trailer has 13 inch tires and they did well. Check for any dry rot on the sidewalls as well as in the tread. How old are they?

I had my bearings checked, cleaned, and repacked before leaving on my tow to North Carolina. Excellent advice from Tom about checking your hubs at every stop. We had the bearings and hub overheat on my first boat trailer on a trip. Got so hot all of the grease came out and splattered all over the wheel.

Also check your lights.
 
Tires are 4 years old. Up until last year the trailer lived in a garage. It hardly has any miles on it either. Can you over grease a bearing? If I pop the caps off and give it some decent grease will that hurt anything?

Lights were just replaced and tested on Saturday.
 
Too much grease can build up pressure and blow the seal out.
 
Of course Carl is absolutely right, you can put too much grease in, and it happens all the time.

At my suggestion for our 4 year old trailer, the buyer had the local dealer repack the bearings and he was only going to Indy. I would definitely do at least that, especially going that far. Tires can easily dry rot in 4 years, though mine seemed just fine as our trailer was stored indoors all the time too.
 
Carl, Congrats on the move south. I’m looking forward to meeting some Florida Benny owners. We will be taking delivery of our 22ssx about Feb 1st. I was born in south Florida and have boated salt water most of my life. I’m guessing you will love having 12 month access to your Benny and having the Intercoastal Waterway nearby is a big plus. I’m just south of Orlando, about 2 hours drive from Staurt. Good luck on the move!
 
Carl, Congrats on the move south. I’m looking forward to meeting some Florida Benny owners. We will be taking delivery of our 22ssx about Feb 1st. I was born in south Florida and have boated salt water most of my life. I’m guessing you will love having 12 month access to your Benny and having the Intercoastal Waterway nearby is a big plus. I’m just south of Orlando, about 2 hours drive from Staurt. Good luck on the move!
Danny, It's Lakeliving that's moving to Florida. I've been in NC since 2006.
 
Hi Dan! We're pretty excited to get down there and find a place. We are meeting with our realtor at the end of next week to look around and potentially make some offers. I won't even mess with the boat until we find something. I'll be picking your brain regarding boating in FL.
 
Andy, anytime! BTW, my area of experience is Ft Lauderdale, Miami, the Keys and the Bahamas.
 
Congrats, Andy! That'll be quite the change! Towing that distance is roughly equivalent to two round trips to Lake Powell for me. I left the boat down there a lot, but I still probably put 10k miles or more towing back and forth over the last few years for weekend trips.

Anyway, I was lucky and never had problems with tires or bearings but I did have problems with the cover, or lack thereof. If you leave it on, it will put some serious stress where the front snaps attach. I never had one pop off, but over time it started to pull the material apart above the snap and I had to get it reinforced. Still way better than finding out what parts inside the boat are capable of flying out though, in my opinion. For a one-time thing like that, maybe it would be worth getting it plastic wrapped for the tow to keep your cover and boat in good shape.
 
For a one-time thing like that, maybe it would be worth getting it plastic wrapped for the tow to keep your cover and boat in good shape.

That's a damn good idea, Nick! Andy, since the shrink wrapping season is over in Michigan, you might find someone with some left over material and an extra hour who might give you a smoking deal. You won't need the support structure, nor vents, since you are only using it for the tow southward. My guess is a Benjamin would get you what you need. Be sure to have them tuck the wrap over the front since you'll likely run into wet roads for at least part of the trip.

I give this idea 3 thumbs up!
 
I had 5 straps made from seat belt material with brass grommets added across the front of my mooring cover and have not had any problems. Pics in my gallery i think.
 
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