NFR Silverado EV Short Bed to haul 12 ft V-bottom Smoker Craft?

Non-fishing related
Flymph

Flymph

Life of the Party
Wife and I are pretty close to pulling the EV trigger with Chevy Silverado Pick-up at the top of the research list. Trying to figure out the best way to haul the 12 ft V-bottom Smoker Craft? Could mount on top of a canopy with a good size overhang out the back with legal orange flag, could invest in a trailer, or could drop tail gate and load boat on to truck bed which could slide under crew cab seats with very little over hang. Would like to hear your thoughts?
 
Trailer...
 
Sliding it into the bed would likely be the easiest if it is light enough. Though you might not need it, you could also get a bed extender. Putting it on top can be a pain in the ass.
SF

 
Chevy’s been building EV’s for a long time. I bought a 2024 Equinox EV and have put about 18,000 trouble free miles on it. I’ve had dozens of cars and trucks of all kinds over the decades and this has been the best one of the bunch, and it is an absolute blast to drive. I think you’re going to love that truck.

As mentioned towing it with a trailer will be easier if you’ve got the room to store it, but hauling it in the bed with that hitch extender wouldn’t be that big of a deal with that size boat. I wouldn’t open the back of the cab to use that space as it’s designed, unless the weather was good and then only on paved roads. Dust would engulf your cab on gravel roads otherwise, and if it were to rain you might get a little wet.

Keep us posted please.
 
For my 14' monster of a kayak I could load it into the back of 6.5' bed of my RAM without a hitch extender. BUT it was a giant pain in the ass with how heavy the boat is and how tall the truck is. Using a hitch extender wasn't really needed but it made it a lot easier to get the leverage to lift the bow up high enough to slide into the back of the truck. I bought a winch to help with this, it still sits in a box because I then bought a trailer and everything's much easier.
 
After reading through this thread and looking up the truck you're buying; get a trailer for the boat. My two bits worth; I don't think you're a youngster anymore, hoisting that boat on flat ground into the bed (bed extender or not) won't be too hard but what about at a sloped launch or a rough, steep launch?

I used to load my 8' wood pram into the bed of my Silverado, it wasn't a big deal at home on the flat but some of the lakes I fish the "put in" is steep. Not wanting to slide my boat down and then back up over rocks, I ONE TIME tried to lift the boat solo and walk it up the 15 feet to flat ground. A few weeks later my back was back to normal. I shopped for a trailer, found one, modified the bunks so the pram's hull fits flat on the bunks; it has made use of the boat much easier (most of the time).

Good luck, enjoy!/Pat
 
Buzzy said:
After reading through this thread and looking up the truck you're buying; get a trailer for the boat. My two bits worth; I don't think you're a youngster anymore, hoisting that boat on flat ground into the bed (bed extender or not) won't be too hard but what about at a sloped launch or a rough, steep launch?

I used to load my 8' wood pram into the bed of my Silverado, it wasn't a big deal at home on the flat but some of the lakes I fish the "put in" is steep. Not wanting to slide my boat down and then back up over rocks, I ONE TIME tried to lift the boat solo and walk it up the 15 feet to flat ground. A few weeks later my back was back to normal. I shopped for a trailer, found one, modified the bunks so the pram's hull fits flat on the bunks; it has made use of the boat much easier (most of the time).

Good luck, enjoy!/Pat
Click to expand...
this is the way...and another advantage of a trailered boat is when heading out on a camping trip the boat becomes a giant Yakima box for carrying gear. Back in 'young kids at home' days when we headed to the lake with a boat behind our conversion vans it carried everything from coolers to bikes.
 
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