Double Trailing a boat and a ski, rules in Ontario

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Bonmotwang

Well-Known Member
I have a sporster and a ski. It will be nice I can tow both to the lake with one vehicle.

I made at least 10 different phone calls to service Ontario, MTO, high way traffic reinforce department, etc ... It seems like there is no rules about this in Ontario, otherwise one of them would know.
They all promised to find it out and call me back. But none of them called back.

What I wanted to do is put a 2" ball with sway control at the end of the boat trailer.
The boat trailer is about 18', the ski trailer is about 12'.

I tow my boat with Jeep Wrangler 4 door. Don't think I will have power problem with a jet ski added. Only 25 minutes from home to the lake.

Anybody has any experience with the trailing rules in Ontario?
 
IDK the yr of your jeep or power pkg but here is a copy/paste from the jeep forum.....

2012 towing capacity?
I'm thinking about getting the 2012 sport, will it really only pull 2000lbs? Our pop up weighs 1500. Thanks

For the weight add up the boat, ski, both trailers and misc stuff in the boat/ski such as coolers, beverages, food, tools, gas, oil, ski jackets, etc

So first find out your towing capacity, but remember just because it can tow it ...will it be able to stop it safely?
Some states/provinces will have a length limit, find that out too.
 
Thanks for the remind. I read some threads on Jeep forums about towing capacities.
4 door and 2 door are rated at 2000lbs. But 4 door obviously can do more, 3500lbs are rated for some 4 door versions. Mine is 2000lbs.
The tone weight on the rear cross member is one of the concern too. In my case, the ski doesn't add tone weight to the jeep.

The boat is 1235lbs, trailer is about 300lbs.
The ski is 430lbs, trailer is about 200lbs.
So the total is about 2200lbs.

It looks like the power should be OK. Yes, stop is tricky. Need to stir up the jeep forum a little to find out :-D

But the rules is the first thing I need to find out if it is even possible, so that I have an excuse for upgrade to a F150 LoL.
 
My understanding is the GVWR is what you are towing along with the contents (gear and people) inside the vehicle. Also remember the gear and fuel (10 lbs per gallon) inside the toys.

Here is what is said on the MTO webside.

Towing More Than One Vehicle

Cars, passenger vans and SUVs are not permitted to tow more than one trailer or one vehicle.
Motor homes, trucks, pickup trucks and truck campers are legally permitted to tow two trailers or a trailer and a motor vehicle behind a trailer. However, a three vehicle combination that is swaying excessively, is unstable or has reduced handling capabilities is subject to action by the police as an unsafe combination of vehicles under the Highway Traffic Act.

The maximum length of any combination of vehicles is 23 m (75' 6").



When I looked into this a few years back, in Ontario I read that the first trailer had to be tandem with breaks, the mirrors had to be able to see the back of the line, the second trailer could not be heavier then the first trailer. There was also something in the rules about the tow vehicle having to be a commercial vehicle, meaning a pick up or other full size suv with the black commercial plates.

Couple other tidbits for Ontario
A regular G license can only tow up to 10141 pounds (4600 kg) but can have a combined weight (trailers, gear, tow vehicle) of up to 24,250 lbs (11000 kg).
The exemption to the above rule is in the case of RV trailers, the trailer can be more then the allowed 10141 lbs (4600 kg) as long as the total combined weight of towing vehicle and trailer do not exceed 24250 lbs.

Any trailer + load that weighs more then 3000 lbs is required to have brakes installed on the trailer in Ontario.
 
Thanks kicker.

On the purchase agreement of my jeep, it says "truck". :-D

I found the same thing on MTO's site and saw this tandem and brake rules on other sites too. It still isn't clear to me if this is legal.

Probably it is all judged by the cops, if they think it is safe, then OK. If they think not good enough, then they will pull you over.

And a little surprised that no body could give me a yes or no answer by given detailed tower and towee information.


Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk
 
Finally I talked to somebody from MTO. This is the rule: only commercial type of vehicle can tow 2 trailers. Pickup truck is ok. Jeep is a No No. No commercial license or plate needed.


Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk
 
I just sold this trailer last year, It was custom made to hold 11000 lbs, 2 skis up front and upto a roughly 20 foot boat behind.
 

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If you have the original trailer from seadoo, I know for a fact it is not a very strong trailer. I bent the tongue (where the two beams join into 1) by just turning onto a busy busy road. This was with a little TDI jetta, producing around 170ftlb of torque. If suddenly you're exerting tensile and compressive forces on the frame, I'm not sure it would hold up well at all. It's only 4" tube steel. I reinforced my trailer at that apex point on top and bottom, and suggest you do the same before you have to get creative to straighten it back out. And if you're gonna get the welding gear out, better reinforce the hell out of that trailer if you plan to pull another with it. As the ski/trailer don't weigh much, it might be possible. You will probably need to run lights to the ski trailer as well, which might blow your turn signal fuses. That'll give just one more reason for Johnny Law to stop you. Seeing as how light the ski is, an alternative would be to just put a tow hitch on your second vehicle. Any car will tow it just fine.
 
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