hauling a pontoon boat

[ruthven78]

So I will finally be upgrading the Hyundai Accent to either an SUV or quad pickup...hoping for the latter...but if I get an SUV I need a way to haul my toon around....havent even used it in two years, hope it still inflates hehe...

any suggestion? craigslist has a few utility trailers I can afford

[Marc Martyn]

Hi Craig. Your best bet with that size of boat would be a trailer. Contact Lotech Joe and he will show you how his rigged his trailer for his boat. He had the same as you.

[ruthven78]

Hi Craig. Your best bet with that size of boat would be a trailer. Contact Lotech Joe and he will show you how his rigged his trailer for his boat. He had the same as you.

Trailer better than putting it into the bed of a pickup?

I also saw the EZ Packer http://www.easypacker.com for $350 that uses your receiving hitch. It swings down and from the looks of it would work pretty slick....though a trailer would be more versatile as could be used for other things too. There is a video on their website on how to load the toon into it.

[G-Man]

Just deflate the pontoons and leave the rest assembled. I do this quite a bit and can fit the unit in my PT Cruiser, no problem. Inflating takes just a short amount of time with a good double action pump.

[The Quadfather]

Just deflate the pontoons and leave the rest assembled. I do this quite a bit and can fit the unit in my PT Cruiser, no problem. Inflating takes just a short amount of time with a good double action pump.

But you would look so much cooler going down the road like in the above pic.

[ruthven78]

yeah I'd rather not have to inflate the pontoons lol....I was carting mine around completely disassembled and deflated in my hyundai accent lol...was no fun, was wore out before I even got my waders on....

[Marc Martyn]

http://www.harborfreight.com/950-lb-cap ... 42709.html

[The Quadfather]

Marc,
that is a very low priced option for a small trailer. My quesiton is... if it is an 8' trailer, does that mean that rectangle shaped area which is the basic shape of trailer is 8' length? Or does that mean from stem to stern including the tongue?

Would that trailer hold a 12' wooden boat as far as lenth goes. Never mind weight, it's light.

[Anonymous]

The cargo area of the trailer would be 4x8. Plus the length of the tonque. It even looks to be the size of a 4x8 sheet of plywood.

[The Quadfather]

The cargo area of the trailer would be 4x8. Plus the length of the tonque. It even looks to be the size of a 4x8 sheet of plywood.

Tom, so if you look at that trailer, would you think it resonable to have about 3' of bow on the above the top edge of the cargo area (along the tongue) and maybe 1' of bow beyond the trailer light end of cargo area? Again this is a 60-70 lb wood boat. Is that not good sense for any reason? The boat is just a wee bit beyond car topper status.

[Anonymous]

I don't think a foot of the boat sticking off the rear of the trailer would be a big deal. If it stuck out 3' or more I think you would need a hazzard flag.

If the bow/pointy front of the boat was all the way forwards to the cross bar on the tongue of the trailer it would still not affect the turning of the rig in a sharp turn. Altho a pram/square bow boat would be something to watch while turning.

So I don't see a problem putting a 12' boat on that trailer. Only the weight of the boat would be a concern, and I have no idea what a 12' wooden boat would weigh, double pointed drift boat I presume. A 60 to 70 pound boat would be of no concern at all.

[Marc Martyn]

I sent a PM to Lotech Joe asking him to post a picture of his pontoon on the trailer. I looked for his picture, but couldn't find it.

His setup was pretty nice. I pulled it behind my truck when Joe and I went up to Marshall and it worked out very well.

[Gringo Pescador]

The cargo area of the trailer would be 4x8. Plus the length of the tonque. It even looks to be the size of a 4x8 sheet of plywood.

Tom, so if you look at that trailer, would you think it resonable to have about 3' of bow on the above the top edge of the cargo area (along the tongue) and maybe 1' of bow beyond the trailer light end of cargo area? Again this is a 60-70 lb wood boat. Is that not good sense for any reason? The boat is just a wee bit beyond car topper status.

Not that this helps anybody else (sorry for the hijack Ruthven). But Quad, since you have used my trailer before, for reference that trailer is basically the same size as mine, only no sides and smaller wheels. Remember I mounted a spare tire lying down in front of the box (on the tongue) on mine? If you used it as a flat bed you could probably go up 2-3' with no issues, then with a $2 red T-shirt tied to the back you should be good.

[Matt]

I dig that EZ Packer setup, that thing looks slick!

[Lotech Joe]

Hey Craig,
I used to have the same boat you have. To get it to and from whatever place I wanted, I used an affordable, assemble it yourself, trailer from Fred Meyer. I understand that Harbor Freight has the same trailer for less money. Look around and maybe you can find something better, but what I found worked great. Here's a picture of the trailer with my jon boat atop.



The trailer worked great for hauling my toon and any coolers or cargo I wanted.

[Anonymous]

I'll mention an option no one else has - throw it on top of your rig. I wish I had a picture of mine on the truck. You'll have to imagine it. 2 person pontoon and we just pop it up there and secure it with side straps and front/back ropes. I've driven everywhere at hwy speeds. I lose a couple miles per gallon but the coolness factor is way up there, LOL.

A one person pontoon would be easy to toss up there by yourself.

You do get hit with an over height charge if you go on a ferry.

But the up side is - no yearly trailer license fee or need to store a trailer. You will need to install a rack system.

[Lotech Joe]

If it's still the same boat he had a couple of years ago, it weighs about 77 pounds. That was way too much for me anyway, to load on top of a car or truck canopy. So I opted for the trailer from Fred Meyer. And yes, the rectangle area is 4' X 8'. If you buy a single sheet of 4' X 8' plywood and cut it exactly in half (Lowe's & Home Base I believe will make one cut for free) then bolt it to you trailer, you can fold the trailer in half, stand it up & roll it wherever you want to store it. I had to build a small platform over the fenders to make my pontoon ride above them. I wish I had a picture, but I don't. I also use the trailer to go to the dump, haul camp gear & haul fertilizer or landscape bark.
Good luck with your choice Craig

[Lotech Joe]

Guess What? I found a picture. Go figure.

[Marc Martyn]

Joe had a great set up. A friend and I are thinking about going in together on one of these so we can haul three boats with my truck when we float a river. Two can be stacked on the trailer and mine can be put in the box in the truck.

[ruthven78]

Thanks everyone (and no worries on the thread hijack lol)

think Ill be getting the trailer since it can be used for more than just hauling my toon around