hauling a pontoon boat

[flinginpooh]

I found that same trailer on craigslist. I picked it up for 100 bucks. They also sell one at fredmeyers for like 300 or so. I have a suburban with the cargo rack factory installed on it. I just pick my toon up and strap it down. Im short kinda 5'9" and only problem I have is having to stand on my tires when I strap stuff on my rig. The toons are light enough that you can get em up there pretty easy. I dont need to worry about deflating it and dont have to worry about towing something behind me. I love having that lil trailer for obvious reasons. Hauling things around or having to do a dump run are so much easier. Problem with this trailer and a rig thats bigger is that you cant see the trailer. If its an explorer size rig you might but my suburban is a k2500 with 33"tires under it no lift at all but is a 4x4 and I cant see it unless I have my big garbage cans in it I can see the top of them. Also because of the small tires on it if your rig is higher youll need to get a drop hitch or risk scraping on things because the back will be too low. I use a 4" drop hitch on mine. That levels out the trailer ok its still got a slant to it but its not too bad. Also on mine I need to fabricate a different braket for the license plate. Where they have it set for ya to put it is kinda bad. Ive bent mine many times. I suggest mounting it above the wheel well somehow. Ill be doing that with mine.

[Gringo Pescador]

No matter how you do it - 1 thing to remember, if you are strapping it down, take into consideration that the air inside the tune will expand when it is warm & contract when it is cold. Sooo if you live in the lowlands (warm) and strap it on (tunes full of air), then head to the pass (cold), pretty soon you start hearing this flapping/banging noise so you pull over and your toons are about 1/2 full of air, making your straps REALLY loose. Then there is the opposite scenario (going from cold climate to warm). How do I know this? Hmmm:-"

[Lotech Joe]

I used to have the problem of bending my license plate just by driving out the driveway. As it turns out, I had to buy new tabs for March, so when I did I also bought a new license plate in a motorcycle size. Here is how I mounted it, and the folks at the licensing place said it was perfectly acceptable.

[Marc Martyn]

The seeing the trailer issue is somewhat of a problem but easily solved. Clamp on a fiberglass whip with a flag like you see on wheelchairs or bicycles. An old CB antenna would work also.

I'm told by a friend that works in the tire business, the stock tires on those trailers will wear out faster than a normal car tire. No big deal, just upgrade the tires when they wear out.

[flinginpooh]

Its really only a prob though when backing into tight places. I put it just fine between my garage and my popup trailer. But Ive backed up alot of trailers. Its just easier when you can see where it is. I back up my popup much easier I can see it sticking out from my truck in my mirrors.

[Marc Martyn]

When hauling Joe's, I dropped the tailgate when I went to back up.

[G-Man]

With a triler that light, just get it close, unhitch it and finish it by hand if you have problems backing it up.

[guitarfisher]

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.

A few strategically placed cam straps between the frame and the Thule rails - good to go.

[Mike Carey]

There ya go! Although I will concede a trailer makes things pretty simple.

[Lotech Joe]

Because the trailer sat too low, it was difficult to see what the trailer was doing while you backed up. So, I lowered the tailgate on my pick-up and I could see just fine. If I'm backing a mini-van, I'd open the hatch and see just fine. If I was driving a Suburban or large van, I'd open the doors and see just fine. There seems to be lots of ways around simple problems. When I used to launch my boat off a trailer behind a small car, I would raise the trolling motor to it's highest position so I could see where the trailer was going.

[Marc Martyn]

Here is my set up. The boat fully inflated is wider than 48" and in order to get it in and close the canopy, I would have to deflate the pontoons and muscle it in. This was causing abrasion wear on the sides of the pontoons. I built this set up over a weekend and really like it. Now it sits over the wheel wells. It saves on the back and knees getting the boat into the truck. It rides on the cart perfectly in the truck and the boat is out of the elements, especially the dust when driving down a long dry dusty road.

[reelman]

I wish I had a picture for you of my 8' pontoon strapped to the roof of my '98 Corolla with no roof rack. I would strap it on with the car doors open, going through the cab and dodge the ratcheting hardware as I drove.

Don't all pontoons disassemble, or was my Buck's Bags unusual? I could fit the whole thing in the trunk of my Corolla with the pontoons deflated. It added 10 min to the assembly time because I had to pump like mad, but it was safer inside the trunk than on top of the car where any piece of garbage with a pocket knife could lift it in 10 seconds while I was in getting refreshments for the trip.

My point is, if you want to get it to the fishing hole bad enough, you'll figure it out.