Is it similar to bass boat with having the trailer wheel well just barely sticking out of the water? This would be with a 24' pontoon.
Printable View
Is it similar to bass boat with having the trailer wheel well just barely sticking out of the water? This would be with a 24' pontoon.
It's nice to have trailer guides or upholstered bolster boards between the toons to hold the boat straight. The problem is that the rear of the bolsters get underwater on steep boat ramps to where they don't really work.
Pontoons are very susceptible to being blown by crosswinds. So I just power load my boat--coming in fast. I have big carpeted bumpers on the winch tower that stop me without damaging the boat.
This trailer does have the inside boards to hold the toon straight. Just didn't know if there was that "magic" depth to the trailer.
The bolster boards work best if they're either out of the water and if the rear boards are at or just under the water level. Otherwise, they really don't work at all. It's also best if the boards are adjusted about 4" from the toons on the inside.
My boards have never been adjusted properly, and I never get my boat straight on my trailer.
This where my guides and bunks are when I load. Super easy..
Attachment 240984
I usually only trailer my boat 1x or 2x per year. If I trailered often, I'd raise the rear of my trailer bolsters about 18" and leave the front of the bolsters where they are.
Nice to keep the boat in a boathouse on a rack.
my Bennington loads as easy as any bass boat i've ever had
I had a guy tell me at the ramp the other day "this is not your first rodeo". The wind was blowing hard and he didn't expect me to get that monster sized boat on so easy. I ran it up on the trailer first try by not giving the wind a chance. Of course, if I missed it would have got ugly and extremely embarrassing. LOL
You got to put them in farther than a bass boat trailer. The picture above looks good.
Ramps can be different which you will have to do it different.
I usually back in to where the rear of the guide boards are just above the surface, unfortunately at Dirt ramps this usually mean the axles drop into the huge holes left by power loaders. You can certainly load shallow, and I've done it, but cranking a toon up a bunk trailer will give you one Popeye arm!
Glad this subject came up. Bought a SouthBay pontoon with a HaulRite trailer back in April. Have yet to put it on the trailer because we have a covered boat stall, and I drove the boat over from the dealership to my place.
Thanks for the advice on trailer depth when loading.
Can anyone suggest a good set of after market trailer guides? My trailer didn't come with them.
http://www.overtons.com/modperl/prod...=772742&r=view
Overton's -- $90 a set... need front an rear; $180 total
Sorry, off topic but, please don't use carpet on your trailer bunks. Carpet holds water and, over time, corrosion and pitting of the pontoons can happen.
I just saw this product on another topic here. My trailer has something similar to the link below.
http://www.caliberproductsinc.com/marine-trailer-accessories/BunkWraps.php
When I load mine, I put my trailer in roughly as far as the picture above. I don't power load my boat to to stir up garbage on the ramp and with my terrible luck, destroy by boat, trailer, and truck somehow. I load in the river which has current and usually wind so it's a bit of a balancing act the first couple of times on a ramp. I want it far enough in that it isn't miserable winching it on but far enough out of the water that the stern of the boat naturally centers itself on the bunks.
Mine is a pain in the ass to load. It is for sale.
My 22 ft. Crest Family Fisherman Pontoon boat is a breeze to load, very easy and I am a novice boater. It loads as easy as my Triton Bass boat and easier than my Triton Modified V river boat with the flatter bottom. That one is the pain, especially on windy days.
I let my wife load it on the last trip before it went into winter storage (lake is drawn down annually). That answered the question of whether I would be buying trailer guides. I like the ones suggested by JU. Thanks.