Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

So having decided next year we will be buying a toon, new or used. I thought it might not be a bad idea to buy a trailer ahead of time to reduce financial load at the time of purchase.
Do these trailers differentiate a lot? Or are you better off buying one built for your boat? I’d like to make sure to get something that is of above average quality and tows nice.
But is it worth it? We will be looking at anything 18-22ft. Possibly new.

Why? most toons you buy will come with a trailer that fits perfectly.
If you find the deal of the century on one you like, the trailer you have may not fit.....
I wouldn't do it....

This is going to sound a little ugly and I promise it's not meant that way.....but if you think you can't afford the trailer then you might need to think about if you can afford the boat. Damn the torpedoes.

Steiner wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 02, 2020 8:28 am

This is going to sound a little ugly and I promise it's not meant that way.....but if you think you can't afford the trailer then you might need to think about if you can afford the boat. Damn the torpedoes.

It’s not about the affordability of it, it’s that I’m seeing a lot going for sale “no trailer.”
Since the prices are still dumb right now and there aren’t many on the market, I am considering picking up a trailer ahead of time.
I know it’s crazy but just sorting through some spit-ball options here.

In my opinion that's a bad idea. The odds are you'll have to adjust any trailer to fit whatever boat you buy, so it's just as easy to get the trailer at the same time. Find a boat, and I promise you you'll have little problem finding a trailer. Just about any dealer who sells pontoons will have plenty of extra trailers.

Rabbit929 wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 02, 2020 10:32 am

It’s not about the affordability of it, it’s that I’m seeing a lot going for sale “no trailer.”
Since the prices are still dumb right now and there aren’t many on the market, I am considering picking up a trailer ahead of time.
I know it’s crazy but just sorting through some spit-ball options here.

OK, but in fairness you did say

Rabbit929 wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 02, 2020 5:35 am

I thought it might not be a bad idea to buy a trailer ahead of time to reduce financial load at the time of purchase.

Believe it or not, there actually is a trailer shortage in the midst of the boat shortage. HLT's factory (Yacht Club and Eagle) caught fire and mostly burned up a month or so back but they got moved into a secondary facility quickly I think. Might be better all the way around to just wait it out for everything. But I can tell you might be like me and just thinking about purchasing has already...as I like to call it...."activated the launch sequence" so you get kinda caught up in wanting to do SOMETHING if you can. Sometimes gotta pull back from the brink and wait a little bit. I'm not the best one to listen to on that though.

But to answer your questions about trailers, a pontoon trailer is a pontoon trailer. There aren't really any "custom" ones as the bunks typically mount on adjustable brackets because one trailer brand might be used across multiple lines of pontoons. A trailer set up for a 22 footer will fit an 18-22 toon, just have to adjust the stop for correct tongue weight. Friend of ours sold their trailer last year because they live on the lake and never use it. If it's older than five years, it's going to need new tires even if it's never been used so bear that in mind.

I think a lot of people are taking advantage of the Rona and getting rid of their shit, and they'll be the ones making out on getting another one vs the people that are buying up the old ones.

Like others, i also would advise against buying a trailer before the boat.
You are thinking 18 to 22 now but if a 24ft or 25ft came available at a great price you would have to hesitate on buying due to already having a trailer that won't work with that toon. Seems akin to putting the cart before the horse. Put your money in savings or a 6 or 12 month CD, then it will be available when you find the boat you want to pull the trigger on.

All great points, I appreciate the input. Kind of got the idea from looking at new toons online, where they say “starting at $18000” and by the time you throw a trailer and motor on it it’s your typical $30000.
Seeing as they want $5000 for a new trailer when there’s almost nothing to them, and I’m seeing so many used ones for sale privately without trailers.

But I’ll take the advice and sit on the money for now, because people are sucking these cheaper pontoons you faster than I can get ahold of the ones selling them.

I like the “cart before the horse” thing. Makes sense.

I wanna get a new toon so bad but I just bought a new truck this year so I’m gonna be financially strung out right if I go with anything too spendy. But these fishtoons are sooooooo niccceeeeee.
I currently use a measuring tape spool for a depth finder as I don’t want to spend another dime on this ol’ thing and save for getting a true keeper. xD

Rabbit.... I think you made the wise decision by waiting til next season....like others have pointed out, there are always some boats sold without a trailer, but I think by and large the majority of pontoon purchases usually include the trailer. Would hate for you to invest in a trailer now and then end up finding a boat that's too good to pass up, only to find it wouldn't fit your trailer.... Good luck with it all.

ROLAND wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 02, 2020 11:50 pm

Rabbit.... I think you made the wise decision by waiting til next season....like others have pointed out, there are always some boats sold without a trailer, but I think by and large the majority of pontoon purchases usually include the trailer. Would hate for you to invest in a trailer now and then end up finding a boat that's too good to pass up, only to find it wouldn't fit your trailer.... Good luck with it all.

Yeah I would hate that as well. How much should a person expect a trailer to cost?
I got my eye on 2 other toons that just popped on the market that are both very reasonable, but neither come with trailers.

Rabbit929 wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 04, 2020 3:15 am

ROLAND wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 02, 2020 11:50 pm

Rabbit.... I think you made the wise decision by waiting til next season....like others have pointed out, there are always some boats sold without a trailer, but I think by and large the majority of pontoon purchases usually include the trailer. Would hate for you to invest in a trailer now and then end up finding a boat that's too good to pass up, only to find it wouldn't fit your trailer.... Good luck with it all.

Yeah I would hate that as well. How much should a person expect a trailer to cost?
I got my eye on 2 other toons that just popped on the market that are both very reasonable, but neither come with trailers.

Widen your search parameters for location...then ROAD TRIP!

https://knoxville.craigslist.org/boa/d/ ... 24662.html

https://knoxville.craigslist.org/boa/d/ ... 37463.html

https://knoxville.craigslist.org/boa/d/ ... 18916.html

https://knoxville.craigslist.org/boa/d/ ... 11760.html

[/quote]

Yeah I would hate that as well. How much should a person expect a trailer to cost?
I got my eye on 2 other toons that just popped on the market that are both very reasonable, but neither come with trailers.
[/quote]

i'm guessing ( and this is just a guess ), if you were to buy a brand new single axle trailer for a 20 foot pontoon, in the neighborhood of 2 grand or so. here's a link to a place that sells trailers. I'm not recommending this place, just wanted to give you an idea what a new trailer would run. http://trailersforpontoons.com/satrailers.html

Well, as for it won’t fit your pontoon, I’ve not seen one that is not adjustable to fit different pontoons. You may have two issues to deal with if you buy a trailer before getting the toon. First, if you have a pontoon trailer and a tri-toon comes along you’re pretty much screwed. It will fit but why buy more trailer than you need. And secondly, and this is what happened to me, my boat had strakes installed the inside and outside of the two toons. I bought the trailer from a manufacturer and dropped it off at the boat dealer. A day or so later I get a call from my dealer. Because of the strakes, the boat won’t fit on the trailer. Instead of the tubes nesting in the bunks, the bottom of the strakes we’re contacting the upper outside corners of the bunks. Soooo, I had to bring the trailer home and do some surgery on it and then go back to the boat dealer to get the boat loaded on. Luckily, it fit fine and all was well. Point being, it might not be a bad thing to let the dealer get all of those kinks worked out. Good luck with whatever course you decide to persue.

What ever you do; don’t buy a painted, rather than galvanized, trailer for use in Florida, (or anywhere else) if you’re ever going to launch your boat in salt water.

Painted trailers made for northern lake use won’t last more than a year or two down here...