New Pontoon shopping

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mnvikesfan
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Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 12:55 pm

New Pontoon shopping

#1 Post by mnvikesfan » Wed Jan 28, 2015 12:46 pm

Hi All-
Late last summer we traded in our camper for a lake cabin. We quickly put a new pontoon at the top of our list of things we need for the cabin.
Last weekend we went to the Minneapolis Boat Show and must have looked at over 10 makes of pontoons. Our heads were spinning by the end of the day, but feel we are down to 2 pontoons, both priced at about $33,000. I'm hoping to your pontoon veteran opinions on both these makes\models and whether they seems priced right. Thanks for any insight you can offer us.

In this corner we have a 2015 Preimier Sunpress RF 240, upgraded seating, extended aft deck
In the other corner, we have a 2014 Bennington 24 SSRX

Both would be upgraded to include the following.

-Added Express\Sport tube
-Upgraded motor to 150 hp
-Hydraulic Steering upgrade

Does the pricing seem in line for either of these at about $33K with those upgrades?

Thoughts? Pro\Cons in favor of either of these based on your knowledge or experience of these Makes\Models?

Any experienced insight would be helpful, as we're new to all that a pontoon has to offer!
Thanks-
Jeff
[color=#800000][b]'14 Bennington 24' SSRX Tritoon w\Yamaha 150
(taking ownership in April 15)
Eastern Minnesota\Western Wisconsin[/b][/color]

ron nh
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Re: New Pontoon shopping

#2 Post by ron nh » Wed Jan 28, 2015 2:48 pm

those are both great prices, Damn everythings more expensive in the northeast it's friggen rediculous. with a 150 and express tube would be at least 38 up here. both great boats also, i don't see any cons in either. good luck.
2015 Qwest LS 818XRE Tri-toon w/mercury 115.

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ROLAND
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Re: New Pontoon shopping

#3 Post by ROLAND » Thu Jan 29, 2015 2:26 am

both are good boats.... personally, I'm a fan of bennington, but that's probably because I own one... I reallly don't think you would go wrong with either boat. I can tell you that I've had our bennington with a yamaha 4 stroke for about 4 years now and haven't had any issues to speak of... I did have an issue with the pump on the live well right after I bought the boat, but the dealer took care of that when I took her in for service.... other than that, no problems... good luck with your decision.....
Roland & Jo
2010 Bennington 20 Sfi
Yamaha 75 4 Stroke
Shreveport, Louisiana

Bamaman
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Re: New Pontoon shopping

#4 Post by Bamaman » Thu Jan 29, 2015 4:06 am

You've got good taste. Cannot go wrong with either, but I too am a Bennington owner.

For the price quoted, I'd think you'd have a hard time getting into either boat with a trailer and a 150 hp motor. If so, you're really getting a great deal.

You didn't say if you were getting a trailer. If not, you should reconsider. Having a trailer opens you to more than one locale, and it's so nice seeing different lakes. And you will take better care of your boat if you have a trailer. They just last so much longer if they're kept out of the water and out of the weather.
'12 Bennington 24' SSLX Yamaha 150

mnvikesfan
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Re: New Pontoon shopping

#5 Post by mnvikesfan » Thu Jan 29, 2015 8:46 am

Thanks you all for your input.

We've heard\read so many good things about the Bennington make and Premier is manufactured in our home town, so we know their quality.

Right now, I'd say we're leaning towards the Bennington. It's really coming down to the comfort of the seats and the additional warranty at this point. The Bennington has upgraded pillow top sitting, which the women loved over the Sunspree's seating.

Also Bamaman, the $33K does not include the trailer, but because of the tri-toon option we feel we have no other choice from an off season storage standpoint. The trailer is a double axle bunk trailer set up for a tri-toon. The dealership had them for $2,900, which they said was their Boat Show special.

Based on that are we still paying a fair price on it?

Here's a little more information on the Bennington set up.
Here's the initial set up they priced for $24,635
2014 Bennington 24 SSRX
Yamaha 50 4 stroke
Addtitional options
Tilt steering
G Series Reclining captains chairs
Pillow-top upholstery
Seagrass aft flooring
Teak Wheel
Garmin Graph
Ext Aft Deck
Docking lights
Console sink
In Seat Live Well

From there we added the following which brought it up to $32,700 plus tax\registration
-Upgrade motor to Yamaha 150 4 stroke
-Add Hydraulic Steering
-Add Express Tube Package
-2 seat fillers for additional seating
-2 sets of seat cupholders
-6 pack of orange life jackets

We also plan to upgrade the stereo from CD to Bluetooth for $100

Based on this Bennington package, Fair price? or keep shopping?

Thanks again for your input. It'll give me peace of mind before we finalize the purchase!
Jeff
[color=#800000][b]'14 Bennington 24' SSRX Tritoon w\Yamaha 150
(taking ownership in April 15)
Eastern Minnesota\Western Wisconsin[/b][/color]

RcgTexas
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Re: New Pontoon shopping

#6 Post by RcgTexas » Thu Jan 29, 2015 3:47 pm

Sounds good to me! Sheesh that's a lot for a trailer but I haven't bought one in a while.

And welcome to the forum!
1995 beachcomber conversion to tritoon with Honda 135 ,

Link to rebuild [url=http://www.pontoonforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=19016][Knot Normal][/url]

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JeffS
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Re: New Pontoon shopping

#7 Post by JeffS » Thu Jan 29, 2015 5:10 pm

Another vote for Bennington.
I actually thought the trailer price was a bit low. You get what you pay for with trailers. I trailer thousands of miles each summer...and invested in a very good trailer. I have a very heavy boat...so that's a factor. But for reference, my trailer was over $4,000. I'd be looking carefully at a $2,900 trailer - suspect it might be a light-ish duty choice? I don't know what trailer you are being quoted on, or what options are on it.

The most basic difference between inexpensive light duty trailers and more expensive heavy duty trailers is welded vs bolted together. If the cross members and supports are u-bolted or through-bolted - that's a light-ish duty trailer.
If the trailer is all welded construction, and it has clean finished welds, and has dual axles with disc brakes and D rated tires...it's a pretty heavy duty trailer.
2014 Bennington 2250GBR. Blackout Edition. Every option.
[b]Let's just talk boats.[/b]

[color=#0080FF]I hate politics. Both sides suck. If this was a Fox News comment section, what could I say? But on a boating forum? Really?[/color]

Bamaman
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Re: New Pontoon shopping

#8 Post by Bamaman » Thu Jan 29, 2015 6:00 pm

$2900 is a good price for a trailer. I assume it's a standard weight tandem axle trailer without brakes--about like my trailer.

If someone was going to tow 100 miles each way to the lake every week and tow in very hilly places, I'd tell'em to buy a $4K trailer with brakes. My tow vehicle is a diesel 3/4 ton crew cab with tow package and very heavy brakes, so I'm okay towing locally 2x per year without brakes. Most people need at least a 1/2 ton truck or full size SUV to handle a 5000 lb. tritoon with trailer.

And if you get the Express Tube, you don't need a trailer with center toon supports. A two toon trailer will do you just fine, as all the weight's on the engine pod--not the Express center toon that weighs about 250 lbs.--not much.

It all sounds like a very good deal. Just make sure they're including a Yamaha Reliance 15 pitch stainless steel propeller in the deal--$500 list price. My dealer initially put a M14 Yamaha prop on mine, and I was 4 mph slower and hitting the rev. limiter @ 6300 rpm's.
'12 Bennington 24' SSLX Yamaha 150

mnvikesfan
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Re: New Pontoon shopping

#9 Post by mnvikesfan » Fri Jan 30, 2015 12:23 am

Thanks guys for the additional input on the trailer.
I'm not sure of the brand and weld details yet. We're planning taking a closer look at it in a week.
What I do know is that it is normally a $3,900 trailer, that they had $1,000 in discounts for the boat show to put towards the purchase.
It is a dual axle and does have brakes. If it passes the weld check, we should be good to go based on what you guys are saying.

Thanks Bamaman for the additional information on the prop. We'll be sure to ask the sales guy more about the prop tomorrow and see if we can get the prop you've suggested in the current purchase price.

You mentioned it was a $500 prop. Do you know what the price of the stock prop would be? Just trying to figure out what the difference would be between the 2 of them.

Thanks guys!
Jeff
[color=#800000][b]'14 Bennington 24' SSRX Tritoon w\Yamaha 150
(taking ownership in April 15)
Eastern Minnesota\Western Wisconsin[/b][/color]

Bamaman
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Re: New Pontoon shopping

#10 Post by Bamaman » Fri Jan 30, 2015 8:55 am

An aluminum prop might only be $125 or so. Just about all the 150 hp and higher hp motors are running stainless props.

Dealers purchase propellers separately from the engine and boat, which come in directly from Bennington. Hopefully your dealer figured in that specific propeller on the deal.

On my old I/O, I'd go through an aluminum prop every year. When I switched to stainless propellers, I never had to repair another aluminum prop. Fortunately the local prop shop is owned by a cousin.
'12 Bennington 24' SSLX Yamaha 150

scubadad
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Re: New Pontoon shopping

#11 Post by scubadad » Thu Feb 05, 2015 9:20 am

I am still a newbie when it comes to pontoons but we just purchased a 2015 Bennington 22 SSRX with a 115. We are thrilled with it so far...love the seating arrangement. We opted not to buy a trailer from the dealer because he was so high in price on it and would not budge very much. I'm finding pretty good deals on them around here so we'll be getting a trailer soon although we are in a slip full time. My center toon is the partial one (not full length) so I plan to get a regular 2-axle pontoon trailer. I figure I can add the center supports later if they're really needed.

mnvikesfan
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Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 12:55 pm

Re: New Pontoon shopping

#12 Post by mnvikesfan » Mon Feb 09, 2015 12:25 pm

Thanks everyone for all your input.

We're moving forward with the 2014 Bennington 24 SSRX
With the following upgrades
-Upgrade motor to Yamaha 150 4 stroke with the Reliance Stainless Steel prop, keeping the aluminum as a back up.
-Add Hydraulic Steering
-Add Express Tube Package

I did find out more about trailer. It's a Yacht Club Bunk trailer. Welded construction, not bolted. All for $2,900
They said it'll be set up for the pontoons tritoon set up, I guess that means bunks for all 3 pontoons? Is it best to have bunks for all 3 toons, when trailering a tritoon? or do people prefer 2 bunk, even with a tritoon?

So total package with boat, upgrades, trailer, license and registration will be about $38,000 out the door.
We're hoping money well spent once we reach ice out come May and many years of enjoyment to follow!
[color=#800000][b]'14 Bennington 24' SSRX Tritoon w\Yamaha 150
(taking ownership in April 15)
Eastern Minnesota\Western Wisconsin[/b][/color]

Waterlogged
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Re: New Pontoon shopping

#13 Post by Waterlogged » Mon Feb 09, 2015 2:11 pm

That Bennington with those upgrades at that price would be a steal around here. I think you did good. Trailer sound ok also, fortunately you don't have to tow very far to try different lakes in MN.

Glenn
2008 SunTracker Regency Party Barge 22 with lifting strakes
2008 Mercury 115 4 stroke

mnvikesfan
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Re: New Pontoon shopping

#14 Post by mnvikesfan » Fri Feb 13, 2015 12:13 pm

Glenn-
Thanks for confirming that the pontoon was priced right.
With all the various pricing on boats and vehicles, MSRP vs. Invoice, etc you never know the pricing is fair or you're getting taken to the cleaners. Add on top the retail vs cost pricing of upgrade options, it's enough question how much they are making on your sale.

The deposit check has been cashed, so there's no turning back now. She'll be in our driveway come April and ready for the boating season to begin!

Jeff
[color=#800000][b]'14 Bennington 24' SSRX Tritoon w\Yamaha 150
(taking ownership in April 15)
Eastern Minnesota\Western Wisconsin[/b][/color]

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Dude
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Re: New Pontoon shopping

#15 Post by Dude » Fri Feb 13, 2015 12:22 pm

Waterlogged wrote:That Bennington with those upgrades at that price would be a steal around here. I think you did good. Trailer sound ok also, fortunately you don't have to tow very far to try different lakes in MN.

Glenn

+1 on the good price. I was pricing that boat but a 22' at Bennington dealers in northern IL and MO. They call came back with numbers in the high 30s no trailer, plus TTL.

Well bought sir, well bought.
[b][color=#0000BF]2014 Sweetwater 2286 TT 150 Yamaha[/color][/b]
[i]It really ties the room together...[/i]

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