Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Have not bought one yet. But considering a 20' with tandem trailer. I have a 4.3 V6.

I think that is a package on the S10? If so then a couple of items to note:

If you are towing a short distance with few hills and have a class lll hitch then you should be ok but that vehicle was not known for its' towing capacity. Your tranmission will want to hunt for gears. Next, brakes on the trailer will help the boat from pushing you through an intersection on wet pavement. Last but not least, the rear end on the S10 is very light which could prove interesting on a crappy boat launch.

Toons are light and easy to tow so I am not suggesting you need a 1 ton diesel truck but just be aware of the limitations of your tow vehicle.

What he said

If i remember right that's a 4 x 4, S10 with the 4.3 and the tow rating is around 5000, and a tandem trailer will have breaks so yes it will tow a 20 footer just fine, I used to tow my 20 foot single axle with a 2.2 5 speed 2 wh drive with a lowered gear set, lowered it to a 4.11 rear.

Pontoons are relatively light for their massive size. My 24' with the trailer probably weights about 4,000 lbs.

Unfortunately, they've got the aerodynamics of a square block, which makes them pull like they're much heavier. And the length of the trailer and heavy winds will yank a marginal tow vehicle around.

The S10 with a 4.3 will tow a 20' pontoon okay if you're not going too far and if your terrain is not too hilly. But I wouldn't want to make regular 250 mile trips in Colorado with one.

My diesel 3/4 ton crewcab truck is spec'd for towing 13,000 lbs., and I can even feel my pontoon back there.

I towed my 22' with a Chevy Colorado with a 3.5 - 5 cylinder. It pulled it just fine. I would not win any races with it, but could drive down the interstate at 65 mph.

[quote="MH Hawker"] and a tandem trailer will have breaks [quote]


Not necessarily...optional on all tandems here in Indiana.

Consider your mirrors as well. With a narrow truck you will not be able to see anything behind you when you are driving. I have a hard time seeing around mine and I have a Ram.

ToonGuy wrote:

MH Hawker wrote: and a tandem trailer will have breaks

Not necessarily...optional on all tandems here in Indiana.

I'm not really intending to be a jerk here, but I'm calling you out on this one. Hopefully you can't pull up verified source links. But a quick check of sources is backing my stance, brakes are required if it's over 3,000 lbs. which is meaning, yea you could pull the empty trailer anywhere but you best not be caught using the trailer for hauling anything or your probably be left paying the man.

Source: IC 9-19-3-3
Trailers and semitrailers of gross weight of 3,000 pounds or more
Sec. 3. A trailer or semitrailer of a gross weight of at least three thousand (3,000) pounds, when operated upon a highway, must be equipped with brakes adequate to control the movement of and to stop and to hold the vehicle. The brakes must be designed so that the driver of the towing motor vehicle can apply the brakes from the cab, and must be designed and connected so that the brakes will be automatically applied in an accidental breakaway of the towed vehicle.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.7.

IC 9-19-3-4
New vehicle requirements; exceptions
Sec. 4. (a) Except as provided in subsections (b) through (c), a new motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer sold in Indiana and operated upon the highways must be equipped with service brakes upon all wheels of the vehicle.
(b) The following are not required to be equipped with brakes:
(1) A motorcycle or motor-driven cycle.
(2) A semitrailer of less than three thousand (3,000) pounds gross weight.
(c) A truck or truck-tractor having at least three (3) axles is not required to have service brakes on the front wheels. If a truck or truck-tractor is equipped with at least two (2) steerable axles, the wheels of one (1) steerable axle are not required to have service brakes although the truck or truck-tractor must be capable of complying with the performance requirements of sections 7 through 8 of this chapter.

Trailers show up here in Pa all the time with only brakes on one axle... and nobody will or can put a sticker on it. Every time I call a shop to see if they do trailers the first thing they ask is if its a tandem and if it has brakes on both axles

I didn't say there wasn't a law on the books...I said they are optional. If the speed limit sign says 55 does that mean your vehicle won't go any faster? Believe it or not, tandem bunk trailers for 24' and under WITH OUT brakes are the norm here. Brakes are an option, and it costs more to get them. I've had 3 trailers, all different brands, 2 for 24'ers and 1 26'er and NONE of them had brakes.

Pontoons are not what they were 15 years ago. Large tubes, full seating, large fibergalss helms, full center tubes and mega HP all add up to a lot of weight. My 1-ton crew cab deisel dually pulled my 24' tri-toon with out brakes just fine. But I still wouldn't tell some one else to do it. I guess my point is if you have to ask if you need brakes, you probably do.

A lot of manufactures of tandem axle pontoon trailers have the option of brakes on both axles, which seems to leave the default setting of brakes on a single axle unless you order it on the second.

I use a 2002 4door 4wd Blazer as my tow vehicle. I tow my 20' on a single axle (no axle brakes) to from the lake all the time. I only have to tow 5 miles to the launch but there are some serious hills and I have no issues. Just use common sense. You should be fine.

I towed a 96 corvette on an aluminum featherlite trailer from Knoxville, TN to Bowling Green, KY with a Sonoma. Made that trip 3 times round trip. I also went from Knoxville to Atlanta round trip twice. I used trailer brakes, common sense, good loading, a good brake controller and had no issues.

Oh, and 1st post

1) our 2003 Bear tandem trailer has no brakes.
2) We pulled our last pontoon (20ft) with a Chevy Astro van 4.3l, it pulled it very well. We ran all over the state and half of Illinois with it. It was a single axle trailer with super single tires on it.

They are light, but act like a parachute. You gas mileage will take a big hit.

The big consideration is safety. The more substantial the vehicle pulling the safer you will be. A pontoons hitch weight is not the factor to be considering. If a cross wind hits the pontoon and you are pulling it with a small vehicle bad things can/will happen. Ill stick with my 3/4 Crew Cab Duramax thank you very much.