Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Just got my new Tritoon today (pics will be coming; I promise). When the dealer delivered it to my house on my new trailer, I noticed that the trailer didn't have any supports for the center pontoon. I was a little shocked knowing that it's a full length center pontoon with the gas tank and motor attached to it. I asked the delivery guy about it and he stated that it is normal to have a trailer like this and not to worry about it. He said the boat will hold up just fine. The boat is a 22 foot Bennington with a 150 Yami on it. Please advise.

You need to support that center toon. Your dealer should know better than that. That's just simply stupid. Take it back and tell him to get a center bunk under it.

Express Tube--yes. The 3/4th length center tube just weighs about 250 lbs. and the outer toons can support the weight.

Full length tube--no. The full length center tube with built in engine mount is heavier as it's longer. Add in a fuel tank, the gasoline in it and a 500 pound motor and you can see why full length toons must be fully supported.

See if your trailer has support brackets welded to two cross braces--in the middle. If so, your dealer can order the brackets and bunks to easily add full support to your center toon.

Bamaman wrote:Express Tube--yes. The 3/4th length center tube just weighs about 250 lbs. and the outer toons can support the weight.

Full length tube--no. The full length center tube with built in engine mount is heavier as it's longer. Add in a fuel tank, the gasoline in it and a 500 pound motor and you can see why full length toons must be fully supported.

See if your trailer has support brackets welded to two cross braces--in the middle. If so, your dealer can order the brackets and bunks to easily add full support to your center toon.

I'm thinking I would also like support of the center toon, but your figures aren't really accurate. Most pontoons have a motor mounted in the center, some have the gas tank also mounted in the motor tub. In that case the only weight difference would be the pontoon as the motor and fuel is there either way. I don't think there would be much difference in weight between a 3/4 toon , motor and fuel tank and a toon with the tank and motor mounted on it. just my way of thinkin'.

Glenn

I'd call the pontoon manufacturer for their advice. They should know since they built it. At least you have some good ammunition when you tell the dealer to add the middle bunk.

Good idea, I'll do that.

Total rubbish.

I have a two bunk trailer for my tritoon, and have had no issues towing it thoudands of miles.

I debated not putting a bunk under my conversion but decided to put one due to the 700 Lb + motor hanging on the stern. but I only put it for eight feet. The front , I thought could hang with no problem.

It may have been ok without it but I thought it better to help support the extra weight.

We also just purchased a new Bennington 24 SSRX with the 3/4 length express tube and 150hp motor on it.
The trailer we also purchased with it from the dealership came with 3 bunks.
There was never any discussion regarding whether it would need 2 or 3 bunks or the cost difference. I guess we just assumed 3 toons = 3 bunks. Fortunately when we arrived for pick up it did have 3.

Good luck!

I emailed Bennington and was told this:

Jim,
Thank you for contacting Bennington and welcome to the Bennington family! I forwarded your email onto engineering and they said it is best to support all of the tubes but is not mandatory. Attached are the support spacing specifications for you to review. Have a great day!

Mandalynn Tardi
Warranty Administrator

Based on this email, what do you think I should do? I would feel much better having the middle bunk. When I contacted the dealer before emailing Bennington, they told me it was not needed, but they could get in the parts to install a middle bunk for around $350 before shipping. This also doesn't include the price to install it. For all of you captains that think it is necessary and knowing what Bennington has told me, is it worth the $500 + dollars to have it installed on my trailer?
Thanks for all of your help; it's greatly appreciated!

$500 is outrageous. I guess you're getting it from the dealer. I did not purchase my trailer from the Bennington dealer. I opted instead to get one direct from the manufacturer. The tri-toon kit cost $190 installed and believe me, it's beefy and up to the task. I have the express toon so I don't have to deal with the weight of the engine or fuel tank. I guess I could have skipped it but for only $190 it just made sense to go ahead and add it.

Like you, I emailed Bennington and got a similar answer from Ms. Tardi. Your email from states that it is recommended but not mandatory. Mine doesn't say anything about "not" being mandatory.

Marc,

Our engineers recommend supporting all of the tubes equally; preferably at the weld seams which are the strongest points of the tubes. Have a great day!



Mandalynn Tardi

Warranty Administrator

I do not own a tri-toon, but I would feel better having the third bunk if doing a lot of transporting from home to lake on a regular basis. For me it is peace of mind in case something happened while traveling. You just never know.

Call the manufacturer of the trailer and get a quote for the extra parts for the center toon. We wanted a spare tire for our trailer and it would cost more from the manufacturer than the boat dealer due to shipping costs.

Do what makes you feel comfortable. I learned that dealers, at least ours, just do the minimum once they get your money. This is your boat and safety comes first when towing.

If you calculate the the strength of the cross members they are MORE than strong enough to support the center tube without any issues, that said when I added a 3rd tube I made a short 6' bunk to support the motor end of the center tube just for piece of mind.

I'm only adding this because it's first hand experience. Not too long ago I worked on a 28' I/O pontoon that the owner rebuilt and added a 25" diameter tube in front of the existing I/O motor pod. He did not modify his trailer, the center tube had no support. I noticed a gap in the center of the front rub rail to the carpet so I laid a straight edge across the front of the boat...yep you guessed it the center of the bow had "sagged" down approximately 1/4" after a few years of trailering.

SHOULD a shorty or sport log be fine without support? I would say yes.

WILL it be fine in the long run? Guess what...by the time you find out "oops it needed support" it's too late. Why not just do it right the first time?


Also, as a side note I personally find it's much easier to load a tri on a triple bunk trailer than it is to load a 2-log on a standard bunk trailer...it seems to just straighten it's self out so much better if you come in slightly askew with that 3rd guide.