Express Tubes vs Tri Tubes??

[lovemx]

Hope I am not asking something that has been beaten to death already. I am getting ready to purchase a pontoon. I have been looking at used. But I am starting to lean towards new. I want at least 150 engine. The dealer is trying to talk me into the express tube instead of the tri tube. He says it cost less and performance isn't that much different than the tri. What does everyone think? By the way I am looking at the Avalon with this dealer.

[Bamaman]

I've got the Bennington 24' with the 3/4 length express tube which was an $1860 MSRP option over twin 25" toons. They have since come in with a full length Sports Performance hull which is a $3332 MSRP option. Both hulls have a 150 hp maximum.

My express tube does well for my use, and I'm seeing 40 mph with a Yamaha F150. It is an economical compromise. I don't know if there's that much difference in ride and handling, but the Sports Performance hull might sit a little higher in the rear with the boat at rest. And it has another 10 gallons in the fuel tank.

Many of us are satisfied with the express tube option. I would have like to have had the full length middle toon and 250 hp, but such boats can break the camel's back--financially.

[lovemx]

Thanks, Bamaman. One of my concerns with the Express is the rear sitting lower. The dealer said it wouldn't be that big of a deal. I am probably not going to buy from him anyway. I told him my preferance was Yamaha 150, but would consider the Mercury. He shot me a price of $32,500.00 for pontoon, motor, and trailer. Good deal right? When I asked him if he priced the Yamaha or the Merc? He said he priced it with a Suzuki 140!! What the hell??

[jimrs]

I think that your doing the right thing. Research and checkout everything you can then make up YOUR mind what you want. Go to a dealer and tell them what you want. If they try to change your mind go somewhere else. It your money use it as you want to.

[smoker62]

Does the shorty tube come with strakes ? I know when I priced one from Southbay it does not have strakes. I would have thought all tri packages would have strakes but I guess not.

[Bamaman]

You'd want strakes on any boat with 115 hp or more. Not getting the nosecones out of the water costs 5-8 mph and improved fuel mileage. A 150 hp boat that can run 40 mph is much more seaworthy than one that max's out @ 30 mph.

My Bennington has the optional extended rear end, and it sits fine in the water with the 150 Yammie. It came prepped by the factory for Yamaha, and the dealer didn't have to spend much time (and money) mounting the engine.

You could probably save almost $2K with the Mercury 150 FourStroke (over the Yamaha), and performance seems to be about the same. That's the engine Mercury should have had out 4 years ago, and it seems to be doing fine on pontoons.

The price quoted is right, and the Suzuki 140 hp motor is a fine motor. But I'd gladly pay the difference and get the Suzuki 150 hp as it's much more motor. The Suzuki 140 is overrated on horsepower while the 150 is underrated on horsepower.

[smoker62]

I was contemplating adding the shorty tube but then decided to add only strakes to the inners of the twin tubes. Now I am going back to the idea of not really liking the welding on my toons . So my other option is getting the shorty from SB and seeing if they will weld the strakes to that one at the factory. Will it be beneficial to add the third toon with strakes and not have them on the outers or just put the shorty on with no strakes.

I have the 115 now but plan to swap to a 150 when and if i do this.

[BobG]

Sounds like he's trying to sell you what he has on the lot, rather than what you want.
Stick with the tri-toon, and get the underskinning and lifting strakes!

[lovemx]

Great advice by all. I am going to look at Bennington's this afternoon. The Avalon dealer kept telling me Bennington is going out of business and thier warranty's will be no good. Any truth to that?

[Bamaman]

The express tube with strakes just on them will get the nosecones out of the water just fine.

Stick with the tri-toon, and get the underskinning and lifting strakes!

[russelljackson]

I talked to an Avalon dealer near Atlanta once, and the first question he asked me was what other brand of boats I had been looking at. He then proceeded to trash every brand I mentioned, including Harris and Bennington. I got off the phone and never called them back. You're never going to earn my business by trashing the competition. I hate that. It's been a year or so, but the one thing that stuck in my head was he said that Sun Tracker was the "Wal-Mart of pontoon boats". I wanted to say, hey I like me some Wal-Mart...

[BobG]

My Tahoe is a "Budget Avalon" (They make both brands).

It's a great boat, and I don't see why they would have to trash other manufacturers boats. As we can all agree from the variety of boats on this site, there are a LOT of great products available. The Avalon dealers should be pumping up the great features of their boats. Trashing the competition is just bad karma.

[Bamaman]

Lovemx:

There are a dozen brands of pontoon boats that I'd be perfectly happy to own. Our local dealers only sell Trackers and Cypress Cay's twin toons.

We went to the boat show in January last year, and Benningtons' display was great. The models on display were visually impressive. And I ultimately bought a Bennington because that's what my wife wanted.

When you see all the different brands side by side, you realize a few brands are superior in quality, and many just don't have it all together. You can even see the difference in the quality of welding. Some seats sit like rocks, some sit better than living room furniture.

Bennington's earned 25% of the retail market with high quality boats with great innovations, and they have a superior U.S. dealer base. Bennington's management has improved greatly since they bought out the previous company owners--and are here to stay. They are truly a customer oriented company, and have the best warranties of the boating world.

I always try to buy local, but will drive a little to save a lot. If your local dealer won't deal fairly, switch to another great brand of boat and another dealer. It's not too hard to figure out who the dominant dealer in a retail market is.

[lovemx]

Well I bit the bullet. I boat a used 2011 Harris Grand Mariner. 225 Mercury. It has the DST. Digital shift throttle. I would like to hear Pro's and Con's.

[tms0425]

Congrats!

I drove that exact boat/engine as a demo from the dealer before I bought my Bennington with the Verado 250 Pro. The power, responsiveness, feel, and quietness of the DTS equipped Verado convinced me that's what I wanted for my new boat and I am really enjoying it so far. Since it's in Gen II and been around for a lot of years now, the early bugs have been worked out by now, so I expect it to be very reliable.

Be sure to sign up on the Veradoclub site dedicated to Verado ownership for many great tips and help if you ever need it.