First Pontoon and its a Benny

[McCurdy21]

Hey All!!!

I posted a few weeks ago for some advice, I had found a 22SSX down in Austin that was a great deal... that ended up not working out but since then... I've found my girl... She was sitting quietly in the farmlands of Iowa.

2013 22' SSX 38hrs on the 115hp Yamaha, Bear trailer, not sure on color names but it is bronze on the outside and tan on the inside... front area is carpet and rear fish deck is laminate.

Towed her across Nebraska and Colorado yesterday through tornado and severe hail/storm watch... Made it back with a couple washdowns from rain but no other issues.

Things I discovered whilst towing
1. I need a towing list... however we live on a lake so my towing is limited
2. do not tow with the snap down cover on, thing filled up like a balloon
3. Remove/strap down rear seat that is not hinged.
4. Tie down rear changing room hatch and make sure changing room is all in there, wind will suck it out
5. Tighten the light pole on the bimini, it shakes a lot
6. Ratchet straps on front and back
7. Check the weather
8. It pulls easily up to 80MPH no probs, but 70 was a nice easy pace.
9. Get extension mirrors for the GMC, the short mirrors suck

Opening this up for any advice that y'all might have.

View attachment 22709

 

[McCurdy21]

Not sure if picture worked

 

[Michiman]

Nice find and glad you made the trip with no major problems. Towing can always present a surprise or two but it sounds like you kept a watchful eye out. Enjoy...

 

[Chris Z]

Good list but your adventure is just beginning. Congrats on the new boat.

 

[Mike31406]

Congratulations on your find! The Bennington brand is a good solid one as you will come to know. Welcome to the forum.

 

[SEMPERFI8387]

Congrats, nice boat, and welcome aboard.
Just a heads up .... the mooring cover is NOT made for towing. If it survived, consider yourself lucky. If a snap came loose while towing, it could have damaged your boat.

 

[lakeliving]

+1 on the towing mirrors. They worked great when we towed ours 1300 miles

 

[McCurdy21]

Congrats, nice boat, and welcome aboard.
Just a heads up .... the mooring cover is NOT made for towing. If it survived, consider yourself lucky. If a snap came loose while towing, it could have damaged your boat.

Yeah, I towed it with the cover on for about 8.5 minutes and noticed that it just didn't look right. Pulled over and googled some advice and found that I should take it of... Once off, everything was great.

 

[warrior999]

Just a tip on the speed. (I own a couple of tire shops) If you have true trailer tires, most are designed for 60mph. Trailer tires cannot dissipate heat as quickly as car tires can. Since you live in Texas, as I do, I'm assuming you have made the trip up to Amarillo. The highway sides are littered with blown out tires from campers. Everyone loves to go to Colorado and nobody drives slowly. Texas heat is a tire killer. I will pull my trailers in the early morning up to around 70 but as the heat rises, I do slow down.