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I need to vent!

Noah Genda

Noah Genda

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Location
Indianapolis, IN
I own a 2011 RCW tritoon with a Suzuki 250 motor. I boat on Lake Monroe in south central Indiana. I have a Hydro-Hoist lift in my slip. I do not own a trailer.

My Bennington dealer (who stores/maintains my boat/is about 150 miles away) was purchased by a competitor. My previous wonderful dealer would deliver the boat in the spring and pick it up, winterize it, and store it for me until next season.

The new owner basically told me I'm on my own for the future. They did offer to sell me a trailer.

Searching for another Bennington dealer, who admittedly is closer to my location but is considerably less friendly, told me I'm SOL. "Good luck with finding someone to work on your Suzuki." Like I said, considerably less friendly.

They don't have a trailer that would support my center tube. So they won't pick it up. Though I assume they would have to honor my boat warranty. Considering the cost of the boat, I'm not interested in storing it outside in the elements, even if it's shrink wrapped.

I'm angry, not thinking straight, and need someone to give me some clarity on what I should do next. Thanks in advance.

Eight inches of snow late March in Indiana? Keep me away from tall buildings with open windows!
 
That can be a pretty tough situation. I've been on Monroe quite a few times myself and it's a beautiful place.

I would ask locally and find an independent who would take care of the tow to and from a storage facility of your choice. For a short distance, it's not a problem to put it on a transporter's 2 toon bunk style trailer without a center support. Bennington will back that up as it was designed that way. The only issue there is the storage facility would have to be able to remove it safely from the trailer to a storage rack. Normally they have to do this with a fork lift for all of their boats as it is.

I don't know about southern IN providers, but there are probably a couple dozen people who provide exactly that service in our area up north, since many pontoons don't have trailers.

Good luck!
 
Noah, my dealer is a little over an hour away from my lake so even though I own a trailer and I have an excellent relationship with the owner of Point Breeze Marina, for logistical reasons I store it at a local marina less than a mile from my cabin. He does the winterization on my boat but if I had any major [or probably even small] work done on either the boat or my Yamaha I would only bring it back to the dealer that I bought it from. Can't you store locally and have a Suzuki dealer do the winterization
 
ooo the joys of owning a boat. sorry to say but it sounds like you had a great arrraingment with your last dealer and you plannd your purchace on what your dealer offerd.sounds like your going to have to spend some more money to get what you used to get for free. dont feel bad most everyone either pays $100 plus per month to store or has their own garage and ownes their own trailer.
 
That really stinks. Are they the only Bennie dealers around? As far as the warranty goes, any Bennie dealer, IMHO, would be obligated to fix any warranty issues with your boat. Any Suzuki dealer would be obligated to work on the engine, if it is under warranty. If a dealer will not do warranty work, then you need to go to Bennie/Suzuki, and let them know. I am sure it will be taken care of after 1 phone call, or they will lose their affiliation.
 
Get a trailer and be done with it. You don't need anything crazy just a basic trailer that will meet the weight limit. I only take mine out and put it in once a year, but I bought a trailer so all options would be mine IE storage, transport and resale.
 
Here's what you do: Quit your job. Sell your house. Move to the lake.

Sorry, I'm not much help. But that is my plan. Someday.
 
Before you go the trailer route, think outside the "Benny box"... Is there another dealer around you who is an approved Suzuki dealer? Maybe they have a cheaper deal for hauling, winterizing, and storage, and drop-in. I found that the dealer I bought my Bennington/Yamaha combo from wanted a ridiculous amount for that package deal. I found a closer (only by about 15 miles..) Yamaha dealer who did the package for about $350 cheaper than the Benny dealer. They can do any warranty work on my motor and I'll deal with the Benny dealer if anything goes wrong with the boat. Although, from the other dealer's quote above, maybe you don't have many Suzuki dealers around.
 
yeah, sounds like you got caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place.... My benny isn't nearly as expensive as yours and like you, I don't want to store my boat outside either..... you're probably not going to like this, but perhaps just buying a trailer and then finding an indoor storage facility for your boat.... Thats what I do, but then again we don't have a slip, so we trailer to and from the lake every time we use the boat.. and while that may be a bit of a drag, it's nice knowing the boat is always inside out of the elements except when we have her out on the lake.... hope everything works out for you.. good luck with it.
 
The closest Suzuki dealership to your lake is in Birdseye, IN, just south of you. The next closest Suzuki dealerships are 1 1/2 hour away in Brazil and in Rockville, 30 miles north of Terre Haute. There is another dealership 1 hr. SW of Louisville.

I feel about my boat's maintenance and warranty work just like on my cars. I NEVER take anything to a boat or car dealership for normal maintenance or repairs unless the factory is picking up the bill. Any repairs that I'm paying for will be at a good independent shop--marine or automobiles. My pocketbook thanks me.

Maintenance on modern 4 stroke outboard motors is very, very minimal. I do my own yearly oil changes, yearly lower unit lube changes and water pump impeller replacements (every 3 years.) Anyone that sends their boats to a marine dealership for "winterizing" is simply giving them a license to steal. I'm simply unwilling to pay $350 for their services when I can spend $40 plus 1 hour of my time. Maintenance is just not any big deal.

Boaters that spend $40K-$50K-$60K for a tritoon simply need to purchase a $3K trailer--even if it's not used often. You need to be able to move the boat without paying someone else to take your boat to service and bring it back in the Spring. This would allow you to put the boat into covered storage for 6 months of the year and make your investment last so much longer. Yes, you can transport a tritoon on a pontoon boat trailer for short distances if the roads are not too rough or demanding.
 
Thanks to everyone for chiming in. It looks like a trailer is in my future. But I'm somewhat confused about using a pontoon trailer vs. a tritoon trailer. I get it a pontoon trailer is okay for getting it out of the water and moving it a short distance. I'm assuming if I want to store it for 5-6 months, that may not work out since it's not supporting the center tube. Or is that an incorrect assumption?
 
If you are buying one, my opinion is get the one that suits your boat. In other words, a tritoon trailer for a tritoon boat. The cost difference is not that much, it's a few bunk boards. Also that way if you ever decide to sell it, you don't have to hope that the person buying it doesn't want or need a trailer. Which narrows your buyers substantially.
 
BulldogsCadillac said:
If you are buying one, my opinion is get the one that suits your boat. In other words, a tritoon trailer for a tritoon boat. The cost difference is not that much, it's a few bunk boards. Also that way if you ever decide to sell it, you don't have to hope that the person buying it doesn't want or need a trailer. Which narrows your buyers substantially.
Click to expand...
Totally agree - even if you have the extra boards 'retrofitted.'
 
BulldogsCadillac said:
If you are buying one, my opinion is get the one that suits your boat. In other words, a tritoon trailer for a tritoon boat. The cost difference is not that much, it's a few bunk boards. Also that way if you ever decide to sell it, you don't have to hope that the person buying it doesn't want or need a trailer. Which narrows your buyers substantially.
Click to expand...
+1
 
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