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Trailer benefits?

peeruwp

peeruwp

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I opted not to get a trailer for my new tritoon which should be arriving soon, mainly because I will be slipping the boat in the water all season and not moving locations.

I found a few marinas on my body of water that can winter store the tritoon on blocks but many marinas require a trailer for tritoons for storage so I am a little limited with my options but I have options.

Any other reasons people like to have a trailer other than the obvious of transportation to water?
 
What if there's really bad weather coming, and you need to get it out of the water in a hurry to reduce the possibility of damage? Flooding rains from a hurricane, for example. Idk where you are, but this has happened several times at Smith Mountain Lake over the years. People were rushing to get their boats out, and many who didn't now wish they had. Happened this winter. Water went 3 feet over the flood stage and lifted some boats into their covered slip roofs. Docks washed away, etc.. 8" of rain in 12 hours was all it took. There's always a reason to have a trailer.
 
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I love not being dependent on others as well. I live on the water so mine never really gets used. With that said though, I’ve used it more for hauling other things like hot tubs, furniture, lumber and even my dune buggy.
 
Like Illinois and Lakeliving I've always had a trailer and don't want to have to depend on anybody in case it needs to be taken out or in for service. We keep our boat in the water from April/May to September/October and on the trailer the rest of the time........
 
Knock on wood .... going on 10 years no trailer. Luckily my dealer covers hauling for warranty if needed. Other than that $320/year to drop at beginning and pull at end of season. I figured that’s about 10 years of pulling, but then I’d have $45-50 month storage for the trailer, registration, yearly inspection, etc.... I figured it would be quite a few years just to break even. My dealer stocks them so if I ever really needed one I could have one in a day.
 
I’ve been sharing my neighbor’s scissor trailer. Neither of us travels to other lakes (but have it to use if really needed) and we are only a mile from the launch. I let him store the trailer on my property during the year. I found someone this past year who picks it up from my dock, Winterizes it at his business (not on our lake) and brings it back to my yard for the winter to store. He comes and launches it for me in the spring. Less than $400 total. Saves me some headache.
 
We have no trailer. Going on our 5th year this summer. The dealer that we purchased from stores it in the winter puts it in and takes it out for storage, service, etc... We pay for storage, but they don’t charge us extra for putting it in and taking it out because the boat launch is very close to the dealership.

For us, we have no place to put the trailer either. HOA bans it at our home/neighborhood. Not any good space/spot at our cottage that would not make it vulnerable to theft. For me it would be a nuisance.

That said, it’d be nice to have the option to trailer to other lakes. Living in Michigan, lakes are always just a stones throw away.
 
Before the people will buy anything phenomenon hit,when looking at used boats without they seemed to bring considerably less than the cost of a trailer, also we plan to trailer to the beach a couple times a year so it was a no brainer for us.
 
My boat did not come with a trailer. It is in a slip from April to November. We bought it used in July several years ago, slip rental included for the remainder of the season. Early September came and a hurricane watch was issued for the area. I called the marina and asked to have my boat pulled for the storm. The previous owner had all work done by the marina and when I bought the boat the marina manager said he hoped to keep the relationship going. I responded to him that I was in favor of that. But, when I asked about having my boat pulled the answer I got was that I wasn’t an established customer and his other customers came first. If they could get to it they would try, but he couldn’t make any promises. I now own a trailer and other than slip my boat there, that marina gets no business from me. And having the trailer makes it easy if I have repairs to make or updates to do, I can pull the boat and have it sitting in the driveway in no time.
 
Some of the above strikes a note with me. I may not have a trailer, but if I lived in an area where hurricanes or tropical storms, I cannot imagine not having one. I live in the upper Midwest. We can get strong storms, but honestly nothing where I’d need to go pull my boat out of the water for it. If I lived in an area where a somewhat last minute emergency might necessitate me needing to pull it out, I would figure out some way to have and store a trailer. I also can appreciate their convenience and flexibility. I am just grateful its not a must have for us given our storage limitations with one.
 
peeruwp said:
I opted not to get a trailer for my new tritoon which should be arriving soon, mainly because I will be slipping the boat in the water all season and not moving locations.

I found a few marinas on my body of water that can winter store the tritoon on blocks but many marinas require a trailer for tritoons for storage so I am a little limited with my options but I have options.

Any other reasons people like to have a trailer other than the obvious of transportation to water?
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Hello! When does your boat come in? I’m excited for you too. Luckily we don’t have hurricanes or much flooding here but I have seen more boats flipped in wind storms then I would like. The other things I can think of that some have mentioned are if you don’t have a trailer you are tied to your marina/dealer for all your service work and cleaning/maintaining the tubes. You can’t just bring it home to scrub the tubes. If it’s a full service marina that will do everything for you and your fine with the cost by all means go enjoy your boat every day you can and let them clean and maintain it for you before winter storage. If you are the kind of person who enjoys cleaning your boat and just spending a weekend with it in your driveway then a trailer could be helpful. Not to mention if you ever want to try out a different lake at some point. Good luck!
 
lakelifeMN said:
Hello! When does your boat come in? I’m excited for you too. Luckily we don’t have hurricanes or much flooding here but I have seen more boats flipped in wind storms then I would like. The other things I can think of that some have mentioned are if you don’t have a trailer you are tied to your marina/dealer for all your service work and cleaning/maintaining the tubes. You can’t just bring it home to scrub the tubes. If it’s a full service marina that will do everything for you and your fine with the cost by all means go enjoy your boat every day you can and let them clean and maintain it for you before winter storage. If you are the kind of person who enjoys cleaning your boat and just spending a weekend with it in your driveway then a trailer could be helpful. Not to mention if you ever want to try out a different lake at some point. Good luck!
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The boat just arrived at the dealer this weekend! Going to make the drive to check it out this weekend! For now, I think I will pass on the trailer knowing I can get one at anytime but everyone made great points. If I learn in year one that it would be something I wish I had after going through a year cycle without it.
 
peeruwp said:
The boat just arrived at the dealer this weekend! Going to make the drive to check it out this weekend! For now, I think I will pass on the trailer knowing I can get one at anytime but everyone made great points. If I learn in year one that it would be something I wish I had after going through a year cycle without it.
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Good thinking and congratulations on the boat! Hope you will post pictures after you see it. My boat is sitting there too. Just got word about 2 more weeks for the motor then should be good to go! Hopefully the ice is gone by then. ;)
 
Can you convert a Tracker pontoon trailer to a Tritoon trailer? If so how low is the center toon?
 
1) Keeping Benny at home under Versatube 14'x30' RV shelter so no winter rain damage.
2) I can buy fuel anywhere a truck can go so no "on water" high prices.
3) Pontoons stay shiny clean because it is never left in water more than maybe 4-5 days at a time
4) Living in Portland, Oregon, most waterways are best to trailer to so can go to rivers around Portland as well as reservoirs in central Oregon
5) Benny was 3 years old when I bought it and came with trailer. Most used under 25' boats here are on trailers.
 
Lakedawg said:
Can you convert a Tracker pontoon trailer to a Tritoon trailer? If so how low is the center toon?
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The center pontoon is even with the outer toons.......So just add a 3rd or center bunk even with the other bunks....
 
My two cents
I have had a pontoon on a Twin Cities lake for 36 years. Not having a trailer has worked because I drag the pontoon boat up on the beach for the winter. Another boat up north requires a trailer rental but that’s still better than owning a trailer. Last summer I bought a new boat to replace the boat at home. In this case I bought a trailer so I could keep the boat in the driveway long enough to make the boat my own. It was kind of nice not to worry about returning the trailer. With this new trailer we plan to take the boat to other lakes. We might also use it to trailer our kayaks. We will see how it goes.

Another important point if you have a Tri-Toon. Rental trailers are typically scissors style trailers. Most rental outfits do not have the latest scissors style trailer that will accommodate a Tri-Toon.
 
Lakedawg said:
Can you convert a Tracker pontoon trailer to a Tritoon trailer? If so how low is the center toon?
Click to expand...
Check capacity on the trailer before doing anything. All trailers are not made equally. Our 2375GCW is approaching 4,500lbs so we ended up buying a trailer with a 5,500lb rating. My neighbor has a 2,500lb capacity pontoon trailer that our boat would crush.
 
No trailer but I have replacement coverage on the boat. So IF some big monster storm comes in and take the boat out, its taking my dock out with it, and ill be filing an insurance claim anyways for the expensive dock and replacement coverage for the boat, guess ill get a new boat if needed.

I just dont have anywhere to stow the trailer or a vehicle large enough to pull it. Dealer has a trailer to pull for maintenance when needed.
 
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