pontoon and trailer

[vergil]

alright some of you have seen the ol pontoon i am redoin, now i have been thinking about the trailer, i have a trailer that the cross members ride on the trailer and the pontoons hang down and the trailer tires are under the boat, trailer pulls great etc..
now my ? is if a tire pops, detreads, etc.. could they tear up the pontoons themselves or are they strong enough to handle that?
i know its been posted that the alum. is thin.

 

[5150abf]

Re: pontoon and trailer

Unless you are going 70 mph and lose the whole tread I really don't think so, the baot is far enough from the tire that I don't think it could reach it.

that is one thing I have never fixxed or heard, just make sure your tires are in good shape and inflated to the right pressure.

I have seen damage from going around corners too fast and the boat drags the ground.

 

[Russell48]

Re: pontoon and trailer

Best thing to do is let the air out of one tire an see how low the toon is to the ground, If your trailer is a scisser jack trailer then be sure you jack it all the way up an have the safty chain hook up, I have the jack trailer but really rather have the bunk trailer, An it depends on how low ya truck is with the toon hook up to it, Lot of the trailer's like you have got I have seen the tires to small an had flat tire an bust the toons, But I put 4X4 on top of my fram of the trailer an put carpet on en an that helps keep the toon higher an less worry's,

 

[BatDaddy1887]

Re: pontoon and trailer

Although I have a scissor-type trailer it does not in fact scissor up or down (see photo)...same thing just about. Last summer while driving on a highway to an inland bay, one of the tires blew out at 60mph. The toons did not touch the ground at all, even when pulled over and the whole rig was leaning to that side on the side of the road. The rig did not sway as I was stopping. The tire was near dry-rot so I learned a few things:
1. Always check your tires a few days before a trip for dry-rot...replace if necessary and if you can, take them off the trailer in winter when not using...store indoors or garage.
2. Always break your lugs before a trip and put a tiny bit of Anti Seize on the threads only (you & others may disagree with this). Also I bought a break-bar to loosen them from underneath as well. It was tight quarters down there...not much room to work.
3. Lube your bearings before every trip.
4. Those little trailer jacks that you place under the axle then back up to raise them don't work so well when the rig is leaning on the side of the road so I went to the local Walmart and bought a hydraulic floor jack to lift it up...worked great. A 3 ton bottle jack was also a joke.
5. Pull over as far as you can out of traffic...it's best to pull over in the turn off exit lane because when you are under that pontoon boat and a tractor trailer zooms past you going 90 mph, the whole rig shakes like it's coming down on top of you...and 17 inches away from your head! Damn that was scary. The tire will be completely shot and most likely the rim as well, so it is worth it to slowly drag that beast down to the turn off lane.
6. Have 10 and use at least 3 flares in a line.
7. Bring a tool kit that contains wire cutters as the tires steel treads wrapped around the axle and it took extra time to peel and cut all that off.
8. Make sure you use your safety chains.
9. Have tow insurance added to your policy that covers your boat and trailer. They do have rollbacks that can handle my 24' boat & trailer if I needed a tow.
Hope this helps.

 

[Russell48]

Re: pontoon and trailer

Lol, Hey Bat, Thats the way to say it all, An sure hope all begeiners an all reads it, I been there,lol, Sure not a lot of fun at all,,

 

[BatDaddy1887]

Re: pontoon and trailer

...yeah....the worst part is the ribbing I got from my fishing buddies!

 

[Russell48]

Re: pontoon and trailer

Lol, Yeap that could be a pain, I had a flat tire when I first got my ol toon an just when I came off the exit ramp an my home was just about 3 mins from there, Didn't have a spare tire so I just druged her home,lol, It was 2am an couldn't get a wheel for it, I will be posting my toon in another tread later all before an after, Just got to find out for sure where to post em,,

 

[Cubbyblue22]

Re: pontoon and trailer

What tire pressure are you all running on your pontoon trailer?? I know it will say on the trailer but just curious as to see what other people's trailers are at.

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: pontoon and trailer

Always best to check the tire itself for it's maximum pressure and inflate it to that. The trailer may have a pressure listed on the placard, but ya never know if the tires that are installed are of the same load range/pressure. As an example, my trailer came with load range "C" tires, which I replaced right away with load range "E" tires. The original load range "C" tires call for 50 PSI (And that's what's on the tag on the trailer), but the load range "E" tires I have now have a recommended PSI of 90. I keep them at 90 PSI..

 

[Lawnmedic]

Re: pontoon and trailer

Always best to check the tire itself for it's maximum pressure and inflate it to that. The trailer may have a pressure listed on the placard, but ya never know if the tires that are installed are of the same load range/pressure. As an example, my trailer came with load range "C" tires, which I replaced right away with load range "E" tires. The original load range "C" tires call for 50 PSI (And that's what's on the tag on the trailer), but the load range "E" tires I have now have a recommended PSI of 90. I keep them at 90 PSI..

If your trailer came with load range C tires, and they were adequate for the load being carried I would not go with load range E tires filled to the 90 Max pressure. A load range E tire filled to 90psi with be so hard they will transfer all road problems directly to the boat. Likely causing damage from all the jarring etc.

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: pontoon and trailer

Current trailer came with 13" tires, which I do not care for. I have used the 20.5 X 8-10's on my last three toon trailers and always used load range "E" for the extra capacity and safety margin they provide when inflated to the proper PSI (90). No damage to the boat or trailer in the last 20 years of hauling toons many, many miles. No problems with the tires either.