Pontoon Trailer Type

[Mikeyk94]

Say what type of ponton trailer should be used to transport a 20 foot pontoon 1250 miles? Bunk Type or Scicssor? At present it is sitting on a scissor type. Thanks Mikeyk94

 

[sfy]

Re: Pontoon Trailer Type

i had my pontoon towed 1500+ miles using a bunk type trailer.
if it had been a scissor type, i dont think i would have done it. not a fan of having the trailer or axles that narrow, just does not seem like a good thing for towing long distances stability wise. plus when shopping, i saw a few pontoons that had been dented on the bottom when the driver went thru a dip too fast with the trailer too low. big dents.
also,when loading it seems to me that bunk style is a little easier to get centered and you dont have metal possibly gouging the inside of your pontoon

of course,this is my opinion. others may prefer the scissor style for there own reasons

 

[EGlideRider]

Re: Pontoon Trailer Type

The bunk is the safest way to transport your boat. But, the scissors will work ok too as long as you remain aware of its limitations. Namely, slow down for curves.

 

[SuperNova]

Re: Pontoon Trailer Type

When I was looking for a pontoon trailer myself not too long ago, pretty much all the salespeople agreed that if it was to be towed any kind of didstance at all the bunk trailer was the way to go. The scissor trailers are pretty much just for moving a pontoon boat around a boatyard and short distances because they aren't very stable at higher speeds. The nice thing about the scissor trailers is the fact you can sit the boat down on a set of chocks and pull the trailer out from under the boat. This is why yards like them so much. One trailer can be used to move multiple boats around.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Pontoon Trailer Type

Although I currently own a bunk style trailer, I've also used sissor trailors and they are a lot more stable than you might think. Just because the wheel track is narrow does not make it inherently unstable. It is actually more unstable empty than it is loaded. The pontoons hanging down over the side lowers the center of gravity drastically so except for very severe traffic situations they are perfectly ok for long distance towing. The bigger issue in my view is changing a tire should the need arise. But even then, you drop the pontoon in a convenient driveway, pull out the trailer, change the tire, load up and go again. A sissor trailer is also much better for launching and retrieval on very shallow ramps.

 

[Kitchen363]

Re: Pontoon Trailer Type

:redface: Don't be scared off by the "up down" type of trailer. I've pull my Bentley 20' boat on many long (300+ mile) trips with the trailer with no problems. I boat sits low and rides very well. very stable at highway speeds, 70mph. A lot less wind drag too!! The only time I've gotten nervous is when I pulled into some where when there is a large curb, going for the road to a driway or parking lot. The boat rocks pretty good because of the narrow width of the trailer. Just have to take is a little slow. I've never had the pontoons touch the ground! Getting used to loading the boat is kind of tricky, because of there not being any bumper to stop against.
But my farorite part of the trailer is that I can Crank it down a little bit and back the boat into the garage :^)

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Pontoon Trailer Type

i have used sizzor, single axle bunk, and tandem axle bunk. imho, tandem axle bunk is the best way to go. properly tongue weight, the tandem rarely sways, and rides much smoother ( no buck).

 

[cc350]

Re: Pontoon Trailer Type

I like the Bunk style myself, pontoons were made to have the weight on the tubes, not the frame allowing the toons to hang. JMO