Pontoon trl help needed

[Bigbobdallas]

I need to know how to get the boat off the trl to work on the trl for a while. I know put into water and drive it off LOL Now more serious. I need to do some work on my trl and want to add some stuff to it and get it already and paint it. And just do some misc repairs to it. I have not figred out what I could sit it on and how to get it back on after I get off. Hope I am making sense.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Pntoon trl help needed

Re: Pntoon trl help needed

Sure you want to know how to take the pontoon off the trailer while its on land so that you can work on the trailer.......the problem is I have no idea how to do this with a pontoon! hummmmmmmmmm I know that while the pontoons themselves are very strong I'm worried that you could very easily damage them so if it were me I would rent a slip for the weekend and put the toon on the water then go home and do the work to the trailer, another solution is to find a marina that can take it off and store the toon for you until the repairs are completed. I just think there is to much likelyhood that your going to damage the pontoons without a huge expense in building a jig that will allow you to lift the pontoon off the trailer without damaging the pontoons.

That being said here is how I would do it

I would build four or six steel saw horses, I know this sounds crazy but I have four now anyway since I weld as a hobby so whats another two, I would get 7 pieces of 3"X20'X1/4" box tube and about 4 2"X6"X8' wood.

place the saw horses three per side one set on each side of the stern, one set next to the wheels and one set at the bow.

I would use my hilift jack with a piece of 2X6 under the deck of the toon(to distribute lift) to lift the stern off the bunks and slide one piece 3" box tube across the stern between saw horses, use one 2"X6" length wise (perpendicular to the 3" box tube) under the pontoons to help distribute weight and not damage the toons and lower the pontoon onto the saw horses

Do the same at the bow but raise the pontoon high enough to slide the mid 3" tube across and 2"X6" and then the front and lower the pontoon onto the jig then drive the trailer out.

The sawhorses should be as close to the trailer as possible but your still going to have a pretty sizeable span, the nice part is that your toons are probably outside the wheels of the trailer anyway so this should be very stable

it will be interesting to hear what the pro's say about this, I hope I don't get kicked in the junk to hard for my redneck engineering on this one!!

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Pntoon trl help needed

Re: Pntoon trl help needed

First of all, what type of trailer? 3 main types of pontoon trailers. Makes a HUGE difference, as it can be either painfully simple, or just painfully impossible!

1) deck support/scissor lift

2) deck support/non-scissor

3) tube bunks


if you have trailer #1, not sure why you are even posting! I am guessing you probably don't have that, otherwise you would be out cranking it down and setting the toon the ground. With those trailers it literally is that easy, you can set it down whenever without problems, the tubes are plenty strong.


If you have trailer #2, that still isn't too much of a problem. Jack the trailer up in the center, then block the tubes of the pontoon. Lower the jacks, and drive the trailer out.

trailer #3... That one is going to be a challenge. I'd say find a body of water is about your only alternative, at least easy alternative.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Pntoon trl help needed

Re: Pntoon trl help needed

I have only seen trailer number 3, thanks smokingcrater, I learned something today!

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Pntoon trl help needed

Re: Pntoon trl help needed

I have only seen trailer number 3, thanks smokingcrater, I learned something today!

This is what #1 and #2 look like, with the difference being the second doesn't have the winch and mechanisms to lay down.

Tires are inside the tubes... Not the best trailers for long distance pulling but really nice to have if you just move short distances.

(And a #3 trailer for comparison)