A new to me boat is in the near future. Before your tell me, I already know what BOAT stands for. The boat is 23' pontoon and will be docked at a local river.

Anyway, the boat does not have a trailer and is 600 miles away. I am debating whether or not buy a trailer.

Plan A: The trailer is about $4000 and is close to the boats location so I would drive down buy the trailer and bring the boat back.

Plan B: Pay to have the boat delivered which I'm estimating to be about $2000. I would incure some costs to have the boat taken in and out of the water each year.

Either way I would have to pay winter storage for the boat but would have the expense of owning the trailer and storage. I would maybe move the boat once a year to another nearby lake. It basically comes down to $2000 savings but not owning a trailer.

Question:
Trailer or no trailer?

Choices:
Plan A own the trailer
Plan B pay the guy

 

How are you going to move the boat to another lake if you don’t have a trailer?

Do you have a lift for the boat? Or are you going to paint the pontoons with anti-fouling?

Unless you are storing it in one of those boat condo places, I’d have a trailer. I don’t know how storage works, but does it cost more to store the boat on the trailer than store the trailer itself?

If the body of water is connected to your property, I'd pay to have it moved.

If it is docked somewhere you rent or lease, a trailer would be a plus.

quote:

Either way I would have to pay winter storage for the boat but would have the expense of owning the trailer and storage.

If you own the trailer, you will have more winter storage options available because you can bring it yourself, and store it on the trailer.
During the summer your marina may have a place for trailers.
Also, you will get to know people at the marina. You may even find someone with a similar sized pontoon boat. You may be able to share a trailer since you don't intend to use it often. One would own, one would rent from the other.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
How are you going to move the boat to another lake if you don’t have a trailer?

Sorry, would not travel unless I had a trailer.

In your area, keeping it in the water year round is not an option. This means you have to pay to have it pulled and stored or, you pull it yourself and store it at home or pay to store it somewhere.

If having it pulled and stored is an option and in your budget, then hell yes. Simple and easy.

Otherwise, owning the trailer is sort of a must. You can pull the boat as needed and choose where to store it. More work, but less cost over time then paying a marina year after year. You gain flexibility in moving the boat as it suits you, but you take on the cost of owning the trailer in maintenance, registration, and storage costs if you can’t keep it at home.

Even when I kept my boat in drt stack storage, I maintained a trailer, but I would take my boat as far as Canada. Your situation may be different.

Will you have to pay to store the trailer when it is sitting idle, or do you have a place to put it for free.

If I already owned the tow vehicle, and had a place to put the trailer, I would likely do that. If not, I might look at the other options.

quote:

Originally posted by SpinZone:
In your area, keeping it in the water year round is not an option. This means you have to pay to have it pulled and stored or, you pull it yourself and store it at home or pay to store it somewhere.

If having it pulled and stored is an option and in your budget, then hell yes. Simple and easy.

Otherwise, owning the trailer is sort of a must. You can pull the boat as needed and choose where to store it. More work, but less cost over time then paying a marina year after year. You gain flexibility in moving the boat as it suits you, but you take on the cost of owning the trailer in maintenance, registration, and storage costs if you can’t keep it at home.

You have to weight the cost of off dock storage of the boat and/or trailer, and the amount of time you waste having to go hook up, drag the boat back home, fill it and the truck with all the stuff for the day, unload the boat at the dock and hope you can get in without a line, and then undo it at the end of the day, vs, storage costs and being able to call up and have them put it in the water, show up, get on the boat and go enjoy the day.

I'd save the $2K, put it at the storage dock and run it that way for a year, unless you need a trailer for moving from lake to lake, or to service, then the storage place at the dock is a must.

quote:

Originally posted by gpbst3:

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
How are you going to move the boat to another lake if you don’t have a trailer?

Sorry, would not travel unless I had a trailer.

That being said-
How much do you plan on moving the boat from one place to another?
Is there a Marina near you or on the lake / river that your boat is going to be in that you're going to store it at?

You're in or near Pittsburg. You're only going have the boat in the water a few months out of the year. Where are you storing it at? When the boat is in the water, where are you storing the trailer at? How much is that going to cost?

Just tossing some realistic questions at you that may factor into the cost.

No brainer....buy the trailer.

Long term problem... getting rid of a boat without a trailer, selling or junking, is a LOT harder.

Another item for consideration.
When an Atlantic hurricane spins up and goes inland over western Pennsylvania as they do occasionally, you will want your boat out of the river long before the hurricane remnents arrive.
Without a trailer, you may just lose the boat and the dock it's moored at.

Factor into owning a trailer, the maintenance costs.
Tires that sit still need replacement every few years, especially if you plan any long trips. Same with wheel bearings/seals.
That's one thing I'd be concerned with if you go 600 miles away to pick up that trailer without being able to inspect it first.

So, looking at one big use and unknown periodic after that? I would rent or borrow. I bet, if you found a place with used ones for sale, they would be happy to rent it. Also, lots of boats in the water for the season at this time... That would mean a number of unused trailers around. Facebook Marketplace and such might be a good source to find one.

You're forgetting that the trailer also adds value when you sell it, at least $2k. The trailer allows you to pull the boat to clean it really well, or to do maintenance, or to take it to a mechanic. I would prefer to have a trailer with any boat I own.

quote:

Originally posted by Speedbird:
So, looking at one big use and unknown periodic after that? I would rent or borrow. I bet, if you found a place with used ones for sale, they would be happy to rent it. Also, lots of boats in the water for the season at this time... That would mean a number of unused trailers around. Facebook Marketplace and such might be a good source to find one.

I'm not so sure that sellers/owners would be eager to rent or loan a trailer for a 1200 mile round trip with a trailer that may or may not be properly fitted to the boat.

They have a 38 ft.² triple axle trailer my boat. I use it for dropping it in the water and taking it out of water as I have my own dock and my property. I would get a trailer for the purpose of that alone. I leave the trailer where I stored the boat for the winter and I'll allow them to use it if they need it, in exchange for leaving it all summer. I only pay them for winter storage.

If you don't have towing vehicle or experience towing, I would pay for the service.

Having the boat out of the water, I would certainly inspect each and every pontoon "cell" for water and drain/seal those potential defects before relaunching.

They have a 38 ft. triple axle trailer for my boat. I use it for dropping it in the water and taking it out of the water, as I have my own dock and my property. I would get a trailer for that purpose alone. I leave the trailer where I stored the boat for the winter, and I'll allow them to use it if they need it, in exchange for leaving it all summer. I only pay them for winter storage. Get the trailer.

If it’s an area with a large boat population, the challenge of what you describe as winter storage with a trailer will likely be finding anywhere that you can rent for just the winter time.

The other questions are certainly relevant because there’s a big difference between having a property where you can put it on a lift or even tied up at your pier versus just using it on a body of water.

The convenience of having a marina store it all the time and just pull it out of dry stack and put it in the water for you is really nice, but comes at a price.

We are lucky enough to have a lift for ours. Previously, when we had a boat that was in the wate all spring summer and fall, the cleanup of the hull was a little bit more involved.