quote:

Originally posted by gpbst3:
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.

Moraine?

I'd buy the trailer. Before we talk about the trailer, do have a full size truck or SUV big enough to pull the trailer? 4WD is really helpful launching on boat ramps where the back wheels might be in slippery moss and spin. Launching is typically 2 person job with BOTH parties knowing what they are doing because things can go wrong.

One of the funniest afternoons I ever spent was at a dockside bar on 4th of July at lake Texoma watching couples scream at each other while launching boats after a day of drinking. A bunch of people didn't know what they were doing and it was hilarious to watch with an audience of 200. On the flip side I watched one 38 footer pull up, the boyfriend went to get truck trailer and I instantly realized it was the chicks boat as she expertly loaded it on the trailer.

Watching a big yellow 1970s Cadillac with a trailer go under water on a fishing trip as 10 year old is forever seared in my mind! Go out with someone who knows what they are doing a few times.

Always have said the best entertainment for money spent is a lawn chair and a case of beer and go set near a boat ramp!

I'll try to answer some more of your questions.

I have a capable tow vehicle. Ford F150.

The boat will be kept in the water at the marina during the season. Walk down, untie and set sail.

The trailer I am looking at is new, not used, so it should not require much in maintenance costs for the first few years.

I do not have a space to store the trailer. I will have a few options and it will probably cost between $100-200 a season for storage.

During the winter the boat will be kept in indoor storage. Either stored by the marina or there are a couple underground mine storage locations within an hour and half drive. Cost will be between $55-100 a month for the mine. Im still waiting to get marina pricing.

If I have a trailer the boat may be taken out once or twice a year to use at another location.

I also had the thought if I buy the trailer and after a year or two I realize I am not using it I could always try to to sell.

What type of trailer, bunk or crank up needs to be considered also. I went with a crank up and they are really narrow. Watching that thing tilt back and forth going down the road always made me nervous. Never had an issue, just felt weird.

Do you have a truck large enough to haul the trailer and boat?

Speaking of boat trailers, China bombed my trip to Michigan today.

Pay extra for good tires. Have a spare, a means to jack up the trailer, jackstands, and breaker bar with the socket for the lug nuts. Check the lugnuts after 50 miles of driving.

Just skimmed through, some people mostly boat at one location, others move around. Say near Atlanta one was targeting Lake Lanier(sp?), never planned anywhere else. In that instance one could pay a service to take it out of the lake.

Say one also lived in a condo, no place to park the boat & trailer.

Then there’s the issue of maintenance, cleaning & fiddling. If away, off site, harder to do. Yeah, back to the tow vehicle, is that already covered?

I say it all depends.

A 23' pontoon is pretty portable. At some point, you're going to say, "Gee, I wish I bought that trailer."

Even if it's just to drop it in Lake Erie for a day or 2.