Wow! Thanks for posting this, I wondered how these work, I didn't realize how short the width of the wheels were on these, I wonder if these have more of a tendency to roll over with a 8 ft wide boat on it. sure seems way handier than a reg trailer though. I bought a pontoon boat, it's 16ft long, not a big long one. doesn't seem to weigh a whole lot for it's size but it's tall sitting how I have it on a flat bed zieman style with rubber tracks under the pontoons. Thing is I don't like it much because the entre length is sitting flat on the trailer just like it would be if I set it right on flat ground. So the way it is with no tilt at all , I would have to have the entire trailer in the water really, I mean, my back wheels on the truck would be in the lake. LOL I was looking at several styles I might could get, this one seems the coolest .. sept I am guessing these are hard to find.
In southern MI, they are not hard to find on marketplace or craigslist. If yo only need a trailer twice a year, renting from your local marina or equipment rental place may be the most cost effective option. If you put sections of plastic cutting board or the plastic 6'x8' plastic product they sell for home facia at Home Depot under the pontoons, the boat will slide off without much effort. Loading the boat will still be a struggle but unloading will be much easier. I don't think rollover risk is much of a concern under 55 miles per hour because a pontoon on this type of trailer has a low center of gravity. Good luck.
You are welcome. PB Blaster may be your best friend. If I were in that situation, I would raise the trailer tongue so the trailer is obviously tilted back, allow slack in the cable and liberally spray the interface of the larger and smaller tubes with PB Blaster. Gravity will help the Blaster seep into the tubes and in a few hours, the the trailer may be lower. You may also want to inspect and be sure the tubes were not welded. I have read about guys who have welded the tubes to have a more rigid trailer, without the lowering feature. Good luck.
If I had drilled the holes as planned, I would need to crawl under the boat to insert the pins. After I made the video, I called Hoosier and told them of my plan. They suggested running a safety strap from the factory installed attachment loop at the rear of the trailer up to the attachment point on the tongue. That is what I did. When the trailer is empty, before lifting the trailer, I attached a 3,000 lb capacity ratchet strap to the two factory designed anchor points. I then position the trailer under the pontoon, raise it to the highest position and remove the slack from the ratchet strap. At that point, the weight of the pontoon is being carried by the winch cable with a ratchet strap chaser. When launching and getting the boat from the water, the trailer stays in the full up position. The only time I use the scissor feature is when setting the pontoon on the garage floor for the winter and picking it off of the floor in the spring. Thanks for asking.
They all come with the hitch extension piece
Wow! Thanks for posting this, I wondered how these work, I didn't realize how short the width of the wheels were on these, I wonder if these have more of a tendency to roll over with a 8 ft wide boat on it. sure seems way handier than a reg trailer though. I bought a pontoon boat, it's 16ft long, not a big long one. doesn't seem to weigh a whole lot for it's size but it's tall sitting how I have it on a flat bed zieman style with rubber tracks under the pontoons. Thing is I don't like it much because the entre length is sitting flat on the trailer just like it would be if I set it right on flat ground. So the way it is with no tilt at all , I would have to have the entire trailer in the water really, I mean, my back wheels on the truck would be in the lake. LOL
I was looking at several styles I might could get, this one seems the coolest .. sept I am guessing these are hard to find.
In southern MI, they are not hard to find on marketplace or craigslist. If yo only need a trailer twice a year, renting from your local marina or equipment rental place may be the most cost effective option. If you put sections of plastic cutting board or the plastic 6'x8' plastic product they sell for home facia at Home Depot under the pontoons, the boat will slide off without much effort. Loading the boat will still be a struggle but unloading will be much easier. I don't think rollover risk is much of a concern under 55 miles per hour because a pontoon on this type of trailer has a low center of gravity. Good luck.
I just use the second "safety" cable that they come with from the factory. By length, the trailer can close down, safety cable is too short.
Thanks, just pulled one of these home today. I think the tubes are rusted in place since it won't lower when the cable is loosened.
You are welcome. PB Blaster may be your best friend. If I were in that situation, I would raise the trailer tongue so the trailer is obviously tilted back, allow slack in the cable and liberally spray the interface of the larger and smaller tubes with PB Blaster. Gravity will help the Blaster seep into the tubes and in a few hours, the the trailer may be lower. You may also want to inspect and be sure the tubes were not welded. I have read about guys who have welded the tubes to have a more rigid trailer, without the lowering feature. Good luck.
How do you put in the pins you plan to install when the boats on the trailer?
If I had drilled the holes as planned, I would need to crawl under the boat to insert the pins. After I made the video, I called Hoosier and told them of my plan. They suggested running a safety strap from the factory installed attachment loop at the rear of the trailer up to the attachment point on the tongue. That is what I did. When the trailer is empty, before lifting the trailer, I attached a 3,000 lb capacity ratchet strap to the two factory designed anchor points. I then position the trailer under the pontoon, raise it to the highest position and remove the slack from the ratchet strap. At that point, the weight of the pontoon is being carried by the winch cable with a ratchet strap chaser. When launching and getting the boat from the water, the trailer stays in the full up position. The only time I use the scissor feature is when setting the pontoon on the garage floor for the winter and picking it off of the floor in the spring. Thanks for asking.