Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Little background: I have a 22' tritoon. The original trailer had two sets of boards - for the left and right pontoons. Worked great. Until it was stolen.

I bought a new built trailer from a private individual, not a manufacturer. Mistake 1. He's in north Alabama so I don't have immediate access to him. Mistake 2. The trailer was designed to work for a 20-24' boat depending on how certain components are set - primarily the stop at the front. He sent it to me with the stop set for a 24' boat. I tore the trailer up - broke some boards - trying to get my boat up to the stop. May have also damaged my boat. We'll get to that later. At any rate, in that process, while the boat was on the trailer, my 6 cyl Nissan Frontier would not pull the boat out. We have a steep ramp but I used to pull it out with a 6 cyl Nissan Xterra with the same engine on my old trailer. One issue that is going on is it seems to be taking on water in the center tube - earlier mentioned damage to boat. I repaired the boards and set the stop back 2' and tried again. The Frontier still would not pull it out. So I had my friend with an 8 cyl 4x4 truck (Ford F-250) try to pull it out which he did but not without difficulty. He pulled it to my house and when he released the trailer from his hitch, the trailer flipped up and stood on it back frame. Scared the #badword# out of everybody. Anyway, using a hydraulic tube jack and concrete pavers, I managed to get the front of the trailer down and hooked to my Frontier. I towed it back and put it back in the water and up on my lift again.

So, now, the question is what to do about the trailer. My initial thought was that the dual axles on the trailer were set too far forward thereby unbalancing the trailer. The guy that sold the trailer to me said "everything" was adjustable on the trailer but, for the life of me, I can't see how they are. I think they can be moved forward but not back. My alternative solution is to cut 2' off the back of the boards and set the stop up front back forward 2' thereby getting the boat further forward on the trailer and balancing things out better putting more weight on the tongue - the same net result as moving the wheels back.

Thoughts? Sorry for the long post. As a computer programmer, I tend to give too much information to make sure I've explained things thoroughly.

Every boat is different. And every trailer is different. Often numerous adjustments must be made to get the trailer right.

Getting enough weight on the hitch is important. I once towed a skid steer loader without enough hitch weight and seeing that load going back and forth in my rear view mirror was truly frightening.

Usually the winch tower will adjust up and back to get the weight right. If not, sometimes the springs/axles can be slightly moved up and back to get the weight distributed. If the spring shackles are welded to the frame, it would take a frame shop to do the adjustments--requiring rewelding.

Good luck.

I would tend agree with you except for the fact that the boat ramp is a neighborhood boat ramp which is less than a block from my house inside a gated community. Anything beyond that I would not have considered.

I appreciate the advice you provided.

You might try posting some pics of the trailer. Obviously you need weight forward.

My axle (single) can be moved forward or back by loosing U bolts. So I would check for something like that on yours.

I looked at the adjustability of my axles (seller said that it was totally adjustable) and it appeared to me that there were ubolts on both sets of axles but, if I try to move them back there is nothing to connect the back axle to. The current front can obviously be attached where the current rear is.

I'm guessing you mean the back spring attaches to a spring hanger that is welded on? If there is any welded on attachments...then it is not adjustable. Unfortunately

If your axle/s and springs are attached to these, they are called spring sliders or Bogy Beams, then you can move the axle/s aft to put more weight on the hitch as mentioned before if your springs are mounted to clevis's that are welded to the trailer frame you cannot move the axle. Pictures would help tremendously.

The spring brackets are welded to the frame and the axles are attached to the springs with ubolts. Balancing is gonna have to be via the stop.

Was this trailer built by the person who sold it to you, or was it simply a newish trailer he was selling privately?

Without seeing a full picture of the trailer I am at a loss to understand how a 24 foot trailer could be so out of whack that a 22 foot pontoon could have the tongue all but pop off the hitch unless the axles are way off base or your pontoons are full of water and you are dealing with a huge weight distribution problem...

i agree... without seeing whole setup, i like the idea of pontoon logs full of water, weighing it down - hence the inability to pull it out of the water, and popping up when removed from the hitch...

update, Bayfred??

can the wench stand move

Sorry for the long delay. Think I have the trailer squared away. Messed with the bump stop/winch stand until I got a good balance even with my latest problem. I think I have a good bit of water in my logs. I took it to a fab shop this weekend and he called me this morning and told me that he was going to have to remove the boat from the trailer and remove the logs from the boat to get to the plugs in the top of them including popping rivets, etc. He doesn't sound really sure about what he is doing although he was recommended to me by 2 other pontoon boat owners. He is ball-parking 4 days at $75/hour or $2400 to get this squared away. It just seems like either very poor design by Bennington or a huge lack of knowledge on the part of this fab guy.

That gentleman obviously has no idea what he is doing. Go elsewhere.

Of course the problem must be found. #1 would be to look where water is coming out of the toon(s) while on the trailer--ifmthere is water in the toon. #2 would be to lightly pressurize the toon and go over all seams with soapy water. A leak would produce bubbles.

Leaks can easily be repaired usually with a tiny TIG weld. Some have even been known to patch a hole with a tube of JB Weld.

If the plugs are on the very top, he should be able to remove the underskinning to gain enough access to pump the water out and then do a low psi pressure test.

find someone else to do the repair
local guy here will drill hole in bottom of rear panel and weld in new bungs to drain, then pressure test to find leaks
$200 to $400 max depending what he finds