The ancient philosopher and theologian Saint Augustine once said, “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” It is with this idea in mind that I’d like to encourage you to fully open up this book and travel this summer. Lift it, smell its pages, feel its heft. I’m quite certain you will find it to be a true page-turner and one you will want to read again and again.
There are many advantages to owning lakefront property and leaving your boat on your lake—we’ll actually cover this topic in our next issue in great detail. But there is also something to be said for trailering your boat and visiting different lakes.
Pack your bags and head out this summer to a lake you’ve never experienced before. This is one book that you cannot read on your Kindle or iPad—you must read and experience it in person. As I pictured in my own mind the places I would love to visit, I started to wonder what types of vehicles are being used to tow these boats.
A few months back we posted a question on our PDB Facebook page asking what boat owners use to pull their pontoons or deck boats. Some of my favorite responses were “the current” and “my wife,” but after I weeded through the wisecrack comments I enjoyed reading the variety of tow vehicles mentioned. Even though I’m told you can get a hitch for a Prius, I was thrilled to see it didn’t make the list. Just because you can put a hitch on it, doesn’t mean it’s right. There are a lot of people who have learned this lesson the hard way and will continue to learn until they wise up and buy a true tow vehicle.
The purpose of the Facebook post was to find out what the tow vehicle of choice is. We were asking not because we were trying to bait people into a Ford versus Chevy debate or anything like that, but instead we just wanted to make sure people were being safe.
Go by any Home Depot on a weekend and you’re sure to see at least one guy who is having “truck appreciation day” as he’s loading his hatchback beyond its capacity.
I’ve seen cars loaded with boards and cement bags to the point where you know the Home Depot employees are taking side bets on what’s going to break first—I have it on a good source to always bet on the tires.
When it comes to trailering, it’s nice to know pontoons weigh considerably less than other types of boats and that includes those that are even greater in length. While ‘toons may look tall and intimidating on a trailer, in most cases they still weigh less.
For fun I looked up a 22-foot Cobalt bow cruiser and according to the company website it comes in at a hefty 4,165 pounds, which really isn’t too bad for a fiberglass boat. I then did a search for a 26-foot Starcraft Majestic pontoon and the dry weight for this three-logged craft is 2,575 pounds—almost 1,600 pounds less than the bow rider (even though it’s 4 feet longer).
As I dug deeper into the Facebook results I couldn’t help but notice all the diesel trucks listed. It kind of went against my theory that you don’t need a large tow vehicle to trailer a boat, but at the same time it’s also nice to have the power. I love my 7.3L Power Stroke and the first time I ever hooked up a boat trailer to it I almost forgot it was back there. I hauled a pontoon all the way back from California over some steep overpasses and never had a single issue.
We won’t add fire to the debate over which manufacturer builds the best tow vehicle, but just make sure you’re safely towing this summer and taking advantage of the book called life.
