Anyone uses inflatable pontoon?

[john_in]

I intend to use my inflatable pontoon. I need advice on how to transport it because setting it up take a lot of time and effort. I am choosing among having it on a car roof, having it towed behind the car, and having it in wheels by itself. Thanks in advance.

[sagefisher]

John,

I can't imagine your third choice, "having wheels in it by itself". The wheels would have to be very light weight and those type of wheels don't have bearings that would hold up to highway speed, plus the problems of attaching the pontoon boat to a vehicle. But, the other two choices are very viable.

The car topper is the cheapest way to go, as long as you have some kind of rack on the top of the car to secure it. Since you live in a fairly flat state, Indiana, you don't have any big mountains to worry about regarding bladder pressure, so you could have the boat fully inflated and ready to take off the top and hit the water. The weight of the pontoon boat is your main concern, lifting it up that high, and then the rack, is it strong enough to hold a pontoon boat while you travel down the road at 70 mph, or go over washboard roads to your fishing hole.

The other viable choice would be the trailer for towing the boat. There are some advantages to that. You can store a lot of equipment on waterproof boxes on the trailer. Trailers are not cheap is a bi concern.

I toss mine into the back of my pickup but if you don't have a pickup then I would consider the car topper or trailer idea.

Larry ---sagefisher---

[john_in]

Larry,

Thank you so much for the advice.

[idlerick]

A trailer kind of defeats the purpose of a pontoon, IMO; if you're going to tow and store and license a trailer, get a small boat instead.
Rooftop is OK, depending on the size of vehicle, method of tying down, and the weight of the pontoon. Getting a 70# one up there can really ruin a guy's back (ask me how I know).
Ideal way is to store it in the garage overhead on a pulley, then just drive a small PU under it, lower it and go. Returning is the reverse - a 5 min task at most. 'Course that requires a PU, not a Corolla or something; just part of the decision to buy a pontoon instead of a float tube.
It's possible to split most assembled pontoons into two halves with just a couple of frame bolts and the seat removed. Makes it a lot easier to shoe-horn into a small SUV or something, and re-assembly is quick.

It shouldn't be a problem in Indiana, but be careful of transporting inflated pontoon bladders over higher passes. A 1000-ft increase in altitude means a 1/2 psi increase in internal pressure, and pontoons only carry about 3 psi, so 1/2 psi is significant. A 5000-ft pass can rupture one.

[jimsnarocks]

I transported mine on a crossbar rooftop carrier . The pontoon fully assembled, aired up and tied down with ratchet straps. Pretty easy on and off with a 9 foot, 50 pound pontoon.

[john_in]

What a great idea! Thanks, Idlerick and Jimsnarocks. I think this will work for me!