03-19-2009, 05:06 PM
Thanks, I enjoy tinkering like that. I went with this dock wheel because it is wider, cheaper, lighter and can be deflated almost flat for a carry on pack since it has no hub like the wheeleze. No rock or weed interference with an axle, which was my previous design pictured. The jolts are softer (built to take sudden shock at docks) when I clear 6" rocks (higher than the landscape timber in the picture) and I can lift the whole pontoon and carry easily over distances of 50' or so if necessary. It floats if I lose it overboard. It is self inflating because of its thick, semi rigid material when left alone and self deflating if overpressured. Don't think small punctures would affect anything. May not work with really heavy boats unless you have a way to repressure because it is built to slowly leak over 20 minutes like that, yet still supports 40 # relaxed after rolling without compression stress. I didn't like the thinner wheel commercial models which have clearance issues, are harder to balance, heavier, hard to store on board even when disassembled and have corrosion issues for the bearings and metal parts.
The frame was propped up for the picture because I had been working on it and it wasn't attached to the pontoons. It is a homemade universal fit to any pontoons. I am improving on my previous design for even lighter travel packaging.
[quote forgiven]Dude! You should change your handle to "MacGyver"![cool]
Clever set up for the wheel. It that a custom homemade frame?[/quote]
The frame was propped up for the picture because I had been working on it and it wasn't attached to the pontoons. It is a homemade universal fit to any pontoons. I am improving on my previous design for even lighter travel packaging.
[quote forgiven]Dude! You should change your handle to "MacGyver"![cool]
Clever set up for the wheel. It that a custom homemade frame?[/quote]