08-18-2010, 06:20 AM
On an enclosed trailer everything is easier to load if you have a top AND back end door. That is the way my pickup bed with hard cover works. There are various styles for the top door to open, from a front hinge (what I have) to sliding tracks, half doors, side hinges and other arrangements. At least partial access to the front end of the box is a bonus, to check clearance and adjust your slide in position. My rods are short enough to fit flat on the pontoon and still fit the closed truck box. My lure boxes and miscellaneous tackle & tools stay in the pontoon pockets without concern of load/unload. So its slide out and go when I get there. Just me, but I wouldn't feel at ease with several thousand dollars of fly rods exposed in an evident tube storage box even with a lock. Sometimes I'm by myself, and got to be out of sight of my stuff to do my business. Anyone up to no good will try to work fast so I would think locks that cant be reached with bolt cutters would be best all around on a trailer situation. Anything in a zippered pocket might be at risk, if I'm not around.
Pon
Ps. the axle on that $300 trailer is listed at 5mm? which is Less than some bike axles at under 1/4" ?
[quote idahopanfish]I would sure like to have a trailer with regular 13" tires and suspension, but I have been using my little red trailer for 4 years now and over very very rough terrain and Interstate speeds. It's just as wide as my cherokee so if the cherokee fits so does the trailer.
I have carried 2 toons on it and it does well even on the 2x4 uprights. I have thought of moving the tail lights to the fenders so I can put the tail right down in the water and having an electric winch for loading especially when the ramp or shore is steep. If I took the motor and battery off it wouldn't be needed but I leave them on the toon most all the time.
I have thought about an enclosed trailer which then could double as my "tent" for ever nighters, but it would be difficult at times to load, not being able to easily pull it in and then climb back over the toon, an electric winch might then be a necessity, for me. On some of the steep, sandy, loose shores I go to, with the added weight it might mean getting stuck. Plus not sure how I would be able to easily load 2 toons. All in all an enclosed trailer would be very nice to have.
One thing on my trailer now that I like is that I used eye bolts on the trailer to be used for hooking the toon down. I did have mine slide off once on a steep hill because the front strap came undone and I had lost the rear strap, so I went to 2 seperate straps on the rear with one through both of the oar supports. I also slide the motor up to the transome mount and then bungie it down to the toon frame to keep it from bouncing too much on the rough roads.[/quote]
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Pon
Ps. the axle on that $300 trailer is listed at 5mm? which is Less than some bike axles at under 1/4" ?
[quote idahopanfish]I would sure like to have a trailer with regular 13" tires and suspension, but I have been using my little red trailer for 4 years now and over very very rough terrain and Interstate speeds. It's just as wide as my cherokee so if the cherokee fits so does the trailer.
I have carried 2 toons on it and it does well even on the 2x4 uprights. I have thought of moving the tail lights to the fenders so I can put the tail right down in the water and having an electric winch for loading especially when the ramp or shore is steep. If I took the motor and battery off it wouldn't be needed but I leave them on the toon most all the time.
I have thought about an enclosed trailer which then could double as my "tent" for ever nighters, but it would be difficult at times to load, not being able to easily pull it in and then climb back over the toon, an electric winch might then be a necessity, for me. On some of the steep, sandy, loose shores I go to, with the added weight it might mean getting stuck. Plus not sure how I would be able to easily load 2 toons. All in all an enclosed trailer would be very nice to have.
One thing on my trailer now that I like is that I used eye bolts on the trailer to be used for hooking the toon down. I did have mine slide off once on a steep hill because the front strap came undone and I had lost the rear strap, so I went to 2 seperate straps on the rear with one through both of the oar supports. I also slide the motor up to the transome mount and then bungie it down to the toon frame to keep it from bouncing too much on the rough roads.[/quote]
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