Suntracker pontoon trailers

[jlongsta]

We recently purchased a brand new 21' Suntracker fishn barge. We really love the boat and have already had lots of good times on it. However, we are stunned at the problems we've had loading the boat on the trailer. My dad owned several suntracker pontoons and he always had to retrofit the trailers to make loading easier. The inner guides move so if you nudge one of them in loading, they become useless. We've already added guides on the back of the trailer and a fellow tracker pontoon owner we met at the lake is going to reinforce our inner guides for us. We also met another fellow owner at another lake who owned our exact same boat. He showed us how he had to reinforce the middle guides as well. Anyone else had these problems? Also, My dad had an ingenious set up on his trailer. The boat would somehow lock into place. Unfortunately, we don't remember exactly how he did this and he passed away last year. Every trailer (of all makes) we see in the parking lots at the ramps look as though they've been changed. This must be a universal problem.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Suntracker pontoon trailers

Welcome aboard J. I have a 21' Suntracker and know exactly what you're talking about with regard to those inner "guides". They're pretty well useless. I just learned to load without them. Takes practice, but it's definitely doable.

 

[jlongsta]

Re: Suntracker pontoon trailers

Thank you for your response. We've owned smaller boats so this is our first "bigger" boat. My husband is the trailer backer and I'm the boat launcher and loader. I've actually been fairly spot on with loading the last few times. I know it takes practice.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Suntracker pontoon trailers

Thank you for your response. We've owned smaller boats so this is our first "bigger" boat. My husband is the trailer backer and I'm the boat launcher and loader. I've actually been fairly spot on with loading the last few times. I know it takes practice.

Good for you guys making it a team effort and especially good for you tackling the harder of the two chores. Very impressive. The admiral is happy to do the backing but doesn't want anything to do with the throttle unless we're in open water. Long story.

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Suntracker pontoon trailers

I don't know what kind of guides the Tracker trailers have, but the horizontal ones I have on mine line the boat up perfectly every time. I know after having other toon trailers that didn't have them, I'd never be without them again..

 

[lncoop]

Re: Suntracker pontoon trailers

Rick, I like those. Are they custom, or can I find them somewhere?

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Suntracker pontoon trailers

They came with the trailer Coop (Bear). But it would be super easy to have a welder make up four brackets and bolt the carpeted 2 X 4's to them. On my 20' setup, it consists of these dimensions:

My guides boards are 10' long. The bunk boards that the toon sits on are 14' long. The guide boards start even with the front of the bunk boards. The brackets are spaced 9' apart and the guide boards overhang on both ends about 6". The top of the guides are about one foot above the bunks and are 19" tall from the trailer frame to the top of the bracket. The top of the guide board is about 1" above the top of the bracket. The guide boards are placed about 1" in from the logs.

 

[jlongsta]

Re: Suntracker pontoon trailers

I don't think I'll ever be able to back a trailer. We've owned several travel trailers and I just can't seem to get it! I'm glad I can at least load and unload the boat. I actually drive the boat more than my husband. He likes to sit at the back of the boat and troll for fish. When we use our little trolling motor (we got the fishing package), he takes over the driving. I'm looking for a fishing rod holder to attach next to the helm so I can fish without holding the rod.

 

[jlongsta]

Re: Suntracker pontoon trailers

We actually bought some u shaped hardware to stabilize the inner guides (similar to what you have on your's) at Gander Mountain. If the guy doesn't call us that offered to reinforce the guides, we'll probably retrofit with the the u shaped things.

 

[Water logged]

Re: Suntracker pontoon trailers

These are the guides I had made for my SunTracker trailer. The following pic shows the originals.

Glenn

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Suntracker pontoon trailers

Guess we're lucky - Dads 21 ft Fishin barge came with a sissor trailer which is like having full inner guides. Biggest issue I have with that is putting it in way too deep. (Used to my bowrider trailer)

 

[jlongsta]

Re: Suntracker pontoon trailers

Your trailer looks great. We are getting our's retrofitted tomorrow morning. Hopefully, this will make it easier to load.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Suntracker pontoon trailers

I like your profile pic. Don't give up on backing the trailer. You just haven't found your rhythm yet.

 

[jlongsta]

Re: Suntracker pontoon trailers

Here are some photos of our new boat:

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/580878959nYZNZR

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Suntracker pontoon trailers

Very nice!! Should provide years of enjoyment..

 

[The Rooster]

Re: Suntracker pontoon trailers

Nice looking barge "jlongsta" !!!

 

[lncoop]

Re: Suntracker pontoon trailers

Good stuff. Don't be a stranga.

 

[brumbyvet]

Re: Suntracker pontoon trailers

I have the 21' Party Barge and it came with the same trailer as yours. It took me only one time loading the boat to decide to change the location of the inner guide bunks. I unbolted the bunks and readjusted them to where they are only a couple of inches from the toons. Instead of the one 1/2 bolt thru the guide I installed two 3/8 bolts on each guide. Now it loads like a champ and always perfectly centered on the bunks. My wife loaded the boat last weekend, with a swift river current at the ramp, and didn't have any trouble at all.

 

[jlongsta]

Re: Suntracker pontoon trailers

Our new friend, Joe, who offered to "brace up" the inner guides did so this morning. I think this is really going to help with loading. He has the same trailer and he's happy with his retrofit. We'll find out tomorrow, weather permitting.

 

[jlongsta]

Re: Suntracker pontoon trailers

We had our trailer fixed by our friend. I loaded the boat weekend before last in a fairly strong wind. I approached the trailer a couple of times and the wind caught the pontoons just before I was ready to load. I tried a third time and adjusted my approach to compensate for the wind. I loaded the boat perfectly! I think our reinforced guides helped a lot. I also had put the bimini top down. I think that helps too in windy conditions.:redface: