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Well I finally succumbed and am now a "tooner" as well as a "tuber" and a "yakker". I have a question for those of you that transport your pontoon boats on top of your vehicles. What kind of pressure do you inflate to before strapping them down?
It is very hot in Ontario right now (35 degrees celsius this afternoon). With that kind of heat I noticed a definite change in pressure when I took the boat from my garage and placed it on top of my vehicle. I guess there is some cooling from the airflow when underway but I am worried about serious pressure changes while cartopping in the hot sun. What do you advise? I have been very diligent with air management in my float tubes and usually transport them very soft in my vehicle. The frame on this boat when assembled is about an inch or two too wide to fit in the Subaru Forester.
Also do you lash your boats down like a canoe? (Two straps over the hull and tethered fore and aft to the bumpers?)
Thanks for your help.
God Bless,
Don
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[black][size 3]I feel your pain. I have framed pontoon craft, and have been through the same problems. I drive a Dodge Durango, and they don't fit without tear down. I bought a flat bed ATV trailer, and used that for one season. It worked out well for one boat, and sometimes two.[/size][/black]
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[size 3]When I started taking overnight trips, I didn't trust the public, so I bought a enclosed trailer, customized it to meet my needs, and it has worked really well.[/size]
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[size 3]I have heard several horror stories about carrying toons on car tops. including having them fly off, and popping as a result of heat and altitude changes.[/size]
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[size 3]I'm sure that there is someone on the site that has experience with carrying them on the top of vehicles, and can give you some advice on how it should be done.[/size]
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[size 3]Attached is a photo of my trailer.[/size]
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[cool][#0000ff]I only dabbled briefly in toonology, but I spend lots of time researchng what is going on in the field. One of the suggestions I read a while back makes sense. Someone who also had to rely on strapping a toon to the top of a vehicle offered that in hot weather they strap the toon down and leave it in the sun to expand as much as it is going to. They bleed off some air to reduce the pressure and when it has stabilized they head down the road. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In the event the toon cools and contracts, you should be prepared to add air...or have the front end well secured with tie downs. Otherwise the air chambers will not be rigid enough to maintain shape and could catch the air and begin flopping. Not good for cartap cargo.[/#0000ff]
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That trailer is pretty cool. I want to keep this as simple as possible and I unfortunately do not have room to park a trailer at home. In your situation it looks like the perfect solution. Lots of room to put all your fishing related equipment in one convenient place.
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Pat,
That sounds like sound advice. I'm just about to throw it up and head out for its first excursion. Thanks for your timely assistance.
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I have seen a small (900# gross) utility trailer that a person can stand on end for storing. I think they were at home depot or lowes, possibly fred meyers.
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When I fish with my pontoon I strap it to the top of my car with belt straps I purchased at a hardware store. The straps connect to a little crank unit which is a part of the strap setup. The crank unit allows you to tighten or loosen the straps. I connect one set to the front part of the metal frame of the pontoon (strap goes around the right frame, underneath the inside of front seat of the car, around the left frame, and back around the inside of the front seat where it is tightened), and another set to the back part of the metal frame.
Follow the advice of TubeDude regarding the air in the pontoon. How much air you take out or leave in the pontoons depends on the weather plus the distance you are going to travel.
I have been doing this for several years now. I have not had any problems so far. One day the weather was quite hot and I needed to let out a lot of air, but otherwise things have worked out fine.
When I first started doing this I ran the staps through the windows and then tightened up the windows. I didn't find this to work out too well. I found it best to open the doors and run the straps through the inside of the car with the doors open. I leave a little slack so that the straps tighten up neatly when the doors close on them.
Good luck. Enjoy.
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I have to add one more thing to this. This is for Pokymon. He HAD a Dodge Durango also. It had the rails on the roof that one would imagine to tie stuff to the roof. He put his 8' Expedition up there (around 58lb at the most) and secured it the way he has been doing for years. Headed home on the freeway from Salt Lake to Pocatello. Right around Tremont, the Toon went flying. He had heard a noise and thought it had somehow come loose.
He pulled over where and when he could to find out the the whole roof rack had ripped out of the roof. The boat was okay with a broken plastic seat and the bushing for the oar holder, plus a few scrapes on the outer cover.
Dodge told him that it was all his fault, that it was too high and he hit something (ON THE FREEWAY) so truck drivers be ware.
At anyrate, they refused to fix it, soooooo, just cause you have a roof rack doesn't mean anything anymore. I trust the after markets like Yakama or Thule more now.
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The Fish Cat pontoon did fine on top of the Subaru on a trip back and forth to the trout ponds. I think if I were travelling several hundred miles it would be worth the peace of mind to take it down and stow it inside the vehicle even though I think the Subaru roof rack system is far superior to anything I have seen on a domestic vehicle. (I'm speaking for the year 2000 model. It looks like they have lightened up on their newer models. The new Foresters don't seem to have the same heavy duty rack that I have on my vehicle.)
I have carried canoes and kayaks for years on many different vehicles. I can honestly say I feel safest with the racks on my 2000 Subaru Forester but that Durango anectdote is scary.
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Yikes! I have a Durango, too. Guess I won't put any toons up there.
z~
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What I have found that work really well is to deflate the toons and strap the frame to the top of my Wrangler the only bad part is I have to have to top off to do it and I can get a little chilli when I drive though the mountains. Anyone should be able to do the same with a little foam to keep from scratching the roof of there vehicle.[cool]
FF462
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