How to haul jon boat

[flywall99]

So a few years ago i had a 10’ flat bottom aluminum jon boat, i gave it to a family friend when i moved to NYC. When i had the boat, i had a decent size lake behind my house that i use to fish so i never traveled with the boat. Now that i am back in south Florida, the friend has no use for the boat and its just a leaf collector in their back yard. My issue is i do not live with a lake behind me now and i would like to get boat and be able to bring to a few local lakes here and fish. How i could i haul it to the lakes? I was looking for a trailer but they are pretty expensive. Any ideas? My vehicle is a 2016 ford escape.  Wish i still had my truck so i could just throw it in the bed lol. If a trailer is the only option which i think it might be, any ideas where i can find a cheap one? Any help would be great. 

[tstraub]

Have you looked for a trailer on Craigslist or Facebook marketplace?  Here in central Indiana small trailers go pretty regularly for a few hundred dollars but you have to check often because they tend to sell quickly.  I recently bought 14 foot aluminum row boat and trailer for $150.  I had to repair the lights on the trailer and will be putting tires on it soon but those aren't terribly expensive repairs.  

 

[fishnkamp]

A ten foot jon should be able to be put on your roof. Check into some roof carriers. I used one back when I owned a sports car.

[Arcs&sparks]

Harbor freight boat trailer with a 25% off coupon on a holiday will get you down to $300 

[the reel ess]

Well, if you thought you might want a truck, you could buy one and put in the bed to haul. But I guess a trailer is cheaper.

[flywall99]

On 5/27/2018 at 9:27 PM, Arcs&sparks said:

Harbor freight boat trailer with a 25% off coupon on a holiday will get you down to $300 

Thanks, ill check it out.

 

On 5/27/2018 at 9:48 PM, the reel ess said:

Well, if you thought you might want a truck, you could buy one and put in the bed to haul. But I guess a trailer is cheaper.

Im actually considering getting a truck as crazy as it sounds. it might fit my lifestyle better then cramming my bike into the back of my escape and having an easier way to haul the little jon around. plus i always wanted a truck lol

[J Francho]

Truck & a trailer.

[the reel ess]

10 minutes ago, flywall99 said:

Thanks, ill check it out.

 

Im actually considering getting a truck as crazy as it sounds. it might fit my lifestyle better then cramming my bike into the back of my escape and having an easier way to haul the little jon around. plus i always wanted a truck lol

I've had a truck of some kind since about 2000. I inherited a 2013 Jeep Wrangler when my dad died. My wife asked if I was going to sell my truck, which is paid for with 100K miles. I said "Why?" If you have a Jeep you still need a truck. All the truck requires now is for me to pay the taxes and drive it every now and then. It's how I transport my kayak. I used it to haul my bud's 14' jonboat in the bed before. Once you get a truck, you'll always want one. There are two kinds of guys in this world. Ones with trucks and ones that have to ask to borrow their friends' trucks.

[flywall99]

1 hour ago, the reel ess said:

I've had a truck of some kind since about 2000. I inherited a 2013 Jeep Wrangler when my dad died. My wife asked if I was going to sell my truck, which is paid for with 100K miles. I said "Why?" If you have a Jeep you still need a truck. All the truck requires now is for me to pay the taxes and drive it every now and then. It's how I transport my kayak. I used it to haul my bud's 14' jonboat in the bed before. Once you get a truck, you'll always want one. There are two kinds of guys in this world. Ones with trucks and ones that have to ask to borrow their friends' trucks.

Yeah i think im making the switch soon, it just seems more practical since i work from home and when i do go places its usually to fish or bring my bike to a park to ride. when i pick up the jon boat ill def be going to more places to fish since ill be able to launch at many more lakes then just my usual fishing hole.

[haggard]

1 hour ago, the reel ess said:

I've had a truck of some kind since about 2000. I inherited a 2013 Jeep Wrangler when my dad died. My wife asked if I was going to sell my truck, which is paid for with 100K miles. I said "Why?" If you have a Jeep you still need a truck.

Apologies for getting off topic. Had a Jeep loved the Jeep, loved the jeep way more than the pickup. Jeep defined fun, open air, outdoors, and could crawl through and climb over obstacles you'd think impossible. Came time to have only one rig, sold the Jeep, kept the pickup. Boring by comparison* but the bed is used daily, and every day I use it, I think about how much harder it would be with the Jeep. Trailer's an option with the Jeep but not as convenient, requires two parking spaces instead of one, etc.

 

* excepting the 5.7L motor with 3.92:1 rear end

 

Back on topic... For your current vehicle, a trailer is a good option - cheap ones can usually be found on Craigs or FB marketplace or even on the side of the road (saw one a couple weeks ago for $150). If it was a yak I'd say even a roof rack would work with one of those T-bar swiveling setups that plug into the trailer hitch, for easy load/unload. Since your jon is 10' you might still be able to do that.

 

Maybe another option here - not sure what the layout of the Escape is but is there a rear gate, or is it just a window? If you can open the entire gate, you might be able to use a bed extender plugged into the trailer hitch, with the narrowest end of the boat loaded into the rear of the Escape. You might be width-limited... I just can't remember what the Escape layout is.

[the reel ess]

1 hour ago, flywall99 said:

Yeah i think im making the switch soon, it just seems more practical since i work from home and when i do go places its usually to fish or bring my bike to a park to ride. when i pick up the jon boat ill def be going to more places to fish since ill be able to launch at many more lakes then just my usual fishing hole.

I work at home as well. Bad fuel economy doesn't matter nearly as much if you don't commute in it.

[WRB]

West Marine makes a roof roller loader rack for $40.

Tom

[flywall99]

On 6/1/2018 at 6:25 PM, the reel ess said:

I work at home as well. Bad fuel economy doesn't matter nearly as much if you don't commute in it.

well i did it lol, i bought a truck 2014 dodge ram 1500, so problem solved i guess lol

[WRB]

2 hours ago, flywall99 said:

well i did it lol, i bought a truck 2014 dodge ram 1500, so problem solved i guess lol

Now buy a decent boat!

Tom

[LadiMopar]

On 5/27/2018 at 9:27 PM, Arcs&sparks said:

Harbor freight boat trailer with a 25% off coupon on a holiday will get you down to $300 

 

Harbor freight is not currently selling any trailers due to an issue with DOT regulations regarding the safety of the tires they were using.

 

Consumer reports article: November 2017-

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/harbor-freight-recalls-utility-trailer-tires-103117.html

 

For additional info do a web search for Harbor freight trailer recall, tire recall or trailer lights recall.

 

Also, Northern tool/Ironton  is no longer selling its small PWC (jet ski) trailer which was about $500 so your best option if money is an issue would be a used trailer. Just be sure to really look it over before purchasing. I was recently in the market for a small trailer for my 10' kayak and was horrified by the condition of many used trailers, serious rust, worn components, brittle/broken wiring etc., and although the prices were "reasonable" the work involved to make them road worthy wasn't worth the time or effort for me. Also, many had the questionable tires on them that caused HF to stop selling their trailers.

 

I ended up buying a new 14' jon boat trailer at BP, and the price was good but still paid quite a bit more than originally planned.

 

Best of luck to you.

 

[Arcs&sparks]

8 hours ago, LadiMopar said:

Harbor freight trailer recall, tire recall or trailer lights recall.

 

Looks like I’m gettin me some new tires ?  

 

[LionHeart]

I had a 10 ft Jon at one time.  Loved it.  I used to strap it to the roof rack of my Grand Cherokee.  It looked absurd, but I cared not.

 

Trailers ain't cheap, but if you absolutely must, patiently scour for a decent/serviceble used one for sale.  Just a tip, don't kid yourself into thinking the tires are better than they are.  If the trailer tires don't look to be in good shape, plan to replace them sooner than later and use that as a bargaining chip to negotiate price.