Picking up my Utopia next week! Advice?

[Sikiguya]

Hi,

After much appreciated help from the members of this board, I am departing next weekend to the State with 1000 lakes to pick up my 2007 Utopia 205 SE.

Since I will be going there over a weekend and it is about 535 miles away, I am looking for some practical advice. What tools should I bring...just in case? Any requirements or issue from the police since there probably won't be any plates on the trailer? Anything you guys can think of would be great. We are leaving on Friday and spending the weekend in the area...taking the kids to the Mall of America.

Thanks!!:cheers:

 

[Craigmri]

Sweeet!

Jim,

First let me open with.....You Bastard!(in an envious tone).:hurray: Your getting the SE package(Mines a regular 205).

Having just made a similar trip to pick up my Utopia I have some suggestions.

1) Seatrial boat. Inspect and test EVERYTHING. Any discrepancies need to be addressed before transaction.

2) Prior to pulling out with boat be certain your tow vehicle and trailer are ready. Check engine oil even if a new vehicle. Check air pressure in Tow vehicle and trailer. Test all trailer lights before departing.

3) At every stop feel the trailer hubs for heat. They will be warm but shouldn't feel hot.

4) Keep an eye on Coupler and chains to make sure everything is stable.

5) I recommend roadside trailer coverage. I have BoatUS for my boat towing and also trailer towing and service. All it takes is one trailer flat or bearing failure and your in for a nightmare.

6) Enjoy every second of the experience. Dont set a time table to strict. Your involved in a dream come true and create a relaxing enjoyable experience for your family. Its the beginning of the boating lifestyle and start it stress free and happy.

Jim, my Utopia Brother..........YOU RULE!:grouphug::auto::seeya::driving:

Craig

Hi,

After much appreciated help from the members of this board, I am departing next weekend to the State with 1000 lakes to pick up my 2007 Utopia 205 SE.

Since I will be going there over a weekend and it is about 535 miles away, I am looking for some practical advice. What tools should I bring...just in case? Any requirements or issue from the police since there probably won't be any plates on the trailer? Anything you guys can think of would be great. We are leaving on Friday and spending the weekend in the area...taking the kids to the Mall of America.

Thanks!!:cheers:

 

[Craigmri]

Jim,

Did you say you wont have a trailer tag? Hmmmmm thats a long way without a tag. Personally I'd make a plate sized sign saying "Tag applied for" and hope for the best unless you have an old tag you can put on it to get it home. Would the seller let you borrow his tag?

 

[Sikiguya]

That leads to my next question...

Thanks Craig!! You have been a tremendous help in getting me the necessary information. We are very much looking forward to this summer boating and exploring the many lakes in the area.

As for the envy, given what you paid for your boat, you got enough left in your wallet for _________,____________,_____________, and ______________ more!:rofl: If I had to describe it, it was larceny:hurray:...make that grand larceny!!!:cheers:

The boat is currently winterized. It is still pretty cold up here. It is probably still high 40/50 with the lows in the 20/30's. Is a test drive still necessary? The boat has 12 hours..it had the 10 hour maintenance done and have the best plus warranty...

I have spoken to the seller at length. They are super nice and very helpful in getting all the necessary arrangement. That is a great idea. I will call him and I am pretty certain he will let me borrow the tag until I get home.

 

[Craigmri]

Jim,

I didnt Seatrial mine either because it was 8 degrees the morning I picked up the boat and the area lakes were frozen

If you don't Seatrial, at least start both engines and let them run for 5 seconds just to test.

Finally....Take lots of pictures and share them with your Seadoo family!

Craig

 

[Sikiguya]

Wrench in the trip!!

Just check the forecast. No problem on Sunday....but my area is going to get anywhere from 3 to 9 inches of snow. Is it me or is there something completely wrong bringing a boat back while snow has just fallen.....Ahh, living in the midwest!!:driving:

Come on...you Floridians...chime in!!!:nopity:

 

[Craigmri]

Whats that????

Jim,

What is snow and why does it get measured in inches?:rofl:

Craig
From Flori-DUH!

Just check the forecast. No problem on Sunday....but my area is going to get anywhere from 3 to 9 inches of snow. Is it me or is there something completely wrong bringing a boat back while snow has just fallen.....Ahh, living in the midwest!!:driving:

Come on...you Floridians...chime in!!!:nopity:

 

[boeing747arowair]

Congrats on the Purchase and became a Utopian as craig, rookie, etc! you'll enjoy this boat!

 

[Sikiguya]

We are on our way!!!

We are on the road...we are going to get there tonight. Couple of days at the Mall of America and then we will pick up the boat on Sunday. Will post pictures of the trip!!! :driving::auto:

We made arrangement to have our driveway plowed while we are away. We have a 150 feet long driveway. The snow is suppose to fall starting Saturday night and ending on Sunday morning by 3. We should get back around 12 hours later. The major roads should be clear....cross our fingers!!!

Any suggestions while jackknifed while pulling a boat??!!!:biggrinjester:

 

[rookie101]

Towing in the winter is nothing to worry about. A few years back I gave my brother a hand driving to Anaheim, CA in January to pick up his first boat. (a 1978 Glastron Sprint) Hauled it all the way through Idaho and Montana in a snow storm.

Just give yourself lots of room to stop, and don't be in a rush.

Aaron:cheers:

 

[Craigmri]

Jim,

Have a great trip! Be safe and welcome to the family!

Craig

 

[Sikiguya]

Change of plans!!!

So, everything is on schedule until we spoke to our neighbors tonight. We've already have 5" on the ground and the forecast is anywhere from 10" to 12". It was supposed to end by 3 am Sunday morning....but now have changed to 2 pm Sunday...followed by 30 mph wind/gust. :willy_nilly:

I haven't done much trailering so the weather got me concerned. The wind and the gusting freaks me out with the snow on the ground. I am going to meet with the guy about the boat. What I plan to do is to inspect it, complete the transaction, and pick up the boat in the morning. We are going to stay another night. Figure the DOT, having another 18-20 hours to work on the road, should have it cleared enough. Monday is suppose to be sunny.

Am I being just too cautious or playing it safe??

 

[rookie101]

Sounds sensible to me. If you have the time there is no reason to push it. The safety of you and your family are more important than a time schedule.

Aaron:cheers:

 

[Craigmri]

Aarons right but Jim, what the heck is snow anyways :rofl: I cant resist but here goes......Taking the Utopia to Crystal River later today for some wakboarding action baby!

Craig

 

[Sikiguya]

Snow..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXtFGT6BKzQ:reddevil:

This is what snow is like in Wisconsin...:rofl:

Checked the weather and it looked like we were spared from much worse. There is only....9" on the ground with an additional 1 to 2" by 11 am. The wind is still coming and it looks like it is still slick....mostly highway ramps and bridges.

But...still get to check out the boat today!!!:hurray::cheers::hurray:

 

[Sikiguya]

It is 5:55 pm..and I am finally home....Utopia is in the garage and the trip was uneventful!!! Yes!

Transaction was awesome. Met Dave and his lovely wife Donna yesterday. We sat on the boat in his driveway and had a nice cup of coffee. While inspecting the boat, he answered many of my 'rookie' questions. He was not only accomodating about the change in plans but very generous!! The boat is complete with a bunch of Seadoo lifejackets...plus, he gave us a brand new towable, a battery tender, a box full of seadoo stuff(caps, etc), and a mobile compressor. What a guy!

I will be posting pictures later tonight!...more to come!

 

[Craigmri]

Wahooooo!

Jim! Wahoooo congrats! Cant wait to read your weekend report and see the pictures!!!

Craig

It is 5:55 pm..and I am finally home....Utopia is in the garage and the trip was uneventful!!! Yes!

Transaction was awesome. Met Dave and his lovely wife Donna yesterday. We sat on the boat in his driveway and had a nice cup of coffee. While inspecting the boat, he answered many of my 'rookie' questions. He was not only accomodating about the change in plans but very generous!! The boat is complete with a bunch of Seadoo lifejackets...plus, he gave us a brand new towable, a battery tender, a box full of seadoo stuff(caps, etc), and a mobile compressor. What a guy!

I will be posting pictures later tonight!...more to come!

 

[Sikiguya]

Part 1

I am still tired from the weekend :ack:...and it is back to work tomorrow. So, here are some pictures and we will go from there.

First pic..picking it up
Second pic..smiling with the sellers
Third pic..sitting with the trucks at the rest stop
Fourth pic..finally home
Fifth pic..snow melted...but you can still see that we got our fair share. The news reported power outage due to the wind..glad we waited.:hurray:

Sitting in my garage!!:cheers: Will post more pictures!

By the way, is there a trick to move the boat back in a straight line??!!

 

[rookie101]

By the way, is there a trick to move the boat back in a straight line??!!

YEP..... It's called practice:rofl:

Don't worry it's not that hard once you do it a few times.



Aaron

 

[Craigmri]

Jim,

The boat looks great! From the pics the condition appears "new". How does the Pacifica pull the boat? Does your trailer have the disc brakes? if so do you have the 5-way flat plug on your pacifica?

By the look of your side-entry garage I assume your storing the boat in the far side "single" garage bay? That looks like a tricky placement. I would suggest one of these:

http://cvfsupplyco-store.stores.yahoo.net/trdo600lbcat.html

Craig

 

[Sikiguya]

The boat is really clean...there is some minor scratches here and there on the hull. There is one spot that seemed like it might have rub against a rock or something. For the most part, I just need to do a little cleaning. I went through and there are 9 PFD's. I might put a couple up for sale since I doubt that I need 3 2XXL's. It seems like that are some sand in the boat that I will probably vac out. The seats have some dirt. The owner swear he didn't have the cover. But on the way back, I looked and found the covers and put them on..:hurray: He mistakenly thought they were part of the Bimini top...I looked for them when we inspected the boat.

The Pacifica pulled it fine. I have never pulled any type of trailer and I got pretty comfortable. It has a V6 in it and it did labor a little bit going up a hill. However, no problem at 65 to 70 mph. I did get it up to 75 on a few occasion. No hopping or wagging of any type. For my purposes, most of the lakes are within 20 minutes and I pulled it for 6 hours without any issues.

I can only assume that it has surge brake. I do not believe that it has disc brakes. That makes me wonder and I will have to look tonight. The trailer is a Seadoo/Karavan Trailer with the Seadoo logo. It has the foldaway hinge. It is equipped with a 5 plug harness and my car was recently wired with the 4 plug harness. This was what the previous owner had and it worked with the lights, turn signals, brake, etc.

Good eyes on the third bay. It was not fun getting it in there. I am looking into one of those trailer dolly....either that or I am going to load it in the double door at an angle and the move the front over. That might be easier. Otherwise, it may be stored in the double garage during the summer and the single bay for the winter.

I will play with it a bit more tonight and post some pictures....:cheers:

 

[Craigmri]

Jim,

If the trailer has the 5-way flat plug then you have disc brakes. The extra wire(blue) is for the trailer brake lock-out. The way the surge brakes work, when your backing up, the blue wire that is basically getting 12volts from your back-up lights releases the braking force. Without this, the disc brakes will lock up and you wont be able to back-up very easily.

You will need to add a 4-way to 5-way plug on your pacifica. If you have been backing up without problems with your 4-way plug either you've been backing up on a downhill or the previous owner has the brake disable plug installed in which case you have no trailer brakes working.

Craig