Questions for 3rd gen tacoma short bed owners + 10' pond prowler or similar

I plan on getting this boat in the future but trying to plan how im going to haul this in my truck. I do plan on putting on a gas outboard or an endurance max 55lb possibly both. So far my plan is to get a bed extender to hold it up and putting together a DIY winch system to haul the whole thing on to the bed. Question is does anyone have anything similar or what are you lads doing to haul a 10ft similar boat without a trailer.

 

I have some experience here, but with a long bed and the 8f pond prowler. I used the bed of my truck for a bit to load the boat, but it gets heavy fast and lifting it into the bed is not easy. You can use ramps and a winch yes, but its still a pain to do. You will need wheels to get it from your truck to the water unless you plan to back the truck all the way under water.

I ended up getting a trailer to tow the boat, made things so much easier. No longer did I have to unload the boat of everything just to put it in the truck, I could back the trailer right into the water and load it.

Since you have a 5f bed and the 10f boat, your going to have a pretty big overhang off the back of the truck, and these boats are not very rigid, they warp in hot weather. If you can not get a trailer, then I suggest building a platform that bolts to the bed and extends it out to support the full 10 feet of boat. You can put ramps in that, your going to need a 10 foot long ramp to get it up without ripping the front off the boat (angle is too sharp with short ramps and it will just have too much resistance to get it up). But the storage space needed for that kind of platform is the same as just having a trailer.

 

Hmm that 8' looks nice. Fit two people comfortably on that? I was debating between the 10 and 8. Might actually consider the 8' instead. We just got a new Bass pro shop that opened here might run over there and see if I can sit in one. Thank you!

 

Its not really a fair comparison, but you can do a search for kayaks on this site and see the solutions people have come up with for hauling them. Fishing kayaks would probably be the closest in comparison as they're pretty heavy and typically 10-12'. Again, not a fair comparison, but just seeing how fast people ditch the "roof mounted" or "bed extender" routes for a trailer might open your consideration towards going the trailer route. If you already have the bed extender, or anticipate that you'd use it for lumber or hauling other stuff, it doesn't hurt to go that route until you get tired of it. My guess is it'll work just fine, and the truck won't be the limitation - moreso your body will get tired of the load/unload process. Also, don't forget to check your state's laws on overhang and proper flagging. Some places are more strict than others and 5' could or couldn't be legal.

 

Yes, but also no. I have taken my buddy on this boat and its pretty cramped in there. You can run 2 people if you have just small tackle bags and single rods, but if you try to bring anything more than 2 3600 boxes, its just not enough space. Also big landing nets take up a ton of space, so small folding nets are best. Solo its amazing though and I used it a ton before getting a big boat and selling it, I actually wish I kept it as launching the little thing was so much easier than my big boat.
I ran a 4hp outboard on the back and a 32lb troller on the front.

If I had to do it again, I would still get the 8f as I fish solo 99% of the time.