What do you think of Porta-Bote?

To the OP, I'm just curious if you made a decision. If you are still thinking about, call Porta-bote and check what their turn around time is. If you want it for this season, that may not happen.

I ordered mine on 5/1/2014. I was told it would ship around 5/28/14. I called on 5/29 to get an update. Didn't ship, factory is swamped. Delivery was rescheduled to 6/12. On 6/13 it still had not shipped. Was told they were very busy, ship date was rescheduled to 6/17. I was given a $100 credit. On 6/18 I called and left a message. I got a call from the owner, Sandy Kaye, later that day to tell me that it did not ship on 6/17, but that it would ship that day or someone would be fired. I thought that was a silly thing to say.

On 6/19, I got tracking info for the boat. The carrier lost the boat, but I got it yesterday - a day after everything else arrived.

Unfortunately, they did not send a Boat Opener with mine. If I had the boat opener it would have been a breeze to open. I had to use the middle seat as the boat opener which made it a little more difficult to open because the seat is big compared to the little boat opener.

After opening it and leaving it open in the sun a few hours as recommended, I folded it up, loaded it onto the roof of my SUV and my son and I went to the lake to test it out. Opening it the second time was a little easier. It floated in just a few inches of water as described. It was definitely easier to maneuver than a similarly sized Jon Boat. Mine is the 12' boat.

The dolly definitely makes it easier to maneuver it on land, however if you are handy you can definitely make one yourself for much cheaper. I don't think it is worth the $400 price tag. I got it on sale for $289, which is still more than it is worth. It's nothing more than 2 pieces of aluminum and a large wheel with a few bolts and wing nuts (per side).

I was astounded how poorly Porta-bote packaged the boat. The accessories all came nicely boxed with plenty of packing material to protect it in shipping. The boat is covered with plastic on each side and then it is put into a plastic sleeve for shipping. No other protection. The freight company did a number on it. The sleeve was ripped in multiple places and had some scuff marks.

I am happy with my purchase. I got everything on sale and I got the back saver swivel seat free with purchase. I am disappointed with Porta Bote's customer service, slow turn around and poor packaging of the boat. I plan to use it this summer as is and will probably work on mods and purchase a motor for it for next year.

-Michael

Thanks everybody for more input. I am OP.
I have pretty much made up my mind to try one.
Either new or maybe something on craigs.

dewey... I wanted to see your pics, but pics would not open unless I joined the Jayco Forum.

Michael... thanks for the input/ review. I will be prepared if I order one. Glad you are happy with the bote.

Regarding how I was going to carry the bote on my Class C, I was thinking of ordering the 10 foot one, actually 10 1/2 feet.
I was thinking of carrying vertically, on my rear ladder.
Making a special bracket I could hang from the ladder.
A little bit of the bote, below the rear bumper and the remainder sticking up above the roof.
How does this idea sound to you all? Input appreciated..

A second option would be to carry it on the roof.... guess I could load it OK?
Or, carry it on the side of my MH would be OK too.
My Class C is fiberglass w/ gelcoat/ and very strong sidewalls.

Thanks again to you all..

Stevekk
Here are my posts and photos from Jayco Forum (this was from a few years ago)

I purchased a portabote this spring and found there was very little information or examples of how folks actually mounted these things using the official portabote mounting brackets.

When I searched or asked on forums, many people suggested carrying it on the tow vehicle, or mounting on the roof of the tt or under the belly. None of those was really an option. The portabote site had instructions, but they were pretty sparce and didn't answer many questions.

After hearing back from several folks, I made the plunge and did the mount.
Since there may be others that have questions like I did, I've uploaded some photos that show the process I used to address problems like:
> *mounting to contour shape of the aluminum siding
> *how to keep aluminum siding from crushing when no stud in area.
> *how to spread the load over a wider area
> *how to keep my spouse happy about me drilling and cutting holes
> in her new travel trailer.

1st photo - front bracket showing plastic backer board cut to match contour of RV siding.
2nd photo - rear mount test fit (this was mounted through an existing stud and inside bolts were hidden from view under the sink cabinet.
3rd photo - front bracket did not hit a stud, so had to cut interior wall and insert a "cripple stud" to keep aluminum siding from crushing.
4th photo - used 3/4" oak boards to span between existing studs and to cover the cripple stud.
5th photo - the finished job!

Photos:

Photo 1:


Photo 2:


Photo 3:


Photo 4:


And you've already seen photo 5 with the bote mounted on the trailer.

And more info on how to mount:
1. Figure out what size portabote you will want or need 8, 10, 12 or 14 foot.
2. Remember, the longer the boat, the more clear space you need on your RV to mount it. It cannot cover vents like frig or furnace (or your water hookups if you want to use them with the boat mounted).
3. Determine the distance between the front and rear mounts - this will vary depending upon what size boat you have.
4. (Here I was answering a specific question from someone that wanted to mount two botes on his RV) I suppose it is possible to mount 2 boats on one RV, although I wouldn't mount them both on the same side. And mounting on the curb side will likely mean that you won't be able to use your entrance door until you remove the boat. Also, the RV mount adds about 8" to the width of your RV. Mounting on both sides would add 16" and probably make your RV exceed the legal width allowed in your state.
5. Determine location of rear mount - this should be on a stud in the RV wall. Use a studfinder on the inside of the RV to determine where the studs are.
6. Once you have the location of the rear mounting bracket identified, measure to determine where the front mounting bracket will need to be located. This will likely not be on a stud unless you are really lucky.
7. If you have an aluminum sided RV, you will need to add a stud behind the front bracket, or the siding will crush when you tighten the bolts. You might not have to do this for a fiberglass sided RV, but I would suggest it anyway. Cut a hole in the interior wall and insert a 2 x 2 stud and anchor it to the floor or whatever you can attach it to.
8. Also if you have an aluminum sided RV, you may want to use a contour tool to transfer the shape of the siding to your backer board. This will ensure a good fit and help avoid crushing the siding with a flat board against a contoured siding.
9. Before drilling any holes or cutting into any walls...measure, measure and measure again. You don't want a lot of holes in the wrong places.
10. Use a backer board behind the mounting brackets to keep the boat a bit away from your RV siding. I'd suggest at least 1" backer (mine was smaller and I should have gone with a wider one)
11. Drill the holes slightly larger than your bolts.
12. I used 3 1/2 inch #8 bolts, nuts, washers and lockwashers. These are the hardest and strongest. You don't want a cheap #2 bolt snapping off as you are heading down the highway.
13. I also used boards on the inside of the RV to help spread the load (and on the front mount, to bridge between the two RV studs that are 16 inch on center. This can be scrap wood if you don't care about appearance or if the backer is hidden behind cabinetry. Or you can use nice finished wood that matches your cabinets (as shown in the pictures I posted).
That's about all I can help with. It is difficult to make that first drill hole, but once you get past that, it works out well if you've done a good job of measuring and thinking it through. Take your time and do a lot of thinking about what you want to do and how you want to do it.

Stevekk

And as for where on your Class C to carry the boat:

People have done it all the various ways you've mentioned.

• I've only seen the ladder mount in photos, never in person.
  
  
• The roof mount works for some, but how tall is your vehicle? Might take some effort getting it up and down from there.
  
  
• With the side mount, it is easy to load and unload the bote. Not much lifting to do, and only at chest height. Big problem with side mount is getting past drilling holes in your RV. If you locate your studs and measure several times, it works out just fine. But here's something that has changed. If you are getting the portabote with the folding transom, be aware that it folds to 7" rather than 4" for the removable transom. Depending upon the width of your RV, 7 inches may well put you over the width limit for most states. With the 4" width, I am just under the maximum width limit.

So perhaps the roof or ladder mount may serve you better.

I'm thinking about a folding kayak from http://www.folbot.com
I'm pretty sure acts more like a real kayak than the inflatables from sea eagle, but is a little more trouble to set up.

Thanks for the i link on the folobot. That may be an option.

dewey...thanks for more info and the pics. Very informative.
Most likely I will be buying a newer bote, thanks for pointing out that it folds to 7 inches thick as opposed to the 4 inches thick for older models.
I think just that fact would be a negative, regarding putting it on the side of the MH. Which leads to my original idea of mounting on the rear ladder.
Thanks again for all your info/ input.