I’m itching to buy a pontoon bad. I’ve been researching them since January. I’ve read hundreds of reviews, specs, compared brands, and read the suggestions of Tube Dude. After all this, I’m still greatly conflicted. Currently, I’m looking at the Colorado XT by Classic Accessories. I love the storage space and the comfortable chair. However, many of the complaints I’ve read often bring up problems with the oar locks and the material bursting at the seams. Another complaint I’ve read that is concerning is the frame breaking.
Many of these reviews are on store websites where the quality of the product can be influenced by their experience at the store they bought it from. I noticed negative encounters with the store usually resulted in heavily negative reviews of the product which provided a bit of bias.
Sorry, I tend to ramble on with needless backstory. So to cut to the chase, has anyone had experience with the Colorado XT? Did you experience these aformentioned problems? Pros? Cons?
It seems for the money it has potential to be a great craft, but hearing some personal first hand accounts would be helpful for me.
My neighbor wants an XT pretty badly. I don’t know about them but have seen one on ksl.com which looked like a deal. Don’t know if it’s still there or not. Thought I’d mention it.
I’ve seen them on ksl quite a bit for sweet prices. I’ve been apprehensive to act on them. A few weeks ago there was like 7 of them for sale. The paranoid part of me wondered, “are they for sale because they suck?” or are they really “upgrading?”
I have the toon they sell at Costco. Its not top of the line but its a great pontoon for the price. I did some research before i bought it and it is exaclty like the Colorado. Made my the same company specially for Costco. The only difference is the color, it has 2 less pockets and doesn’t come with the transport wheel like the XT does. Ive used it several times this year and love it. Even though its not high end If you take care of it you shouldn’t have problems.
If you are more driven by budget than by long term quality then the Colorado toons are a good buy. Less expensive because they are made “offshore” for the price conscious angler. Less quality because when you cut prices in manufacturing you have to sacrifice somewhere.
That being said, I know a lot more folks that have been happy with them than otherwise. In past times there have been issues with valves and with seam failures on the covers. Have not heard much about that recently. Hopefully because they have improved.
On the plus side, they are pretty well designed and decent quality…compared to some others in the same price range. Sturdy construction and high weight capacity. Also come with a rear deck and a motor mount.
With the heavy steel frame they are somewhat heavier to transport than a few others, but some others have such thin frames and poor welds that they come apart under even average stress loads. That’s not good when you are a ways from shore. I have never heard of a frame failure with Colorados.
Colorados are popular with folks who are just getting into the toon arena. An affordable price and a decent ride that will let you know if you are meant to be a tooner. Once you know the realities…and the options and benefits on other models…you are better qualified to make an upgrade when you are ready. And if you take good care of your Colorado you shouldn’t lose much money if you sell it used. There are always newbie tooners coming along who are looking for a good entry level toon.
JLG78, I have seen that pontoon, and I have to admit that one is super tempting! I have come close to buying it on 2 occasions already, ha. But I haven’t been able to find anything on it online really which makes me nervous. As far as construction goes, it looks to be about the exact same otherwise, like you said. Truly, I’m conflicted. I like the way the Colorado is put together however. But that Costco one just looks like such an awesome deal too.
I’ve seen a lot of people complain that the motor mount isn’t centered. Is that really a big deal? I honestly can’t see the prop hitting the toon and busting it open. It would seem to me that the prop would sit low enough that it wouldn’t matter. And since they do it to all of their pontoons, I can’t see that being a flaw that they decided to not fix. Do you have a motor on yours JLG?
Thanks Tube Dude for your input! I was hoping you would chime in with your expertise!
I’ve owned and used the Colorado pontoon for numerous years. I have no complaints at all with mine. I love it.
Never had an issue with the oarlocks.
The material won’t burst if you don’t over inflate the bladders
frame breaking? my laws…what are they doing to the pontoon??
I did have problems with one of the bladders leaking at the seams. I contacted Classic Accessories, and they sent me two new bladders along with 2 new skins! (design change from 2 valves to 1). So, I actually have a spare set of skins if I ever need them, and an extra bladder.
I’d buy another in a second if the one I currently have ever wears out…
I think the weight of that thing is the biggest down side. I do know several that have them and still use them. Get a good patch kit and go for it.
But I have heard of frames breaking, in fact I think it was someone here.
There are some killer deals on KSL. There is even one with a standing deck for $400.
Personally, I went through many pontoon boats, and if I knew then what I know now, I could have save a lot of money. You definitely get what you pay for.
We all have to start somewhere, and this could be with you for a long time. Again, for me, the weight is the biggest issue. Hard to lift on a roof or the back of a truck and a big pain to break it down all the time.
The motor mount is slightly off center. That is both bad and good. The good part is that it makes it easier to access the control handle. The only negative is that it puts a slight bias on the steering. But nothing that can’t be corrected by simply angling the motor direction to compensate for the offside drag…or if you have your motor head reversed to pull you backwards you can steer with your fins. That’s how most tubers and tooners prefer it.
Any motor with a shaft of 30" or more should mount so that the motor easily clears the pontoons. But just to be sure you may want to get one with a 36" shaft. Set your toon up on blocks or a table and measure the length required. Better yet, borrow a 30" shaft motor, mount it and make sure it clears under all operating positions.
If all else fails, it is not hard to fashion your own mounting bracket and center it…or even to rig the motor to install in front of you…using the foot rests as a base for a mounting bracket. Lots of options.
I have never heard any reliable reports of frame failure on the Colorado. But several on the Creek Company low end toons. Hnaf had two in a row break on him…one when he was giving me an assist in the wind with my tube. Since then he bought your H3 and I got a motor on my tube. I have tried to reciprocate by towing him back across the lake with my motor a few times.
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I know at least two other tooners in the Utah area that have had Creek Company frame issues.
i have changed to the venture outdoors 10 foot model and love it its has been a great boat not just because i sell them, i have had several pontoons and this one is heavier but i fill its the best made toon with a hard frame
and well worth the money i have let people demo them and they seam to like them also plus they can handle a little ruffer water then most.
while up at strawberry a boat desided to go by fast and slame us with his wake mine did a little bonce over the wake but the others in the group that day had classic and one had the sportsman 8 footer and they got battered and wet
ps we all turned into the oncoming waves and made it ok
but they were a little upset and yelled at the boat driver
i just enjoyed the ride
My frame that broke 2 times was the Classic Accessories Arrow Backpacker model. It is a smaller diameter tube then the Colorado XT uses and thinner walled to try to make it backpack weight friendly…
The short of my story on the arrow backpacker model is this. The first one I had lasted just under a year before I noticed some of the welds pulling apart just enough to get my finger nail under them. My dad is a trained welder and so I had him look at that. He called the weld a ‘cold’ weld meaning it did not penetrate properly. He also said that for thin walled tubes like that toon used that’s hard to get a good penetration that doesn’t “burn through”. So I called into CA and reported it as a warranty issue with some pictures to help show the issues. Their fix was to send me a whole new boat, they don’t have parts really to replace specific things since they don’t make the toon as others have already reported on here. So now I had 2 toons, they didn’t want the broken one back.
I stored the original one as parts and got setup for my first trip out on the new replaced toon. I had already looked over all the joints on this new frame and it all looked to the eye to be welded well, no obvious issues at least. This was a trip to willard with TubeDude, my first trip on this new toon. As TD already said I tried to help tow him back a bit with my toon unloaded except for me, the oars and my fins. I was kicking a bit as I rowed some (picture a chewing gum while walking issue) to help us back in the wind. One pull on the oars and the whole left side of my toon collapsed at the frame and I thought I was going in the water. As it turned out the welds that broke instead of breaking clean broke and “tore” the metal some and so were still somewhat attached enough that we made it the last few yards to the ramp.
So on the phone with CA again I went. Again all they could do was to offer to send me a replacement toon again. So the 3rd toon showed up after a fair amount of negotiation this time and I put it up for sale and used the money I got from selling that to help buy me a used Scadden H3 float tube that I’ve been fully satisfied with since.
So in the end my story is a different model then the one your looking at. But I think you can see one key thing about this product line is that they don’t have the means to service specific things easily when it came to frame issues. They will respond to a warranty claim though so if your happy with the waits between replacements it can work. So while I give them fair to good grades on taking care of my warranty claims I am done buying a pontoon product from them.
And the token biased comment now… Why a toon vs a tube or one of the frame less pontoons? My time with the H3 tube I have now has me convinced that simpler is absolutely better for me.
Thanks, I knew it was Classic Access, but wasn’t thinking which model. Guess I figured all the models lacked detail inspection.
But the reviews give them 5 stars on several reviews. LikeI said, get a patch kit which everyone should have, and go for it. Check welds every trip can’t be that big an issue.
May we ask what price you are thinking however?
PBH, thanks for sharing your experience with the Colorado. That helps comfort me a little that someone has had one and has enjoyed it rather than secondhand accounts.
Flygoddess, My price range varies. I don’t have the money for an outstanding pontoon just yet. I was looking into the $500-600 range. This price would ideally make it so the craft had some durability and a motor mount. I wanted some money left over to get a trolling motor for it as well. (I know, we can’t have it all for the price we want[:(]) I have had several people suggest Venture or Northfork, but for the models that would suit my needs would be way out of my price range. The Colorado seemed to have the storage I wanted, the motor mount and the price. A place in Idaho Falls is selling them for $450. The only piece of the puzzle I had to satisfy was whether or not this pontoon would even last since I’ve heard mixed things. Many reviews gave it good ratings. But the bad reviews were consistent in hardware malfunctions, which made me nervous. I wanted to determine if these malfunctions were a result of user error or poor design and/or craftsmanship.
I’m open to any suggestions if anyone has any to add [:)]
No doubt it will last. There are hundreds of them out there. I did go fishing with a father and a son that both had that boat. Looks like a great ride. Dad’s boat had a slight leak, we found it and we patched it…that was two years ago and he is still using it.
or keep checking KSL for Bucks Bags, Outcast, or NFO. Some smokin’ deals there where you could score everything you want for the price you want.
Buy one with the 454 mag and supercharge it if you can afford to. You won’t be unhappy with a 26’ flat bottom that will fish or outrun stock speedboats!
If you are more driven by budget than by long term quality then the Colorado toons are a good buy. Less expensive because they are made “offshore” for the price conscious angler. Less quality because when you cut prices in manufacturing you have to sacrifice somewhere.