Rollaboat Tote First Impressions

The Fedex girl just dropped off the "Rollaboat Tote" at my door.

I really wanted to like this tote and judging from the video's the owner/inventor appears to be a nice fellow with a novel idea, but execution and materials keep this from being anywhere near worth the asking price.

Perhaps I just got a bad unit or someone made a mistake and sent me a return, but there appears to be some quality control issues. The trunk palette support is bent and there are markings and scratches on it and inside the handle and on the axle supports as if it was previously used (or perhaps tested without regard for scratches and damage).

In terms of quality of materials, Judging from the $5.99 harbor freight wheels (Item #62698 - see pic below), I'd estimate the cost of materials at around $20.

The trunk palette support could well have been damaged in shipping - which is possible owing to the poor packaging. The unit was just placed inside a box and shipped with no cushioning material. The box was slightly bent in and the tape was separated in spots because of lack of internal support or padding.

I could not find any high resolution photos before I purchased, but here are a few I made myself to help others considering a purchase decision:

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Poor quality is too often the norm nowadays. Thx for the review.
Thanks, in fairness, at this point I don’t really think you can call it a review but I do hope to be able to test it out once I hear back from the owner regarding the quality control issues I’m seeing.
 
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that's too bad - hopefully you can work something out with the seller.

I built my own dolly using PVC pipe - I later added a PVC handle as well.
sunfish-pvc-dolly.jpg

adding balloon tires might help it even better in soft sand.
it works well enough for my needs, and was fairly low cost.

I have a .pdf set of plans for free at my blog here: sunfish pvc dolly & handle [plans]

minifish-on-pvc-dolly.jpg


someone is/was selling the same plans (more or less) on eBay - mine are free of charge.
 
Said it before and I'll say it again... I like Tag's homemade dolly, it looks good and gets the job done. My homemade dolly was made from wood scraps fished out of a construction dumpster, a length of threaded steel rod, some wheels off an old beat-up Harbor Freight handtruck, a little hardware, and some dark blue paint left over from another project. Worked great and fit in the trunk of my car, but I'm sure it weighed more than Tag's masterpiece. Might have cost less though, and I'm a notoriously cheap b@stard, LOL... :eek:
 
Looks awesome Tag! Downloaded your excellent PDF plans and added that project to my list.

BTW, those drawings look great. What program did you use to create them?
 
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Update: I just heard back from Al of Rollaboat Tote LLC and his message was encouraging for customer support:

Hello Scott,
We are very sorry that this happened and you obviously received a used item in error. If you send it back, we will send you a new Rollaboat Tote, or refund your money completely. If you wish to keep it as is, we will give you the partial refund you requested. Al
- Rollaboat Tote LLC, Wednesday, August 28, 2019 at 2:41:15 PM

I've let him know that as long as I'm able to fix the trunk palette and insure it fits and operates as expected, that sounds like a fair deal to me. I'll update the thread on my findings along with any enhancements I find that need to be made.

It's my expectation/hope that the wooden trunk palette is solely used to keep the boat from sliding off the dolly, not for support.

If I can't get it to work or it looks like there is any stress at all on the trunk palette. I'll be returning it and chalking it up to lessons learned.
 
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I have a RollaBoat Tote and used it quite a bit before switching to a home made PVC dolly. The green foam padding that comes with the Rollaboat Tote is inadequate protection. The reason is the ends of the supports tend to point load on the hull and can leave dents in the gelcoat. So, I recommend you replace that green foam immediately with something much thicker.

- Andy
 
With all things considered, I've decided to return the Rollaboat Tote. I think it's a great idea but for my needs, the execution leaves room for improvement. Especially at the price compared to other options, including DIY.

It may well work for others, I do believe I received, completely by mistake according to the owner, a previously used return that got mixed in with new stock.
 
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My extended family has a rollaboat tote at the lake house. It can be used to haul the fish single handedly out of the water across maybe 30 yards of grass to where we flip it and store it. It could certainly be used for a longer haul, but when in use there's nothing to keep the nose or stern from resting on the ground, and I wouldn't want to mess with it on a rougher surface without rigging up some sort of protection for the points where it would touch.

Anyone who needs to roll the boat across say a lawn for a short distance to a soft beach surface for launching could make use of the rollaboat. If you are looking for something to get your car topped boat into the water, or want to roll your boat down a driveway or a launch ramp, it's not for you.
 
I built a dolly from Tag's design. I no longer have the boat but I still have the dolly. If anyone in New Hampshire wants it, make me an offer.
If you want a picture I can post one. I didn't paint it so it is not as nice looking as Tag's but it works.
 

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