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Homemade Kayak Trailer

Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 7:02 pm
by rellis1962
Recently purchased kayaks for myself and the family. Needed a better way to haul them around so I bought a used aluminum PWC trailer and modified to carrie all three yaks and more. Works great. Pulled it around town today for a test run. I checked for contact with truck by slowly backing into a jackknife and it clears easily on both sides. This was a concern of mine during construction.[/img]

Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 7:23 pm
by phil413tx
Looks great! Do they stay pretty still? I may have to copy your setup. What size yaks are those?

Kayaks are very steady...

Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 7:38 pm
by rellis1962
Manta Ray in the middle is a 14', Prowler is 13' and the Malibu 2 XL is 13'

Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 7:49 pm
by 4x4kayak2112
i sometimes wish mine was aluminum, mine weights atleast 300 lbs no kayaks, but mine was FREE!!!! just a few mods. I can Jackknife mine and there was a couple of times i needed it....Great Looking Trailer





something about me i love looking at trailers, maybe its the man in me, my wife just donsent get it :D

Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 8:08 pm
by rellis1962
Thanks, I know what you mean. I looked at used trailers for a while before I made my decision. I almost passed on the Al trailer thinking it would be to short but I wanted something smallish, easy to move around and easy to store so I took a chance that I could make it work. It is tongue-heavy, as it should be, but I can easily move the trailer with kayaks and equipment by hand. I had to invent the contraptions that connect the Yakima bars to the trailer rails. They work perfectly.

I still look at used trailers(online) even though I don't need one anymore. My wife doesn't get it either, she just accepts it.[/img]

Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 8:25 pm
by rellis1962
phil413tx wrote:Looks great! Do they stay pretty still? I may have to copy your setup. What size yaks are those?
If you need more info on materials/construction I guess you can PM me. I am new to this forum so not sure how things work here.

Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 11:37 pm
by RubiconAg
I would be caucious when using the PVC setup as my main rack support systems. You have to remember that the kayaks are like huge sails that catch the 70+ mph wind loads when going down the highway.

Other than that, sweet setup!

Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 3:55 am
by Lollipop
dr_love2112 wrote: mine weights atleast 300 lbs no kayaks,
Yours is light weight. Mine weighs 1,100 pounds empty and remains solidly on the highway when an 18-wheeler passes me going the other way. Designed for 20 kayaks plus gear.
Lollipop

Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 12:32 pm
by jsharp
man thats a nice looking trailer if you dont mind me copinying you id like to build one like that how long is your triailer and what is the weight of it

Trailer

Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 8:20 am
by Davo
NICE JOB! How does it ride down the road? I'm curious because I just completed a very similar trailer to yours, except I used a 4x8 Utility trailer. Do crosswinds or wind blast from on-coming trucks affect the trailer very much? I hope to have pics of mine posted after this weekend.

Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 10:08 am
by Kingz
Aluminum, cool. Curious where you came across the trailer that you started with? Thanks...G

Re: Trailer

Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 6:28 pm
by rellis1962
Do crosswinds or wind blast from on-coming trucks affect the trailer very much? I hope to have pics of mine posted after this weekend.[/quote]

I have not experience a close encounter with an 18 wheeler as of yet. I am somewhat curious myself. If I have problems I have some relatively flat zincs that wiegh about 60-70lbs a piece with bolt flanges that I will bolt to the trailer just forward of the axle. This along with lowering the tongue with a drop-down hitch, I'm thinking, would help correct the lack of stability.

Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 6:31 pm
by rellis1962
Kingz wrote:Aluminum, cool. Curious where you came across the trailer that you started with? Thanks...G
I found the trailer on Craigs List.

Rob