Boat Trailer vs Roof Rack

I agree
I too have a trailer… and dislike having to figure out what restaurants and motels have ample parking in the dark in strange areas. I do a lot of long distance driving. I will only trailer with three or more boats.



But I will point out that if your boat prevents your hatchback from raising far enough and you find yourself squatting over to rummage in the back or you keep whacking your head you might get tired of roofracking quick.



There is good and bad in both trailering and roofracking.

I’ve never used
a trailer for canoes and kayaks but I am getting to the point where my age, lack of fitness, and two prior shoulder surgeries are making it hard to load my boats on the roof. I have been looking at trailers and I think a trailer might be in my future. The only thing holding me back now is the price tag. But if you are not having trouble physically getting your boats on the roof (and there are many rack configurations aimed at making it easier to do so) I guess I would stick with racks for all the reasons mentioned.

Cost
For trailers can be less, but it depends on how handy you are. I found a used boat trailer for $200. Spent about another $100 to adapt it. Also bought a Harbor Freight Trailer on sale for about $250. Some assembly required.

cost
For difficulty in loading and unloading boats, I think those new hydrolic boat loader gizmo might be a better option. They cost no more than trailers. They also don’t have the wear and tear of the trailer traveling on roads (tires, lights etc).



For a single boat, the only advantage of trailer is if you have a double garage so can just leave the boat (and all the paddling gear) on the trailer, such that you can hitch-and-go when you want to go really quickly for a short paddle say, after work.

Depends
If its just me, or my wife and I with the tandem, then it’s on top. Putting my kayak on top myself, or the tandem with both of us lifting, its just easier than hitching the trailer. If we are taking multiple boats, such as the canoe and the tandem kayak, then the trailer is much easier. And, with the kayaks on the trailer I can put all of the stuff paddles, pfds, cooler, drybags, etc in the boat at home, put the cover on, and spend less time getting ready at the put in. At the end of the day, all the wet dirty stuff goes in the boat and not the car. This also comes in handy when we need the space in the car for other stuff, like if we are going camping. I use a regular boat trailer that I adapted for use with paddle craft. I got it for free.

cartopping vs trailer
I have a trailer and also only use it when carrying 3-5 canoes/kayaks. I dislike the parking issues and am still able to load on cartop racks.



Another issue with trailer is increase toll expense. It varies from state to state and bridge to bridge, sometimes slight increase and sometimes major. On a multi state trip those increased tolls add up.



Dave

History

– Last Updated: Dec-24-12 5:34 PM EST –

I have delivered thousands of canoes on 6 to 40 hauler trailers. I will do almost anything, including triple stacking to keep from dealing with a trailer.

An engineering type, I do not understand the electrical lighting problems endemic to trailers, but have spent lots of time on my back in the snow/ rain, mud fixing same.

Trailers compromise parking, even turning around in some places.

Trailers can tip over in extreme cross winds. So can SUV's but the latter has never happened to me.

As per PRG51 below, wheel bearings are another, constant, issue, but Bearing Buddys and a grease gun go a long way towards solving that one.

We spend several thousand dollars and engage title and licensing, lighting issues when we must because we're hauling a significant number of hulls for a camp, college or manufacturer. I need to be paid to haul a trailer.

To haul a couple, up to four hulls? Get a long combi like my late, lamented Saab, a BMW/ Audi/ VW/ Subaru station wagon, save money and frustration and simplify your life.

You forgot wheel bearings-
they always seem to go south at the worst time. All you say is true. Trailers are a PIA. But, a nice small and light trailer built for just 2 or 4 boats, not so bad. When your shoulders stop working over head it may be the only alternative if you want to keep paddling.

downsides
I’ve done both. I stopped hauling my composite boat on the trailer because it does not provide the soft and safe ride that that a weighted vehicle suspension does.



It is almost impossible to design a trailer that rides well with such a light load on it. A lot of thought needs to go into how to cushion the boats when riding on a trailer that will go airborne over every pothole and railroad track.

Consider elevating the yak on the rack
I have a lot of canoes and kayaks and wouldn’t use a trailer for all the negative reasons already stated.



One thing to consider if your hatchback is hitting your kayak. You can try to raise the yak higher off the roof.



You can raise the bars higher off the roof with some systems by using taller towers, if available. Extra tall towers used to be available from Thule if you used their false gutter mounts.



You can also lift the hull higher off the bars if you attach foam blocks, saddles or J racks onto the bars and into which the hull will rest.


What is the vehicle ?

– Last Updated: Dec-25-12 6:01 AM EST –

My 4'-11" daughter has a small hatch back and halls an 18 foot sea kayak on it at times and other times canoes.
She has no hassel with any extra registration, insurance, parking, wheel bearing maintenance or trailer storing, and is very happy with her set up.

I have a Ford Escape with a hatchback, and carry two sea kayaks and one canoe

With all that said, I imagine it is a lot easier to load and unload off a low trailer

Jack L

Does raising hatch become a problem
…when the boat is on the roof? Do you intend to keep the kayak on the roof at all times except when paddling, and if so, would it keep you from using the hatchback for loading or unloading other items?



We need more information from you.



In your experience, do you prefer one over the other? And why? What would make you consider another option?



Do you have storage space for a trailer?



Do you have physical limitations (height, injuries, etc.) that favor trailering?



The trailer wheel bearings are easy to deal with: Just keep them lubed (not overlubed) with a grease gun; it only takes a minute to do.



I have a trailer as well as a roof rack. The trailer gets used to haul the kayak(s) almost every time. Even if it’s only one kayak, because if there’s only one kayak that means it’s only me to load and unload it, which makes trailering the better choice. My husband hates rooftopping as much as I do, so even when we both go paddling, we use the trailer.



The only time I rooftopped on a solo trip was when I knew I would not be stopping to paddle on the way out or back. It allowed a bigger choice of motels on the route, since the ones that are in towns sometimes don’t have much parking. The ones in rural areas or along Interstates usually have enough space for trailers.

Make loading the boat easier
I think the biggest drawback to roof racks is the loading of the boat on the rack. With good cradles it is easy to roll the boat up onto the rack from the front of the car with most any cart. C-tug has a video showing how to do this.



Most folks can lift the boat onto the wheels on the hood. From there is it easy to go to the other end of the boat and roll it up onto the rack.



The only advantage of the trailer that has not listed is the box in the bottom is a great place to put all the wet stuff for the ride home.



The cost of the trailer is minimal compared to the cost of taxes, titling, registration, and insurance over the years.



Parking can go either way. In SC there are ramps where you may not use the parking unless you are pulling a boat trailer.


Boat Trailer vs Roof Rack
Thank you for your input. You all brought up many excellent points that I had failed to consider. My car is a 2013 chevy volt. I will go with a thule roof rack, the only one currently available for the volt, with a hull-a-vator. The hull-a-vator should address all the lifting and hatchback issues you all brought up. And the roof rack should address all the disadvantages of the trailer. I am still deciding between the aerodynamic and standard cross bars. Any input on the differences there would also be appreciated.

Bad Advice
The members of this site usually do a pretty good job with newbie advice. I think you missed the mark on this one.



We’ve been trailering our boats for three years now and I would not go back to roof top transport for anything. The boats are always loaded and ready to go. No overhead lifting. I can always just unhook and walk it around in any parking lot. Tracks beautiful and sorry but no airborn bouncing. The tolls are an extra buck. Big deal. Come on guys, you got this person buying a one boat monstosity which is way north of cheap. Try again.

Trailer is by far the best option
I use a Sportsrig trailer. It is designed to handle light weight loads like kayaks and bicycles. It uses motorcycle suspension and conveniently folds up against a wall in my garage using a foot print of about 2’x4’. I have never been charged an extra toll for it. My gas mileage is almost unchanged as compared to no trailer, whereas a loaded roof rack will steal at least 10% of your fuel economy. In the 10 or more years I have owned it, and after thousands of miles of towing, the electicals all work and the wheelbearings are just fine. All the bugaboos verbalized in this thread have simply not proven to be true. I bought it after throwing my shoulder out when the wind caught my kayak while attempting to put it up on the roof of my car by myself. A trailer avoids that particular problem. A friend of mine forgot that he had a kayak on the roof and drove into his garage. He needed a new boat after that and a new garage door and frame. In strong cross winds, small cars with boats on the roof are blown around a lot more than small cars towing the boats on a purpose built trailer. The one and only downside to buying a trailer such as the Sportsrig is that they are expensive. On the other hand, the medical bills from my shoulder injury cost a lot more than the trailer did.



A trailer is the way to go, definitely re-think your decision.

Bugaboos are largely avoidable

– Last Updated: Dec-26-12 8:52 PM EST –

1. Keep the bearings greased; make it easy by having grease fittings (Bearing Buddies) on them, and you can grease both wheels in a few moments. And make sure you use WHEEL BEARING grease intended for high-temp applications (small wheels rotate faster for a given mph than big wheels do).

2. Keep the tires up to pressure. This means not airing them down too much, as so many advise. With such a light load as kayaks, you don't need to put the maximum pressure in them, which might be 65 to 80 psi for some tires. But you also should not let them go down to ridiculously soft pressures, because that causes overheating of the tires and uneven wear. On the Trailex SUT-350-M2 that I tow, the tires are the little ones with maximum pressures in the 60+plus psi range. Yet the trailer maker's decal says to use only 20 psi. I never go that high OR low and have had no trouble with hauling glass kayaks. I've put anywhere from 35 to 50 psi in them and settled on 38 psi. Tires are wearing normally and the ride is soft enough because of the soft leaf springs on that kayak-specific trailer.

Those are the two things to pay special attention to. But really, watching tire pressure is something you should do with your car anyway, so there's only one extra thing to watch for: adequate grease in the trailer's wheel bearings. And that is incredibly easy to do.

Now, for the bugaboo that you cannot control: In Colorado, tolls for trailers are extremely high. It wasn't always this way; things changed a couple of years ago and C470 Authority began gouging trailer users. It's based on number of axles, not actual weight or length. So my combined truck and trailer and payloads add up to less weight than a full-sized SUV with 1 driver and no passengers or loads at all. Go figure! But I sure wouldn't let extra toll or parking charges deter me from buying a trailer if it was better in other ways. (And C470 Authority and their incompetent recordkeeping can go stick themselves where the sun don't shine! Good riddance.)

A joke
If you have a Chevy Volt,a trailer would be beter so when it explodes your boats are saved.

Turtle

“Bad advice” or just “not your choice”?

– Last Updated: Dec-27-12 1:34 PM EST –

To my way of thinking, I haven't seen any "bad advice" here at all. Trailers aren't right for everyone, and your arguments in favor of trailers over roof racks sound more like a statement of "my way is right" rather than logic. Lots of other people said they prefer trailers, some of the time or all of the time, but in most cases also stated some logical qualifiers.

As far as your reasons for trailer use being so universally correct, they aren't. For one thing, "no overhead lifting" is no reason for a non-disabled person to use a trailer if instead they could use a bit of imagination and ingenuity. I've been loading boats on roofs all my life, sometimes with boats quite a bit heavier than canoes or kayaks, and sometimes on full-size vans. I'm not exactly big and strong, but I AM totally intolerant of doing things the hard way, and know how to modify a rack and my loading technique to make the job easy. If you are actually reaching above your head while lifting the entire boat, you are doing it the hardest possible way, and the logical thing to ask yourself is "why do it that way"? If you don't have the ability to modify your rack to make the job easy, then using a trailer may be a good choice for you, but it's not the only way to make boat-loading easy.

As far as bouncing goes, any trailer you buy which is not specifically designed for ultralight loads is likely to have this problem, and virtually every cheap trailer will. On such trailers, you'll have to modify the suspension yourself. If you buy a nice trailer (such as special one for bikes or boats that has a nice, soft suspension), it will cost the same putting roof racks on a small fleet of cars. Even with a cheap trailer, you still have to put a rack on it, and the rack will still be fairly expensive if you can't build it yourself. Besides, the OP is only looking to carry one boat.

As far as having the boats "already loaded", that's nice if you have a place you can park a loaded trailer. Not everyone does. I eliminate the inconvenience of loading boats by making my boat-storage methods quick and easy to use. Even my biggest, heaviest boat can be gotten out of its rack and onto the roof in about three minutes, and then all I have to do is tie it down. I don't have to do any heavy lifting at any point in the process on account of the way I designed my storage systems.

You say you can walk a trailer anywhere you need, but that's true only for you, not everyone. Try doing that so you can turn around on a dirt road or a back-woods road that's really steep. It'll take a team of helpers unless you bought one of those terribly expensive specialty trailers, but even then, you are wasting time that you wouldn't have to if the boat had been on the roof.

Overall, I'd say the pros and cons of trailers versus racks have been well described. As many others have said, I agree that which is the better choice is not universal, but depends on the specific situation.

I agree
trailers are not a blanket solution with one size fits all.



For those of you who do not have to deal with increased tolls bully for you. But to call everyone else wrong…is just wrong. My tolls do go up… from $9.50 for boats on the roof to $20.75 for towing a trailer on the ferry. Multiply that by two…and its a factor.



And in the North Maine Woods turn around is an issue… As well as pulling onto twitch roads when a logging truck oncoming is taking up the whole road.



I do have a trailer. Currently its under two feet of snow. Using it in the winter is a hassle…it always has to be unearthed.



So everyones experience is valid. No one is giving bad advice. If it works for you fine. If not, fine. Its YOUR outing. Not mine.