Boat Trailer vs Roof Rack

This thread has me thinking even more
about a trailer. I’m 60 years old and I’ve had two shoulder surgeries. I have been struggling with all sorts of tactics and gizmos to help me get my boats on the roof for several years. Lord knows how many years I have left. It is starting to impact my interest in paddling - at least day trips. If I don’t do it now - when will I do it? Have to start setting aside some $.

One of the things I dislike re trailer
is loading boats waist high. Its not really much fun getting them inbetween the low bars and the high bars (that are around shoulder high0. But I have a four canoe trailer.



I have found the same for my friends 10 canoe Long Ranger. Its easier to load shoulder height than lower if you have bars above the boat.



We both have Mo trailers that are built to repel sway and bounce…none of which is a problem…at least so far in the first 20,000 miles…never say never.

The best thing
I like about using a trailer is you can keep a eye on the boats. I have a converted boat trailer that I built a rack on that is a little below shoulder height. The boats can be seen in the rear-view and both side-view mirrors. I can also load the bikes and camping equiment on the trailer for them weekend get-aways.

Let’s get back to the OP, please
Hard, I know, on pnet.



This is a person with ONE seakayak. That’s it. That’s the fleet.



I have stated my non-trailer preference, and don’t deny that trailers can be of benefit in multi-boat carriage and in vehicle loading for people with infirmities.



However, I don’t think I exaggerate my personal and objective experience by saying that, in more than 60 years of boating with thousands of paddlers, I can only recall one person who used a trailer to tote a lone kayak.



He drove a motorcycle.

um yes
headtopping is impractical.

Actually
I had a friend who used a Portage Pal T-1000 trailer to haul his solitary sea kayak. And he had an F-150 pickup truck.



It would not have been my choice, but he liked the convenience of leaving his boat and paddle strapped to the trailer. When he got home, he unhitched the lightweight trailer and wheeled it under a carport by his pool with his boat on it. He could be ready to go much more quickly than if he car-topped his boat.

I’m another one who lone-trailers
Most of my paddling is solo. The trailer gets used both for solo and partner paddling (carrying 2 sea kayaks on the trailer). We have done it both ways and prefer trailering by such a huge margin it’s not even a contest.



I have seen other people trailering only 1 sea kayak.



Neither my husband nor I is “infirm”. However, I am short. I guess some people might consider that an infirmity. We both like being able to see the kayaks behind us instead of wondering what’s going on “upstairs” in 60-mph crosswinds.

Several trailers with leafspring
suspension that are soft and suitable for kayaks/canoes are made by Trailex. I own one of them, the SUT-350-M2 trailer. It is rated to a payload of 350 lbs max. The leafspring suspension is, indeed, quite soft. Softer than the flavor of Tor-flex suspension that was on our old modified snowmobile trailer. Both trailers carried glass sea kayaks many, many times without any harm to the boats.



With the very long effective wheelbase created by putting the trailer’s axle far in back, the ride is smooth and towing easy.



Bucking/bouncing is as much a function of wheelbase as it is of suspension softness.

Sportsrig was on the market for years…
before Yakima came out with their trailer. Either of these trailers is a better solution than any others I have seen.

Trailer loading height varies
The height to load onto our old snowmobile trailer was low. The height to load to our Trailex kayak trailer is a little higher but still manageable even for 5’3" me.



Some have more adjustments possible in the crossbars and risers than others. Some allow carrying other gear besides boats. Payload varies a lot. Make sure that the size of coupler and ball that comes with the trailer suits you and your tow rig’s set-up. You can make some alterations after the fact, but it’s best to know beforehand what’s involved.



Do lots of research before deciding what to buy, or even if to buy.



We LOVE carrying the boats with a trailer instead of rooftopping. There are a few disadvantages, but to us they are greatly outweighed by the benefits. YMMV.

Sportsrig wheels
The wheels on a Sportsrig trailer are motorcycle type, I would have to look to be sure, but they are 18" or 19" diameter. The bearings are sealed and don’t require frequent greasing.

Trailer parking
Finding a place to park a trailer does require creative thinking. Since my Sportsrig is lightweight, I often detach it from the car and then push the trailer and boat(s) into a separate parking spot, or even put it off pavement in the grass or whatnot. I also use the trailer like a cart to deliver the boat by hand to water’s edge.

Who stole whose design?
What I heard (no verification other than the sequence of going to market) is that a designer from SportsRig left to start Rack-n-Roll. Whether that designer stole the design is beyond my knowledge.

Watch me haul one kayak on Sportsrig
If you ever get to West Palm Beach give me a holler and we’ll go paddling. That way in your 60 plus years of paddling you will have seen two trailers hauling only one kayak. Or maybe two if you need me to bring an extra boat for you to use.

Sportsrig has shocks and springs
The load limit is 250 lbs. so your boats are not subjected to undue shock. The use of motorcycle type wheels and a swing arm suspended with motorcycle springs and shocks make this possible.

“Frequent” greasing is twice per year
A minute or two each time. Hardly a factor in the decision.



If I trailered 50K miles per year, then I’d need to grease them more often. Still not much effort, time, or cost involved. It’s all DIY if you have the Bearing Buddies or similar system.



If you need a folding trailer, that’s a different factor entirely that has nothing to do with the couple minutes of maintenance time difference.

experience
"However, I don’t think I exaggerate my personal and objective experience by saying that, in more than 60 years of boating with thousands of paddlers, I can only recall one person who used a trailer to tote a lone kayak. "



We can say the same about personal computer vs mainframe computers! When the first PC came out, “experience” would have told you that in 20 years of computing history, most people used mainframe computers!



Trails were initially build for hauling multiple boats so existing ones don’t do well hauling light load of 1 single kayak. But there’re now trailers specifically designed to haul 1 or 2 kayaks on the market. I haven’t heard much negative from their owners.



More over, most people don’t have the “experience” of pulling a trailer behind their car. So they go for the “familiar” of car topping! How many threads do you see on Pnet on “how to load a heavy boat solo”? If that’s not a drawback of car topping, I don’t know what is. Whether trailering trade the loading problem only to have other disadvantages, is what the OP was seeking information on, from first hand experience of those owning trailers.



The OP got enough useful replies from trailer owners. That’s what really matters.

yeah, that’s why I mentioned it…

– Last Updated: Dec-31-12 4:41 PM EST –

... earlier parts of the discussion as being the type of trailer that would work well, as far as ride quality goes. It's also why the post you made the reply to only dealt with cheap kit trailers and "standard" trailers.

“Drawback” versus inexperience
All the questions about how to load a heavy boat onto the roof do NOT indicate a drawback of cartopping. They only indicate that most people simply can’t figure out how to do things the easy way, or how to build or modify their racks. I loaded an aluminum jonboat on top of a full size van so many times when I was a teenager, and back then I weighed 130 pounds and was NOT at all strong. That boat was far heavier and more awkward to handle than any kayak that was ever made, but it was easy because the method used was sensible. Loading it onto a full-size van was a bit harder than loading onto something like a station wagon (again, both vehicles had proper rack modifications), but even loading onto something like a station wagon is actually EASIER with that kind of boat (or a canoe) than loading onto something down around waist-high.

Wheel Bearings and Failures
From what I can tell, wheel-bearing failures usually involve neglected trailers, especially the neglected ones that also have their axles submerged in water at times, as is the case for normal boat trailers. I’ve met a lot of people who tow various kinds of trailers, but still haven’t met someone who’s had a wheel-bearing failure. Anyone who’s mileage is not extreme, or who comes even close to following Pikabike’s advice if their mileage is high, shouldn’t have anything to worry about.