trailers
if money is no object, then slick ryder or castle craft have pretty good trailers to meet your needs, but if you don’t have $1000+ to spend on a trailer, are relatively handy, and are aware of the limitations of the diy trailers, i see nothing wrong with them. the advantage of the diy trailers is you can build removable cradles to carry things other than kayaks/canoes.
the hf small 48"x40" trailer looked great at first. i know it’s made of angled iron, which is not as durable, and it comes with 8" tires (i think), but then, i would be aware of those limitations and wouldn’t do anything crazy. besides, down the line, i can switch to 12" tires. i was all set to buy it until i priced out how much it’d cost to have a tongue extension welded on: a little over $250 for the material and labor.
the 4’x8’ folding trailer was ok but i’d still needed a longer tongue and harborfrieght doesn’t offer tongue extensions, i asked.
the same 4’x8’ trailer from redtrailer.com can be had with a tongue extension, but their shipping charge was too high for me.
home depot, etc., have small utility trailers on sale that will require modifications. they’re more durable than the diy but, last i looked, they were over $500.
so i went with the red hf boat trailer. i just put it together and am in the process of making removable cradles to carry either 3 kayaks or my little sunfish sailboat. i know it doesn’t look as nice as the expensive ones, but i can live with that. also, one of the welders i talked to said he can spotweld points along the frame to give it more structural integrity.
Small wheels and long distances
Our trailer is a snowmobile trailer with small but wide tires.
I don't know if it qualifies as long-distance, but we've driven our trailer on round trips of 1000+ miles with no trouble at all. That included long stretches of high-speed western Interstate driving (above 70 mph). In between trips, I use it about twice a week from spring through fall.
We didn't even get the bearings serviced for more than 5 years, which is not a good idea. However, when I did take it in for the servicing, the mechanic said everything was in good shape. Still, I plan to get it done every 2 years now.
We live on a dirt road. Bouncing is noticeable on rough surfaces but not on normal paved roads. And I do keep the tires up to their recommended pressure, NOT way below as a few people have suggested. Low tire pressure causes uneven tire wear--I know because that's what happened to our first set of tires. I checked with three trailer shops and they all said it was a very common mistake. Since I've kept the tires at recommended psi, bouncing has remained at the same level it was when at softer pressure. From my experience, there is no advantage to dropping the psi, and there is a definite disadvantage.
The only caveat is that the weight of two sea kayaks on this trailer is negligible, since its rated payload is 1300 lbs. Bounce-reduction *might* be noticeable on lighter-duty trailers with narrower tires and rims.
BTW, the bouncing even on our dirt road isn't bad. We've had this trailer for going on 7 years, and it hasn't caused plastic boats to dent or my wood boat to develop even the tiniest hairline crack.
Lightweight kayak is not complete answe
Spend $1500 extra to buy composite instead of plastic, and you have ONE lightweight kayak.
Spend $1500 on a trailer, and you can put ANY kayaks, heavy or light, on it plus you can use it with many different vehicles.
I have also witnessed two people drop composite boats from their truck tops and damage them (one of these kayaks weighed less than 40 lbs). That is much less likely with a trailer. And we're not even talking about back injury. If a gust of wind grabs a 40-lb sea kayak while you are trying to load or unload at tall height, it can still injure you. Nothing like a 16+ ft lever to torque your back with a 40-mph gust...
Iceman: It is clear from your other posts that you hate heavy boats. That's nice. But it doesn't help the OP with his questions about trailers.
By the way Arkay
Its good to have you back. Your replies were always thoughtful and useful.
Spendy
At $2000 for the base model, Blue Mountain trailers are more expensive than SlickRydr’s by a lot and just as expensive as a Rack and Roll which is light and folds.
try an old boat trailer from craiglist
if you or a friend can weld the opportunities are endless…check out this link to a discussion on BWCA
http://www.bwca.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=forum.thread&confId=1&forumId=15&threadId=23048
BMO Trailers
I was a long time employee of BMO and know their trailers quite well.
If your needs are for a lightweight, foldable, short haul trailer, then I agree there are other less expensive options.
If your needs are for a heavyweight, totally rigid trailer than can easily handle extended travel, then the BMO trailer is without equal.
One of the biggest difference between the BMO trailer and others is the suspension. Most small trailers use leafe springs and tiny tires that create a lot of bounce and tend to get squirrely at highway speeds. BMO uses a heavy weight tor-flex axle and larger 4 ply tires that make for a smoother haul.
The BMO small trailer can also be built up with an expanded steel load box that allows the trailer to double as a mulch hauler/utility trailer.
Most of BMO’s trailers are sold for commercial/institutional use and are built to handle the rigors of day to day use. They are arguably over kill for casual needs, but they will definitely be on the road a long time.
Been looking
I have been looking for a used small boat or pwc trailer but have not found one yet. I want to make the tongue extension removable so I dont need welding. I can do it with graded bolts. I can pick up the diy trailer for less than $200 and maybe another $100 for parts including the rack. The diy has a shipping weight of 130 lbs and I need light weight for my application which is somewhat unique. The rack and ryde starts at $2000.
Rack and Roll
We have a Rack and Roll trailer. We didn’t have any issues with towing it long-haul (we took it from Newport News, Va., to Charleston, SC last month. With it larger wheels and shocks, it handled just fine.
Drawbacks? They can be more expensive than similar trailers, and are known for frustrating little problems, like pinched electrical wires or stripped bolts.
However, their customer service is pretty good, and they’ll talk you through these little problems.