I bought two trailers. First one 8 years ago was a home made long tongue set up with padded vee cradles for two sea kayaks . It has an open square base frame under the cross bars and I planned to make a platform for that so it could also be used as a utility hauler. But a local guy was selling a 4.5’ x 8’ stake side trailer for $500 so I bought that too 6 years ago. At the time I lived in a house cut into the side of a steep hill with no way to have a driveway or garage. The trailers had to live in a gravel dead end alley 100 feet behind and below the house and my growing fleet of kayaks and 1 canoe were housed in the walk out basement. The street in front of the house was a two lane dead end but one lane was for parking and there was not enough turn around space at the end for either the trailers or for my 24’ long box truck conversion camper. Our useless municipality had failed to condemn and take over half the area at the end of the narrow street so the neighbor who still owned it blocked it off as a private parking area. The garbage trucks, snowplows, Amazon trucks and moving vans all have to back all the way down the block to get out.
So the trailers were a real problem to juggle and to use. After struggling for many years (and only using the boat trailer once) I bought and moved to a different house in the same neighborhood, on a level lot with 3 garages and an immense concrete driveway/parking area. I can now park both the RV and the utility trailer handily in a private shaded space that still allows room to hook up the boat trailer, which I have stored inside one space in the the detached garage with two kayaks strapped to it. I can just back my car up to the garage door, hook up the hitch and go. I was lucky to own two properties when this one turned up for sale, and it was a seller’s market, so I was able to sell both at a nice profit to afford it (and get out from under a rental property that had been nothing but a nightmare with tenants from hell).
So, yes, I am happy to have a trailer, since it was one of the key reasons I was prompted to relocate to a property that is so much nicer than where I was living and way more convenient for my hobbies (especially paddling.) So, in a sense, getting a trailer changed my life.
I do confess, it is so easy to slide my boats into the box truck camper, which still has the overhead rear door and pull out ramp, that I use it for transport more often than the trailer. But having the boats on the trailer in the big detached garage means that when I need some extra covered work space in there I can just walk the trailer out of the garage into the driveway.
I purchased a Harbor Freight light utility trailer kit and modified to my needs. Now I have a low-cost multi-utility trailer I use to transport up to 4 kayaks, camping gear, mountain bikes, furniture, bbq grills and lots of lumber and materials from Home Depot. Total investment was under $1000
I am always checking out other trailers on the road to look for ideas on extra add-ons. Could not be happier since I bought it. Side note: I am also an engi-nerd so assembling it was half the fun!
Engi-nerd here too and I like the concept. I was thinking of getting a trailer to carry 2 boats + 4 bikes. I like the idea of having a “pen” for utility hauling like you constructed. I could make the back wall drop down to become a ramp for the bikes, and then cannibalize one of my racks to make supports to hold the bikes upright. The kayak and canoe would go on top. How long did it take you to build?
This is the first time we have not had a pick up truck so that utilty trailer idea is very appealing for multi purpose. I had not thought of that configuration for some reason.
What are the disadvantages, how it tows at highway speeds?
Keep in mind the size of the wheels and tires on any trailer when talking highway speeds. If the trailer tire is half the diameter of your car tire it will be doing twice the RPMs. At 70mph the bearing of the trailer will be going equivalent to 140mph. Combine that with cheap trailers are not overly designed and normally under maintained. If you use your trailer where you back it into water that also shortens bearing life. It is something to watch and is a good idea to clean and repack bearings once a year even though most people don’t.
People also don’t carry a spare tire and replacement parts for rebuilding a bearing on the road. IMO you are more likely to burn up a wheel bearing than get a flat. I have also seen a lot of trailers where the wheel lugs or nuts are rusted pretty good and are hard to get off even in the shop and no fun to do along a busy highway.
I recently researched this topic a lot, and the folks who make and sell trailers will tell you that wheel bearings don’t care how fast they are spinning (within the range of speeds that are possible for highway travel) as long as they have lubrication. Years ago when I was involved in this message board’s predecessor, a mechanical engineer with extensive job experience involving making choices in bearing design said exactly the same thing. I always say, show me a trailer wheel bearing that failed and I’ll show you a grease seal that failed first. That said, the smaller trailer hubs are often built rather cheaply and may be equipped with bearings of similar quality, and cheap hubs often have only a coarse adjustment for the bearings being possible (only 1/6th-of-a-turn increments on the spindle nut) which means there’s little chance of getting the bearings adjusted properly in the first place.
When it comes to permissible speeds, the real limiting factor is tires. Smaller tires definitely have stringent speed limits, and I’ve seen numerous statements from official sources to the effect that the typical tires on 8" rims are not rated for speeds of more than about 50 mph, though people routinely drive them faster. Simply switching from 8" wheels to 12" wheels gives you a much wider cushion in terms of the safe rated speed of the tire, and if you happen to still be worried about bearings, such tires/wheels mounted on the same hub (that’s important for this comparison as described below) reduces the speed of hub rotation such that what had been the rotation speed at 50 mph now corresponds to 65 mph (that’s assuming the tire profile is also the same, which for the most common tires sizes results in an increase in overall tire diameter from ~15.5" to ~20"). It’s a fortunate thing that 8" and 12" trailer wheels fit the same hubs (two bolt patterns are available, and wheels of both sizes that fit either pattern are readily available). So switching from 8" wheels to 12" wheels while keeping the original hubs is a no-brainer.
And just to quibble a little more, it’s erroneous to state that cutting the diameter of the tire in half will automatically double the speed of the bearing. It’s true that RPMs of the wheel will double, but that’s not the same as defining the travel speed of the bearing. Since the smaller wheel WILL have a bearing of smaller diameter, the travel speed of the rollers is likely to be just about the same, and here’s why. What really matters is in this comparison is the ratio of bearing diameter to tire diameter, and if that ratio is the same for two different tire-size & bearing-size combinations, travel speed of the rollers within the bearing will be the same. If you look at how much smaller the wheel bearings are for a light trailer with small wheels in comparison to those of a car, you can see that it is not unreasonable to expect that this ratio can be pretty similar for both situations. If the reason for this ratio being the ruling factor escapes you, imagine what would happen to the speed differential between the bearing races if the bearing itself were made twice as big but it was used within the same size tire. The differential speed between the two bearing races would now be twice as fast! Now, all of that is ignoring the fact that the diameter of the rollers relative to their travel speeds is a huge part of what’s going on here also (smaller rollers spin faster to travel the same speed between the races), but just looking at things from the general standpoint of differential speed between the two races in the bearing, you get the idea that it’s the ratio of bearing diameter to tire diameter that matters in this comparison, NOT tire diameter.
A lot of people won’t care about all those details. Bottom line: Make sure the grease seals on your hubs are functioning, and if your trailer has 8" wheels and you want your tires to be safer for typical highway speeds, switch them out for 12" wheels.
I bought a Yakima trailer and added the Yakima supports for our two kayaks. It proved to be a mistake as we could not use it to launch our kayaks into the water. I replaced it with a jet sky trailer that could be used in salt water and with its full size tires could be towed at freeway speeds with no issues.
The jet ski trailer sits more than a foot lower to the ground and so the boats can float off with less depth needed for the trailer and so the tow vehicle can stay clear of the water.
If the trailer has fenders check to see that the larger wheels have sufficient clearance, especially when the trailer is loaded. I have seen trailers that looked fine when unloaded that tore up the fenders and tires when loaded and driven on a rough road.
Good point, and since it’s the law that wheels have fenders, this will matter every time. Fortunately, such trailers as would have these kinds of wheels usually have external fenders which are not hard to reposition if need be (or at least easy for someone with tinkering experience). I had to do exactly that with my little motorboat trailer when I switched from 8" to 12" wheels a few years ago, and in my case I had to fabricate my own new fender-mount extenders. Then when I was forced to replaced springs last year because one spring broke (45 years old - they don’t always last forever), the new springs provided a higher suspension height and so I switched the fender positioning right back again. Thanks.
Not that it matters but I spent 44 years working for the largest locomotive manufacture in the world as a machine designer and have specified 1000s of bearings for all kinds of industrial equipment in all kinds of service.
I don’t disagree with anything you said above but felt my post maybe appealed to more of a laymen’s understanding of trailer selection. Going to harbor freight or tractor supply and buying the smallest lightest duty model they have to haul around a couple 30lb kayaks don’t expect to get an axle assembly that you can neglect by backing the wheels into water, leaving it sit outside 12 months a year, taking it a few miles back and forth to your local lake and then when it comes time for a cross country paddling vacation hook it up load it down with camping gear and a couple boats and take off for 12 hour days of 80MPH driving.
When I had a pop up camper I pulled the wheels and cleaned and greased the bearing annually. Most people or a lot anyway don’t do that is what I have seen.
I agree small tires are also an issue and the tire quality of low priced utility trailer tires is not the same as premium car tires.
There are lots of concerns when pulling a trailer just like I have concerns with about 50% of the securing of boats to roofs of cars where I live. Then there are the pickup truck folks here that toss 6-8 rec-kayaks in the back with the end gate down and a bungee cord over the top and off they go down the highway.
I always remind myself that 50% of the people in the world are below average intelligence.
Those points are all true, so thanks. In regard to tires, I’m just amazed at how hot small trailer tires get compared to typical tires while underway. Even if inflated properly and lightly loaded so they have no visually perceptible flex, they just get hot. I’m sure that is part of the reason tires on 8" wheels are not rated for speeds above 50 mph. I wish they would print that limitation on the sidewall of the tire (along with the other standard stuff) but I’ve yet to see it. Seems like it would be “important for the buyer to know”!
My first thought when you posted this was “Eureka”, since a couple of years ago I looked at more than a dozen websites regarding trailer advice (websites from manufacturers, supply companies, and enthusiast message boards) and found nothing mentioned on the topic other than that generic 50 mph limit for typical tires on 8" rims. But just now I read everything on the sidewalls of all my tires, for cars and trailers (five different styles/brands of tires) and found NOTHING regarding a speed rating, and a total absence of any figures which could be construed to match the information code letters shown in the table you posted. I don’t doubt that the chart you provided is accurate, but is it really standard procedure to print those ratings on the sidewall?
I believe that the DOT requires all tires rated for highway use list certain information.
Unfortunately, they didn’t standardize how this information is displayed. It can be hard to read the various numbers and letters on a tire. It’s often easier to go the manufacturer’s web site to get the relevant information.
Mine is a Northern trailer with an 8 foot tongue, Malone and Llama rack, additional lighting, etc. It has 12 inch wheels and tires with the standard hubs. I inspect and lube every year and have driven it on 5 hour trips at 70-75, always checking the hibs to see if they get hot. So far they never have. Most trips are only a couple miles but it is used almost daily. Most I’ve carried is 3 boats and a couple bikes and with the storage box full. Has been great.
In the process of making an aluminum one with axleless suspension and less weight, but I would reccomend the one I have to anyone. A real pleasure not to have to throw the boats on top each time.
Trailers have their pros and cons. yesterday, I planned to paddle with a group, launching from a spot in Maine with a big, dirt parking lot. But clammers had taken over much of the lot, and they are known for being territorial and blocking in a vehicles that are “in the way”. So, the group decided to go elsewhere. But all the other nearby options weren’t trailer friendly. So, I would have been better off cartopping that day, just because of the change in plans.
But the plus side is that you can do this with a trailer. i never even have to lift the entire kayak:
That is a great setup with leaving the dolly wheels attached. I have done similar with my canoe when car topping and left the wheels on hauling the canoe on the roof upside down. Any time you can eliminate a step it’s a good thing.
Just thinking about most of our put in locations your setup would let us stay away from backing down the busy ramps and would allow parking a longer distance away with the trailer out of the tight parking problem spots.
