has anyone ever heard of this brand trailer? someone i know has a friend selling a 2007 for $975.holds 4 kayaks. It looks great and they say it’s in great cond.Is this too much $. Just wondering before i really consider it.
Thanks
seems steep
I’ve been looking at them around here, new and used, and that seems steep. I can get a new trailer of similar design locally for around $800 to $1000 and used ones seem to go for around $600 to $750. In fact I have been eyeing this one for $500:
http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/boa/2977624251.html
Ditto on the steep price
Dear turtle,
Karavan trailers are well built quality boat trailers but $ 975.00 seems sort of him to me for a 6 year old trailer.
I can buy a brand new 2012 Triton galvanized 4 station canoe or kayak trailer for $ 1600.00 locally. It is a boat style of trailer with the “A” frame posts and cross bars where the trailer tongue joins the main frame and at the rear of the trailer.
I can buy a Loadrite K1000-2 trailer locally for $ 629.00. It is also a galvanized trailer based on a 14-16 foot boat trailer with 60" load bars at the front and rear of the main trailer frame. It could definitely handle 3 kayaks and probably 4 depending on how you rig them on the trailer with saddles.
http://www.loadrite.com/CanoeKayak.php
The top trailer is the K1000-2 and the middle trailer is very similar to the Triton 4 place trailer. If you look closely enough you’ll find that all boat boat trailers are very much alike.
If you check your local craiglist you can probably find a decent used 4’ X 8" or 5’ X 8" utility trailer for $ 500.00 +/-. A couple of 2 X 4’s and some indoor outdoor carpeting will let you build crossbars to carry the kayaks and you’ll have all that framed in and floored storage space underneath.
If you buy any used trailer be sure that you get the title and registration for it. The seller will tell you all day long that you can apply to register an untitled trailer as a homebuilt trailer, but here in PA at least it’s a royal pain in the rear.
Regards,
Tim Murphy AKA Goobs
Seems high
Maybe your area has high demand and low supply, though.
I craigslisted our 10-year-old Triton modified snowmobile trailer (really sturdy and versatile) for less than half the price paid new. Had 2 buyers vying for it right away.
Oak Orchard sells a Triton basic boat trailer with a kayak-hauling kit for about $1500, if I remember correctly. Take a look at the photos of it–the taillights are nicely located, and the trailer is light because it’s aluminum. Plus it uses 12" wheels (car wheels) which can be balanced. I wanted more jacknifing clearance for long kayaks, but it might be possible to modify the Triton to get that (for the snowmobile trailer, the heavy-duty tongue was easy and cheap to extend but I don’t know if the boat trailer tongue is similar). Worth asking about, unless you have to stick with $1000 limit.
There are times I wish I could design and weld a perfect kayak trailer myself. It really shouldn’t be so hard to find a great one at a reasonable price.
Thanks everyone…good info.
I found out it was on Craiglist and it is the same price…there was another one that hauled 4 kayaks and they said was brand new for $1000.
re building your own trailer
Most towns of any size have small welding shops who will gladly assemble any idea you can come up with if you want to design or retrofit your own trailer and lack welding skills or equipment. These places can be surprisingly reasonable in price and often can be very helpful in suggesting materials and design for such projects.
Along those lines, one of our “projects” this summer is to convert an old pop-up tent trailer to a boat hauler. The canopy is shot/dry rotted but the substructure and frame are sound. My idea is to use galvanized B-line strut (the perforated c-channel used for construction supports that is like an erector set for grownups) and bolted fittings to create a frame structure that can be modified in various configurations. They make big industrial pipe saddles that lock into the channel that could be great for boat cradles.
Strut is great stuff. Perfect for building wall racks, roof racks (they even sell roller assemblies that slot into the bars that would help slide a boat onto a rack), workbenches, etc. You have to get it at construction supply houses (regular building centers don’t stock it. With a bimetal blade in a circular saw and a ratchet and sockets you can build anything:
http://www.cooperindustries.com/content/dam/public/bline/Resources/Library/catalogs/bolted_framing/strut_systems/Channel.pdf
http://www.cooperindustries.com/content/dam/public/bline/Resources/Library/catalogs/bolted_framing/strut_systems/Fittings.pdf
Shop around a little more
Trailex makes several models of dedicated kayak and canoe trailers. The heavy ones are suitable for commercial use and might be too big or heavy for your purposes, but they also make light-duty trailers. Their website lists them in separate categories.
I bought their light-duty SUT-350-M2, which is plenty long enough for sea kayaks and long canoes. It is about 6’ wide and 18.5’ long (it’s like a skeleton). The crossbar spacing is more than 6 ft, and it can be set longer than that. If you want a shorter trailer with shorter crossbar spreads, the SUT-250 version is similar. Manufacturer payloads are 350 and 250 lbs, respectively. However, I always take manufacturer claims with a huge dose of skepticism.
These trailers themselves weigh less than 200 lbs–very light.
The SUT-350-M2 is not a perfect trailer, IMO, but worth looking at. It cost about $1500 total including shipping direct from the factory, Bearing Buddies (recommended), and a spare wheel with mount. I posted a review of it in the reviews section. The long stretch from rear axle of tow rig to trailer axle makes it a smooth hauler.
I was very happy with our old snowmobile trailer except for one thing: I could barely hand-pull it up to our storage shed. This is something to keep in mind if you go places where space constraints might require unhitching and hand-moving the trailer with boats loaded on. Flat ground is easy; anything else potentially dangerous.
Don’t forget that what you will use as tow rig will restrict the range of choices.
Good luck and let us know what you get!
Thanks for the great info.
Damn, a year too late for me
This is what I would’ve bought if it had been available at the time, but in the 4-place version instead of the 6-er shown. And I would mount a locking box on the bottom tier instead of putting kayaks there:
http://www.tritontrailers.com/NewsDetail.aspx?n=318
I suspect the price is higher than the modified version sold by Oak Orchard, but it might still be less than $2K, and you’d have a MUCH better trailer than the R&R with its wimpy tongue.
Trailer
– Last Updated: May-09-12 1:59 PM EST –
I actually bought a Triton AUT1064 trailer and mounted my Yakima saddles on it. Gives me storage space when hauling the kayaks and the trailer can be used for other purposes. It weighs 400 lbs and is all aluminum.
http://www.tritontrailers.com/products/Model.aspx?CatID=26&SubCatID=30&ModelID=286&info=specifications
That was after searching for a reasonable priced trailer to replace the van with roof rack that I sold.
thanks for the info. everyone
Similar to the snowmobile trailer
All-aluminum deck instead of aluminum frame with marine plywood, plus the rear wall-thingie. Weight is similar, too. Our old snowmobile trailer was 380 lbs without crossbars or cradles (or kayaks). Yes, these flatbeds are useful for other chores like hauling 6’ chainlink dog fence panels.
The only thing I don’t miss is hand-pulling 460 lbs of loaded trailer up, and I do mean up, a dirt path. That’s more than 4x my body weight.
One thing to check for
I called a local Triton dealer, who quoted me a price of $1505 for the 4-placer. That’s a good price on a sturdy trailer. Our old Triton was well-made…you can tell I really like their products even though they have not been “kayak trailer” makers till now.
BUT make sure that whatever crossbars their welded system constitutes can be used with your existing kayak cradles, if you want to keep using those. Otherwise, you’ll be down to foam blocks as your only choice (or modify to suit your equipment).
What would be just right is to take the base Y-frame bottom, skip the A-frame stacker top, and install Oak Orchard’s kayak-kit adapter instead. Then you’d have the longer tongue plus standard crossbars that can take any cradle clamp. All with a strong platform, 2" coupler, 12" wheels, and the nicest electrical system I’ve seen on an inexpensive trailer.