I have a trip coming up this summer were I will need to taking a Fairy so I need a kayak cart. Now I already have one but it was dirt cheap I think I paid 30 bucks total with shipping. Here is link to the one I bought about a year ago, its more money now but thats the one I got. http://www.amazon.com/ProSource-Ultra-Durable-Carrier-Trailer/dp/B003TOYD1Q/ref=sr_1_7?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1452713199&sr=1-7&keywords=kayak+cart
Now it looks just like the ones sold by many others like Malone among many others. My main concern is can the one I have handle a 18 foot 62 pound kayak with about 70 pounds of gear. Yes I bring alot of gear.
Do these other brands that look JUST LIKE the cheap one I bought are they heavier duty, maybe thicker metal tubing? I dint really have a place that I could compare them.
I saw the C-tug one but it has good review than awful ones too. Plus not sure if the C-tug one fold flat like the other metal ones. The c-tug is rated at 300 pounds. So thats why I mention it, Malone is 200 pounds both more than I need if its a TRUE rating.
I realize no one can say if the cart I have can handle it but do these other brands of same design can they? Plus is the c-tug any good. Many different opinions on the C-tug.
For what it is worth:
I have a Wheel-eze, and that looks like a carbon copy of it. The only difference I can see is mine has the foam in the wheels, which I like since I never have to worry about a flat or putting air in the tires.
I was hauling a 23 foot long 100 pound tandem with at least a hundred pounds and had no problem with it at all, except in soft sand where the small wheels would sink in.
What material is the tube ?
Mine is aluminum which I like because it won't rust up
jack L
Same as mine
It looks just like mine. I use it to haul around a tandem aluminum canoe half full of gear. What seems to be critical is your ability to strap the boat onto the carrier so that it does not come loose during transport. If you can accomplish that using the existing and additional straps then I imagine it will work fine on hard relatively smooth surfaces.
David
Material
Its aluminum tubing. I guess I will just test it out with my plastic kayak by loading weights in it. If it collapses no big deal with plastic kayak. I don’t want it collapsing with my fiberglass kayak. That would be very bad.
I have a quick question(thread hijack)
Which end do you guys strap Into the carrier (if bow is skinnier than stern) and do you pull the boat behind you or push it in front of you when using the cart?
I’ve got 3 or 4 carts that came with used boats but fortunately I am able to carry all my boats over my head so they aren’t worth the hassle right now but I can see the handwriting on the wall.
Push in front
It is easier that way, both for controlling the boat and for seeing.
Cart
I have tried three different carts and the Wheeleze type is the best cart there is. Harmony sells one on their web site. Well worth the money over sand, hands down.
If yours is the cart
from Amazon that has the real smelly tires, I have the same one. Quite a few times I have strapped a 12’Tarpon & a 13’Cayuga (about 110# total) together then strap them to my cart & pull them up a slight grassy hill for 3 or 400 yards. As of yet I have not had any problems with the wheels, tires or the frame.
Rick
misc responses
The cart shown should hold fine for the boat talked about.
I have one with inflatable tires, but never seemed to have a pump nearbye when it was low on air, so I’d just use it anyway. Tire (nit tube, the tires) let go after a a while. I then retrofitted the foam tires from Wheeleez on to it (required drilling new holes).
Wheeleez is reported to do the anodizing process after the holes are drilled. I guess aluminum can corrode and doing this is better for long term?
To the question about where you strap it - the cart shown is best just about centered under the kayak. Other carts (often the ones that are small enough to fit in hatches) require that you put it at one end or the other, but that then requires the person moving the boat to take on a significant part of the load.
That cart shown should be strapped with 2 straps - 1 strap connected to each of the supporting arms (where the kayak sits on it). Using just one strap allows the cart to slip to one site or the other, which means it won’t track straight when walking.
rnaimo
Yea mine is the one with those dam smelly wheels. I let mine soak in vinegar for 2 days then scrubbed them with baking soda but they still smell some. Even after almost a year now they still smell but not near as bad as they did when I first got mine. Never put the wheels inside the car strap them to roof always.
So if you loaded up two boats and it held I guess it should be good enough. thanks for the info.
yes, center mount
I always center mount my cart. A single long webbing strap around one side of the cart, around the front of the combing, around the other side of the cart, around the back of the coaming, and cinch snug. Cart stays in place, and you support no kayak weight.
www.paddlecart.com has proven to be my favorite cart. It packs up easily through any oval hatch cover in any of my sea kayaks.
“Built Strong - The PaddleCart kayak cart is built from brushed marine grade anodized aluminum pipe with a stainless steel rod (not thin tubing or plastic) then precision welded into a durable frame. No bolts to come loose on the trail. The PaddleCart’s parts assemble quickly using two hoop spring lynch pins for the crossmembers and two circle spring lynch pins for the wheels.”
I’ve got around 8 years use around salt and brackish water. Literally lots of miles of travel with mine, as I’ve done a lot of running my kayak a couple miles to and from the water.
I also have the sea tow. It doesn’t roll as nicely for distances, and it’s much bulkier to stow. I have the flat sand wheels on the sea tow, and the thing of it is, if the sand is soft, these things just don’t work anyway. On firmer sand, it works. But from experience, it’s easier to have a person at each end pick up the kayak with the cart left attached, and carry it over any soft sand distances before setting it back down, than it is to pull it through soft sand.
But there’s a lot to be said for making due with what you already have.
I think you mean C-Tug
Sea Tow is who you call to come get you when your power boat dies. LOL
I have a C-Tug too and it is a decent little cart after they replaced the defective tires that came on it with hard plastic. I have used it to move everything from 40 lb kayaks to a 130 lb Sunfish sailboat
http://www.c-tug.com/
reeking tires can be replaced
I was sort of stunned by how bad the originals were, I didn’t even want to be in the same kayak with those… those… things strapped in the rear hatch for a portage) and ended up replacing them with ones that are solid and don’t go flat from our local vegetation star thistle and thorns (found the size for my cart at Lowe’s, of all places).
Best thing ever. It is just sad to blow a stinking tire halfway up a hill full of river cobble and bramble.
Also, if you have a kayak that does not quite match the shape of the cart you can pad the aluminum or existing pads with more heavy duty foam and then wrap it with “vet wrap” which is a self adhesive, yet easy to remove, brightly colored bandage wrapping material that is available at any farm/feed supply or tack store in the equine section. A roll of this stuff is lightweight, stretchy, and can be used for all sorts of applications on both equipment and humans to either keep things from slipping or to wrap something to something else, such as holding pool noodles for padding, etc. It also does not fall off if it gets wet. You can slit the pool noodle piece, put it on the bar, then vet-wrap and quickly have something padded.
Trail Trekker carts
I’ve been looking at carts and noticed the Trail Trekker. http://amzn.to/1Nghvkp Looks like it has good reviews. It has 12" wheels and bearings, takes down for storage, etc.
Trail Trekker
I actually have two of these carts, a 24" for my kayak and a 30" for my canoe. I absolutely love them for their ease of use and how well they handle on uneven portages. Earlier ones had problems with the pneumatic tires, but that has been rectified.
trail trekker
Appears to be the kind you have to pick up quite a bit of weight as they go at one end. I have a homemade one out of PVC but I sure wouldn’t want to use it with my 18 foot loaded kayak. It would kill me in short order. Has to be a center mounted one that takes all the weight.The one I have I use on my unloaded Valley Avocet RM when needed. I wouldn’t want to even use it on a loaded Avocet which is way less total weight than my big expedition kayak.
Trail Trekker
Can’t beat it. It comes apart in seconds, it fits in my hatches, it floats and it works as described!!!
Tried it?
I really like my C-Tug with the caveat (as mentioned above) that it doesn't stow well, but if you're storing it in your car it's great. I usually keep it in my trunk in one piece. I'm not in spectacular shape - 5'7", 170-pound female - and I use my C-Tug with my 17' boat loaded and it's not a problem, and that kayak weighs 60 pounds BEFORE gear!
C-Tug
C-Tug is excellent.
Trail Trekker balance
I haven’t used one personally, but it looks like if you purchase the right size and adjust it properly you can balance out most kayaks quite well.
http://paddlelogic.com/trailtreker-kayak-carts.html
Depending on the size of the cart they can be slid up to where the kayak is 17" wide, or 19.5" wide, or the biggest cart will adjust anywhere from 22" to 32".