I Don’t Know…
Kathy and I have been arguing about it off and on for 20 years.
For retirement, with extended stays at every stop, I think Jack’s got it right.
For right now, the ‘92 chevy conversion van works for our weekends at the beach. Its got a raised roof, four chairs, and a king sized bed, but it can’t haul anything longer than a 9’ surf kayak. BTW: It gets 10 MPG, and its been a moneypit!
Sometimes for longer trips with family, I follow along behind the van in my little Toyota truck with a camper shell and racks with the kayaks. Its not as crazy as it seems. When we take kids and grand kids, The extra couple seats and cargho space come in handy, and I get to blast Dick Dale on the stero.
I do think we need a boat trailer to haul boats with the van when its just us two, but the house remodel has put that on hold. I think a trailer for a 14’ jon boat could be modified. I would want to haul other stuff like firewood with it, too.
In the summer sometimes we take her Silverado with trac racks for kayaks, and just sleep in a tent, but I am not so crazy about that anymore.
Trailer Combo
I was fortunate enough to get a kayak trailer and do something good at the same time. I had an older 16’ sailboat that needed a bit of work. It was more of a racer than pleasure boat so it wasn’t ideal for our small children. After trying to sell the boat/trailer without success it dawned on me to convert the Dilly trailer to a kayak trailer. I donated the boat to a local sailing club to use for youth programs, and kept the trailer. I mounted risers to the main rails to clear the wheel wells, then installed Thule bars on the top. This gives us the versatility to use any Thule attachment or haul larger items such as rafts. It has a folding tongue and 12" tires which work well. I just took it on a 350 mile trip last weekend to pick up our new tandem.
I also have Yakima bars on the top of the shell of our truck for when we tow the pop-up camper. The truck is a 4X4 and the shell is a medium height, so loading the boats takes…initiative. I wouldn’t want to do it regularly, but it’s worth it when we’re headed camping. The rest of the time the trailer is worth it’s weight in gold. Sometimes I wonder why it took me 9 years to take the plunge and get one.
It may be worth your time looking for a small, used boat trailer. Mine has worked very well!
Tent Trailers
We had a tent trailer when the kids where small and I enjoyed it. Easy to haul and you could put kayaks on it.
Problem is putting it away when wet. Not a problem out hee in California in summer it doesn’t rain.
We sold the large one. I would like to get another smalller one, but Kathy doesn’t want another one. She wants a hard siode trailer, which I think we will get soon