I want a trailer to tow my soon to be 3 kayaks behind my car. Any recommendations here?
Since I never bought one before what are the features I should be looking for here?
Trailer - Suspension, Aluminum
IMO, suspension and (quality) aluminum are the most important factors.
Suspension takes the bounce out by keeping the wheels planted on the pavement or ground despite what it encounters and forces of said away from the kayaks. (best: motorcycle shocks, good - torsion bar, last - leaf springs).
Aluminum is light, strong (if quality aluminum), and can’t rust.
Just my opinion.
Bill
Mt. Pleasant, SC
If you want to do it cheaply, find
a trailer for a jon boat (flat bottom) or other small boat and outfit for kayaks. Old Hobie Cat trailers make great kayak haulers and often still have the storage box.
We have an Oldenkamp
that we’ve had for about 6 years and we’ve been pretty happy. We can haul up to 8.
Just bought one. Bryan McIntosh
– Last Updated: May-31-08 5:27 AM EST –
After very careful consideration of many brands (Rack and Roll, Magenta, and on and on), I bought a custom made trailer from Bryan McIntosh (270) 726-8989 in Kentucky, and it is first rate and better for price by far than anything online.
eBay Completed Auctions to see it. A three tier trailer (I had him remove one tier because I will only need two tiers for four kayaks max), it is with 2000 lb axle, 15 inch wheels, heavy duty bed, and he ships from Kentucky! Much much better build than anything I could weld, this 5 foot by 7 foot trailer is a killer. See the Completed Auction from slim-9 on eBay.
"You are bidding on a 5' x 7' kayak / cargo trailer fabricated new as per customers request. This model for sale will safely hold 6 kayaks with 5' x 7' of space to keep gear, coolers, etc. 2,000 lb. axle with 15" wheels and tires to keep this trailer rolling wherever you may need to go! Lignts installed / Finish Paint gloss black........call (270) 726-8989 for more detail or email with questions. Happy bidding...Call for custom sizing and options"
Call Bryan. He's a super guy, and tell him you heard about the trailer from the guy that just bought one on paddling.net. He'll email you pictures of this substantial and very inexpensive (compared to others mentioned above) trailer. I get no commision for touting this trailer, all I can tell you is that I have this new one in my garage as we speak and it is a stunner. Top quality.
Thanks and happy hauling.
checked out the trailer
Well I am not sure what trailers you were looking at but $1700 delivered is not that cheap as compared to other trailers. It is a nice trailer though.
Awesome Kayak Trailer
I am not sure where you are, but my husband and I had a trailer custom made for us at Barry’s Trailers’ in Sarasota FL. We took pictures of what we wanted and got a great custom trailer that was 3 tiers, but we cut one off so as to get it in the garage. As it is right now, it could hold 8 kayaks on their sides, although I usually put one or two upside down. The trailer is galvanized and has an extended tongue. My longest boat is 16.5 ft, but it could easily haul longer boats too. We have 12 inch tires. All total we paid $852! …seems very reasonable to me. We later added rubber tubes and topped them with marine carpet to provide padding for the boats. I had never pulled a trailer before and it is great. And at various landings I find my trailer to be a “kayaker magnet.” It has had many compliments. We also pulled a canoe for a while. It does everything we have asked. Also, it is light enough to now be pulled by my Kia Rio. If you find the right trailer dealer they will work with you.
hy-Tek
– Last Updated: May-31-08 11:12 PM EST –
Compare the price and value to more costly trailers, like Easy Rider (poor Pnet reviews) or Rack&Roll (the most costly kayak trailer, and recently recalled and Pnetters having trouble contacting the company).
Sportrig someone mentions above is a $1589 (not delivered) bicycle trailer.
The compare features (15 inch wheels to prevent axle burnout, solid steel construction instead of metal-fatiguing aluminum, enclosed utility compartment/bed (not open, plus keeps rock chips from hitting your boats, one inch thick bed boards so you can use for other purposes and hauling, 7 foot tongue with angled supports takes up to 18 foot kayak,removeable kayak rack bars for universal uses, et cetera), and you will, if you have an eye for trailers, salivate over this one.
When you compare the one I mention to something like this popular Trailex bbrand at nearly $1200, not delivered, there is no comparison. Not even close.
http://www.castlecraft.com/kayak_dual.htm
http://www.canoegear.com/catalog/home.php?cat=60
hy-tek
http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=advice&tid=683387
A prior post with some great ideas and picture links.
trailers…
Aluminum is the first choice for coastal boaters. (there are hundreds of thousands of boats on the coast)
However these are actually submerged in the slat water when launching a boat.
One trailer you never see near salt water is steel.
Galvanized will rust out before aluminum.
However if you aren’t going to submerge the wheels in salt water steel would work.
That galvanized trailer down in Fla looks good. You won’t have to maintain galvanized or aluminum. Aluminum is also lightweight and can serve as a dolly.
They had some good aluminum ones at the Kayak festival in Charleston for $1200. They made them in the mid west, so not all the parts were rust proof like you see for salt water boats, so you wouldn’t want to submerge it in slat water.
(I would see no reason to submerge a kayak trailer in salt water)
Trailex, Rack and Roll, ECCKF
The East Coast Canoe and Kayak Festival in Charleston gave the opportunity to compare up close and personal (but without being able to actually drive one around behind a vehicle) the Trailex (mid-west trailers) and the Rack and Roll.
The Trailex brand is the most popular among the Lowcountry Paddlers (Charleston based paddling club) followed by homemade (steel-based) trailers. I haven’t seen any club members with a Rack and Roll.
Comparing suspension, quality of aluminum, initial price, weight, and ability to be stored, we chose last week to purchase the Rack and Roll.
Other than initial price, the Rack and Roll was clearly superior for our needs. YMMV.
Bill
Mt. Pleasant, SC
Can’t wait to stop lifting kayaks onto a roof.
I agree with betteweena
Aluminum is nice, but it’s hard to beat a galvinized trailer for half the price (or less if you do it yourself). Mine holds 4 kayaks plus a ton of gear in the box below. It’s a converted jonboat trailer that I got 15 years ago for $150. I used it for my jonboat for 9 years and converted it to a kayak trailer 6 years ago. I just replaced the axle, hubs, and springs for $250. I live near saltwater and use it near saltwater every weekend.
Ours is a one-snowmobile trailer
Triton Blizzard XT. Came with a long tongue (which we extended even more) and a nice marine plywood flatbed. It is aluminum. $1000 new back in 2000.
We added crossbars made from padded 2x4 wood, but last week I paid a welder to make some custom steel brackets that I could attach round metal crossbars to (in this case, Yakima, but any crossbar could be fitted).
I took photos of the set-up before I disassembled the pieces so I could coat the steel brackets (Liquid Electrical Tape). Since Brett has just enabled posting photos here, later today I will make a gallery showing our trailer.
Pics would be good
I would love if some of you posted pics of your trailers so we can see what is out there.
Photo gallery of trailer is up!
Hey, am I the first (after Brent) to put one up?
Anyway, the crossbars are 58" long. We carry two kayaks on them, but if you use stackers you might be able to carry three kayaks on their sides. Or mod further to add a second level of racks. The trailer’s payload is something like 1300 lbs so no worries about maxing it out with kayaks.
It’s good for carrying other bulky things, too.
The photo with the yellow kayak shows the previous set-up, with padded wood crossbars. The other photos show the custom brackets.
nice pics
Thanks for the pics they are most appreciated.
Cheapo
Harbor Freight has some 4x8 utility trailers in the $250 range that you assemble yourself. Add a few 2x4s and some padding to have a custom, and lightweight kayak trailer. If your boats are more that about 14 feet, you may have to extend the tongue a little.
Aluminum is okay as long as you don’t ever intend to modify it. It’s hard to find anyone who welds aluminum because it emits a poisonous gas.
At any rate, for about $300 you can have a serviceable trailer that you can modify and weld to to your heart’s content.
jim