I am struggling with the decision whether to buy a trailer to transport canoes and kayaks. Various reasons.
So this is for those of you that use a trailer - where do you store it? I have a two door garage with just enough room for our two cars and all the junk. So I guess this would have to be stored outside.
Outside
Its a MO with a marine plywood box. 15 years old. You would expect rot. It doesn’t have any. We have been less than diligent about keeping out rotting leaves.
Well if I had a basement …
But since I don’t it sits outside. The Harbir freight trailers fold up but you would have to disassemble whatever you put on them to attach the boats to, but that’s doable. But at $300 for a new trailer I don’t worry about it too much. I’ts been a couple years and mine still basically looks new. I store an aluminum canoe on the top rack and have a tarp over the canoe to keep tree sap off.
Build a shed just for it
If you have the space.
I used to store our canoes and kayaks under the house, but as the collection grew to many boats, I built a “boat Barn” that holds 15 or more canoes and kayaks, all the gear, two mountain bikes, two road bikes and my riding lawnmower.
Then came the ATV and the little dump trailer I use with it, and I built a separate shed just for them.
Then we decided that the roof on our travel trailer would last much longer if it was protected, so two years ago we built a humongous “travel trailer barn” beside the boat house.
We just bought a new truck and our plans for next spring are to build a lean to type carport attached to the trailer barn to house the truck.
When that is done I’ll probably build a carport behind the house for our car.
I feel good when all our toys are well protected.
Jack L
Wanted:1000 square foot house
10,000 square foot barn.
a suggestion for you
– Last Updated: Sep-21-13 1:39 PM EST –
Two possibilities:
try calling storage facilities to ask about outdoor trailer storage.
If you're near a coast or inland lake, you might find also find boat storage or a marina that'll take your trailer for the winter.
A few years ago I stored a "project" car over the winter, outside at a storage facility, for $35/month.
Sounds good to me
At our former home in CO, there was a 2-car oversized garage which was occupied by (gasp) cars, as well as other stuff, plus a small shed that wasn’t big enough for the kayak trailer OR long kayaks. At first, we stored the trailer outside for a few months.
The next spring or summer, my husband built a bigger shed specifically for the trailer and sea kayaks. I, too, prefer to have things fully enclosed and locked up. Besides, it allows protected space to tinker.
At our present home, we had it built to accommodate indoor storage of 2 vehicles and the trailer (one garage bay is double-length, so it looks like a 2-car garage from the front), plus room around them to move without walking sideways. One vehicle sits outside on the driveway, because we couldn’t add more “footprint” without violating restrictions on impermeable area. But since we will eventually go down to 2 vehicles anyway, that’s not a big deal.
A long time ago I fantasized about buying a rural New England old farm with a multi-stall horse barn (doors in front to be converted to garage doors). No house! I would’ve made part of the barn an apartment inside the barn.
You can put a roof & walls around it…
You can buy “instant” shelters designed for protecting cars or boats or RVs. They are sort of like carports, but with walls. No floors. Some of them are huge.
outdoors no a problem
If you get a well built trailer, storing it outside shouldn’t be a problem. I haul my kayaks on a flatbed utility trailer with removable bunks. I use the kayaks all year, and also use the trailer to haul firewood and other things, so it is never really stored. When the paint gets a little old, I just give it a quick sanding and apply a fresh coat from spray cans. It costs about two bucks for a new paint job. The bed is outdoor wood planks.
I leave the kayak bunks on the trailer most of the time and just cover it with a tarp to keep the rain off.
Sportsrig folds up against a wall
The Sportsrig is a small trailer made for kayaks, bicycles and other light sports gear. It might solve your problem.
Complete with a work shop with it’s
own dedicated 200 Amp service.
Jack L
I keep mine outside too.
It’s really a multi-purpose rig that hauls raft(s), kayak(s), canoe(s) and varying amounts of camping gear depending on the size of the crew and length of the excursion. I’m not known for travelling light. My buddy keeps his raft in there. He has three pieces of plywood that he cut and routed to use as a deck and they fit perfectly over the top of the trailer. They keep the sun off the boats and if I need the stuff in there to be dry (rare) I just throw a tarp over it.
Chilton utility
Bought in early 70’s, always stored outside. Pretty sad now, time for it’s demise.
Outside
Outside on blocks, with boats on it, under a tarp.
I keep it in my boat barn
I have a roughly 14’x22’ barn that is open at each end. All of my canoes and kayaks are in it, either on racks on the side walls or overhead. There is room for me to store my trailer underneath the canoe racks. The trailer is handy to use in order to reach my canoes. And being open at both ends lets me just drive the car through in order to park the trailer, rather than having to back it in.
-rs