Here are some photos of the canoe rack I built on a 4x8 utility trailer
http://tinyurl.com/2gvsdh
The trailer bed is 14" from ground, top of first bar is 35" from ground, top of second bar is 56" from ground and top of top bar is 78 inches.
Bars are 72" long, and 72" between. All made form clear Douglas Fir and stainless steel hardware. Each bar has multiple eye rings and cleats for tying boats on.
Trailer has an extra long tongue and costs $800 new. Lumber and other materials cost $200, and it took a day of my time, and I'm a pretty fast carpenter. If I was paying myself to do it this trailer and canoe rack would have cost $1200.
You can buy a brand new 6-place canoe trailer from www.oldinc.com for about that same price. Mine weighs 700 pounds, theirs weighs 350 pounds.
I can use the rack indoors for winter storage and I use the utility trailer for hauling other stuff if I want to. With the canoe rack in place there is room on the flatbed to haul two big coolers and four big plastic bins for gear.
If I had it to do over again I'd buy the OLDINC 6-place trailer to get the longer tongue and lower weight. I pull mine with a Chevy Colorado or a Dodge Grand Caravan, and when it has 14 kayaks and gear and 5 paddlers on board it's all the Colorado or Grand Caravan wants to haul.
About 50 miles per hour in the mountains here in Virginia and West Virginia is as fast as I care to pull when this thing is loaded. It takes too long to stop with all that weight back there, and keeps downshifting the engine on every little upgrade. Especially going up and down the backroads in the New River Gorge it really whips the snot out of the truck brakes.
For $350 more I could put electric brakes on the trailer. I may do that someday. I've been thinking about trading up to a 10-place OLDINC trailer. If I do I will definitely put brakes and bigger wheels on it.
-- Last Updated: Feb-13-08 7:05 PM EST --
bad link
at least when I tried.
Liveoutside
link fixed
should work now
pretty nifty
I like how you didnt waste the trailer by turning it into a yak only trailer.
the removeable racks that retain normal function of the trailer, and provide for off the ground storage are a great idea.
well executed!