We had a friend weld the frame to our size. Not the wheels are under the trailer, not to the side with fenders. This made life so much easier.
I do have a 4’X4’ trailer as well from Harbor Freight that is just the frame. 12" wheels on both, but the little trailer has the fender problem.
I want to weld steel brackets across the frame at that 6’ wide mark, maybe a little less. And high enough to get the boat off the fenders. Then extend the tongue on the little trailer. This will be for the Escapes.
The older I get, the lighter, smaller and more comfortable I like my pontoons. Easier to carry and store when they are compact. That’s why I recently bought an ODC 420 lightweight packable model which I leave inflated and set up. May have to change my handle to “tubeman” if this keeps up. Tubes do take a lot more power to propel though, even with your feet out of water. So I will keep my pontoons for situations where speed and distance will be factors.
Pon
Hmmm thats cool.
I don’t think that I can carry my toon. I have way too much
stuff on it plus its not a light toon as it is or the smallest.
Its 9 feet long and 5 feet wide.
Also there is motor and battery coming soon…
One of my abandoned home built designs uses pontoon which slide inward until they touch so they can be carried in a narrow space like the back of a station wagon or minivan.
My Discovery Trekker packable has hinged pontoons that can compact the space like that. so that it fits in the back of my Prius hatchback. The defunct Versa vessel built in Utah had a hinged frame model at one time, which allowed easier packing in narrow trailers or pickup beds also.
That is how I used to do it. But since I don’t have a roof rack any more I stuff it in my van. Which is a pain. Only problem is if I take family with me then I have to take it apart. Both ways is difficult so looking for trailer, new truck, or new car with rack.
Its going to be nice to have the toon on trailer. Also
having a ulitilty trailer for whatever is needed from
home depot or whatever is going to be nice too.[;)]
That is a big plus Peter. We were able to get 12’ pieces of material when working on our house.
As far as roof racks…Pokymon had a Durango (Dodge). He also had a Scadden 9’ Expedition which was probably the start to the Madison. The boat weighed around 47 lbs.
Poky strapped it on the STOCK Durango roof rack as he has done for years and still does.
While driving back to Pocatello, he felt a tug and heard a strange noise.
His pontoon was flying down the road, bouncing. Good news was it went off the side of the road.
He pulled over and looked and the roof rack had been ripped off the roof.
The boat suffered a little road rash, a new bushing for one oar and the seat hinge broke…not too bad, but Dodge claimed he went under an over pass or something low (the same overpasses semis go under) and that ripped it. They refused to cover it.
But, he does now have a Dodge Pick-up…go figure.
The problem with the small trailers as I said is they are more narrow than a pontoon and the fenders. It would be really easy to unhitch the pontoons (like 4 straps per side) and stow them under the frame, but then that takes time, and the idea of the trailer is off and go.
I went with Tube Dude once and he witnessed how easy and quickly I was set up and tore down…and I can’t lift my X5 over my head, but I can lift the front onto a trailer and push.
I remember that Durango story. My toon is the 10 foot Fish Cat IR but it does according to specs weigh 75 pounds. I had another Subaru Forester which was written off in an accident. The replacement Forester didn’t have crossbars so I found the yard where my wrecked vehicle was taken and asked permission to take the crossbars. Guy wheels out my wrecked vehicle on the front of a forklift and drops it halfway, right on its roof. I figured I’d driven all the way there for nothing but checked anyway and the crossbars were fine. I’ve been using them ever since for my toon, a kayak or two or my canoe. I have confidence in those racks.
I considered buying J cradle accessories for carrying two kayaks on edge until I heard a similar story to yours where the yaks were ripped off in strong crosswinds. Too much like a big sail! Would probably also make the vehicle want to change lanes on you..
My problem will be what do I get to replace the Forester when it goes. It’s 10 or 11 years old and the racks on the new ones are nowhere near as substantial.
Yeah, and that is why Im not too crazy about the
roof rocks and toon…
Im getting a trailer for sure. Im looking for used 5x8 trailer. If I cant find used one then I may have to buy
new one.
On 5 foot wide trailer the toon will fit between the fenders
no problem.Nice and tight.
Many small suvs and even many small cars can be fitted with small towing hitches. Check with your dealer for the towing capacity of your vehicle.
Usually the capacity is more than sufficient for the small “Harbor Tools/ Home Depot” trailers with a moderate payload. A pontoon or two shouldn’t strain most of them just don’t get carried away and over do it.
The defunct Versa vessel built in Utah had a hinged frame model at one time, which allowed easier packing in narrow trailers or pickup beds also.
Pon
Yeah, fenders MUST be out of the way !
FYI Versa Vessel is still in business and still being built in Morgan Ut.
Yes, my error. They changed their web site address (ownership?) awhile back, so I thought they were gone. I’m not sure they still carry their folding frame anymore.
As Mark Twain said: “Rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated” Of course, he don’t say that no more…
Here’s a response from the Yakima owner to my question on one of my other forums:
"It’s a Rack 'n Roll kayak trailer and I’m embarrassed to say how much it cost, but suffice to say it was more than the boat. I bought it because the wheels come off quickly and it stores in the garage (see pictures below). It’s made of aluminum, very light (150 pounds), and tows very steady and quietly down the freeway at 75 mph. One thing I particularly like about it is that the wheels and tongue each have a keyed lock to prevent theft. Additionally, I use a long steel cable with an integral lock to secure the boat, a pair of shorter cables with padlocks to secure the spare tire and bicycle, and a couple of padlocks on the hitch and the receiver. All the padlocks are keyed alike so I only use three keys. And the whole rig is insured, so you can see I don’t like to take chances!
I keep the boat suspended and inflated in my garage above the trailer. This allows for a quick getaway - takes about 15 minutes to hook up the trailer, lower the boat, and lock it down. I also have a Yakima bike rack on the trailer so I can bring my mountain bike to use for the shuttle.
Harbor reight sells one similar that is about 4’ x 4’ that I have seen used for toons. I would prefer the 4’ x 8’ or a 5’ x 8’ myself. Then I would put a box on the front to hold all the gear that goes on the toon after arrival to the lake.
Yakima looks good but its too small. 4x 8 trailer is
also too small because the boat is 5 feet wide. If 4x8
trailer is used the fenders will be in the way.
On 4x8 trailer raiser platform must be build above the
fenders so the boat will clear the fenders.
Also I would like to build a 9 feet long box on the trailer
to transport my rods ready to go. It would be 1 foot
longer then the trailer sticking out in the middle of
the front hitch. That way it will clear.
I will keep the trailer in my garage with the boat on it
at all times so its ready to go. I don’t like parking
my car in the garage…driveway it is.My driveway is for 3 cars (I know, nice).
New 5x8 trailer is $500 to $800. Im looking for used one.
If I cant find good used one then I may just pull the trigger
on new one…wife will kill me for sure
Just thinking out loud.
thank you for the info Jim as always[;)]
It looks like it has the Yakima bars so the boat doesn’t sit on the trailer, but more like what is on a roof. Plus the fenders look even with the trailer, not sticking up.
Very sweet trailer but the $2,000+ tag is a bit much.
We had a small trailer the was out of Aircraft Aluminum. Made i Germny so did fine on the highway. The wheels would fold inside the trailer like this on and the trailer folded in half (you removed the tongue and it went in the middle. The folded trailer had a handle and looked just like a suitcase. We could store it in the hall closet. Very cool trailer, and very sorry we sold it these days.
