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How To Techniques How to Build Every Paddler's Utility Canoe Trailer
How To Techniques How to Build Every Paddler's Utility Canoe Trailer
| How to Build Every Paddler's Utility Canoe Trailer |
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| Written by Mike McCrea |
| Sunday, 01 March 1998 06:59 |
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Most paddlers who travel in groups will eventually run into the shuttle/transport dilemma, in which the number of interested paddlers exceeds the number of vehicles available to cartop boats and still run shuttle. The most common remedy to this dilemma is the canoe trailer. A sensible solution, far better than that ill-fated attempt to pile three canoes, two kayaks and an expendable bowman atop a Honda. A sensible solution, except most paddlers are hard pressed to part with the $1,000 or more needed to procure a manufactured canoe trailer. Manufactured canoe trailers tend to be long (up to 18 feet), tall (up to eight feet), wide (up to eight feet) and, when not hauling boats, pretty much useless for anything else (try hauling a load of mulch in a canoe trailer). What is needed is the trailer equivalent of a general purpose canoe--not too big, not too heavy, not too expensive, able to carry a few boats and some gear, and able to adequately fill a number of roles. In a boat this is called a utility canoe; in a trailer this is called...a utility trailer. Utility trailers, often called stake body trailers, come in a variety of sizes ranging from diminutive three-feet-wide by four-feet-long models up to huge, double-axle monsters that cost more than that carbon fiber tripper you've been eyeing. The most common size stake- bodies, 4' x 8' and 5' x 8', are perfect platforms for adding an inexpensive homemade boat and gear rack. Four- by eight-foot stake body trailers are available for as little as $200 as kits from hardware/home centers or farm supply stores; add another $100 or so for a fully assembled model. They will accommodate boats up to 14 feet long (eight feet of trailer, plus three feet of tongue, plus three feet of rear overhang) and can handle boats up to 18 feet long with the addition of an extended draw bar on the towing vehicle's trailer hitch. The design shown was built on a lightweight, inexpensive 4' x 8' stake body trailer and will accommodate up to three canoes or five kayaks while providing 32 cubic feet of side-saddle storage for paddles, PFDs and other gear. This design allows boats to continue to be cartopped on a van or truck while towing additional boats on the trailer. Manufactured canoe trailers typically rack boats side-by-side, up to five high. In a side-by-side configuration adequate space must be kept free between the front of the boats and the back of the vehicle to allow the rig to corner without crunching boat to bumper. This explains the 18-foot overall length of many manufactured trailers. The design shown here racks longer boats in the center of the trailer, permitting the two center boats to be placed within inches of the rear of the vehicle. Placing the two center boats further forward also creates better weight displacement on the trailer (trailers should be trimmed just the opposite of a canoe, with the front slightly heavier to keep proper weight on the tongue). Trim weight can be adjusted by simply placing heavier gear (cases of cheap beer work well) towards the front of the side-saddle gear storage hatches. The 4' x 8' design shown here can be constructed using a circular saw, drill and a minimum amount of lumber and hardware (two 2x4xl0's, eight 2x4x8's, two sheets of half-inch plywood and a handful of nuts, bolts, brackets and screws). Save a tree--before beginning construction contemplate that naked trailer for a while, measure the dimensions of the boats and gear you might want to carry and, if you are planning to cartop boats while towing the trailer, hitch the trailer up to your vehicle and measure the necessary vertical clearance. Need to haul a couple of "wide rides?" Simply bolt on two removable 2x4 extensions to the top. Need to haul that load of mulch? Attach front and rear panels to the open center compartment and you've got an additional 40 cubic feet of cargo space. Need secure storage for that long cross country trip? Install hinged top covers to the storage compartments and add a lock and hasp. Innovate. Customize. Design a frame specific for your needs, or build multiple drop-in frames for different hull and gear configurations. Let's see, with a block and tackle and a couple of pulleys I could suspend a variety of frames from the garage ceiling and lower them as needed into the stake pockets of the trailer with the canoes and gear already loaded. Hmmmm...never have to pack or unpack again...
Originally Published, Paddler March-April 1998 |
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