Kayak Trailer
The trailer was made from a old small boat trailer. A welding shop in Homosassa Springs added the vertical tubes and the crossbars that have the pads on them. After I used trailer a few times I decided to add a diagonal bar to the front for extra strength. It likely wasn't needed, but it made me feel better in case I needed to slam on the brakes. Notice the yellow tennis balls at the end of the top cross bars. They protect your head when you're working on the boat in the lower bars. Single chain links were welded to the ends of each crossbar and on the vertical posts that makes a nice stop for the tie down straps.
Three of the welded-on chain links and the python lock cable are visible here.
In addition to the new parts, the axle was replaced and the original 8" wheels were replaced with 12" wheels. This keeps the bearing RPM lower for interstate driving. There are bearing buddies (wheel grease holders) and waterproof lights on it also, even though it's never backed into the water.
The distance between the lower and upper bars is enough to allow two kayaks on each bar if they are loaded nearly sideways. In practice I don't plan on doing that. Since I transport the kayaks upside down it is nice to be able to flip the kayak over on the lower bar to rig them up just before a launch. Between the trailer holding four kayaks and the roof of the truck holding another my truck would be maxed out with five people and boats.
I use two Python cable locks through the scupper holes to lock the boats to the trailer in addition to the usual nylon straps. If the kayaks are on the trailer for any length of time I remove the tie-down straps and only use the Python lock to prevent the straps from deforming the bottoms.
Here are some of the measurements:
The trailer is 64" wide from the outside of each fender.
The vertical posts are 2"x2" and 58" tall and 93" apart (front of one to front of the other). The vertical posts are u-bolted to the main frame which allows removal and some front-back adjustment, as needed.
The bottom horizontal bars are 2" tall and 1.5" wide. They are 31" long (check your kayak's width).
The top horizontal bars are 1.5"x1.5". They are also 31" long and barely fit a wide tandem kayak.
There is 25.5" between the top of the bottom crossbar to the top of the top crossbar.
