DIY Kayak Trailer Conversion
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ค. 2024
- Hi Everyone, In this video, I discuss converting a utility trailer to a kayak hauler, including the parts and costs associated! Below is a timestamp list for different parts of the video:
9:13:20 - Fastening the Drop Gate For Traveling
11:26:18 - Transforming to Kayak Hauler
12:36:04 - Mounting the Cross Beams - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Well done. I’m giving you all of the credit on this one. I’m going to copy this exact layout and will be looking forward to hauling my kayaks so much easier. Thanks for posting this!
Just wanted to drop a think you. I needed an idea for how to convert my 5x8 utility trailer to haul my kayaks on a family vacation. I already had the J Hooks, but wasnt crazy about hauling the kayaks on the roof for hundreds of miles each way. I used your video as the basis of my trailer configuration, and it worked great. I went ahead and used your initial idea for the rear gate, anchoring it down with 3/8 carriage bolts through a 4*4. So thanks again.
Glad to hear your project was a success! Hope you have a great season out on the water..
Great minds think alike! I also used a Tractor Supply trailer, I used the 4x6 with out the tailgate. I put down a 5/4 PT lumber floor for future use as a utility trailer. I had load bars from a previously owned truck cap and attached them directly to the top of the trailer frame with u-bolts. I then bought some steel square tubing and made a longer tongue so I could haul my 15' and 17' touring kayaks. I plan on making a 2' tall box for this trailer to hold all the paddling gear and mount the kayaks on top of that, still easier than roof topping them. A plus is these trailers are so light that you can move them around by hand like a wagon, great for getting them into tight spaces.
Just finished my trailer! Looks great thanks for the video!!!
Glad to hear it went well Anthony! Thanks for watching!
I already have a 4x6 trailer , I am going to buy my wife a Kayak too and this is how I am going to carry two kayaks on that trailer . thanks !
Thanks for watching and happy to help! Hope you have a great summer out on the water..
I like this idea. THANKS! I haul 2 - 4 Kayaks (10 ft) and sometimes stuff a 5th one in there for Scouts. I have a heavier 10' trailer with a wood deck, but with your system, I could store some gear totes on the floor of the trailer as well. Cheers!
Thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed the video! Scout troops always need more room for gear for sure..
Thank you for the short tutorial, I plan on picking up a utility trailer in the spring to haul my yaks to the water as well. Though I could throw them on the roof of the Outback, it’s a lot easier to load my 75lb fishers onto a low trailer and also gives me the versatility for other uses. Plus I can easily store a small trailer in my garage.
That sounds like a perfect plan! We really get a lot of use out of ours and it is nice to not have to lift the boats up.. we just slide them off the trailer. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Thank you so much for this video. I have the same trailer and have been looking into making it where I can haul at least two kayaks with minimal cutting or welding and your solution is exactly what I've been looking for. Thank you!
Thanks for watching (and hopefully subscribing!). Happy to help and hope you have a great summer out on the water..
Perfect! Just what I needed!
Great idea.
Very informative! Thanks
That is a awesome DIY kayak trailer you have. I am thinking about doing something like that myself or buy me an Malone kayak trailer. Only thing is Malone trailers are very expensive but they are rust proof & can store down to a small space. I have a big family wife & five boys & a granddaughter & they all have kayak. So a kayak trailer will be great to have for 7 kayak. Thank you for sharing this video.
Thanks for watching, Mack! Sounds like you will certainly benefit from a trailer to transport your family's boats. I liked the design of the Malone, but couldn't find any in stock (online or in stores), which is why I ended up going with the Tractor Supply trailer and modifying it to fit my needs. You could do something similar with a utility trailer, but use metal (or wood) to frame out multiple "tiers" that you can tie the boats down to. Good luck!
Exactly what we had in mind to do! This is so helpful.
Thanks for watching Pixie! Glad you enjoyed the video.
I was able to find a "used", like new Harbor Freight trailer on Facebook marketplace. My brother and I are doing a similar conversion to the HF trailer. We put down a marine grade 3/4" piece of green treated plywood on the bed and used green treated 2x6 around the edge of the bed. We plan to put the J hooks on the trailer the same way that you did; using some scrap lumber. Nothing fancy but functional. I did a lot of research before buying the HF trailer and I am not the least bit concerned about going highway speed with the trailer. We do not plan to fold the trailer. I spent less that $500.00 for the HF trailer that the seller never used and we have less than $200.00 is add-ons, so even if it only lasts a few years, the HF trailer was a great deal.
Sounds like you got a great deal on that trailer! I’m sure it will come out great and be a good solution for hauling your boats.
Just finished doing something similar to my 5x8' trailer. My kayak is huge and was hanging far enough off the back that there was very little weight on the tongue, which caused it to bounce around on the hitch. I needed a solution that would allow me to put my kayak high enough to be flush with the front rail and get the front out over the tongue. I used some powder coated decking joists attached to the inside of the rails and mounted pressure treated lumber between them. I can stand on the vertically mounted 2x6" beams with zero flex. It also creates compartments underneath to keep things like coolers contained. The wood can also be removed easily when the trailer is needed for hauling.
Sounds like a well thought out solution! Hope you have a great paddling season and thanks for watching..
Chris, is there any way you could upload a video or perhaps somehow get a hold of me and send some photos?
This is cool. Thank you for the ideas. I just bought a utility trailer and am planning on doing this for canoes. I was told the railings were not weight bearing (I know the kayaks are light) so I'm not sure this'll work for me.
I could stand on the railings if I had any kind of balance.. think you will be fine!
Awesome! Thanks
Thanks for watching Pat.. Hope you have a great summer out on the water!
If you just cut a small hole (1/2"x1") with a jigsaw w metal blade on each side of mesh floor, the ramp will fold flat into the trailer and you can secure it to the floor w heavy duty zip ties.
Agree 100% Robert. It was just a brand new trailer and I did not want to molest it yet!
That is what I have been looking for.
Glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for watching and hopefully subscribing
Nice
Im doing this for sure
Thanks for watching Anthony! We use our trailer often and find it handy to be able to take off the kayak racks and convert back to a utility trailer. Hope you have a great summer out on the water!
This makes me want to cry... I just sold that exact trailer
A common theme in my life also..
Along with all the others - thank you so much for a simple and cheap solution! Other videos involved welding and buying racks and just made something that should be easy, very complex and expensive!
Thanks for watching Amy! Glad you found the video to be helpful.
How did you mount the non folding j hooks? Are they made to be bolted? Everything i see is made to clamp. Do you have a link to these?
Hi Keith - thanks for watching! I’d say they aren’t inherently designed to be used in this manner, but no significant modification was necessary. I used these hooks from Amazon [ a.co/d/27NR4JV ] and simply used a hammer to remove the existing (4) bolts that held the body of the hooks together. I didn’t attach the accompanying clamps, and instead marked the wood cross members for drilling using the now-empty carriage bolt holes. I picked up some longer bolts that were the same profile as the original set, and used them to bolt the hooks to the wood.
My trailer is 70 inches wide do you think I could put 4 sets of j hooks for four kayaks? Thanks in advance great idea for trailer
Hi Paul - you might be able to fit 4 across if you got J-hooks that are foldable and can be held vertically in place. Three boats fit snugly on my trailer but I use a Yakima foldable j-hook and two fixed Yakima j-hooks.
Glad you enjoyed the video and happy paddling!
That's what I'm talking about! A simple solution that won't break the bank. I am about to buy a 4x6 trailer and want to build a rack to haul my kayaks. Your system looks great. Was that pressure treated wood you attached the j-hooks to?
Thanks for watching! I’m happy that some of our trailer retrofitting ideas will work for you. We did use treated wood. Hope you have a great / safe summer on the water..
Great idea! Very sensible and not invasive! Curious how it held up after a year?
Still going strong and left outside in the weather all year round. I’m very happy with how it turned out. Thanks for watching!
We have the exact same trailer and was looking at racks but wanted something lower.
Any thoughts on using a hitch extender? Our receiver was built where it is back more under the bumper.
Also, any ideas for u-bolts to hold the wood on as opposed to drilling into the trailer?
Thanks for the video!
Lewis, should be no problem at all using a hitch extender. U-bolts can be used for sure. I took a quick look on McMaster-Carr McMaster.com and they have a wide selection of square u-bolts. They might also be a hardware store item if you look around a bit.
So the square portion would hit up against the wood and the bolts on the underside I’m guessing. Would this impact stability?
You could put the square u-bolt up from the bottom and through the wood. A couple acorn nuts would leave the ends of the bolts smooth
So to be clear (and I apologize if this seems obvious)… the U bolt replaces the bolts you used in your video. I would still need to drill through the wood plank and the trailer rim, then use the u bolt threaded through the holes in the trailer rim and the wood to attach the plank
I think I’d place your wood plank across the trailers top rail where you want it. The u-bolt would come up from the bottom, around the metal rail. You would need to drill two holes through the wood plank, add some washers and acorn nuts which are smooth on the ends. With the plank in place, the u-bolt comes up from the bottom (hold it like a U) and around the steel frame. Tap the u-bolt with a hammer and you will have two dimples in the wood so you know where to drill. This is a good mounting method as you don’t need to drill the frame but are only clamping to it.
Can you tell us which kayak mounts you used? And where you purchased from please. Great video.
Hi Christi! Thanks for watching!
I used a mixture of Yakima J-Hooks, including their JayLow (yakima.com/products/jaylow), purchased directly from Yakima or Amazon, and a set of traditional fixed j-hooks that were purchased used, but have since been replaced with the following through Yakima (yakima.com/products/jayhook)
Are there certain bits that you have to buy to drill through the metal? I tried doing that to my trailer and after a couple of holes I didn’t have much success even though I changed to new bits. I have some holes that just flat out will not let me make them any larger to fit the bolt.
Hi Doug! I would stick with name brand bits to start. I’ve had good luck with Milwaukee titanium bits from Home Depot. The Milwaukee shockwave titanium coated set (p/n 48-89-4631) is $39.97 for a 23 piece set with plastic case. It’s the set I used to drill my trailer. Using a cutting fluid like tap magic will make drilling easier and extend the life of your bits. My second tip would be to start with a bit half the size of your final size. Once through, switch to the larger bit. Careful when step drilling.. too close in bit size and it will bind up and snap the bit. Last tip.. go slow and use light pressure. Let the tool do the work! Using too much pressure can work harden the steel and dull the bit. You might need to move your hole locations a bit to get to softer steel. Good luck with your project and let me know how you make out!
@@completepete Thank you for the info. I really appreciate it!
@@completepete now I’m trying to figure out how to keep the holes that I made a mistake on from rusting .😂
Doug, when I drilled into the framing I worried about rust. Purchased a can of Rustoleum gloss enamel and it was a perfect match. Good to keep around for touch up also!
Does it travel well on highway with the 3 kayaks?
The trailer tracks straight as an arrow. Since the kayaks are so light you hardly know they are back there. Thanks for watching!
What did you mount between the j hooks to hold the middle kayak?
I used 3 total J-Hooks, two non-folding on either end, and one folding. To mount the folding (which could only attach to a cylindrical object), I bolted some conduit to the wood and attached the j hook to that! Let me know if you have any additional questions, and thanks for watching!
@@completepete Do you have a pic of the 3 Kayak setup? Why did the middle row of J Hooks need to be folding?
I can’t attach photos to TH-cam comments, so feel free to Email me at completepete6@gmail.com and I’ll be happy to send a photo! The middle folding j hook wasn’t absolutely necessary, but folding allowed me to control (and lock in place) the angle of the hook depending on the size boat I put in it. Fixed hooks have a specific angle that would have led to the three boats banging into one another while in transit, so being able to control the amount of lean on the middle boat allowed for some level of centering to avoid that boat to boat contact.
You think it would fit 4 kayaks?
Hi and thanks for watching! We have the two tarpons and a a Pungo and it’s enough room. You also need room in between for the straps. If I had four boats, I’d pad the 2x6 on the bottom and lay two of the boats flat. I’d then build up a bit with the same design and make it a double deck design. You could fit four that way for sure..
What size and demension is your trailor?
Hi Cheryl, the trailer is a 5ft x 8ft
Would it be safe to do exactly what you did but not use jhooks and lay two pedal kayaks flat on the boards and strap them to that?
Hi Joey, thanks for watching! I’d suggest ensuring that the pedal kayaks are upside-down so they sit as flat as possible. You might also consider a front and rear tether to limit the possibility of them sliding on the wood.
@@completepete Is there a way to use the harbor freight 4' trailer to set up two pedal kayaks on (one is 12'1" and the other is 10'6"? I am new to the hobby and don't know much about trailers. Also would a truck rack be able to clamp on to the trailer and allow a second kayak to lay above the one on the trailer? I'm trying my best to make the most convient/affordable setup.
Hi Joey, if the harbor freight trailer is 4’x8’ the length is no problem. I’d lay the boats side by side and measure the overall width to see if they can fit. I went the easy way and used the J hooks. I have seen folks use truck racks and even make racks out of wood to double decker the boats. I guess it depends on how comfortable you are with fabrication. I found that the J hooks were easy to install, pretty inexpensive ($30 per pair) and I can strap the boats securely for transport.
@@completepete Thank you for all this information! the Harbor freight trailer I'm currently looking at is 40-1/2 x 48. I want to double decker it with truck racks but am failing to find anything that fits in a 40-1/2" frame. Secondly, is there any safety concerns if my yaks hang off the tongue and back side, or is the only requirement for me to hang a red flag on my haul?
With some of the truck racks you can cut the center tube shorter and customize the width. Overhang in front of the trailer is important so you don’t hit your tow vehicle. I always hang a red marker off the back of my boats to make them more visible.
What kayak j hooks are these?
The foldable j-hook is Yakima’s “JayLow” (yakima.com/products/jaylow) and the fixed ones are TMS brand from Amazon (a.co/d/5sDQxVn))
Awesome! About to order now. Thanks for this video and helpful information!
"Ball holder". 🙄
No such thing as super good quality from Tractor Supply Company except their American Made funnels .
Too much talking
TI’m much complaining.