I just completed this build. We did a test fit with our 2025 Tohatsu 20HP with electric start and power tilt. Side to side it fit fine but did not have enough depth to clear the top axle. I'll extend the two top 6 inch pieces for 8 inch and add a 12 inch pipe to cover the upper axle threads. A little hard on the hands. Other than that happy with the build.
Adrian thank you for taking the time to design, film and supply the parts list. These trolleys seem common in Australia and New Zealand but no one in the USA seems to manufacture one. All you can find is the standard motor stands. It's such a practical idea for loading an outboard into a vehicle and transporting to boat. This will make using our 13 foot powered inflatable so much more enjoyable. We have a Tohatsu 20 HP EFI. So hoping the same measurements work.
@@gwrace thank you for the comment! Yes, I thought the exact same thing after seeing ones for sale in Australia. I had thought about welding one together but decided on building something out of readily available parts so anyone could build it. I believe the dimensions between the 9.8 and 20 are similar, however I still recommend taking measurements and creating drawings first to make sure things will work out. Definitely keep receipts of all the tubing you buy- I definitely have a few parts left over after lots of trial and error. A few have contacted me and shown me their builds along with improvements they’ve made. If you built one I’d love it if you shared your build along with any modifications you make! Thanks 🙏
@@slacktide_angler The only upgrade I may make is on the wheels. I bought 8 inch wheels for the bottom and 6 inch wheels for the top. Both wheels have bearings in them so hoping I won't need the bushings. Still waiting on a few of the parts to arrive from Amazon.
That looks great. I have been wanting to spend a month touring the Baja in the winter with a sib but being an old guy the prospect of set up tear down was daunting especially the motor part. This seems to make that much more doable with a reasonably sized motor. I was thinking that the smaller motors are best used in small lakes and not really for inshore in the ocean.
Oh, ha. No, I still have my kayak, don't think I'll ever let that one go. This one is for my 11' inflatable boat that I hope to post fishing videos with. The trolly just makes it easier to move around an 80lb motor... Motorized kayak would be great! Coho trolling would be a blast on it.
@@slacktide_angler That's what's nice about those small engines; they only weigh 30 pounds. But I've been watching videos and people fly with the engine on their yaks. I was looking into spot lock motors and they aren't as fast and don't last long on a battery.
Hi, can I ask how you tight all the thread connections as much as you can and it can still stop at the angles that you want them to stop? Also, does all the weight of the motor sit on the plate and then sit on the two couplings? Thank you! Beautiful job btw.
Hi, thanks for the comment! The standard threads that come on this sort of pipe is the tapered kind, so there's not really a hard stop. The resistance as you tighten is very gradual, and it's never a loose-then-all of a sudden-tight feeling. This lets you adjust the angles yet have a decent amount of resistance holding the pipes together. One tip I can give you if you really want to lock your angles into place, is to use Loctite thread locker on the threads (blue is fine). This way you don't have to hurt yourself trying to get it mega tight to hold it all together. You can simply apply the loctite, get it moderately tight, adjust for angle, and let it dry in position. As far as the weight of the motor bearing down, yes, that's exactly what's happening here. I simply measured the top of the motor's plate to the skeg, and from that measurement figured out what pipe sections I needed to get it the height I wanted. I took into consideration the rough height of the plywood, so I could have it sit on the couplers. Another option that could make this build simpler is to skip the couplers and the upper vertical sections and just drill holes into the pipe so you can just use regular bolts through the pipe and plywood. In my case I had couplers on hand, and I just didn't want to go through the trouble of drilling holes into steel. cheers and good luck on your build should you make an attempt.
@@zzs7253 the U-bolts are generic zinc plated ones I bought from Princess auto. I’m not sure where you are but your main big box hardware store should have them. 3/4” pipe has a 1” OD. So you’d get Ubolts that would have a 1” gap size. I can’t really give you the exact dimensions because you’d need to measure the thickness of the motor mount wood so you can get the right length
I have a 20HP Tohatsu short shaft. Do you know how much height clearance is needed when the motor in the layed down position? I'd like to see if this will fit in the bed of my Ford Maverick when the tonneau cover is closed
@@gwrace That might not work. I load my 9.8 into the bed of my mid 2000s Ford Ranger and it would definitely not clear a tonneau. Half the cowling sits above the sides of my bed. :/ I think your best bet would be to make a low profile wood dolly that rolls on rigid casters. Then you can lay the motor down on its side tiller side and you can strap it down. This will be a lot lower in profile and you can still have the ease of loading or picking up the motor with the dolly sitting with one end on the ground and the other leaning on the tailgate. Hope that makes sense…
I bought most everything at Home Depot, except for the wheels which you can find at a place like Harbor Freight. As for steel pipe, they all come threaded and simply screw them together with pipe fittings. No welding needed.
I just completed this build. We did a test fit with our 2025 Tohatsu 20HP with electric start and power tilt. Side to side it fit fine but did not have enough depth to clear the top axle. I'll extend the two top 6 inch pieces for 8 inch and add a 12 inch pipe to cover the upper axle threads. A little hard on the hands. Other than that happy with the build.
Adrian thank you for taking the time to design, film and supply the parts list. These trolleys seem common in Australia and New Zealand but no one in the USA seems to manufacture one. All you can find is the standard motor stands. It's such a practical idea for loading an outboard into a vehicle and transporting to boat. This will make using our 13 foot powered inflatable so much more enjoyable. We have a Tohatsu 20 HP EFI. So hoping the same measurements work.
@@gwrace thank you for the comment! Yes, I thought the exact same thing after seeing ones for sale in Australia. I had thought about welding one together but decided on building something out of readily available parts so anyone could build it.
I believe the dimensions between the 9.8 and 20 are similar, however I still recommend taking measurements and creating drawings first to make sure things will work out. Definitely keep receipts of all the tubing you buy- I definitely have a few parts left over after lots of trial and error.
A few have contacted me and shown me their builds along with improvements they’ve made. If you built one I’d love it if you shared your build along with any modifications you make! Thanks 🙏
@@slacktide_angler The only upgrade I may make is on the wheels. I bought 8 inch wheels for the bottom and 6 inch wheels for the top. Both wheels have bearings in them so hoping I won't need the bushings. Still waiting on a few of the parts to arrive from Amazon.
That looks great. I have been wanting to spend a month touring the Baja in the winter with a sib but being an old guy the prospect of set up tear down was daunting especially the motor part. This seems to make that much more doable with a reasonably sized motor. I was thinking that the smaller motors are best used in small lakes and not really for inshore in the ocean.
W❤️W! That’s Incredibly Awesome! 🤗❤️✨
Thanks for sharing. I will try make one for my 15 HP.
Would you happen to know the measurements for the wood transom piece?
Cool build. Did you sell your kayak and get a boat? I was thinking of getting an outboard for my kayak. Not that big, a little 2.3 HP one. 👍
Oh, ha. No, I still have my kayak, don't think I'll ever let that one go. This one is for my 11' inflatable boat that I hope to post fishing videos with. The trolly just makes it easier to move around an 80lb motor... Motorized kayak would be great! Coho trolling would be a blast on it.
@@slacktide_angler That's what's nice about those small engines; they only weigh 30 pounds. But I've been watching videos and people fly with the engine on their yaks. I was looking into spot lock motors and they aren't as fast and don't last long on a battery.
Hi, can I ask how you tight all the thread connections as much as you can and it can still stop at the angles that you want them to stop?
Also, does all the weight of the motor sit on the plate and then sit on the two couplings? Thank you!
Beautiful job btw.
Hi, thanks for the comment! The standard threads that come on this sort of pipe is the tapered kind, so there's not really a hard stop. The resistance as you tighten is very gradual, and it's never a loose-then-all of a sudden-tight feeling. This lets you adjust the angles yet have a decent amount of resistance holding the pipes together. One tip I can give you if you really want to lock your angles into place, is to use Loctite thread locker on the threads (blue is fine). This way you don't have to hurt yourself trying to get it mega tight to hold it all together. You can simply apply the loctite, get it moderately tight, adjust for angle, and let it dry in position.
As far as the weight of the motor bearing down, yes, that's exactly what's happening here. I simply measured the top of the motor's plate to the skeg, and from that measurement figured out what pipe sections I needed to get it the height I wanted. I took into consideration the rough height of the plywood, so I could have it sit on the couplers. Another option that could make this build simpler is to skip the couplers and the upper vertical sections and just drill holes into the pipe so you can just use regular bolts through the pipe and plywood. In my case I had couplers on hand, and I just didn't want to go through the trouble of drilling holes into steel.
cheers and good luck on your build should you make an attempt.
Do you happen to remember where you bought your U-bolts? It would be great if you have a link as it’s a bit hard to find the perfect dimensions.
@@zzs7253 the U-bolts are generic zinc plated ones I bought from Princess auto. I’m not sure where you are but your main big box hardware store should have them. 3/4” pipe has a 1” OD. So you’d get Ubolts that would have a 1” gap size. I can’t really give you the exact dimensions because you’d need to measure the thickness of the motor mount wood so you can get the right length
I have a 20HP Tohatsu short shaft. Do you know how much height clearance is needed when the motor in the layed down position? I'd like to see if this will fit in the bed of my Ford Maverick when the tonneau cover is closed
@@gwrace That might not work. I load my 9.8 into the bed of my mid 2000s Ford Ranger and it would definitely not clear a tonneau. Half the cowling sits above the sides of my bed. :/ I think your best bet would be to make a low profile wood dolly that rolls on rigid casters. Then you can lay the motor down on its side tiller side and you can strap it down. This will be a lot lower in profile and you can still have the ease of loading or picking up the motor with the dolly sitting with one end on the ground and the other leaning on the tailgate. Hope that makes sense…
do you get all the materials from home depot? do you need to weld them to put them together?
I bought most everything at Home Depot, except for the wheels which you can find at a place like Harbor Freight. As for steel pipe, they all come threaded and simply screw them together with pipe fittings. No welding needed.
How much did the build cost?
The build cost me about $60-70USD