Kayak Trailer Modifications. 2024

Team_Dougherty reply :

Wanting to haul more that one Kayak at a time easily when I kayak fish with others I made updated my trailer to do the job.

I took by existing harbor freight trailer, some 1 1/4" EMT, 4 two hole EMT hanger, screws and kayak carriers.

I may shorten the pipes to pull the outside kayaks in a bit.

Jim McC reply :

Very nice. I'm thinking of buying the HF 4' X 8' trailer and doing something similar. How much did the kayak cradles cost? I would be a little worried about the EMT being held only by screws.

flyfisher reply :

Looks good. I would also be concerned about the emt being held by screws only and even the strength of the pipe itself. You should probably move those j racks in a little closer to the center too because it looks like it is already flexing.

Other than that looks nice. I have been debating on getting a trailer for my kayaks too but just haven't pulled the trigger....to many other things I want instead

Team_Dougherty reply :

On 4/27/2013 at 7:36 AM, Jim McC said:
Very nice. I'm thinking of buying the HF 4' X 8' trailer and doing something similar. How much did the kayak cradles cost? I would be a little worried about the EMT being held only by screws.

The cradles were $65 total for all 4. The EMT is held to the trailer by straps.

I also put a screw through the top of the strap into the emt to make sure it doesn't slide.It is not going anywhere.

Jim McC reply :

Where did you buy the cradles?

Team_Dougherty reply :

On 4/27/2013 at 11:25 AM, Jim McC said:
Where did you buy the cradles?

eBay. $49.95 with $14.95 shipping.

Jim McC reply :

On 4/27/2013 at 9:15 PM, Team_Dougherty said:
eBay. $49.95 with $14.95 shipping.

Thanks. It seems to me that using J-cradles like you did is much easier than using steel and welding or bolting things together, correct?

Are those carpeted 2 X 4's under the center kayak?

Team_Dougherty reply :

On 4/28/2013 at 3:31 PM, Jim McC said:

Thanks. It seems to me that using J-cradles like you did is much easier than using steel and welding or bolting things together, correct?

Are those carpeted 2 X 4's under the center kayak?

Oh, yea. The J cradles are much easier to use. Yes, they are carpeted 2x4s. they came with the trailer.

http://www.harborfreight.com/600-lb-capacity-boat-trailer-with-8-inch-wheels-and-tires-5002.html

I had the trailer for an old 12' boat i had. I got the blue kayak and got rid of the boat and kept the trailer for the kayak. Then another kayak for the wife. So I had to make modifications.

If I had the kayak and then needed a trailer I would go with this. http://www.harborfreight.com/1195-lb-capacity-48-inch-x-96-inch-heavy-duty-foldable-utility-trailer-with-12-inch-wheels-90154.html and bolt the J brackets right to the cross members.

If I started over

pabassr reply :

Very nice, I really like your trailer. Been wanting to do this myself on my 12' boat trailer. You got my juices flowing. I`ll be converting trailer to kayak hauler very soon. Will post pictures when done. Just think no more lifting kayaks over my head and onto roof rack. My arms and shoulders thank you.

I still have 12' boat,but will make trailer so I can remover bars when not hauling kayaks, to haul my boat.

Jim McC reply :

On 4/28/2013 at 8:52 PM, Team_Dougherty said:

Oh, yea. The J cradles are much easier to use. Yes, they are carpeted 2x4s. they came with the trailer.

http://www.harborfreight.com/600-lb-capacity-boat-trailer-with-8-inch-wheels-and-tires-5002.html

I had the trailer for an old 12' boat i had. I got the blue kayak and got rid of the boat and kept the trailer for the kayak. Then another kayak for the wife. So I had to make modifications.

If I had the kayak and then needed a trailer I would go with this. http://www.harborfreight.com/1195-lb-capacity-48-inch-x-96-inch-heavy-duty-foldable-utility-trailer-with-12-inch-wheels-90154.html and bolt the J brackets right to the cross members.

If I started over

That HF 4' X 8' trailer is the one I'm thinking of buying. I saw a couple of pics where they used that trailer with the J-brackets bolted to steel tubing, perpendicular to the frame members.

Team_Dougherty reply :

I found these on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/TMS-KAYAK-RK-J-1BOX-Universal-Carrier/dp/B003V57NUQ/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1VVAF8GQHY0H2&coliid=I2HOXIY7TY818Q

Jim McC reply :

Thanks. I saw those the other day. A good price, even with the shipping. Are they designed to be mounted with U-bolts?

Team_Dougherty reply :

On 4/30/2013 at 1:45 AM, Jim McC said:
Thanks. I saw those the other day. A good price, even with the shipping. Are they designed to be mounted with U-bolts?

The ones I have clamp on the pipe, or roof rack, with two big plastic knobs holding a piece of metal.

pabassr reply :

Thanks Team_Dougherty

I just bought a set of J-racks on Amazon,$21.00 plus shipping,great deal.

When the J-racks get delivered to my home,I`ll be putting them on trailer with the other set I have already. I`ll be using superstruts for frame, like on your trailer Thanks for the info and pictures.. Going to get the 15/8"x3/4" superstruts,using u-bolts to hold them to trailer frame. That way if I want to use my 12' boat it will be easy to remove the superstruts. I`ve looked all over internet at different trailer modifications, and found I like yours the best!

Jim McC reply :

On 5/1/2013 at 5:47 AM, pabassr said:

Thanks Team_Dougherty

I just bought a set of J-racks on Amazon,$21.00 plus shipping,great deal.

When the J-racks get delivered to my home,I`ll be putting them on trailer with the other set I have already. I`ll be using superstruts for frame, like on your trailer Thanks for the info and pictures.. Going to get the 15/8"x3/4" superstruts,using u-bolts to hold them to trailer frame. That way if I want to use my 12' boat it will be easy to remove the superstruts. I`ve looked all over internet at different trailer modifications, and found I like yours the best!

After you get them, can you post back here stating if they can be installed with bolts and nuts, instead of using the knobs? Thanks.

Team_Dougherty reply :

On 5/1/2013 at 7:30 AM, Jim McC said:
After you get them, can you post back here stating if they can be installed with bolts and nuts, instead of using the knobs? Thanks.

Yes, you can replace the knobs, they have a nut inside, with a regular nut. It is a carriage bolt that comes through the bracket.

I may, at a later time, remove the rollers and bunks and get two more sets of J brackets and have the capacity to carry 4 kayaks.

Jim McC reply :

OK thanks.

Team_Dougherty reply :

I had the trailer out for a full load test today. Hauled two OK prowler big games and a small pelican apex 100 it perfomed well. basically what is in the picture and another kayak like the blue one.

Team_Dougherty reply :

On 5/1/2013 at 5:47 AM, pabassr said:

Thanks Team_Dougherty

I just bought a set of J-racks on Amazon,$21.00 plus shipping,great deal.

When the J-racks get delivered to my home,I`ll be putting them on trailer with the other set I have already. I`ll be using superstruts for frame, like on your trailer Thanks for the info and pictures.. Going to get the 15/8"x3/4" superstruts,using u-bolts to hold them to trailer frame. That way if I want to use my 12' boat it will be easy to remove the superstruts. I`ve looked all over internet at different trailer modifications, and found I like yours the best!

Is there an Update? I would like to see what you have done?

pabassr reply :

Just got done with it. I will post pictures when ever it stops raining.

Team_Dougherty reply :

On 5/10/2013 at 4:39 AM, pabassr said:
Just got done with it. I will post pictures when ever it stops raining.

Great.

pabassr reply :

Here are the pictures of my trailer I modified for kayaks. But still can use as boat trailer as well.

Jim McC reply :

Very nice. Are those the J-brackets on Amazon for $21 + shipping? Are you happy with the quality of the J-brackets?

pabassr reply :

Yes they are the ones I got at Amazon for $21 dollars plus shipping. They are just as good as the ones I bought at Dicks Sporting Goods 2 years ago. Only difference is the ones from Amazon have to be assembled. Very easy to assemble. I`m glad I used unstruts on my trailer modification. I used the unistruts for the cross bars for kayaks, because of strength and stiffness with no flex. I mounted the unistruts to trailer using 1/2" dia. bolts thru the holes I drilled into trailer. Then I mounted 2"x4" treated lumber to unistruts also using 1/2" dia. bolts. Next I mounted the j-racks to the treated lumber and unistruts using 5/16" dia. bolts. The bolts that come with the j-racks are 8mm. and are too short for my build. So I 5/16" dia. bolts with washer, lock washer, and lock nuts to be more secure. I`m very pleased with the build, no more lifting kayaks onto roof racks that will save my arms and shoulders.

Team_Dougherty reply :

On 5/13/2013 at 2:31 AM, pabassr said:
Here are the pictures of my trailer I modified for kayaks. But still can use as boat trailer as well.

Great Job!. Where did you get the u-bolts?

pabassr reply :

They came with the side bunks I took off the trailer. Home Depot and Lowes only have curved u-bolts, not real u-bolts. If I had foud real u-bolts I would have used them to hold down the unistruts instead of the bolts. I forgot I used the U-bolts from the side bunks. Thanks to Paul (TEAM_DOUGHERTY), for his build on his trailer which I really liked and was inspired to do mine.

Team_Dougherty reply :

I am glad I was able to give you an idea.

I have looked for that style u-bolt with out luck. When I saw those I wondered where you got them.

pabassr reply :

Found them on-line at etrailer look up guide ons for boat trailer, they show a picture of the u-bolts. They also sell just the u-bolts like is on my trailer for 13.99 pair.

pabassr reply :

Found u-bolts on etrailer. part # CE11416 for $13.99 a pair. going to pick some up for myself.

Team_Dougherty reply :

On 5/13/2013 at 1:12 PM, pabassr said:
Found u-bolts on etrailer. part # CE11416 for $13.99 a pair. going to pick some up for myself.

Thanks for the part# I will be getting some.

Team_Dougherty reply :

Here is a fully loaded picture. took the trailer on a 400 mile round trip over the 4th weekend. It perfomed flawlessly. Well, there was one malfunction. every light on the trailer burned out after bouncing around on some of the dirt roads in Tioga county in PA. I switched them out to leds.

Team_Dougherty reply :

Had to make modifications to the trailer. Had an Incident on Saturday. Plus the "J" Brackets would spin on the pipe when empty.

Ring King reply :

Here's a couple pics of my trailer setup. It's a single place kayak trailer with a galvanized pipe constructed rack on top to hold camping gear or another kayak. The rack on the tongue had to go do to the length and position of my Pro Angler 14. The top rack is held on with pins and can be removed if not needed although I never take it off. It's worked great for me for the last year. I'm in the market for another Pro Angler 14 and will probably sell this trailer to buy a side by side jetski trailer so that I don't have to lift one onto the top rack. I may have a rack like this one built on top of it as well though. It's just too nice being able to strap stuff up top rather than taking up space inside my SUV.

Team_Dougherty reply :

On 7/29/2014 at 5:37 AM, Ring King said:

Here's a couple pics of my trailer setup. It's a single place kayak trailer with a galvanized pipe constructed rack on top to hold camping gear or another kayak. The rack on the tongue had to go do to the length and position of my Pro Angler 14. The top rack is held on with pins and can be removed if not needed although I never take it off. It's worked great for me for the last year. I'm in the market for another Pro Angler 14 and will probably sell this trailer to buy a side by side jetski trailer so that I don't have to lift one onto the top rack. I may have a rack like this one built on top of it as well though. It's just too nice being able to strap stuff up top rather than taking up space inside my SUV.

I like that

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Kayak Trailer Modifications. 2024

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