Amazingly Cheap Sunfish DIY Trailer

I cartop my Sunfish, so it gets a gentle ride, which keeps the styrofoam blocks from loosening inside the hull.

Small trailers with small wheels can't give a gentle ride—IMHO—so bunks should be carefully customized for a trailer having [as much as] a 600-pound capacity.

Excellent price, but don't these Chinese-steel trailers tend to deteriorate with rust rather quickly?
 
That is a great trailer for a Sunfish, check Harbor Freight for their price. 2 years ago year ago we got on delivered for 375. I've cycled through 3 of them for boats we restored and sold. And yes, they'll rust, just keep a can of cold galvanized compound handy and you'll eventually have a galvanized trailer.....


........update HF wants $449 plus shipping?!!!? Buy a new galvanized trailer and don't look back? Cost benefit analysis applies here, my local trailer guy in Milton, FL sells a top of the line galvanized Sunfish trailer for 700.
 

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I cartop my Sunfish, so it gets a gentle ride, which keeps the styrofoam blocks from loosening inside the hull.

Small trailers with small wheels can't give a gentle ride—IMHO—so bunks should be carefully customized for a trailer having [as much as] a 600-pound capacity.

Excellent price, but don't these Chinese-steel trailers tend to deteriorate with rust rather quickly?

I cant cartop because i am really short and i got bigger tires and when i wash my boat after sailing i wash and dry the trailer anyways... and even if it does rust the price was amazing and maybe in a bunch of years i can splurge for a better one
 
We went the HF foldable trailer route, because we have only a 2-car garage and wanted an easy way to store it and the two cars over winter. Sailkb made the detachable cradles for us (stackable). Although this trailer is perfect for our situation (and has now helped move friends), it isn't gentle on the hulls going over bumps (even slow). The springs are rated for higher loads, and the Sunfish barely register on the trailer. There's a debate on the Internet whether or not to remove one spring on each side. Some say to do it, others say don't, because the trailer isn't designed for it. The HF boat trailer (rated up to 600lbs) would likely be better, it just doesn't fit our needs (foldable).

The trailer tracks great and seems to hold up. It's been trailered through rain and dunked on the boat ramp a few times. We'll spray rust spots as they come up, but so far so good. One of our fish did come with a "real" boat trailer and we can definitely feel the ride difference and it's quieter. Although it's rusting in spots, I think it would outlast the HF by a longshot. It's currently imitating a workbench in the in-law's fishing lake garage with plywood on top. We can't decide whether to sell it or not, since it is a good trailer and might meet our needs in the future. So if you're near Nebraska, give me a holler, and we could work something out. It'll make my mother-in-law really happy!
 
I've been looking at this, but in the description it says the top speed is 45 mph. That's a pretty low limit and most trips require much faster travel to avoid being a road hazard. Is that limit real or what???
 
I don't believe that 45 mph is a real limit. U-Haul has the same limit for their trailers. It's really just for liability purposes.
 
Yeah, we've had our trailer on the interstate and opened it up to 65 when traffic was low and the roads good. It seemed fine. Usually we'll do 55 and haven't had any issues. People do recommend that you regrease the wheels if you get an HF trailer.
 

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