Trailering advice needed

Lindac

Member
I’m considering buying a Sylvansport Go trailer as I saw someone recently with a Sunfish on one. These seem to be made primarily for kayaks (and bikes) and use Thule 450 racks. My question is (and after much fruitless searching online) what to use as a cradle and is that even necessary? Would pool noodles be sufficient?

I’ve been using a Trailex for years but am not super happy with it and lately don’t really trust it for long distance.

Looking for your wisdom on this as these are quite expensive ($2000 for the base model and $3000 with bells and whistles - storage cubby and floor). We’re getting older and less able to lift kayaks onto the car roof so it would serve that purpose as well.

Thanks!
 

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You can build a custom cradle out of wood for any craft... and it can be strong without being too heavy, aye? Use bolts or big ol' lag screws to secure the cradle to the trailer frame, and the cradle won't go anywhere, I assure you. If you're okay with scrounging wood from construction sites (as I always did), you can find almost everything you need to build a custom cradle... not the hardware, you'll have to buy that, but most if not all of the wood. Always ask before taking wood from a construction site: no misunderstandings that way, and usually the guys on the construction crew are happy to have you drag off some of that wood, makes for more space in the dumpster, yeah? Bring sturdy boots & work gloves, and watch for nails, LOL. :rolleyes:

Good luck to you, I'd NEVER pay the sum you mentioned for a trailer when I could slap a custom cradle upon ANY old utility trailer. Oh, yeah, use the technique known as "spiling" to obtain the perfectly-matching curve for your cradle & boat hull, then pad that curve with neoprene, strips from a closed-cell sleeping pad (for camping), vinyl flooring material found in a roll at the Depot, whatever works to help your boat (or kayak) effortlessly slide into the cradle. You could build a "secondary cradle" for the kayaks, something easily slid into place on the existing boat cradle... just my $.02 on the subject, why pay $2K or more when you can get what ya need for much less??? WTF, you're not gonna be SAILING or PADDLING the trailer, right??? LOL... :confused:

P.S. Even if I were stinking rich, which unfortunately I'm NOT, I'd build a custom cradle before I EVER wasted so much money on a trailer like the one you mentioned... of course, I'm a notoriously cheap b@stard, and not too proud to go dumpster diving for materials, firewood, you name it, LOL. ;)
 
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Thank you for your advice - some time ago (10 years?), with the help of this forum, I actually built onto a trailer to make it a double. So I am inclined to agree with you and am rethinking this very high priced solution. Though it did look kind of neat when I saw it, sticker shock...
 

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Howdy Lindac

First, I like that trailer, looks sturdy, versatile and purpose built for small boats. We are willing to pay extra for things like that. It appears to have a good balance between trailer weight and the payload you would carry on it.

If you like to adapt trailers, that is a good option as well. We have done both. Buy a medium price utility trailer and find someone to weld up a nice multi rack for you.

multi rack utility trailer.jpg


We bought a double jetski trailer and added two set of trailer guides with crossboars, it went EVERYWHERE, Pensacola to Buffalo, up to CHarlotte, another trip to Knoxville and hauled multiple craft.

kayak sunfish canoe trailer guide.jpg


Option 3 is find a local trailer builder to make a custom one for you, ours have run $700-1000.

As far as a cradle, it is best to support the boat under areas where the fiberglass is thickest (keel, cockpit lip), or where deck is tied to hull (mast step, under cockpit, daggerboard trunk) and to spread out the load when/where you can. Pool noodles will help cushion the load and it is just as important to NOT crank down the cargo straps, they put out 200 pounds of force.

How much is your time worth vs what will an adapted trailer will cost?

We are all getting older each day :)

Cheers
Clark and Skipper
 
1. What's 'wrong' with your Trailex? I am a very old (spring?) chicken, but still use mine regularly. The bearings get serviced about every other year.
2. If I wanted to take it really easy, I would probably go with the Ride-On trailer (Sunfish on dolly on trailer). Am I naïve about this solution?
 
1. Wavedancer, some of the early trailex had rubber bushing vs springs. We had one and it did not behave well over bumps and on longhauls. I've never seen a trailer jump as much as it did.

2. I like the philosophy behind the Ride-On, though the trailer has 8 inch wheels, not optimum for long hauls unless the tires are upgraded to a higher load rating or bigger aspect ratio. And might be limited to hauling just one boat.

Cheers
kent
 
The Trailex: On one trip to Maine the metal piece supporting one of the “cradles” broke in half, leaving a sharp end very close to the hull which fortunately did not puncture it. I later read people saying that it’s more or less a glorified dolly not meant for long trips? Other than that, forever messing with the lights (standard for just about any trailer I suppose). But I mostly just feel that it doesn’t protect the boat from bouncing damage. Their double trailer (my brother has one) seems to do better.
 
Some info about small old boat trailers in this recent post:
Moving a Sunfish via 5x10 utility trailer.
I paid $150 3 years ago for the 1950s Elgin-Sears pictured in the post. Last September I bought a 15' aluminum runabout (no outboard included) on a Tee-Nee boat trailer and with a Mastercraft Bannerline boat trailer (which needed tires) for $200 total. I bought the boat to get the trailers.
These small old trailers are around, and with their simple structure and soft rides are ideal for carrying rowing skiffs, canoes, multiple kayaks, and small sailboats. An old trailer does mean building simple bunks appropriate for your boat and learning to check and service wheel bearings....
 
Lindac, Your avatar is familiar—from years past, but I'm thinking a different name accompanied it. :confused:

To a kayaker, I sold a smooth-riding, (albeit rusty) and unneeded "minimal" trailer for $75. It had ¼-elliptical springs, :eek: and rode so smoothly that a Vise-Grip I'd absent-mindedly left on the Sunfish deck—not just survived the trip, but hadn't moved. This spring can be cut from a "full" ½-elliptical spring.

'Thinking "Less is more".

PB290017-004.JPG
 
I just upgraded my standard boat trailer by removing the longitudinal bunks that are normal on a boat trailer, and then building a 4'x8' "box" platform with 2x10 sides and 2x6 decking. then I added 2 A-frames and a top strut between them. a long piece of 1x6 cedar flexes with the boat to cradle the side of the hull. 2 curved brackets to hold the sail bag up top. tons of extra storage inside the box part of the trailer now, and I can easily trailer 2 boats at a time now. just traveled 1,500 miles on vacation with the trailer and it pulled and handled like a charm.

img_1639.jpg
 
The Trailex: On one trip to Maine the metal piece supporting one of the “cradles” broke in half, leaving a sharp end very close to the hull which fortunately did not puncture it. I later read people saying that it’s more or less a glorified dolly not meant for long trips? Other than that, forever messing with the lights (standard for just about any trailer I suppose). But I mostly just feel that it doesn’t protect the boat from bouncing damage. Their double trailer (my brother has one) seems to do better.
There is a thread on this forum from 2008 regarding this same issue of broken cradle brackets (with many pics) that others have had with the older Trailex. Some modifications can be made to reinforce the bunk. I also have a Trailex (SUT 200) and have had no problems, though I don’t travel too far with it and have kept a close eye on the fittings.
I also have a galvanized Karavan trailer with 12” tires. Better for long distance and it will never rust out. Both have their benefits, I think.
 

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Tag I like your setup if two boats are to be carried, seems like it might be easier to tip and load vs stacking? As we get older we are trying to keep everything closer to the ground and avoid lifting up past the shoulders. We also are starting to exercise a bit with the exercises focused towards things we need to do to keep boating. Getting a good base of walking endurance was the "first step."

So trailers and dollies are key in our plan to sail into our 60s and 70s. An injury that we could have recovered from 30 years ago could take us out for an entire season now, and in Florida the season is 11 months!

Right now we are up to incline planks, kayak squats, crunches and low stair steps. Lots of stretching for upper legs, low back and shoulders.
Stretching is the key, we try to do that each day whether we work out or not.

Cheers
Kent and Skipper
 
That is a nice setup Tag has, just a short lift & flip for each hull as opposed to a high lift for cartopping or stack trailers... and SC, ya got that right about the injuries not healing as fast with age. I thrashed my knee while dirt biking on Rim Road 300 last year, and the damned thing still isn't right, I reckon it'll never be 100% again. When it happened, my knee quickly blew up to the size of Rhode Island... the real torture test came when I had to ride for miles back to the trailhead, sweatin' from the pain, the thrashed leg hanging off to one side, LOL. Cost me $400 in X-rays at a clinic for them to tell me it was NOT broken (thought for sure it was), but there undoubtedly was damage to tendons, cartilage, whatever... thing is still stiff on certain days, and I've accepted the fact that it may never fully heal. :confused:

Lesson learned: ya can't ride like the crusty demon o' dirt ya were at 20 years of age, wipe out at speed on hard stony ground while half-lit, get up and walk away like you're still 20... it doesn't work that way anymore, LOL. When I get around to riding again, it'll probably be on a racing quad, might be safer than two wheels in the dirt. I've been riding dirt bikes all my life too, it's not like it was my first day out on the Rim Road, but that's a rough trail in sections, it runs at least 90 miles from Show Low over toward Payson & Pine. Might be even longer, I only rode for so many miles in each direction. Very scenic ride, and heaps of wildlife, including deer and big ol' elk that will jump out in the trail ahead of ya... I used to ride there often before the wreck, there's an access point (or trailhead) a mile or less from my house, LOL. :rolleyes:

P.S. You can probably Google "Rim Road 300" and see photographs or videos, the road runs along the Mogollon Rim in some of the best country Arizona has to offer. :cool:

Edit: Here ya go, betcha don't see this too often in Florida, LOL...

rim road 300 - Bing images

When I first Googled this, some failed geography student had it listed as the "Mongolian Rim"---LOL, complete with Attila the Hun, 10-4? :eek:
 
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Yes, that was an informative thread. And it appears that Trailex listened to some of our complaints by adding a spring to the suspension.
But I still have the old version Trailex; here is what I learned from all the responses:

  1. I now drive very slowly over a bump and slower over roads with many potholes. It so happens that one of the clubs that I visit once a year has really abominable access.
  2. As already recommended by Kent, I don't strap my fish on too tightly anymore; just loose enough so it won't bounce. I may have overdone this earlier on.

Would love to change to the new suspension system; probably expensive, and not sure if it can be done.

2008 thread about (older?) Trailex trailers:
Problems with the Trailex SUT-200-S
 
I just sold an old style Trailex. The bunk supports bent going around curves. It's more a dolly than an open road trailer. VERY lightweight...good for toting around by hand but I didn't travel further than very local and under 40 mph. Would work fine for a Wal-Mart kayak etc.
 
I just sold an old style Trailex. The bunk supports bent going around curves. It's more a dolly than an open road trailer. VERY lightweight...good for toting around by hand but I didn't travel further than very local and under 40 mph. Would work fine for a Wal-Mart kayak etc.

A "Walmart kayak"---damn, selling one of those to someone who couldn't swim would be nothing short of murder, LOL. On the other hand, it could serve as the inspiration for a whole new series of hardcore outdoor adventures:

"I CIRCUMNAVIGATED ANTARCTICA & I DID IT IN A WALMART KAYAK!!!" :eek:

It'll be the new minimalist gear of choice for wilderness explorers, since it'll boost the danger & difficulty ratings into low earth orbit, LOL. :rolleyes: ;) :rolleyes:
 
trailex.jpg


This is a pic (I believe) of Wavedancer's older Trailex SUT-200-S, the one with the crummy rubber molding suspension. It would be quite easy to retrofit this trailer with a transverse leaf suspension:
• remove the aluminum risers at the ends of the axle (marked with red "Xs").
• through-bolt the spring to the center of the crosspiece fender carrier.
• shackle the ends of the spring to the ends of the axle. The "stabilizer bars" in the picture help locate the axle and keep it at 90° to the center beam of the trailer. These look pretty wimpy, and should be replaced with heavier angle or tube stock.

Any spring shop could make a leaf spring of the correct length, camber, and weight rating for a trailer like this, plus provide the shackles to U bolt the spring to the axle.

I don't remember ever having inspected a Trailex trailer. It may be that the scantlings of the aluminum sections Trailex chose (plus the small wheels & tires) are just too lightweight & crappy to make a rebuild like this worthwhile.

shackle.jpg


This is a poor picture (from underneath) of an old transverse spring trailer showing how the spring is usually shackled to the end of the axle.
 
My son and I built a double rack on a utility trailer in an afternoon. Used wood for structure and custom bunks. Cheap and easy, and it works.
 
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This is a pic (I believe) of Wavedancer's older Trailex SUT-200-S, the one with the crummy rubber molding suspension. It would be quite easy to retrofit this trailer with a transverse leaf suspension:
• remove the aluminum risers at the ends of the axle (marked with red "Xs").
• through-bolt the spring to the center of the crosspiece fender carrier.
• shackle the ends of the spring to the ends of the axle. The "stabilizer bars" in the picture help locate the axle and keep it at 90° to the center beam of the trailer. These look pretty wimpy, and should be replaced with heavier angle or tube stock.

Any spring shop could make a leaf spring of the correct length, camber, and weight rating for a trailer like this, plus provide the shackles to U bolt the spring to the axle.


I don't remember ever having inspected a Trailex trailer. It may be that the scantlings of the aluminum sections Trailex chose (plus the small wheels & tires) are just too lightweight & crappy to make a rebuild like this worthwhile.

This is a poor picture (from underneath) of an old transverse spring trailer showing how the spring is usually shackled to the end of the axle.
I like the transverse spring idea, although the standard axle seems to start out bent. :confused:

The transverse spring is really the ¼-elliptical idea from my old, sold, trailer, above. (But turned sideways). IMHO, a great "spring-rate" for a single Sunfish.

Jeepers! :eek: I just realized that it's been 60 years since my Dad told me that 8" trailer tires were too small for the highway. :(

>
 
I would like to thank Roller for innovative advice.
But I disagree with mixmkr that a Trailex shouldn't be used for longer trips. Even though it should be obvious by now that I am not a super happy camper with my Trailex, it has served me for over ten years and taken me to many regattas. By now, I have about ten thousand miles on it; most of them at highway speed (50-60 mph). I did replace the wheels (Walmart) a while ago and have the bearings serviced about once every other year (a job one can do oneself). I usually launch from a boat ramp and the bearings do get wet most of the time and will start to leak. As stated earlier, I have become more careful with potholes etc.
 
I drive 70 on my highways. I had the old style suspension, which was basically nill. Quality trailer for lightweight but my Sunfish was basically too much weight for 45 mph curves...unless tied down to the extreme. No way Id ride down a US interstate with it.
 

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