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Canoe Trailer (Read 53098 times)

wally Inukshuk Offline Posts: 1987 Location: Minni-soda Joined: Apr 3^rd, 2003	Re: Canoe Trailer Reply #20 - Apr 8^th, 2009 at 5:10am	Quote Print Post
	If the canoes are higher...I say it will work fine (but I flunked engineering)....I say it will be important to have enough distance between thje bow and aft racks. Too short and the canoes could buckle. Quit abit of torque on them when cinching down in strong winds. Agree with keeping them level to bow-down.


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one_paddle_short New Member Offline Posts: 8 Location: Wisconsin Joined: Feb 20^th, 2009	Re: Canoe Trailer Reply #21 - Apr 8^th, 2009 at 1:01pm	Quote Print Post
	I haven't noticed any problems with my trailer when I have the canoes on top and they're higher than the top of the vehicle. I would think an upside down canoe would be about as good as you can get at cutting through the air. One thing with a utility trailer to keep in mind is that the tongue of the trailer will likely be too short to get a good balance. With the 17 ft. canoes on the trailer the center of gravity is too far back for my trailer and there is not enough tongue weight to keep the trailer from "pounding" up and down on the hitch (being aluminum, the trailer itself is very light). I can't move the canoes forward without running into problems with turning. I could try extending the tongue but I solve the problem with 5-10 gallons of water on the front of the trailer when going on long trips. So, my suggestion would be to plan for some easy way to get some weight on the front of the trailer when needed.


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exdiver Inukshuk Offline Posts: 121 Location: Louisville, KY Joined: Jan 23^rd, 2006	Re: Canoe Trailer Reply #22 - Apr 8^th, 2009 at 5:42pm	Quote Print Post
	Tongue distance is the main reason I like the boat trailer retrofit. A friend and I both built the boxes for a trip. He had 8 guys and myself 6 that year. (we stayed on different lakes in the BW, but traveled the highways together to and from MN) He put his on a utility trailer with the bows pulled back from the front so as to clear the tow vehicle, which left a looonnng turning radius after the trailer axle. Mine had the drawback of the box being farther from the tow vehicle, which we thought caught more wind but allowed the canoes to be centered lengthwise with no dangling parts . Flip a coin --- pros and cons of any setup.


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Woodsy Lucky Member Offline Posts: 10 Location: Up North Wisconsin Joined: Mar 25^th, 2009	Re: Canoe Trailer Reply #23 - Apr 9^th, 2009 at 12:37pm	Quote Print Post
	I have an older utility trailer that gets used for everything by everybody. It was a tilt bed trailer where you pulled a pin at the tongue under the front of the trailer and was hinged at the rear of the tongue. The total length of the tongue was 6 ft. (2 ft. under the trailer and 4 ft. out front). I replaced it with an 8 ft. tongue that installs with 2 pins under the trailer. I drilled enough holes in the tongue so I can make it 4 ft., 5 ft., or 6 ft. sticking out the front.


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Woodsy Lucky Member Offline Posts: 10 Location: Up North Wisconsin Joined: Mar 25^th, 2009	Re: Canoe Trailer Reply #24 - Apr 9^th, 2009 at 12:45pm	Quote Print Post
	Be careful choosing a trailer. If the suspension is too stiff for the load, (six canoes are more bulk than weight) it will beat the heck out of your boats and gear.


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marlin55388 Inukshuk Offline Posts: 1230 Location: Watertown, MN Joined: Mar 6^th, 2009	Re: Canoe Trailer Reply #25 - Apr 9^th, 2009 at 1:14pm	Quote Print Post
	One of the things that I have seen done was to use a topper shell to top a trailer, then a ladder rack on top of the topper shell. Lengthing the tongue on a utility trailer would a pretty easy thing too, the bolt method as stated by Woodsy makes a lot of sense. Greater tongue weight and tongue slightly down assists with the trailer tracking better behind the vehicle. Larger wheeled trailers are also better-better wheel bearing longevity. One could also make up a pigtail with plugs for the tongue stretching procedure. The dune complex south of Pismo Beach are very beautiful-have walked many miles there....sis use to live out there.


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IndyPaddler Lucky Member Offline Posts: 13 Joined: Nov 7^th, 2006	Re: Canoe Trailer Reply #26 - Apr 9^th, 2009 at 5:17pm	Quote Print Post
	Woodsy, great idea on the replacement trailer tongue. I have a tilting utility trailer that works fine also but I only carry one canoe in the center so it doesn't hit the tow vehicle. My 4 12' kayaks are not a problem but I am building 3 17' Pygmy kayaks so a foot longer tongue would work perfectly.


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Puckster Inukshuk Offline Posts: 1208 Location: St. Paul, Minnesota Joined: Feb 10^th, 2009	Re: Canoe Trailer Reply #27 - Apr 10^th, 2009 at 12:16am	Quote Print Post
	Hey Woodsy, any chance you can post a photo of your trailer? prouboy


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Puckster Inukshuk Offline Posts: 1208 Location: St. Paul, Minnesota Joined: Feb 10^th, 2009	Re: Canoe Trailer Reply #28 - Apr 11^th, 2009 at 2:54am	Quote Print Post
	All -- Thanks for your ideas and suggestions. After a day of work with my very talented friend, here's our new canoe trailer, made from my 32-year old utility trailer. All that's left to do is a some paint, eye-bolts, extended tongue, and rewiring. I hope to be ready for our June QP trip out of Atikokan! prouboy


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Woodsy Lucky Member Offline Posts: 10 Location: Up North Wisconsin Joined: Mar 25^th, 2009	Re: Canoe Trailer Reply #29 - Apr 11^th, 2009 at 11:14am	Quote Print Post
	My trailer is in firewood hauler configuration at the moment, but I'll see if I can get a good picture of the tongue setup.


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