PA 14 Trailer

I decided to get a new PA 14 in the next week or so. What is everyone using for a trailer?

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Christ Follower, Husband, Father
2016 PA 14
2003 Excursion 7.3
I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength Philippians 4:13

It really depends on what you want to spend, and/or how much time you want to invest. Do a google image search on "kayak trailers". There is no one best trailer, its all about what is best for you, what works in your budget, and what bests protects your investment while making it as easy as possible to launch and retrieve your new Pro Angler.

I took the Frankenstein approach and modified a $189 Harbor Freight, have about $450 into it now - plus title and registration cost - which I have registered in Illinois and is STUPID EXPENSIVE!

http://t.harborfreight.com/automotive-m ... 62645.html

I added an 8' tongue, PVC bunks, Rhino-Rack Saddles, Bearing Buddies, and submersible lights... It has been an ongoing project, which I love doing in my spare time...when I cannot be out on the water. If I can be on the water, all the tinkering and modifications can wait.

Here are some pictures of my award wining HF Pro Angler 14 trailer...









This weekend, in between fishing and when I should be sleeping, I wll be adding pickup style ladder racks and a rooftop cargo basket. Want to have some added storage for weekending and also a place to carrier my "guest" kayak.

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STLKayak
2020 Pro Angler 14 360
St. Louis, Missouri
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005695487937

We use this continental aluminum trailer. Got it originally for paddle yaks but fits the hobies just fine .

I do want to throw one more thing out...food for thought as it were. There is a big problem with trailers like mine. Leaf spring axels, while they have some advantages over others, are notoriously bad at carrying light loads. The HF trailer I bought was meant to carry up to 1090lb's of weight. I got around this a bit by removing 2 of the 3 leaf springs and lowering the tire pressure. Even then, it can be pretty bouncy. The more weight I add, the better this type of trailer rides. That is one of the main reasons I want to add ladder racks and a roof rack. More weight. I found that when I have stacked a second kayak - like my buddies Cuda 14 - on top of my PA, the trailer rides SO MUCH BETTER. And that is just adding around 100 pounds.

If I had the money to spend, I would go with a trailer with a Tortion axel. They sit lower to the ground, handle better cornering and at highway speeds, they are MUCH better with lighter loads, and they require less maintenance. Some people say that cold affects them, but I think that is probably more the quality of the axel than anything else. I know cold makes my HF trailer stiffer than (censored) and seem even bouncier.

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STLKayak
2020 Pro Angler 14 360
St. Louis, Missouri
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005695487937

On my Hobie Trailex trailer where I upgraded the tires and wheels to 12" from the 8", I inflate the tires to 12 psi and the ride is good....no excessive bouncing or tire over heating or tire wear.
I am carrying a PA-14 with all of my gear.....trailer with spare tire, front winch, etc, etc is about 325 pounds gross weight.

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR

Are those 4.80/4.0 12" 4 Ply tires? I originally had mine inflated to 60psi! It was like the trailer was sitting on rocks, I run at around 25-30psi now. No issues with 12psi, huh, I might need to drop mine down. Hell I am full of enough hot air that might be able to keep them inflated to 12psi without a pump.

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STLKayak
2020 Pro Angler 14 360
St. Louis, Missouri
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005695487937

Yes. Trailex specifies 12 to 15 psi max. for the 4.8/4.0 x 8" tires.....OD ~ 15", 4 lug.

I misspoke on the tires I changed to...they are 5.7 x 8" tires.....OD ~ 18", 4 lug, 12 psi in these tires too.
Both tires are 4 ply, high speed rated trailer tires.

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR

There is a weigh station at one of the recyclers near downtown. Thinking I might want to check out the weight of my trailer. Would be hard pressed to believe it is much over 350 pounds. Will give 15 psi a try this weekend. I guess, if less air keeps the trailer from bouncing, the tires are going to last longer, and probably less chance of a blow out or shred.

My trailer, like the Trailex is very narrow at about 48", I fear a flat because I will probably not be able to see it until pieces of tire or shooting up into the air.

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STLKayak
2020 Pro Angler 14 360
St. Louis, Missouri
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005695487937

My PA14 trailer solution . . . Bulldog Folding Trailer with 12" wheels. Works great for me and takes up very little room when folded up. Set up is pretty quick installing the front and rear cross bars and strapping on a couple 3" PVC tubes. Have taken two 300+ mile trips so far without issue.

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STLKayak - What kind of tongue jack/stand and spare tire holder are you using?

The jack stand is from SeaSense...about $40 on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009P ... em_1p_0_ti

The spare tire holder came from Rural King. It is basically this one...

http://www.wholesalemarine.com/fulton-t ... aQodQosMdQ

...the bolts were sticking up about 4-5" above the tire, so i did take my dremmel and cut them down below the level of the tire, so they would not damage the kayak. I also did not use the locking levers. I just used half inch bolts and a couple of 1" tall spacers/washers to attach it to the trailer, thru the tire lug holes on the tire rim.

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STLKayak
2020 Pro Angler 14 360
St. Louis, Missouri
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005695487937

I added a TMS truck ladder rack to my trailer this morning. Figured I could install it and be out on the water by 10am. I was wrong! Finished up the rack install at 6:15pm...after my third trip to Home Depot! But I was able to redesign it in a way that increased the clearance from the standard 28" to just over 40", which makes it the perfect fit for my fully loaded PA to sit under, and has a TMS roof cargo rack and a set of Yakima saddles that will fit on top. This will make it easier to carrier a second or third kayak on the trailer, or store extra gear in the cargo rack.

I will post some pictures tomorrow. My back and hands are killing me tonight. To tired to take pictures, and my knuckles are pretty much toast. I don't know how mechanics do it all day long!

I will say this, it did turn out better than I thought. And I learned some pretty good lessons that I will share if anyone is interested in doing the same.

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STLKayak
2020 Pro Angler 14 360
St. Louis, Missouri
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005695487937

Here are some pictures of the trailer with ladder rack and cargo rack. The TMS roof rack will not attach to the TMS ladder rack, using the included mounting hardware. I still need to figure of a better way to attach the two...but that should be simple enough. I also think I am going to purchase the roof top cargo rack extender to increase it's overall length.







I did not realize the roof rack was much grayer than the rest of the trailer... Rustoleum to the rescue.

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STLKayak
2020 Pro Angler 14 360
St. Louis, Missouri
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005695487937

I updated my message since you already posted the pictures. I saw similar rack in amazon for 80.00. Can that rack be lowered..

I don't know if you can tell by looking close at the picture, but the upper arms are actually put in vertically instead of horizontally. Out of the box, putting it together as suggested, the cross bars sit 28 1/2" over the bed of the trailer. That is just high enough for the kayak with seat folded down to fit. When I changed the alignment of the bars to be more vertical, it increased the cross bar higher to 40". I am actually thinking of using a hack saw and removing 4" from the bottom of each of the upper posts. This would give me three feet of clearance above the deck of the trailer. Which is enough to have the seat up when under the rack. 4" may not sound like much difference for the work needed, but I am kind of a perfectionist.

I have not bolted the top of the post together and won't until I make up my mind as to the final height. Once I figure out exactly how high I want it, I will cut the upper tubes to length and thru-bolt with stainless steel.

One other thing, in the configuration shown above, the factory cross tubes that fit between each side of the ladder rack were to short. I went to my local steel supply shop - Shapiro Steel - and found a perfect fitting piece of chrome-alloy tube (5 7/16" outside diameter) which I had them cut to 48" lengths. These cost me $20 each, but the tubes are very strong, light weight, and already black, so no painting needed.

Also, on my Harbor Freight trailer, the factory bolt holes on the ladder rack were off metal, so I had to drill 4 new 1/2" bolt holes per rack. Oh to have bought that drill press I have been eyeing! Would have been much easier than practically destroying my electric hand drill, which has developed a bit of a shimmy after drilling sixteen 1/2" holes thru 1/8" hardend steel!

Finally, what I really like about this is that it will be very modular. I can remove the roof rack and add a couple of kayak saddles, potentially being able to carry three kayaks on the trailer and one on the roof of my SUV. With the roof rack on I can have most of my weekend camping gear in tubs or dry bags on top of the roof rack, freeing up space in my vehicle. Plus it adds some extra weight to the trailer which makes it ride even better.

Like I said, I still have a couple of things to finish up and decide on. But then again, no Frankenstein project is every really done.

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STLKayak
2020 Pro Angler 14 360
St. Louis, Missouri
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005695487937