Trailer selection

I've been car topping my AI for some years but now I'm considering a trailer. As usual there seems to be an agonizing number of options and I don't have any experience so I wondered if those who've trailered might share their experience and perspective so I can make a choice and get on with it.

First, I don't have the skills to make a custom trailer as some people have, so I think I need something off the shelf. I want to be able to transport the AI rigged (perhaps a TI later should I get one) to fullest extent possible (i.e., akas and amas attached), and also of course the mast and it would be great if there was a box to accommodate the sundry other bits (dagger board, seat, motor, whatever). And it would be very cool if it had rack space above the AI that could accommodate two sea kayaks (but that's not essential). So I know about trailex and yakama rack-and-roll. I presume they would both suit though I've not seen either with a gear box. I've not gotten a clear sense of which is a better trailer, though the trailex is less expensive. I like the idea of foldup storage of the yakima. I have the impression but I'm confident in it, that the trailex is submersible but the yakima isn't.

Next, I was wondering how people with trailers work with them at launch and recovery time. With my dingy, of course, you back the trailer into the water on the boat ramp, slide the boat off or winch it back on, but perhaps that's not the normal thing with an AI/TI. If you de-trailer onto a parking lot then you must have to transfer the boat to wheels and then take it to the water. Is that what is normally done?

It seems to me that if the recovery is done from the parking area, and not directly from the water, then there's a need to heft the boat up onto the trailer. Surely that's less effort than hefting up to the roof of the car, but it's effort, and a trailer is all about trying to avoid that, and that would suggest the trailer lower to the ground would be preferred, all esle constant. Is that sensible?

Are there any other options to consider?

Are all equally accommodative of hobie ai/ti cradles?

Thanks for whatever advice/experience you can provide!

Tim

To trailer or not to trailer...that is the question.

Here is my experience with trailering my TI. My dealer offered to build me a galvanized trailer and put hobie cradles on it for ~$900, so it was much cheaper than any of the options that you listed. I used the cradles for 1 season before they started to crack (could have been me, but I doubt it). There were other issues with the cradles... 1) they were the rubber coated ones, so the boat didn't slide well on them. Made recovering the boat while at the ramp painful. Trying to pull 240# onto the trailer by myself was a bear. 2) Even though Hobie recommends storing the boat on the cradles I noticed that they left nice big dents in the bottom of the hull.
So, I ended up replacing the cradles with PVC bunks, added a winch to make recovering easier, added a sail tube for long trips, and I added a bike rack made out of unistrut. You can see my trailer upgrades on the this thread http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=73&t=57275. So, you don't have to start from scratch with a trailer. You can get one made and then go from there.

I always launch/recover from a boat ramp. I can set the boat up in about 10 minutes and then just back the boat down the ramp, slide the TI off, tie it up, park the truck and away I go. It's just reverse for recovering. I attempted to carry a stripped down TI to a small beach with my wife. Even stripped down it was a lot of effort and we ended up recovering at the boat ramp.

_________________
2015 Hobie Tandem Island Hibiscus
"Third Normal Form"

• Trampolines
• Hobie cover
• Davis Spar Fly
• Kayakbob's Sprayskirts
• Spine Board Hakas

Car topped for 3 years and this year bought a Trailex trailer. This one for my AI...

http://www.austinkayak.com/products/148 ... 220-S.html

I found that this trailer is very light and low to the ground. You can easily lift the trailer and use it as a dolly. I bring the trailer down to the waters edge but do not put the wheels in the water. Even so, I find it easy to slide the boat on and off the 1.5in PVC bunks I screwed to the wooden v-forms. Great for AI but you will need to get this one if you want to upsize to a TI and still use the trailer.

http://www.austinkayak.com/products/850 ... 350-S.html

I could not fit the SUT-350 in my garage. The SUT-220 was a perfect fit.

_________________
Greg

2016 AI - Spinn & Jib

“Out of sight of land the sailor feels safe. It is the beach that worries him.”
– Charles G. Davis

I got the Yakima and have been using it for almost a year now......... It sure is sexy and at least a half-dozen total strangers have come up to me to say how cool it looks....... And the wheels are speed-rated for something ridiculous.

All that being said, I am 99% sure I would have been better served by vetgam's Trailex for $400-$500 less. ..... Loading height is a big deal and the Yak trailer's height is about as high as they come once you build/install the frame needed to space/balance the cradles.

Yak's foldup storage appealed to me too.... but once you fabricate the frame used to hold the cradles, foldup storage becomes significantly compromised..

If you do, for some reason, go with the Yak I would advise *not* getting the kickstand: it's flimsey and over priced. You can do much better with one of the el-cheapo folding tongue jacks from Home Depot or Harbor Freight.

My SOP uses the large (30cm) scupper-mount beach wheels. I pull into the parking lot and park. Then I pull the AI halfway off the trailer until it is just a little over-balanced (i.e. the stern starts see-sawing down to the ground). ..... Then I remove the beach wheels from where they are stored behind the seat. .... This brings the boat back into balance..... Then I get down on the ground and insert the beach wheels from below..... once they are inserted, I can just push with one foot and the boat slides off the trailer onto the wheels and I walk it to the edge of the water: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipP ... JaRW5TYzBR

Last time I put a clock on it, the time was less than thirteen minutes from trailer to being fully rigged on the edge of the water. .... That was a lucky day, however, and the time is more typically twenty-some minutes.

The only possible argument for the Yak that I can imagine is that maybe the Trailex is so low that the beach wheels cannot be inserted with the hull halfway off of the trailer. ...... I doubt that is true, but it is something that would need to be verified...... and even if it were true, I would expect that replacing the stock 8" wheels with 12" wheels would cure it.

Totally. ..... That's the main functional issue with my Yak trailer: higher off the ground means more effort to load the boat. ..... I finally wimped out and rigged up a 4:1 pulley system attached to the roof rack on my pickup truck.... so that issue has gone away for me, but it is not to be ignored and, with the Trailex trailers lower is better.

One mitigating factor for me, though: my pickup truck is abnormally high - even for a pickup... didn't realize that when I bought it and would not have bought if if I had known.... but the Yak's greater height means that the boat is visible in my rear-view mirror. .... This is nice when backing up and somewhat reassuring when driving down the road. ..... OTOH a couple of PVC pipes sticking up from a Trailex and/or the hull would probably accomplish about the same thing - and your vehicle is probably not as high as mine.

Turnpike tolls. On the Atlantic City Expressway and feeder bridges they really rape the small trailer users.... can't recall how badly, but it's something like triple the regular toll.

No. .... You need two things in a trailer when using cradles: the ability to mount the cradles the proper space apart, and the ability to move the cradles fore/aft as needed to achieve the proper hitch weight.

The Trailex, with it's slotted alu extrusions, allows both spacing and fore-aft adjustment to your heart's content. ...... The Yakima Rack-and-Roll, OTOH, demands that you build your own frame to give the needed cradle spacing and allow fore-aft adjustment: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipP ... JaRW5TYzBR

It's not exactly rocket science.... and pressure-treated 2x4's are not that expensive.... but it's a significant time sink until you get it worked out. .... I kind of enjoy that sort of thing, but this one I would gladly do without given the lower cost and superior functionality of the Trailex products.



Oh yeah.... I almost forgot: I recommend the Trailex over the Yak..... -)

_________________
2015 AI in "Dune" - "The Grey Pig"
2017 Trailex 450 Trailer
Pre-September 2015 cradles
(anybody want to buy a slightly-used AI SpinKit?)
eMail: [email protected]

Tim
I have a large custom trailer I built myself that has a very large Thule cargo box on an upper level. I really like this setup but one disadvantage is I can't conveniently launch my TI directly into the water. I have to step the mast and extend the akas after the boat is off of the trailer. I say conveniently because I could do it but I would have to slosh around in the water to rig everything. I only did that once. Now I pull the boat far enough out to expose the scupper holes and set the stern on a 5 gallon bucket until I get my Hobie HD scupper cart with cradle installed. I put most of my gear on the boat directly from the Thule box when launching. Then I kick the bucket out of the way while lifting the stern and pulling the boat the rest of the way until the cart wheels are on the ground. I have tramps and hakas so it's a lot easier to rig all of this stuff on dry land.
When reloading the boat I usually take as much as possible off of it to make it lighter. It's an awkward lift and crab walk to put the boat back on the trailer so I want it to be as light as possible.
I just discovered that I can raise the collars 2" on the scupper cart to gain a little height and eliminate a little bit of the lift. If I had built my trailer from scratch rather than converting an old A frame I would probably have made the wheel base wider so that the wheels and suspension could be outside of the amas and allow the trailer to be lower. I may still modify what I have to do this and I have been looking at torsion axles which take a lot less height than conventional leaf springs as well as having other advantages for light loads like boats. My goal is to eliminate most or all of the lifting so that I don't hurt my back when launching.

Chris

I got a Trailex trailer that was a bit longer than Hobie's "official" TI trailer (also a Trailex). The Hobie one had quite a bit of overhang off the back of the trailer, might have been fine but I didn't like it. The back of my trailer is just a foot or so short of the end of the TI and the TI has support for most of its length.

I launch at boat ramps! I did get the BIG dolly and might eventually try rolling it down to the water (maybe at a campsite where I don't want to drive over to a ramp) but just moving the thing around in the driveway a few times (including one hilarious and frightening attempt at cartopping it on my pickup w/ Yakima racks) has really dampened my enthusiasm for that idea!

I just pull into a parking slot at the ramp, set up the TI (leaving one strap on to keep it from tilting sideways as I drive to the ramp), then back down the ramp and slide it off. Retrieve in reverse. That's the only real pain, getting it lined up to go back on the trailer - especially on a windy day - without having to wade out too far in the water. Not a big deal though.

I tried using the Hobie cradles at first (three of them, since my trailer is longer) but could NOT find suitable locations to get the TI to sit properly in the cradles. I found some big divots in the hull where the cradles were pressing into the sides. Took them off, replaced them with PVC bunks, and the TI is better supported and slides on/off the trailer MUCH easier as well.

I have my Trailex set up so it's as low as possible (central boom runs under the wheel frame instead of on top) which makes it easy to load/unload but makes it harder to even see the thing behind my vehicle. When I was using my S10 I couldn't see the trailer at all when the TI wasn't on it. I had to lower the tailgate to see it when backing down the boat ramp. Now I have a Transit full-size van and I can't see the TI at all behind the van! The Ford backup cam is too low, just gives me a close-up view of the bow of the TI. Replaced the third brake light with one that has a camera in it, now have a 7" monitor beside the rearview mirror that I can use to keep an eye on the TI while driving or backing.

I did initially consider adding a second layer to carry a kayak or two, maybe a storage box, but now wouldn't want to give up the ability to easily set up the TI (including stepping mast and rigging lines) while it's on the trailer, also being able to just pull the TI out of the water as-is then do teardown on level ground out of the way.

I had my local trailer guy modify a stock dinghy trailer. He extended the drawbar at both ends so the rear overhang of my TI was withing the permitted 36" to be legal, and at the front, added a winch and jockey wheel. Unlike the Trailex trailers, the towball on my trailer is within 12" of the bow, including the winch!

I bought the Hobie cradles, and added boat rollers front and back, bisecting the areas outside the cradles, and my TI has lived full-time on the trailer since I got it in mid 2012, without any apparent hull distortion..

However, if I had known about it at the time, I would have gone for the pvc buncks, as a more elegant solution.

My trailer is galvanised steel, and I have always launch my TI directly off the trailer at the ramp, submerging the wheels. While I ensure the wheel bearings are well serviced, my trailer seems to be holding up very well to its regular dunking.

_________________
Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

Trailex, trailex, trailex.

That's something else I did to mine, I only had (think it was) 19 feet in my garage between door and back wall. My TI sits on the trailer with the bow just at the back edge of the hitch, maybe 6" from the ball! (I don't have a winch or bow stop, the bow roller is supporting the bow about 1-2 feet back from the front.) As it is I still have to angle the trailer just a bit to fit it in the garage.

I have a winch and there have been a couple of times I wished I had it installed but it makes the trailer feel SO much heavier that I don't like it. I have to unhitch the trailer and roll it into the garage by hand. (Yeah, ought to get one of those dollies with a hitch ball on it.) I wonder if anyone makes a light-duty winch? The one supplied by Trailex is good for a big motor boat, massive overkill for a TI and - again - quite heavy.

Looks like I have a trailex or similar in my future. I'll launch from it and probably be able to mount a gear box but will let the additional kayak racks idea go. I see rigging on the trailer as much as possible as an advantage. It sounds like pvc pipe supports is a good choice, plus a winch and rollers. My cars are low to the ground (I might just pull it with my miata -- just for effect ) so the lower the trailer the better. Now to find a dealer.

This is immensely helpful!

Thanks very much.

Tim

The miata should be able to tow it. I have a buddy that tows his TI (on a trailex) with his triumph scrambler.

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk

_________________
2015 Hobie Tandem Island Hibiscus
"Third Normal Form"

• Trampolines
• Hobie cover
• Davis Spar Fly
• Kayakbob's Sprayskirts
• Spine Board Hakas

I guess your garage length is the limiting factor, but if it were not for that constraint I would expect that you could adjust the hitch weight to whatever you want just by shifting the cradles (COG) backwards.

I think recommended hitch weight is something like 12% of the trailer's weight + boat weight (i.e. GVW).

_________________
2015 AI in "Dune" - "The Grey Pig"
2017 Trailex 450 Trailer
Pre-September 2015 cradles
(anybody want to buy a slightly-used AI SpinKit?)
eMail: [email protected]

Yep, can't go any longer.

Though, now you mention it and I think about it more...

One really nice thing about the Trailex trailer is being able to slide the crossbars and the wheel set anywhere you want on the boom. Back when I set it up I did try sliding the wheels forward some more to lighten the tongue but at that time I was using the cradles so I needed the crossbars to be in specific locations. That meant I couldn't move the wheels just a little farther forward, I had to move it in front of the center crossbar. When I did that the TI/trailer sat on its tail!

But now I'm using PVC bunks and the PVC actually floats on the center crossbar (it's only bolted down at the front and back ones) so that crossbar could go anywhere I want now, which means I could put the wheel set anywhere I want... I'll have to look at that again.

You can take the loaded trailer to a public scale to obtain the gross weight then adjust the axle position to get 10-15% of that amount at the hitch. If your trailer sways at highway speed it's an indication that the tongue weight is too light
(wheels too far forward).

I store my trailer on a pair of heavy duty harbor freight car dollies in the garage. It only takes a couple of minutes to put them under the trailer wheels using a light weight aluminum floor jack. Then I can maneuver the trailer easily and push it right against the wall. You have to have a trailer jack with a wheel rather than a skid to do this.
I always take the jack along in the truck because it's a lot easier to change a tire with a floor jack than anything else.
http://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece-15 ... 67338.html
http://www.harborfreight.com/15-ton-com ... 62160.html

If your garage is too shallow you can put a fold away coupler on it. They make them both weld on and bolt on.
http://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Folding_Tongue.aspx

Chris

Beware of selecting the Hobie TI Cradles. Mine are less than two seasons old and they have both cracked very badly, almost to the point of falling apart.