Adding a cargo box To a trailer

I was waiting on my TI to arrive before finishing my trailer so I could take measurements. As luck would have it, I still don't have my boat. I'm going to add a cargo box on the trailer, above the boat on a rack. My question is, how high does my rack need to be above the lower deck of the trailer to have plenty of space to comfortably load and unload the TI. I was thinking about 30-36 inches. Don't wanna go to high and make it hard to access the cargo box.

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Chris


2015 Tandem Island-ivory dune

I just measured mine the other day to do something similar. I want to add bike racks. I found that from the cross bar that my cradles sit on, about 42" gives good clearance. However, I plan on making my racks removable. So, clearance isn't necessarily an issue for me. If I We're going to leave the racks on permanently then I would probably bump that measurement up to 48"

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2015 Hobie Tandem Island Hibiscus
"Third Normal Form"

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

Wow! You mean 48" tall opening? That's pretty tall. That means the bottom of the box would be near six foot tall from the ground. The specs say the it's only 17 inches tall + 2 inches for the bunks. I thought 30 inches would be sufficient.

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Chris


2015 Tandem Island-ivory dune

Like I said, I measured from the crossbar that holds my cradles. The lowest I would go is 36".

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2015 Hobie Tandem Island Hibiscus
"Third Normal Form"

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

You only need 30", that leaves enough space to lash the amas on top of the hull if you want to. Note that the height of your trailer bed above the ground affects the angle of the hull when you are loading and how soon you have to lift the boat before it hits your upper rack from below. The top of my bunks are 24" from the ground and I can get the boat pretty far in before having to lift the stern. You are going to want a side opening cargo box. The one I purchased is a Thule Force and is easy to access from the side.

Chris

My bunks are about the same distance off of the ground, actually a little less. I won't be putting amas on top of the kayak. I built the trailer to have about 53-54" between the fenders so everything will fit without removing the amas or going over the fenders. I have a Yakima skybox pro that I'm going to use. Opens on both sides.

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Chris


2015 Tandem Island-ivory dune

I personally cherish the lack of anything above my TI on the trailer, as I can fully rig it for launching before backing down the ramp, by walking around, raising the mast, extending the amas, setting up skirts etc etc.

Not muich needs to go inside my vehicle for travel unless I need to leave the rig unattended, in which case Miragedrives and Fishfinder head are removed.

If I was to add any storage box on my trailer, I would place it (or them) on either side of the bow, rather thsn above the hull.

Just thinking outside the square...
BTW One local fellow went REALLY outside the square, and built a HUGE box covering the whole area of the trailer! This box is hinged on one side, and is about a foot deep. He has cradles for his AI (and provision for his Revo13 as well). There are hydraulic struts on the box, so the lid can be lifted easily (I do not know whether it can be lifted while one or both Hobies are in place).

I also heard he was planning on adding walls, so he could sleep inside it if he wanted!.

That's not just outside the square, it's down a couple of blocks! I will see if I can obtain photos.

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

That's an interesting idea and had crossed my mind while building the trailer to have some kind of tent arrangement that uses the structure of the trailer for support. The bunks wouldn't be too comfortable to sleep on though
I'm going to at least rig up some kind of tarp for shade off of the side of the trailer. Maybe a huge tarp over the whole trailer and it will look like a Bedouin encampment.

Not being able to extend the amas on the trailer is a trade off I ran into yesterday. I need to do some rigging on the boat like the ama safety lines and haka securing. I have to take the boat out of the garage and pull it off of the trailer to do any work that involves extending the amas. Since I expect to be doing a lot of tinkering on the boat I took two Harbor Freight dollies and built a box out of scrap 2x6 that will sit on the dollies and have pvc bunks at the same level as the trailer. That way I can pull the boat off and fully deploy it in the garage. I'm going to try it today and maybe come up with a version that comes apart easily for storage. Or make my wife park outside and keep the Revo13 on it.

On my trailer the lower platform is 48" wide and the platform that supports the Thule box above is only 24" wide and in the center. The 30" height gives me enough clearance that I'm not banging my head into anything while messing around with the boat and I can still grab anything in the Thule box from one side. I've managed to get everything that goes in the boat into the XXL Thule box.

Chris

Not sure if I would set it up while on the trailer anyway as the fenders are higher than the boat. I am running 14" wheels and 32" fenders. Also, the lake I live close to, there are 2 bridges close to the ramp that I need to get under before setting the mast.

Already built the top frame to be the width of the trailer. Figured that getting the proper angles for the supports would be a pain. I'd rather make it narrower though. Wish I knew a good way to get the angles.
Buck, can you post some pics?
How is everyone supporting the amas? I was thinking I'd get a plank of wood or something?

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Chris


2015 Tandem Island-ivory dune

What angles are you referring to ?
This thread has several pictures of my trailer:
viewtopic.php?f=73&t=53232&hilit=pvc+bunks

Chris

Oh, never mind. Thought you went from the outer edge to 24" at an angle. Made mine a little different. You made hoops at the front and rear and attached them with a cross bar. I made a frame 6' long and the same width as the trailer and will add 4 posts at each corner. Didn't think about doing it the way that you did yours. That would have been a little easier, especially working alone. Might have to rethink things a little. I could easily cut my frame in half and do the same thing. It would make installation easier and I wouldn't have to worry about bumping my head. Same amount of material, no extra work and the rack where the box mounts would be shorter.
I think I've just talked myself into changing things up a little. I may just copy your idea, Chris.

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Chris


2015 Tandem Island-ivory dune

My trailer is mostly bolted together except I lengthened the rear of the original A frame trailer that is the base and lengthened the draw bar.
I would have welded a lot more of it but I didn't have the boat when I built it and didn't want to make any big mistakes that would be difficult to change. The hardware that holds the hoop on the A part was a little tricky because of the angles involved so I ended up making it out of flat bar and tacking the angle before welding it out. The other hoop brackets are just two pieces of angle iron separated by 2" square tube the same size at the hoop base.
Let me know if you need any other dimensions, the folks here helped me immensely in getting the trailer designed.
Chris

Ok. Just wish I had the boat. I'm going to just have 30" from the top of the bunks to the bottom of the rail. Oh crap, I was also wantont to put a 5" pvc under the cargo box for the sail. Oh well, I'll wait for that to see if I have room.

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Chris


2015 Tandem Island-ivory dune

I couldn't fit a sail carrier on mine, the bow needs the clearance during loading and the center line of the trailer is about the only place it can go because of it's length.
- Chris

Couldn't you just offset the cargo box enough to put the mast alongside it, on top of the rail?

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