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PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 11:46 pm 
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Joined: Wed May 04, 2011 12:32 am
Posts: 29
Location: New Jersey, USA
I've been meaning to post up on this for awhile to share with you guys and have held off because I did not have the photos to share at the time...

Anyway, I put in my order for my boat back in March for an end of June delivery. When you don't have to work out figuring out the logistics and storage necessities for such a large kayak, this might have seemed like plenty of time... it wasn't.
Between living in a town house, with an already crowded garage, and working 80 hour weeks, I managed to piss off the girlfriend by spending every free moment I had preparing to accept delivery of the boat.

The first consideration was storage. At this moment, the boat sits on the trailer in my driveway... however, it's final non-use resting place will be hanging from the ceiling of my garage. This will likely happen just prior to the fall as I need to replace my garage door and opener to facilitate this.

The second consideration was transport. I have a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with both tops (hard/soft). I wanted to be able to use both seasonally, and with the exception of adding a cargo cage, this eliminated car-topping while in soft top mode. Also, I did not want to have to lift a 160lb. kayak on top of a 6ft. + vehicle by myself.
A trailer was the only reasonable option, which brought me back to the storage dilemma. I live in a townhouse, have the garage and my driveway to park in, own two cars, and have no place to park a static trailer.
This all lead me to look at the Yakima Rack & Roll. It is lightweight and can tip up, which would allow me to tip it up against a wall in my garage once the kayak was hoisted off of it and still allow me the room in my garage for my other kayak, the Jeep's hard top storage cart, my other toys, and my Solstice GXP.

After looking long and hard, I formulated my needs and purchased the Rack & Roll 78 directly from Yakima along with the tongue extension, HD shocks, kickstand, and a few other accessories. This purchase was followed up immediately by the cradle set, upon which I came into some issues getting the right spacing on the trailer.
These issues lead me to rethink my approach and threw quite a few complications into the mix. I needed to be able to support the kayak without damaging it, flip-up the trailer when not in use, and make for easy hoisting into it's final resting place.

... About 90lbs. of square steel tubing and a week of fabrication later, I had my solution - A supportive, hoistable frame attached to the trailer via three 5/8's hitch pins and a removable rear tongue/roller assembly.

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Let me know what you guys think.

_________________
- Fireseid

Running a 2010 Tandem Island transported on a modified Yakima Rack & Roll.

Modifications: Torqueedo Hobie eVolve v2; Furling line rigged to cleat from rear crossbar w/Spinlock cam cleats; Custom ACK anchor trolley system;


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PostPosted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 1:25 am 
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Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 5:06 am
Posts: 1701
Location: Lake Macquarie NSW AUSTRALIA
Nice and neat solution to your problem. Thanks for sharing.

( don't worry about the girlfriend. Get her out on the TI and she will be putty in your hands. )

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.


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PostPosted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 5:00 am 
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Posts: 303
Love the trailer may use the idea my self. could love any specs if you have them

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PostPosted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 2:24 am 
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Joined: Sun May 22, 2011 3:15 pm
Posts: 183
Location: Camas, WA
Wow, excellent work! Very neat setup. Have you launched your new baby yet? Send us some photos of the loaded trailer and maybe a vid of the launching and loading process. It's helpful for us newbies to see the process.

After I built my trailer I still launched it using the cart a few times before I started launching directly from the trailer. Once I did I found out I needed to modify my trailer. Now it all works great. My trailer is a "foldable" 4'x8' Harbor Freight model. I didn't design the cradle for folding has I had enough room for it in my garage. Whole setup was very inexpensive but not nearly as classy looking as yours.

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It's a good Life, Let's sail!

iHop

Dune TI - 6/4/2011
Camas, WA


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 11:45 pm 
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Joined: Wed May 04, 2011 12:32 am
Posts: 29
Location: New Jersey, USA
IslandHoppa27 wrote:
Have you launched your new baby yet?

I've only launched it from the trailer once... my first time out. backed it down the boat ramp and sunk the trailer. Floated the kayak right off the trailer and used the bow line to spin the boat and bring it up next to the dock. I could not use the ramp coming back in due to low tide, so I can't speak to that yet.

Since then, all my launches have been from places without ramps.. so I've unloaded and loaded directly from the trailer.

IslandHoppa27 wrote:
Send us some photos of the loaded trailer and maybe a vid of the launching and loading process. It's helpful for us newbies to see the process.

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I'll try to get around to getting some video up soon. I haven't gotten the waterproof case for the camera yet.

As for specs, I didn't really map the thing out so I don't exactly have a recipe to share. I came up with the design and went to it with the help of my uncle and his metal/welding shop. I purchased a length of 1 1/4" x 1/4" & 1 1/8" x 1/4" sections of square tube steel that cost me about $68 per 24' length. All the brackets were made with scrap steel. Added to that, a number of hitch pins some rollers and misc. nuts and bolts.

_________________
- Fireseid

Running a 2010 Tandem Island transported on a modified Yakima Rack & Roll.

Modifications: Torqueedo Hobie eVolve v2; Furling line rigged to cleat from rear crossbar w/Spinlock cam cleats; Custom ACK anchor trolley system;


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 01, 2011 4:24 pm 
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Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2011 9:23 am
Posts: 59
Location: Kailua, HI
Very Nice!

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2011 TI


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PostPosted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 2:11 am 
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Joined: Wed May 04, 2011 12:32 am
Posts: 29
Location: New Jersey, USA
Still no video, but I did get to test the trailer coming into the boat ramp this last time out after testing the new motor out. It works like a charm, on both counts.

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BTW, anyone looking to pick up a Rack & Roll trailer for themselves, I can help save you $300 or so off of MSRP.

_________________
- Fireseid

Running a 2010 Tandem Island transported on a modified Yakima Rack & Roll.

Modifications: Torqueedo Hobie eVolve v2; Furling line rigged to cleat from rear crossbar w/Spinlock cam cleats; Custom ACK anchor trolley system;


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 9:59 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2012 7:35 pm
Posts: 15
Is this trailer all aluminum? Is it easy to assemble? Kinda growing jealous on the way it looks nicely on your jeep.

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"Love it or hate it"
autoparts warehouse


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 12, 2015 1:28 pm 
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Joined: Sat May 09, 2015 8:53 am
Posts: 717
Location: Paoli Pennsylvania - East Coast USA
Bump... !

It's been over 4 years now.

Have you stored the boat as-trailed on the trailer over the winter ?

If so, has there been any hull deformation from the Hobie cradles ?

Any issues where steel meets alu ?

_________________
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]


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PostPosted: Sat Jun 16, 2018 8:10 pm 
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Joined: Sun Apr 08, 2018 8:26 am
Posts: 11
I needed to bump this article.

I have a Yakima Rack & Roll trailer and looking to buy a Hobie AI .....I have been trying to figure out if the Yakima trailer could handle a 16' Hobie AI?

Anyone have past experience with the Yakima trailer and a Hobie AI? Thank you for your replies.


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PostPosted: Sat Jun 16, 2018 9:35 pm 
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Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2015 9:58 pm
Posts: 219
Location: SF Bay
RX350 wrote:
I needed to bump this article.

I have a Yakima Rack & Roll trailer and looking to buy a Hobie AI .....I have been trying to figure out if the Yakima trailer could handle a 16' Hobie AI?

Anyone have past experience with the Yakima trailer and a Hobie AI? Thank you for your replies.


I use one for a TI. It will certainly handle an AI. You don’t need the tongue extension. I would fashion PVC bunks instead of using the Hobie cradles like I did. You’ll need to make something to extend support beyond the trailer crossbars. I created a frame from aluminum strut from McMaster Carr. The bunks or cradles then attach to this frame. If you have any questions, happy to help. Good luck.


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 17, 2018 4:46 am 
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Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2015 3:13 pm
Posts: 656
scc wrote:
RX350 wrote:
I needed to bump this article.

I have a Yakima Rack & Roll trailer and looking to buy a Hobie AI .....I have been trying to figure out if the Yakima trailer could handle a 16' Hobie AI?

Anyone have past experience with the Yakima trailer and a Hobie AI? Thank you for your replies.


I use one for a TI. It will certainly handle an AI. You don’t need the tongue extension. I would fashion PVC bunks instead of using the Hobie cradles like I did. You’ll need to make something to extend support beyond the trailer crossbars. I created a frame from aluminum strut from McMaster Carr. The bunks or cradles then attach to this frame. If you have any questions, happy to help. Good luck.

Yes, use PVC bunks, the Hobie Cradles will eventually crack if used for trailer use. They appear very solid, but they're brittle. They cannot take the constant flexing a trailer induces. PVC also provides better hull support.


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 17, 2018 4:27 pm 
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Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:25 pm
Posts: 2863
Location: Central Coast NSW Australia
The quality of Hobie’s cradles must have changed at some point because my 8 year old cradles have had no problems. My TI sits on 3 of the carpeted version cradles with no issues at all.
Hobie do not recommend PVC bunks.
https://www.hobie.com/au/en/forums/view ... 9&p=290038


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 17, 2018 4:53 pm 
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Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2014 7:10 pm
Posts: 69
scc wrote:
RX350 wrote:
I needed to bump this article.

I have a Yakima Rack & Roll trailer and looking to buy a Hobie AI .....I have been trying to figure out if the Yakima trailer could handle a 16' Hobie AI?

Anyone have past experience with the Yakima trailer and a Hobie AI? Thank you for your replies.


I use one for a TI. It will certainly handle an AI. You don’t need the tongue extension. I would fashion PVC bunks instead of using the Hobie cradles like I did. You’ll need to make something to extend support beyond the trailer crossbars. I created a frame from aluminum strut from McMaster Carr. The bunks or cradles then attach to this frame. If you have any questions, happy to help. Good luck.



Is this trailer light enough to use as a dolly? --meaning, can you launch/retrieve a TI from/to the water from this trailer by hand?


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 17, 2018 7:38 pm 
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Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2015 9:58 pm
Posts: 219
Location: SF Bay
itiming wrote:
scc wrote:
RX350 wrote:
I needed to bump this article.

I have a Yakima Rack & Roll trailer and looking to buy a Hobie AI .....I have been trying to figure out if the Yakima trailer could handle a 16' Hobie AI?

Anyone have past experience with the Yakima trailer and a Hobie AI? Thank you for your replies.


I use one for a TI. It will certainly handle an AI. You don’t need the tongue extension. I would fashion PVC bunks instead of using the Hobie cradles like I did. You’ll need to make something to extend support beyond the trailer crossbars. I created a frame from aluminum strut from McMaster Carr. The bunks or cradles then attach to this frame. If you have any questions, happy to help. Good luck.



Is this trailer light enough to use as a dolly? --meaning, can you launch/retrieve a TI from/to the water from this trailer by hand?


With a TI, you're talking about 350-400 lbs. Using it as a dolly on pavement with anything more than a slight grade is difficult for me, but I've done it. I'm 6'2" 175 lbs and in good shape. When I get home, instead of backing into my driveway, I've detached it from the vehicle and dollied it into my garage where it is hoisted to the ceiling. It's okay going down a slight grade, but going up a grade is tough. Launching/retrieving will definitely involve a grade, a wet surface and who knows what else. I wouldn't count on it as a dolly alternative.

The Hobie cart is worth the $260 if you need to hand launch.


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