I have an old aluminum snowmobile trailer that is no longer in use and was thinking of converting it into a trailer for my 13' foot raft. Has anybody done such a thing? It is about 8 foot wide and the bed is about 6 foot long. My thought was to narrow the bed to the width of the boat. Extend the flat bed to about 10-14 foot long and extend the tongue so you would be able to ad a storage box. I have also thought about building some kind of storage underneath the platform for oars paddles etc. If anyone has any ideas or plans it would be much appreciated.
Leave the trailer how it is, you want the extra 2 feet on the side to walk around the boat and get straps on, and 6' long is enough for the footprint of that pretty DRE boat. Save your time and effort, if anything, put a roller on the back.
I second the rollers- I just installed a row of four of these on the back on my trailer: Roller and Bracket Set | Roller Stands | Northern Tool + Equipment
And my 15 1/2 foot self bailer loads / unloads soooo easy. I just mounted them onto a section of 2x8 and fit it to the back of the bed.
__________________
A free society is one where it is safe to be unpopular. - Adlai Stevenson
How are the corners on those rollers? I used 2 similar but smaller ones and the corners are too pokey. I'd like to find one that is 5-6 feet wide. Anyone know where to find one?
Eventually I'd like to make about 20" of enclosed storage under the roller deck, so everything can fit secured for the off season, and just for extra gear under the rigged boat.
How are the corners on those rollers? I used 2 similar but smaller ones and the corners are too pokey. I'd like to find one that is 5-6 feet wide. Anyone know where to find one?
Eventually I'd like to make about 20" of enclosed storage under the roller deck, so everything can fit secured for the off season, and just for extra gear under the rigged boat.
I looked all over for a 6' wide one. I even emailed FishCraft and asked if they would sell me one (no response). I'll take some shots and email them to you- so far it's worked awesome. I just did a 3 night on the Green and 2 of us were able to haul a big boat + frame and cooler with not much effort.
__________________
A free society is one where it is safe to be unpopular. - Adlai Stevenson
Seems as though at least half of us that tralier our rafts do so on a snomo trailer. I would bet good money that even if it is an old trailer it has at least a 8 foot bed, as snomobiles aren't 6 feet long. Do as others have said about lengthening the tongue so your raft is centered over the axle, that way it doesn't hit your tow vehicle, and if you put your boat to far back it will be too "tongue light" and not tow well. If it is a tilt type trailer, simple 3x3 square tube steel will do you with 2 holes drilled (one for tilt connection and one where you put the pin to lock out tilt feature) and attachment of the hitch. Rollers are a nice touch! Look around next time at the put-in /take-out and notice that most trailers are of the snomobile variety and get some ideas!!
Thanks for the info guys. I have thought about just leaving the way it is and just exting the tongue. But I have to replace the wood on the deck anyways. It is old, rotted and getting week. So since I am that far I though since I have access to all the tools and I dont use it for sleds anymore I might as well make it more raft freindly. I agree that I really dont need to narrow it but it would be nice just makes it easier to pull. I want to make it atleast ten feet long so I can store my oars underneath in some kind of storage. I do want to put a roller on back if anyone knows where to get a 6 foot roller that would be awesome. If not I was thinking about going to the local steel and aluminum shop to see if they can get one or make one for me. Any of you guys that are using a snowmobile trailer have you noticed any wear on the bottom of your raft from the wood. Would you recomend covering it in indoor/outdoor carpet? The reason I ask is that last summer I borrowed a freinds pop up camper and threw the raft on top of that. But I noticed some wear on the urethane on the bottom of my raft. Not a big deal I know but over time I think it could become a factor. Once again thanks for the thoughts!!
I built a raft trailer up from a smaller trailer. Big box underneath with a door on the top to load it and access from the back when the raft is on it. I built my own roller across the whole back. I just used some threaded pipe and then slid 1 ft sections of PVC over it. I have rounded 90 deg. corners that are super smooth on the raft and it works really well. I think the pipe I got came in a 6 ft section... The key is to cut the PVC into small sections so that they can spin independently, which allows the raft to correct itself if it is not aligned straight. Actually, I would like to sell the trailer. $500...
Linear Mode
