I need a single canoe trailer. I want to get the canoe out more, and it's too much hassle to get it on top of my old 4wd suburban. There are galvanized steel trailers with spring axles, then aluminum ones with the rubber torsion axles. This is single duty, one 65 lb. canoe with some stuff tied in.
I'm inclined to go with the aluminum version because it's lighter and cheaper. Does anyone have experience with those rubber torsion axles?
Pete Keillor
Yes, but not on a boat trailer. There's hardly anything to go wrong, but figure in 25 years you might have to replace the boxes when the rubber finally rots out. (But by then the whole trailer will be trashable.) 12-inch rims are better if you have the option, lower rolling RPM at 65 MPH is easier on bearings.
I'd go galvanized steel, the zinc should protect it for many years. Aluminum has fatigue failure issues that steel doesn't, and corrodes too. And when it starts to go it progresses a lot faster.
Make sure you get Bearing Buddy hubs and sealed lights. LED lights are more money, but will take the bouncing and submersion a lot better. And carry a spare tire and a lug wrench that fits. The car jack will lift it, but the car spare won't fit under the fenders.
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I've seen a no-hassle van-top canoe loader frame that slides back and down to let you load from the rear at close to ground level, not from the side like the Thule Kayak Hullavator, and not just rollers like the Yakima Hully Rollers (both at
-jiw
Got a link to the aluminum version? I'd love to go worm dunking again in a canoe using my econo car to get it there.
Wes
Obviously you are thinking of buying something, but for such a light load I find myself picturing something light, homemade, and easy to stow by hand. Perhaps a design using junkyard motorcycle wheels and shocks?
Vaughn
They have stood up well over the years on light camping trailers. I've found them less trouble than poorly built leaf spring trailers.
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A canoe trailer isn't a boat trailer,(it shouldnever be submerged) and if the Aluminum trailer is designed for 500 lb or more, a 65 lb canoe and some gear is not going to fatique the aluminum
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I have the same situation, in fact today I had my Adirondack Guideboat (a canoe like boat that you row) on and off the Suburban twice. Right now mine is a PITA because I've got a few bike racks on top I have to get the boat over. I decided to order the Thule canoe clamps (579xt), 450 Rack adapter feet and 58" load bars. That should raise the boat high enough so that it doesn't contact the roof, which I am handling now with those foam blocks. On the front and back I use the bow/stern tie downs, which hook on pretty quick and tension quickly.
One caveat on trailers, probably not that much of a factor for a sturdy canoe: the author of Open Water Rowing points out that lightweight trailers give a pretty bumpy ride compared to a vehicle's suspension, which could stress some lightweight craft.
Our camper is a small fibreglass "box" with that suspension. It's been on the road for 13 years, gone through a couple of tires but otherwise no problems. Total empty weight about 800 lbs. Been over a lot of dirt, gravel, and some "trails" that don't even qualify as roads here in New Mexico, as well as several trip across the country. Aprox 50,000 mi. ...lew...
Thanks to everybody for their input. I did find a trailer that can be hot dipped, with 12" tires and the rubber torsion suspension as options. I looked more closely at the aluminum model, and I don't like the bolted assembly (tee bolts in slots in the extruded cross section). Steel fastening hardware on aluminum seems like a problem waiting to happen down the road. This thing will start its life stored in a garage, so corrosion is probably not an issue now, but when I retire, I expect to move back to the gulf coast of Texas, where it certainly will be. Thanks again.
Pete Keillor
Who makes that? My saturn sl1 is good for 1500 lbs, right, 800 wouldn't scare me.
Wes
-- "Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller
The Trillium and Boler are the classics of the genre - Bigfoot is another of (i suspect) many available in the USA and Canada.
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Well it's no longer made Unfortunately. It was made across the river in Rio Rancho ( I'm in Albuquerque). I pulled it a lot with a Saturn SW1 and the cross country was with a Plymouth van. Too bad he went under, some promised finacing didn't come through. ...lew...
How about a light general-purpose trailer that stores easily indoors?
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