# Kayak trailer DIY



## dasmopar (May 31, 2013)

I've been working on building a 4 place kayak trailer with the help of my neighbor. I started with a harbor freight kit and went from there. I've done a lot of looking at youtube and other sites stealing ideas here and there. So far its been a fun project and I'm itching to try it out this weekend. Right now I'm waiting for some J mounts I ordered from ebay. They should be here tomorrow and then the trailer will be ready to go. It should come in well under $500.00 by time its on the road.



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## dasmopar (May 31, 2013)

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## MIKE*A (Apr 12, 2009)

Looks great! How wide are the crossbars? Are you able to lay the yaks flat on there or are you going to use poste and lay them on their sides?

Mike


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## backlashed (Mar 19, 2011)

Tell me about the support bars, angle or square?




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## dasmopar (May 31, 2013)

MIKE*A said:


> Looks great! How wide are the crossbars? Are you able to lay the yaks flat on there or are you going to use poste and lay them on their sides?
> 
> Mike


The cross bars are 6'. The j racks hold the boats on their side. I have two sets of j racks coming so I'll see how much I like them before ordering more of them. I could place two boats on the outside edges in j racks then a third boat laying flat between them. Its all very loosely planned out with room to make adjustments as needed.

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## dasmopar (May 31, 2013)

backlashed said:


> Tell me about the support bars, angle or square?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


1" square tube that has holes in them every inch. Bought at menards and should make it easy to mount just about anything to them.

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## dasmopar (May 31, 2013)

The tongue is 13' now. I'm thinking I need to make up a box / rod holder that's mounted to the top of the tongue. Any ideas on a premade box that could be bought any place big enough for 7'6" rods?

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## Snakecharmer (Apr 9, 2008)

dasmopar said:


> The tongue is 13' now. I'm thinking I need to make up a box / rod holder that's mounted to the top of the tongue. Any ideas on a premade box that could be bought any place big enough for 7'6" rods?
> 
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Use 4" PVC Drain Pipe with a cap at one end and a cleanout at the other. Holds up to an 8 ft rod.


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## Nubes (Dec 3, 2012)

NICE! Im starting a similar project but went with a nice utility trailer I found on Craigslist. shes over built with a lot of 1/4in tubing so I should be able to handle other loads as well. I just ordered new tires and now want to add a rack system that will store my kayaks above then all the gear will go below on the trailer floor. Ive been looking around a little thinking about how I want to go about the racks. My buddy mentioned the J racks your using which is the way I may head also?? Post updated pics if you don't mind?? heres what Im starting with...


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## dasmopar (May 31, 2013)

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## dasmopar (May 31, 2013)

Waiting on my j racks to hit town still.

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## Bubbagon (Mar 8, 2010)

You'll double your capacity if you go with some kind of vertical "stacker bar" as opposed to J cradles.
With 6 foot cross bars, you can easily fit 4, and get 6 on there if you try hard.


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## Smittyfisher (Dec 11, 2012)

Could you tell us more about that tubing your using?


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## dasmopar (May 31, 2013)

Its 2.5" x 2.5" x 13' long with a 3/16" wall thickness. Its over kill! 1/8" would have been plenty and 12' long would have been plenty long even with a 18' boat.

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## Smittyfisher (Dec 11, 2012)

Im sorry i was not clear, the tubing for your rack could you tell me more about that? What it is and where to get it?


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## dasmopar (May 31, 2013)

Smittyfisher said:


> Im sorry i was not clear, the tubing for your rack could you tell me more about that? What it is and where to get it?


It's 1" square tubing that's 6' long. It has holes in all four sides about 1" apart. I found it at menards in the hardware department. They have it in 1 1/4" also but only in four foot lengths. 

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## dasmopar (May 31, 2013)

I did test to make sure I can put four boats on with two more sets of j racks and two boats do in fact fit on each side. Its almost like it was planned that way. Lol

I lost the lic. plate some time yesterday. The harbor freight kit came with a plastic lic plate mount. It broke right off. 

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## dasmopar (May 31, 2013)

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## Stuhly (Jul 6, 2009)

Here is how mine how mine ended up !!!!! 3 kayaks and 3 mountain bikes
View attachment 79209

All went well on our trip to Mich.


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## dasmopar (May 31, 2013)

I've got a rack system that was made for a pick up truck that we think we can adapt to the trailer. Should make for a easy second level. I have already noticed lifting the boats up two feet is a lot easier than stacking them on even a small car.

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