Roller bearing trailer for inflatable soft bottom

[ajrunke]

Is this a good idea? There's a cheap price for a nice trailer in my area except it has rollers instead of bunks. This doesn't seem like a good idea for a soft bottom inflatable as there is less surface area to support the boat. I could always swap out the rollers for bunks, but then the time and effort isn't quite worth it.

[chris123]

Bad idea I am afraid - a SIB really needs bunks that support the length of the tubes.

Cheers

Chris

[ajrunke]

Originally Posted by chris123

Bad idea I am afraid - a SIB really needs bunks that support the length of the tubes.

Cheers

Chris

Thanks for the confirmation! As long as we're on the subject of trailers, my personal opinion is that a utility trailer with a flat bed would be more useful than an actual boat trailer. Since I'm in the market for a trailer for my 14' (4.2 meters), I'd like to get other people's input. I'm looking for a utility trailer with a flat bed and I would transport the soft bottom with the keel deflated. This way, the tubes would be supported the entire length of the boat plus it would give me room to store other items or stand on so I can work on the boat. If anyone can persuade me to get a bunk boat trailer instead, please make the argument!

Thanks!

[jyasaki]

Flat bed utility trailer? You could build some removable bunks that support the tubes allowing a bit of the load to ride on the keel tube, and remove the bunks (and boat)when hauling land-based stuff. Would eliminate the need to keep deflating and inflating the keel (though that's not all that much trouble, I know.)

Just a thought;

jky

[ToniH]

I took a normal boat trailer with rollers. Then removed the rollers and built a removable bunk platform. The bunks support the tubes only. It takes about 10 minutes to convert back to standard configuration and there is no permanent modifications to the trailer.

Link to an image of my trailer: http://i55.tinypic.com/2yo78lx.jpg

[ajrunke]

Originally Posted by jyasaki

Flat bed utility trailer? You could build some removable bunks that support the tubes allowing a bit of the load to ride on the keel tube, and remove the bunks (and boat)when hauling land-based stuff. Would eliminate the need to keep deflating and inflating the keel (though that's not all that much trouble, I know.)

Just a thought;

jky

Good idea, and yes the keel isn't much trouble at all. ( I think about 8 pumps for me)

Originally Posted by ToniH

I took a normal boat trailer with rollers. Then removed the rollers and built a removable bunk platform. The bunks support the tubes only. It takes about 10 minutes to convert back to standard configuration and there is no permanent modifications to the trailer.

Link to an image of my trailer: http://i55.tinypic.com/2yo78lx.jpg

Looks nice. Also, it's a simple design which makes it even better.

[nice.diver]

D80july9 060 by nice-diver, on Flickr

buy it, replace the rollers with carpeted 2x6's the trailers is the same...its the mounts that are different

I replaced my wood, bought carpet that looks like felt (outdoor patio carpet from a home improvement store) and re fabricated some of the mounts