eXotic Trailer Idea

[GaryMayo]

I have a large rig for camping now, but I have been told by the state, I am maxed out for length, can't pull a long boat / trailer


so I want to build a custom trailer.

48' enclosed car hauler modified to hold a or or

This boat area would be at the lower back half of the trailer. A long ramp would open that would have rollers on it and more rollers in the trailer. The trailer highway wheels would only touch the edge of the water, keeping the bearings and brakes dry. A wench would deposit the craft and load it again.

Above the boat area, you would have low ceiling bedroom and storage. Two stairwells down, one into the lower deck in front of the boat, and one into the cockpit of the boat.

The front of the trailer would have a tall living room, and a bedroom / bathroom over the fifth wheel. In the very front of the trailer, will have internal scissors lift that will extend 30 feet in the air to be a porch / deck for viewing the lake.

I already have the trailer, and construction starts this fall.

I want your guys to input on this, as I am rusty on boating.

[grnwtrcruzn]

Sounds like one hull of a "mod"! The engineering is way beyond me but my initial gut responce is awesome and good luck. Please keep us posted.

cheers

[mastreb]

Hi Gary,

Ultimately, something gets wet. That something is going to corrode. So you want it to be as inexpensive a component as possible. We all accept that our trailers have a ten year or so lifespan before they're going to need to be replaced.

You're talking about 25 feet from the hauler's wheels to where the roller ramp would need to stop in order to deposit the boat in the water. That's a hull of a distance to engineer any kind of roller ramp. This ramp is going to be wet all the time and will never get cleaned, so it's not going to last too long. Furthermore, the boat trailer doesn't angle all the way down to the bottom of the launch ramp, it sits above it on wheels. This angle is crucial for driving onto the boat trailer when loading.

I think your best bet would be to carry the boat on its boat trailer inside the hauler, perhaps with a permanently mounted front wheel on the draw-bar, and just winch the boat trailer in and out of your hauler. Then everything works exactly like designed and you don't have to worry about the engineering. The back-door ramp could have tracks designed to ensure that the trailer tires move into the correct loading position as it's winched back into the hauler.

This takes nothing but the existing trailer, an added wheel on the draw-bar, and the hauler's garage space area. It also allows you to change boat models in the future with no modifications to the hauler. You can do things like shorten the drawbar, replace the trailer axle with something narrower to fit precisely, and use an unsprung unbraked axle since the hauler is the suspension and you don't necessarily want the trailer jumping around in the back. You'll have a separate winch for bringing the boat onto the the boat trailer as is the case now, and you can upgrade that winch to a 12v motorized that is powered by an umbilicus that comes along with the hauler's winch strap from the truck.

Next problem is that the boat on trailer with mast has a garage height of about 10'. I'm not sure how high your hauler is, but that's the entire height of a high-cube trailer. So I wouldn't expect to find any extra room here. The internal length of this configuration would be 30' from drawbar to rudders, so I'm not sure how much living space that will leave you forward of the hauling garage. With a 65' limit, you're at nearly half with the boat alone.

Interesting idea, I'd love to see what you come up with. It occurs to me that putting a box trailer around my boat would create the perfect garage for it...

[GaryMayo]

Hi Gary,

Ultimately, something gets wet. That something is going to corrode. So you want it to be as inexpensive a component as possible. We all accept that our trailers have a ten year or so lifespan before they're going to need to be replaced.

You're talking about 25 feet from the hauler's wheels to where the roller ramp would need to stop in order to deposit the boat in the water. That's a hull of a distance to engineer any kind of roller ramp. This ramp is going to be wet all the time and will never get cleaned, so it's not going to last too long. Furthermore, the boat trailer doesn't angle all the way down to the bottom of the launch ramp, it sits above it on wheels. This angle is crucial for driving onto the boat trailer when loading.

I think your best bet would be to carry the boat on its boat trailer inside the hauler, perhaps with a permanently mounted front wheel on the draw-bar, and just winch the boat trailer in and out of your hauler. Then everything works exactly like designed and you don't have to worry about the engineering. The back-door ramp could have tracks designed to ensure that the trailer tires move into the correct loading position as it's winched back into the hauler.

This takes nothing but the existing trailer, an added wheel on the draw-bar, and the hauler's garage space area. It also allows you to change boat models in the future with no modifications to the hauler. You can do things like shorten the drawbar, replace the trailer axle with something narrower to fit precisely, and use an unsprung unbraked axle since the hauler is the suspension and you don't necessarily want the trailer jumping around in the back. You'll have a separate winch for bringing the boat onto the the boat trailer as is the case now, and you can upgrade that winch to a 12v motorized that is powered by an umbilicus that comes along with the hauler's winch strap from the truck.

Next problem is that the boat on trailer with mast has a garage height of about 10'. I'm not sure how high your hauler is, but that's the entire height of a high-cube trailer. So I wouldn't expect to find any extra room here. The internal length of this configuration would be 30' from drawbar to rudders, so I'm not sure how much living space that will leave you forward of the hauling garage. With a 65' limit, you're at nearly half with the boat alone.

Interesting idea, I'd love to see what you come up with. It occurs to me that putting a box trailer around my boat would create the perfect garage for it...

How hard is it to stow the mast somewhere other than above the Mac? If it were stowed in the area below the boat, that would conserve space?

[mastreb]

I'm not familiar with the 25. On the X or M, it's not possible to store the Mast anywhere else on the boat because the mast is longer than the boat.

My SUV + Macm consist is 47 feet long. I'm guessing you'd get no more than 15' of useable living space in a 65 foot long consist.

I really like the idea though, and I'm thinking hard about how to make a hauler work.

[GaryMayo]

Sounds like you would have to like boats, cause you would have a boat or some part of your boat in every spot in your boat toy hauler.

[K9Kampers]

Sounds like an interesting project! Couple of challenges to consider:

Such a long rig might be excluded from certain ramps for lot maneuverability, ramp approach and parking. Most of the ramps I've frequented in New England, except marinas would be a challenge for this size rig.

Unless the sailboat enclosure of the trailer were to have a retractable roof for on-land mast stepping, the mast would need to be stepped / unstepped in the water.

[Cedarsailor]

Man, you have a unique idea about camping!

OK, problems are relative to the situation. Have you considered a custom built trailer with a HIAB type crane that would lift the boat and place in the water? The boat could sit in a custom cradle with useable space below and still be below average highway clearance. You could then do away with ramps and all the other challenges of conventional launching. I'm sure a fabrication shop could design a mast that was either telescopic or could be assembled in one or two sections.

I recall seeing a yacht in Vancouver harbour years ago that carried a 42' trawler in a cradle in the bow. When the owner wanted to go fishing it was just a matter of using a small deck crane to plop it in the water.

Interesting project. Lets us know how it works out.

[pokerrick1]

I have a large rig for camping now, but I have been told by the state, I am maxed out for length, can't pull a long boat / trailer


so I want to build a custom trailer.

48' enclosed car hauler modified to hold a or or

This boat area would be at the lower back half of the trailer. A long ramp would open that would have rollers on it and more rollers in the trailer. The trailer highway wheels would only touch the edge of the water, keeping the bearings and brakes dry. A wench would deposit the craft and load it again.

Above the boat area, you would have low ceiling bedroom and storage. Two stairwells down, one into the lower deck in front of the boat, and one into the cockpit of the boat.

The front of the trailer would have a tall living room, and a bedroom / bathroom over the fifth wheel. In the very front of the trailer, will have internal scissors lift that will extend 30 feet in the air to be a porch / deck for viewing the lake.

I already have the trailer, and construction starts this fall.

I want your guys to input on this, as I am rusty on boating.

That's not a camper - - - it's a mini Holiday Inn

Rick

[GaryMayo]

Crunching the numbers, for length of boat & mast, and height of boat and mast, one could get the unit in an enclosed 48' trailer, but there would be no extra room inside for living space. One would essentially just have an enclosed boat trailer, not a toy hauler with a boat inside.

One could go to a 53 foot trailer, but how many camp sites or boat ramps can accommodate a trailer that long? 48' is bad enough.

Still thinking, but it seems like a head scratcher. Seems like the only way to camp with a or or Mac 25 is in them.

[ROAD Soldier]

Why don't you just use the living space inside the boat that is inside the trailer and still have room for your extra toys. You know I have heard he who dies with the most toys wins. I think you might be in the lead .

[K9Kampers]

Another option is to park the big trailer at the campground, offload the sailboat on it's own trailer, then with the tow rig, tow the sailboat to the launch ramp.

When I go sailing for a few days, I leave the camper at home... but that's just me...

[GaryMayo]

I think the trailer in a trailer is the best idea so far. The trailer under the boat should not be a regular boat trailer, but a trailer made for this project. Rollers not trailer highway wheels, and the launch trailer should have its own electric drive system, like the electric cart used to move 100 shopping carts in big stores like Wal-mart.

I own one of these carts, but have never used it. Mine is large one with steering and a seat. Purchased it from a K-Mart that was closed several years ago. Needs batteries.