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A trailer I modified to carry my Hobie Pro Angler
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Author:  SkiPro3 [ Sat Feb 25, 2012 9:51 am ]
Post subject:  A trailer I modified to carry my Hobie Pro Angler

Hi, I’m Jerry and I’m new to the whole kayak thing. I decided to get a PA to use for fishing and hunting. After research, I figured my best route was to build a trailer for it. I have read several threads on trailers for my Pro Angler and decided that would start with a single jet ski / PWC trailer and add the plastic pipe for bunks. On craigslist I found several and negotiated a price of $300 for the one you see here. It was stored indoors and in near perfect shape. The owner had decided to get a second PWC so his girlfriend would have one and was looking to get a dual trailer. Trailer home, the work begins;

Removed the bunks off the trailer, those 2x6 carpet covered boards the PWC rested on.
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Next I started to mount the hardware that would hold the pipe bunks. This hardware is from a salvage shop near where I live that contractors use. It’s called “Uni-Strut”. I’ve seen some trailers on here that use it to build a frame over their kayak trailer to hold a storage box;
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The uni-strut has a goldish plating like anodize but it’s steel. I also used lock nuts.
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All four brackets are now mounted, but not tightened. The brackets can rotate and that adjusts the spacing between the bunks.
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I cut the first tube to a length that allowed less than an inch overlap at the rear, and a foot in the front. Then I marked the second tube and cut it too. I used a sawsall with a hacksaw blade on it.
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One at a time, I took off the bracket and marked, then drilled the holes. I rotated the tube so the holes would be in the lettering. That way I knew exactly were on the far end to mark length-wise. I also oval out the holes length wise so that when the PA is on the trailer, the bunks and sag under the load and wrap the bottom. If I hadn’t, they would not have flexed as easy.
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I pre bent the washers so they wouldn’t crush the plastic tube. I won’t be tightening the fasteners, just snugging them so the bunks can float on the oval holes I drilled.
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Installed washers only snug tightened lock nuts.
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With all four ends mounted, I can now adjust my bunks. Here’s a series of photos showing the range and my final measurements. Outside to outside on 4” tubes is 16” and center to center is 11 ¼”. The center to center should be good for any size tube you use. A smaller diameter than 4” could be used on the tube, but I chose it due to the unsupported span I had; 5 feet. I’ve seen on line here, trailers with 2” tubes but there was a support mid span.
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Final product!!
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Here’s the PA on the trailer.
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Here’s photos close-up under and where the bunks meet the PA. As the weight begins to flex the bunks, the slots I drilled in will allow the bunk to sag properly and form-fit to the bottom of the PA
REAR:
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FRONT
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The hardware store had these plugs. They were red and had a gasket and wing nut on them. I think red is for 4”. I could only find a photo of a 3” plug. If you put a plug in each end and had sealed the drilled holes, these tubes could be used for storage.
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Well, there you go. Total cost was under $50 for materials from Home Depot and the local contractor salvage and a store called Habitat for Humanity where people donate construction stuff and they sell it to raise money to build homes. With the original $300 investment in the trailer, I found this to be pretty economical way to haul my PA around and store it too.

Author:  joeyb [ Sat Feb 25, 2012 11:17 am ]
Post subject:  Re: A trailer I modified to carry my Hobie Pro Angler

Welcome and congrats Jerry...enjoy the PA!
Awesome set-up with the trailer...looks like you could go cross-country with no worries at all. :D

Author:  squidder 329 [ Sat Feb 25, 2012 11:27 am ]
Post subject:  Re: A trailer I modified to carry my Hobie Pro Angler

I have a jet ski trailer which still has the bunks, which I don't like. I had planned to use 2" pipe but I think the 4" will work better. Where did you get the angle bar that connected to the pvc? Also liked your high teck washer bender :wink: . Thanks really thought out nice job.

Author:  jazd78 [ Sat Feb 25, 2012 11:59 am ]
Post subject:  Re: A trailer I modified to carry my Hobie Pro Angler

Solid job, I like that.

Author:  atavuss [ Sat Feb 25, 2012 6:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: A trailer I modified to carry my Hobie Pro Angler

very nice! I bought 3" and 4" black pipe to redo my trailer, probably will go with the 4" as I can't get my hand inside the 3" pipe.

Author:  Cobraklein [ Sat Feb 25, 2012 10:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: A trailer I modified to carry my Hobie Pro Angler

that looks real nice! i did the same for mine, except moved it off center so that i could carry two pro anglers/one pro angler and another kayak. wish i would have found black pvc. Had to settle for some gray pvc and my trailer is all black like yours.

Author:  SkiPro3 [ Sun Feb 26, 2012 12:03 am ]
Post subject:  Re: A trailer I modified to carry my Hobie Pro Angler

Thanks for the welcome joeyb. I chose this trailer because it has the 12" wheels instead of 8" wheels and had 6 ply tires, so I think it could go cross country.

I considered the pipe options from 2" up to 4" and the various materials. I considered the grey pipe because it's got a UV rating. Then I thought, hey... it's not in the sun other than times the PA is in the water, what? Maybe 2 to 4 days a month tops? So that made my choice a little easier. Also the gray UV rated pipe was very heavy and didn't flex as easily as the black. The black pipe is for sewer line mostly. So now, what diameter.. I wanted to get a foot over hang off the front and I did not want to drill a though-hole in order to put a wrench on it. Thinking back, I could have put a long handled box wrench on a nut in a 3" pipe. The other problem I had was the bunk brackets. For the correct spacing, quite a bit of the bracket on the trailer is pretty up there waiting to gouge the bottom of my kayak. Another inch, like a 3" pipe, and I'd have to chop off some of the bracket that is sticking up there. To be sure, that 4" pipe is pretty stiff and with just the kayak, like I show here, it doesn't sag much and the contact area isn't the full length of the pipe. However, once I put in a few things, the seat, fish finder, etc, it started to settle in. I think the 30 degree air temps didn't help any either. Come summer I bet those bunks will be willing to flex and have a better contact patch to the bottom of that kayak. Also, it's more than strong enough to hold me and the kayak. Before I loaded the PA, I stood on top of the pipe and bounced up and down on it. I'm about 185 pounds, so I figured with two bunks, it should hold the PA. So I loaded the boat on then I sat in it and had the wife look things over. Then I had wife sit in there so I could check things over. Looked good, so I hopped up there with her. Those bunks hold the loaded Kayak, wife and me with zero problems. I even started to bounce up and down a little on the boat. She's a strong trailer.

I was trying to think of how I could bend the washer, dinking with a vice and crushing it length-wise when the washer popped out of the vice like a tiddly wink and landed on the floor in a crack like you see it there. I grabbed the 4 pound sledge and viola! I'm a genuis!! My success is from my grey matter, (or blind luck and almost putting my eye out with a washer springing out of my vice ) Ha!!

One last thing;
The black pipe is glossy. It's very smooth. Smoother than the white pipe and a whole lot smoother than the gray pipe with the UV rating. My boat slides very easily over the pipe. I took a file to the raw cut end and beveled the inside and outside edge. Nothing snags on the boat and it goes on and off like it's been greased.

****EDIT****
To answer squidder's question, The brackets are from a shop that consigns. It's left over from some contractor's job and it's for seismic uni-strut construction. Here's a link of a website that has the stuff. I would imagine a 'clever man' could talk a salesman into sending you 4 'samples'? It's worth asking. And while you are at it, ask for the nuts and bolts too. Ha!!!;
http://www.unistrut.us/index.php?WP=cat ... =SFittings

and a photo;
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I used 1/2" bolts @ 1 and a half inch long and nylon lock nuts.

Author:  squidder 329 [ Sun Feb 26, 2012 7:44 am ]
Post subject:  Re: A trailer I modified to carry my Hobie Pro Angler

Ski thanks for the detailed answer, they have a machine shop in work maybe they can make them if I can't get SAMPLES. Thanks again, really nice job.

Author:  squidder 329 [ Sat Mar 03, 2012 7:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: A trailer I modified to carry my Hobie Pro Angler

Hi Ski, I was able to order the brackets for less then $5.00 shipped. I went to Lowes today they only had short pieces of the 4", do you recall how long you made them, going to try Home Depot this week. Thanks

Author:  SkiPro3 [ Sat Mar 03, 2012 11:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: A trailer I modified to carry my Hobie Pro Angler

I bought the 4" pipe from Home Depot and they were 10' long. Cost was under $20 for each one. There is a gray pipe as well that has UV rating and isn't quite as expensive, maybe $15 each I think, and also heavier.

Don't forget to take some photos and post up to show your handyman skills!!

Author:  mossy [ Sun Mar 04, 2012 11:36 am ]
Post subject:  Re: A trailer I modified to carry my Hobie Pro Angler

cab this be made for on top of a truck instead of using the thule setin go

Author:  Razoryak [ Wed Mar 21, 2012 4:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: A trailer I modified to carry my Hobie Pro Angler

Jerry - Thanks to your great pictures and step by step instructions, I was able to modify a jet ski trailer for my PA. Thanks for the post! You da man!

Author:  SkiPro3 [ Wed Mar 21, 2012 10:03 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: A trailer I modified to carry my Hobie Pro Angler

Hey Razoryak

So post up some photos of your trailer. Did you do anything different?

Author:  Tom Kirkman [ Thu Mar 22, 2012 8:09 am ]
Post subject:  Re: A trailer I modified to carry my Hobie Pro Angler

The reason the 2-inch pipes work better is because they'll fit into the scupper troughs on the PS and flex enough to conform to the boat hull, both up and down and side to side.

Author:  Razoryak [ Fri Mar 23, 2012 3:34 am ]
Post subject:  Re: A trailer I modified to carry my Hobie Pro Angler

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