Okay so my old suburban needs more work than the wife and I think is prudent to put into it so I'm stuck driving the 04 honda civic for awhile. We also have a Ford SUV but she drives it because she has to ferry the kids around.
Since it isn't finacially prudent for me to buy a new truck right now (read: wife won't let me) I have to figure out how to get my kayaks and gear to the lake in a civic.
I looked at roof racks but that still leave me w/ the problem of gear storage. I have decided on putting a hidden type tow hitch on the civic and getting a light trailer.
Harbor frieght sells small trailers for around $180 and the two hitch will run me about $130. Figure the wiring and outfitting the trailer to secure kayaks and gear, then registration and I'm figuring a budget of about $350 to $400 for all this.
This is the trailer I'm looking at:

Has an 870lbs capasity and only a 40 x 48 in deck.
So my thoughts were:
1) put decking- marine grade plywood and treat it.
2) mount a lock box to the decking
3) build a kayak rack above the decking so the kayaks can stick out over the rack front and back and secure to the rack.

Anybody have any thoughts or suggestions? I'm probably gonna get started on this next week by getting and installing the hitch.

Nice! Im building one for four right now, taking alot of work to ge it right. Red Trailers 5X8 with tongue ext. My dad is doing the same as you(small one), to be pulled by his Eclipse. I'll be pulling mine with my Jeep, building the trailer in hopes of keeping every last bit of gear in it. More room for passengers means less fuel-budget

My other thought was that it might be better to splurge a little and get an 4' x 8' trailer like this:


It is only about a $130 more. and it might be easier to out fit. It has a 950lbs capacity.
My big concern is over loading it w/ weight and hurting the tranny on my lil civic tho. It only has a towing capacity of around 1k.

The small trailer weights 130lbs out of the box.
The bigger one is 236 lbs.
I gotta think light but strong on the materials to outfit it...

I wanna be able to haul a max of three kayaks tho two of them are OKs and will stack...

That second picture has the wrong tongue for what you want, but even loaded with four 14' kayaks and gear for four, I wont even get close to my jeeps 2000lb tow rating, much less the trailers rating. You almost have to add alot of gear to keep the little ones from bouncing on the highway, you should be fine(might think of changing the fluids more often though). I pulled a one with a 1989 Chevy Cavalier(no a/c, no heat, missing all glass but the windshield, raccoon urine scented interior), for two very long...embarassing years.

I'm leaning more and more toward the little one. 130lbs of trailer. Maybe another 150lbs of decking and kayak rack. 100lbs of kayaks. I could easily put 250lbs of gear on it and be well under the max towing...

I've got to think more on the design for the rack... I'd like to work a rod box into somehow...

Hey Mark,

I have an extra tool box I'd be willing 2 part with if your willing to help me pull it off of my truck & help me install the 2nd. It's yours at no additional cost. Here is what it looks like. Of course it is used but might be perfect for storage of your rods/paddles//PFDs/anchors/straps etc.

PM sent Zombie. Thanks man

very interested n th end resultt, i just bought a 08 avenger and too i am thinkink a small trailer would do me good...3 yaks the most but probably just be pullin my own around....hitch for my car installed about 250 is that high....and as for the trailer i was thinkn a dilly trailer modified.....but keep us updated on progress

will do.

That's an exciting project. Show us the pics when you are done.

Only concern is stressing the little civic. Imagine carrying 4 adult passengers + 200lbs of cargo in the trunk - that's a 1000 lb load. Just imagine how long your civic will last. I'd try to go as light as possible. Good luck!

That was my thoughts too but I have to remind myself that I've never had the need to carry four adult passengers and all of our yaks before. Most of the time it is me alone or me and my daughters who are all under 100lbs. And their yaks are lighter than mine too. All my buddies have pick ups and SUVs so I don't see us taking my civic much when I do go fishing w/ other adults.
I still want to go as light and durable as possible. I'm thinking light-weight tubular steel to make the kayak rack. If done right I think that will be lighter than wood and acheive even more strength. Not damaging the car is high on my priority list. Ultimately I want to keep everything under 600lbs.
I'll take pics all the way thru and post up as I go. Right now is the brain storming phase which is why I'm on here rambling.

I like this Mark---

I will be wondering how it turns out.

Good Luck!

Last night I had the good fortune of meeting the Legendary Mr. fiSh ZoMbiE. We uninstalled one tool box from his truck and installed another one and just for helping him w/ that he gave me the old one for my trailer project which is gonna work great for the takle boxes, pfds, and paddles. After we got done w/ the work we stood around in his front yard shooting the breeze until my wife called me and told me to get my azz home. Lemme tell you guys something, Nathan really knows his fishing so if you are a noobie yak fisherman and you get the chance to get on the water with fiSh ZoMbiE, pay attention cause you will probably learn some stuff.

Mark,

Was my pleasure meeting u brotha. Your a good tool box changer outer & I think you have some great ideas for the trailer. I felt the same way about your knowledge of angling. Think we could learn a great deal from each other. Look forward to further sharpening our skills on the water together.

Hey you guys, Mark mentioned he might be looking for some 1" square metal tubing. Can anyone help him with this if he doesn't have a source already?

Yep! I can.

Mark I too had the same problem as you. Here is what I did, got the bigger trailer, wieghs a little more yes,but instead of plywood put a piece of expanded metal down then built a rack out of 1" square tubbing, I was able to carry up to 6 kayaks at once,yet it was light enough to move by hand, the metal trailer and welding supplies cost right at 300 sold it for 600, I will try to dig up some picture.

What have you got, farsouth?

Thanks, tincan. I'd like to see it.

Here is the basic idea that I have so far using the smaller trailer.



That will be a 40 x 48 square of marine plywood for the deck. I plan on building the rack out of 1" steel tubing and welding it directly to the trailer at 6 different points. The inverted triangular design will give me a larger surface on top to strap kayaks too and still be incredibly strong.
I also plan on putting some pad eyes on the decking to strap stuff like coolers down with.
The rod box I plan on building out of 1/4 inch plywood and joint brackets and sealing it very well so it will be light and durable. It won't be all that secure as far as theft prevention w/ such light plywood but that is not my main concern anyway.

check PM

Thanks, man.

For Yak's I think the bigger/longer trailer would be best. There are other models at Northern Tool also.

Bigger and longer would be bad for my HONDA CIVIC's tranny and breaks tho. I think I gotta make smaller and lighter work...

on the trailer I built I made it look like a telephone pole , I had two shelves where I carried four kayaks, took only four rachet straps to tie them down and I didnt have to worry about them sliding around. My wife just informed me that the only pictures we had we lost in a computer crash. Here is a link that is very similar to what mine looked like

http://www.wilstow-trailers.co.uk/kayak-trailer-for-6-kayaks-or-canoes-87-p.asp

The only differance in mine only had two shelves and expanded metal as a floor which was great for straping down the coolers camping gear and seats to. If you were to use this design you could put a rod box on a lower shelve and then put the tool box on the opposite side of the trailer on the floor to distrube the wieght evenly

would it be out of the question to take the smaller trailer and extending the toungue of it for clearance issuses??

It would be easy to extend the tongue of the small trailer. I've already planned on doing it if need be. I'm liking that design for the trailer. Less material for sure. That trailer on that site is only 120kg which (correct me if I'm wrong) is a little over 250lbs. If I used a similar design I could reduce my weight even more w/ the littler trailer...