Anybody convert a boat trailer

[todpod]

into a utility trailer. I have a TeeNee trailer that had a 17 foot fiberglass boat on it. I am in the process of stripping the rollers and winch off of it. I will deck it with 2x10s and put some side rails on it. Its main use will be for when we go camping to haul our stuff so we can leave the second car at home. Both cars get stuffed with kids and stuff. We have a pacfica that needs a hitch and that will tow the trailer. Any suggestions to make this work better before I really get started.

 

[Ronstang]

If it makes sense to you then that is really all that matters. Plan your construction in line with your trailering goals and make sure you don't over build it because then you just end up adding a lot of useless weight to the trailer meaning you could possibly overload your tow vehicle. Since you won't be pulling it with a truck this can be critical. You need to take into account what size (load rating in lbs) axle and what sized rims/tires the trailer has as they will fail if over loaded.

My friend had a little 16 foot narrow boat on a tiny trailer and I flew up to New Hampshire to help him move back home. He loaded the boat with his personal belongings. The bearings in one of the wheels failed in South Carolina in the middle of nowhere....luckily within 5 miles of the only trailer place in a 100 mile radius on a Saturday an hour before they closed. We were lucky. Good planning now could save you a disaster late on.

 

[JulesMaximus]

No, but a friend of mine bought a utility trailer from Harbor Freight for around $200 and set it up fairly cheaply to haul motorcycles. He made a floor for it with tie down points for the motorcycle straps and a ramp to wheel the bike up onto the trailer.

 

[3chordcharlie]

my suggestion is sell the boat trailer and buy a utility trailer.

 

[todpod]

Gonna keep it fairly simple, other then cam it may haul some lumber but not a lot. The campining equipment shouldn't real heavy. The boat weighted 1350lbs without the engine and outdrive so the whole boat setup would have been over 2000 lbs. It was pretty cool to watch them pick the boat off the trailer at the dump and smash it into bits. Need to come up with a fishing pole carrier so the don't get destroyed in the process. I am thinking 6 or 8 inch Sch40 PVC or something like that.

 

[Meghan54]

I've seen that conversion done a few times and while it can work, the end resulting trailer is typically much heavier than a purpose built utility trailer and really decreases the total capacity of the trailer.

For instance, if the boat trailer was rated for a weight capacity of 2500#, adding decking and side rails more than outweighs what removing the bow winch stand, and rollers and/or bunks give back, so you end up with a trailer that's only able to hold 1800# safely. And remember, unlike a purpose built utility trailer, the substructure of the trailer isn't around the whole perimeter but the front half of your decking will be unsupported by the trailer's frame, unless you're going to weld some additional metal to the trailer, which opens a whole different can of worms.


What I'd have done....sell the boat trailer as it was, even the worst seem to bring $400 and up, then go to Lowe's or Home Depot and buy a purpose built utility trailer. One of those in a 5' x 8' configuration runs around $700-$800. I'm guessing between the extra materials you'll need to convert the boat trailer to a utility trailer, not to mention the time and effort you'll expend, will about make up the difference that you'd have to spend between what you could get selling your old trailer and buying a new one.


Just a thought............

 

[Greenman]

It sounds like one of those things that ends up being far more work than it's worth.

 

[Ferzerp]

Probably easier and safer to just buy a trailer. Those aren't designed for weight and are awfully long to use for just hauling random stuff.