New to me Portage Pal trailer

[Robin]

Getting my wood canvas canoes up on my trucks roof racks is still doable but getting harder each spring so I found this on Face Book Marketplace Monday. It needs some work but it was pretty much what I was looking for. Lights inop, fender bracket weld broken, 1” &7/8” tongue (2” ball is my go to) and it’s stretched too long. All easy repairs or adjustments. Actually only used once per the po.
With no suspension to deaden the road bumps I plan to build up the bunks with foam pipe insulation.

 

[ppine]

Trailers are great. I used one for 30 years. Best to set them up to carry at least 2 boats, preferably 4. It makes shuttles easy.

 

[LanceR]

Good find, Robin.

About four years ago I lucked into a mint Tuf-Weave Spirit II and Trailex single boat trailer combo for a fair bit less than the trailer cost new. The trailer saves a good bit of wear on my aging shoulders over hoisting a canoe onto the roof of the Expedition. All of our canoes are close enough in size to allow any of them to be toted along without adjusting anything. And, within reason, I can have the canoe partially packed while on the trailer.

I also have a Jon boat trailer similar to this one that's earmarked to have a wood fired smoker dropped on it that would make a good starting point for a two canoe trailer with a storage box or two. I suspect that these are more common here in the south than in Maine, though.







Lance

 

[snapper]

I picked up a trailer like that years ago when I was guiding. A welder friend of mine converted it so I could carry up to 6 canoes; or 12 kayaks. I got out of the business in the early 2000s but the trailer is still going strong. I gave it to a local young man who was starting up a paddling shop on the Susquehanna. He uses it now to transport boats to the many rental homes around Goodyear Lake or along the river. You should have no issue getting that trailer to do what you're looking for. Best of luck with it.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time....be well.

snapper

 

[recped]

Here is one in "action".

 

[GeoBoy]

I have a nice canoe trailer by the Dock Doctors from Ferrisberg, Vermont

 

[Robin]

I have a nice canoe trailer by the Dock Doctors from Ferrisberg, Vermont

That’s an awesome camper/trailer combination. I bought an older pop up truck camper and plan a trans Labrador road trip this spring, but no trailer this trip.

 

[ppine]

with a little welding and fab, almost any boat trailer can be made to carry 4 canoes. You could do it with nut and bolts.
I bought a trailer first for hauling an 18 foot wood and canvas OT, but I came to like it for all canoes.
Once we did a long distance trip to the lower Colorado River in winter. We had a large crew and a friend borrowed a 6 canoe commercial style trailer. I person could haul all of our boats. Muy excellente. Really great for a shuttle.

 

[Bentpushrod]

I just finished up a canoe trailer. Going to break it in on a trip to the Missouri breaks next month. I had an old ‘65 Ford pickup box trailer, bought some steel, welded up a rack, threw on some new trailer tires, rewired the lights and a few other odds and ends. It isn’t pretty, but should get the job done.

 

[Gamma1214]

It isn’t pretty, but should get the job done.

I like it! (Then again, I'm a huge fan of function 1st and cosmetics never.)

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I bought a reproduction Morris wood/canvas canoe in 2022 and found I couldn't lift it on top of my car, much less my full size van, which is has been my usual canoe vehicle for 20+ years.

So, I had had to look for a trailer. I like the kind with which canoes can be carried upside-down, and I was lucky to find a barely used Trailex trailer, which can carry up to four canoes. Since I didn't need to do that, I removed the center post and second level of bars so I could center my Morris on the lower level.

It works well, other than I'm incompetent at backing it up because I can't see the low trailer out the high back windows of the van.

 

[Alan Gage]

I used an old boat trailer for mine. Laid some 2x6 stringers for a flat platform and screwed a piece of plywood down for a top. Fabricated some rough stands from square tubing and angle iron. The stands are removable (held in with hitch pins) so the trailer can be used as a flat platform.

Here we are using it as shade for lunch in the middle of a parking lot (mid pandemic so no inside dining).

https://flic.kr/p/2jBVXb5

 

[Boatman53]

I too used a boat trailer and built a box on it to make it multi purpose. The canoe rests on bars, short for one canoe and longer for two canoes. I did a build thread on here somewhere but couldn’t find it. Here it is in use moving my crap up to Maine.

Jim

 

[ppine]

Bentpushrod has the right idea. Old box trailers are easy to find. When you are shuttling multiple boats there can be a lot of gear. The box is handy and easy to access.
I used a utility trailer for hauling rafts and frames. A drift boat comes with a really good trailer that can be used to haul canoes, lumber and lots of other things.

If you can't see your trailer very well from the driver's seat, bolt a piece of wood like a 2x2 or a closet rod to the middle of the rear bunk on the trailer. Then you can always tell where it is. Sometimes it helps to open the tailgate on a pickup.

 

[ppine]

I had a Magneta canoe trailer with an extension on the tongue to handle 18 foot canoes. It had a leaf spring, but sometimes harmonics on rough roads made the thing bounce right off the ground. Padding is important on canoe trailers. I used old fire hose.

 

[lowangle al]

I bought an older pop up truck camper and plan a trans Labrador road trip this spring, but no trailer this trip.

Are you taking a boat, and if so, what are you doing for a roof rack on the camper?

 

[Robin]

Are you taking a boat, and if so, what are you doing for a roof rack on the camper?

No plans for taking a canoe, this is basically a road trip to see remote Labrador, Newfoundland’s coast and hopefully some icebergs. A lot of Newfoundland’s back roads are loaded with potholes from the info I have gathered so I leave the canoe home. Also, bringing a trailer on the 3 ferry's would really be expensive for the amount of paddling I would do up there.

Not sure how to install diy roof racks, always open to suggestions.