kstrayhorn
Well-known member
I hope this is the right section for this post, but I figured "Trailers" is about as relevant as possible. I got a 12' Alumacraft jon boat because it fits easily in the bed of my truck. However, I found that I have to load it with the stern flush against the cab side of the bed to secure the boat safely. This does not allow me to leave my outboard on while hauling, which is a huge inconvenience. Instead of buying and modifying a truck bed extender, I found scraps in my shop and made my own. The end result is a pretty convenient system, so I figured I'd share it here. I didn't think about documenting my process until after, so most of the pictures I have are saved Snapchats. Anyway, here it goes:
To start, here is how I previously had to load and haul my boat:
Essentially, here are my starting materials. I had the two lengths of square tubing already welded at a 90 degree angle with a brace in the joint from an old project that never saw completion. I also had the pipe and a pair of angle braces laying around as scrap. In this pic, I already cut one end of the square tubing to the right height, notched the end to accept the round pipe cross bar, and was testing the fit:
Unfortunately, I won't have access to a welder until I go home for the summer, so I had to figure out a solid plan to bolt the pieces together until then. This was difficult since I can't reach bolt heads inside the pipe and I felt that drilling all the way through it would compromise the structural integrity. So the best plan I came up with was to use toggle bolts. However, this presented its own problems as the toggle nuts were too long to fit and expand the pipe. Therefore, I modified them, cutting down the ends to just short enough that they would fit:
Also, the toggle bolts required a 3/4" hole, but my condensed toolbox while I'm away at school only includes up to 1/2" so I went at it with a grinder and a Dremel and hoped for the best:
After getting it all together and tightened down. I was clearly a little proud at this point:
I added some 2" PVC over the pipe crossbar to function as rollers to aid in loading, and they are also a little bit easier on the boat. They truly make it feel less than 5 lbs. A 2.5" bolt on each end of the crossbar keeps the rollers on and a pair of eye bolts on the vertical shaft provide points for transom straps:
And here's how it looks all done, loaded up, and strapped in. In addition to the two transom tie downs, there are two ratchet straps diagonally over the boat to each corner of the bed and I have a safety rope tied to the bow handle. There's about 23" of rear clearance without the outboard. With the weight of just the boat and motor, its still balanced, but I added the cross straps to hold the front down just to be safe:
I've also made a lock for the clamps on my outboard as well, which I might write up and post here soon. Other than that, I am thinking about taking the leftover carpet from when I redid the side bunks of the trailer for my Malibu and making a pair of ramps that I can use to make loading even easier, and I am trying to engineer some kind of cheap winch system. I've been thinking about maybe steel cable running across the front of the bed through the tie down loops with a come along that I can clip to the cable and bow handle. Well, I hope y'all enjoyed my backyard engineering as much as I did, and feel free to let me know if you have any concerns, criticisms, or questions.
Thanks
To start, here is how I previously had to load and haul my boat:
Essentially, here are my starting materials. I had the two lengths of square tubing already welded at a 90 degree angle with a brace in the joint from an old project that never saw completion. I also had the pipe and a pair of angle braces laying around as scrap. In this pic, I already cut one end of the square tubing to the right height, notched the end to accept the round pipe cross bar, and was testing the fit:
Unfortunately, I won't have access to a welder until I go home for the summer, so I had to figure out a solid plan to bolt the pieces together until then. This was difficult since I can't reach bolt heads inside the pipe and I felt that drilling all the way through it would compromise the structural integrity. So the best plan I came up with was to use toggle bolts. However, this presented its own problems as the toggle nuts were too long to fit and expand the pipe. Therefore, I modified them, cutting down the ends to just short enough that they would fit:
Also, the toggle bolts required a 3/4" hole, but my condensed toolbox while I'm away at school only includes up to 1/2" so I went at it with a grinder and a Dremel and hoped for the best:
After getting it all together and tightened down. I was clearly a little proud at this point:
I added some 2" PVC over the pipe crossbar to function as rollers to aid in loading, and they are also a little bit easier on the boat. They truly make it feel less than 5 lbs. A 2.5" bolt on each end of the crossbar keeps the rollers on and a pair of eye bolts on the vertical shaft provide points for transom straps:
And here's how it looks all done, loaded up, and strapped in. In addition to the two transom tie downs, there are two ratchet straps diagonally over the boat to each corner of the bed and I have a safety rope tied to the bow handle. There's about 23" of rear clearance without the outboard. With the weight of just the boat and motor, its still balanced, but I added the cross straps to hold the front down just to be safe:
I've also made a lock for the clamps on my outboard as well, which I might write up and post here soon. Other than that, I am thinking about taking the leftover carpet from when I redid the side bunks of the trailer for my Malibu and making a pair of ramps that I can use to make loading even easier, and I am trying to engineer some kind of cheap winch system. I've been thinking about maybe steel cable running across the front of the bed through the tie down loops with a come along that I can clip to the cable and bow handle. Well, I hope y'all enjoyed my backyard engineering as much as I did, and feel free to let me know if you have any concerns, criticisms, or questions.
Thanks
