A friend of mine purchased a HF trailer to convert into canoe (2) transport and utility (ATV transport). Does anyone have any insights, concerns, and/or pictures to share of such a project?

Thank you

Pinterest is usually my first stop when considering a new idea or looking for different ways to do things.

I am a project manager for a small home improvement company. You would be shocked by how much time I spend on Pinterest and YouTube looking for ways to help a customer develop their, often ambiguous vision, into reality.

Not sure of the specs of the trailer you purchased, but I think the main issue people run into is tongue length. Canoe specific trailers have longer tongues to avoid interference when turning.

DIY canoe trailer

Arn’t those trailers held together with bolts? No welds? And the warranty is…90 days.

Better replace the tires and grease the bearings. HF is not known quality.

Sorry,
Tom

I frequent Teardrops and Tiny Trailers - that.com - and trailers - home built vs. kits like HF and NT - is a common topic.

Relevant I think is that these kits say in fine print 45 mph max. Also relevant is many people have traveled the country with teardrops but on them. Its not as bullet proof as more expensive trailers but you're probably not loading it near rated capacity. I've had no problem with mine - mostly local but disc for o 1000 miles at interstate speeds when I moved. I extended tongue and moved axle back - kind of standard for teardrops.

Everyone says and I agree they put in poor quality grease in the wheel bearings so clean and repack the bearings. Not hard.

If you're concerned about wheels, tires, etc. - you can replace all that for not much at e-trailer.com. Helpful people.

The tiny wheels and tires on the HF and similar trailers are problematic. Especially for ATV hauling, if it were me I'd opt for a more beefy welded trailer, and even then upsize the wheels/tires to lower the rpm at highway speeds. On my DIY tent trailer converted from a utility trailer I've mounted 17" wheels/tires on upsized hub with zirk-greasable bearings. No desire to be stuck out in the boonies with burnt up bearings.

Speckled: "Not sure of the specs of the trailer you purchased, but I think the main issue people run into is tongue length. Canoe specific trailers have longer tongues to avoid interference when turning."

This is spot on. IF your tongue is too short, when you are making tight turns or even backing into your driveway, you may hit your vehicle with the canoe.

I'd start on Facebook market place, and do a search for boat trailer. There are lots of in expensive boat trailers. Grab one for an 18' boat or at least 16, with bigger tires. Strip off the stuff you don't need like the wench bracket, roller etc. Build a box for it. Use green treated wood. My trailer box is 8'x2'x2' and works great.

Then buy some steel, and go to the local high school or votech and ask them if they need a little welding project, and ask if they would mind helping you out. Have them do the welding for you.

Here is an example of a boat trailer on Facebook market place for $200:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/259428557138277/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3A02d02ca9-50a0-4eeb-8b30-241d0979c9e7

Here is a trailer we made. Just make sure whatever wheel bearings are on it, are easy to find. You don't want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere and need special order bearings. We swapped out our 1961 chrysler hubs for generic ones we bought from Fleet Farm. We put new leaf springs on, and a new wiring harness. We can carry 3000 lbs in that trailer. We made it so the back bracket bolts in place, and we can remove it, so we can use it as a utility trailer, or for hunting etc.

Note, we cut off that wench bracket since that picture was taken. It had the potential to hit the tail gate if you weren't careful, and we didn't need it.

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You can see in this picture, that we added external support for the top rack. When we would drive down washboard dirt roads, the top rack would wiggle and bounce alot, and it eventually cracked through at the base of the "T". With those outside support brackets, which swivel out of the way, when you don't need them, the top horizontal bar doesn't move at all. I think if I were to do it over, I'd use a double vertical, instead of a single vertical. It would give the top horizontal bar more stability.

You owe it to the vehicles driving behind you, including motorcycles, to make sure your rack is solid, and road worthy. You don't want a canoe to go flipping down the highway, because you didn't build something well.

Go on google, type in "Canoe Trailer Images", and you will get lots of ideas.