Does anyone have any more pics of their windsurfing trailers....any comments on extra bits and pieces that you used or made to make the trailer better in any ay...is storage,hanger brackets etc...any and all comments welcomed.The more good ideas people have the better.... Cheers Kevin
Hey Kev,
I had a trailer built it's 2.6mL X 1.4W X 850mmH i wanted the trailer to be light comes in at 250kg and "low" so not to create too much drag when towing it sits at boot height of our Aurion.
The trailer fits in 4 boards 5 sails masts booms etc and all the other gear i have since added some racks made from pvc in it to seperate the booms and masts from the sails.
Hey Choc
Great design, I like the idea of just adding a few mods to a box trailer.
Is the lid easy to get off? What sort of dollars to build?
cheers mate
Very common to see "Go-Kart" used as windsurfing trailers in NSW.
EBAY has them all the time...Just try and get one that is not too wide.
1.6m wide is plenty....Cheers and good luck
I carefully designed this one to fit within the cross section of a commodore wagon so as to not increase fuel consumption. Didn't work. It is still horribly thirsty on the highway. Rolling hills and cross winds seem to be particularly bad.
plus even empty they weigh over 250kg. How much does your windsurfing gear weigh? Might be better off starting with a chassis better suited to the load.
KevKev,
There have been a lot of these thread here in the last year or so with all kinds of ideas. Have a search..
Choco - $2600? OUCH!!!
A secondhand tandem 8x5 is $500 - $1000 and the box part can be made for $300 (or if like me , you get all the square hollow section steel from the tip and sign sheeting for free from a signwriters so the box is about $50 (glue, rivets and paint) and you get a trailer from a relative with stuffed bushes and flat tyres for $30. Total cost about $400)..........
..it is a 8x4 so it is still the same wheel track width as the car - a lot easier to tow down 2 wheel rut type tracks into secret spots, and also as it is not wider than the car, and low, the fuel consuption is good. An 8x5 would be a different story.
Fits 3 waveboards, 8 sails, 3 masts, 3 booms and all the misc crap with ease.
Funny how as a trailer owner i have previously felt like a nerd compared to the Van guys. Good to see other NERDS.
Here is mine. Just finished some mods yesterday after an idea seen in a Van at Sandy Point last weekend. Will make life easier.
It is a standard 6 x 4 with mods. I had the trailer glavanised to avoid rust. The lid is a add on alloy with 2 gas struts and lock (and a new one after breakage). The front box is separate which goes into the trailer V. All can be removed within 3-5 mins to allow for trailer use.
Cost- $850 trailer, $500 lid, $200 front = approx $1550...... it was good use of the 1st baby bonus as otherwise dogs, kids, = no gear.
The loft compartment for sails can take 4-5 sails up to 5.5m others need to go in base with gear.
The bars and the device to allow for removal and hinging of bars was idea i got off guy with an awesome van at sandy last week (sorry dont know your name) This enables the sales to lock in place and hinge down for easy access. His was made of alloy but mine just wood and routed out guide and holes. Screwed onto side with stainless as i cant weld..... well welding wood not good idea. These took maybe 20mins to make. Great addition
Everything is rust proof.
Anyway....it'll do till i get a VAN....and become cool.
ahh the old trailer thread again!
heres mine at the moment.
inside is aprox 250kg of sailing gear
8 boards
13 masts
15 sails
9 booms
and assorted other crap
and room i amguessing for another 2 boards and couple of sails
the only limiting factor being the weight.
Every time that I read the title of this thread I think it is about a demo day of some sorts.
This is a low-profile, lightweight and fairly minimalist design.
Some more details and pictures
www.scribd.com/document/14248659/windsurfer-trailer
one of the key design points when building my trailer was to avoid a swinging door that had to be secured open in any way.i achived my goal by having the door hinge up then slide onto the top of the trailer in tracks.works well.
Ya still can't beat the ol' golf buggy & bike combo for cost effectiveness, I reckon...
'nosinkanow'
Waterproofed the door with the adhesive backed rubber draught seal tape from the hardware.
The hitch on the back is for a push bike carry rack[towbar type]
Onother design feature worth a mention is the spare tyre storage ,underslung,can just see the edge under the 'onboard 'sticker.
Sorry I dont have photos, as I've sold the trailer.
I built it myself about 15 years ago and it lasted very well.
Overall length 10', width of box 3' height of box 2' with plastic mudgards over the mini (10") wheels on Indespension units. I tried to reduce the fittings I had to buy to a minimum. The front of the box was tapered in to about 4" at the nose and I could get 3 windsurf boards and a surfboard in, plus 6 sails 3 masts and 2 booms, with the boards in their board bags. I did find that the sails got worn by being piled on each other and shaken about in the trailer. It would take boards up to 275 cm.
2" square box section spine with 2" box section axle welded to it at 90 degrees on either side, and a 2" angle iron bottom frame for the box. I ground recesses to make the floor flush & welded the Indespension mounting plates to the underside of the ends of the box axle.
Its important to get the wheel position right so there is about 30 kg downforce on the ball hitch when loaded.
I used a matching 1" angle iron top frame, with 1" angle iron uprights and cross bracing. All the 1" angle iron was outside the aluminium panelling except at the roof, where I had a flat top so I could carry stuff on top if I wanted. I put slotted foam lengths on the 1" angle that jutted down inside. The sides and bottom were all flush inside and I used heavier 16 gauge aluminium on the top and bottom and rivetted the panels on.
I extended the 1" angle cross bracing at the bottom rear corners to mount the door, which was a rectangle of 1" angle panelled flush on the outside, and the sides extended down to mount the hinges, which were just 2 bolts through holes drilled in the 1" extensions of the angle iron.
At the top of the rear opening, I welded a bolt that jutted out through a hole drilled in the top centre of the door, and a padlock through a hole drilled in the bolt.
Its best to seal the ends of the box section when its built to reduce rusting inside.
AND HERE IT IS FINISHED FINALLY !!!!!..JUST AWAITING SOME QUALITY SEVERNE STICKERS TO ADORN THE SIDES...am pretty happy how it turned out allthough if i built another one i wouldnt make all the mistakes i made while building this one !!...now just gotta find the time to get out and use it all !!!!. Cheers to everyone who posted all those other trailer pics posted for some great ideas.
Looks like you might have seen my trailer already , but here it is again:
And in an earlier incarnation as just the Aluminum box inside a rusty old 8x5 trailer:
More photos and info as well as rough plans at my website:
www.icloud.com/system/cloudos2/index.html.en-us.gzip
-Mart
HI mrrt...I did see your trailer ( well one pic anyway) when i googled " windsurf gear trailers" in images...it is well done; pity i didnt find your webpage till now ;woulda saved me a few headaches i reckon !!!
Have u found anything you shoulda fitted but didnt....anything you thought woulda been handy when it was made but too late now...?
Cheers Kevin
Kevin,
Main problem with mine would be the rear axle is a bit too far back and the spare tire on the front makes the trailer very front-heavy making it a bit more difficult to man-handle around.
The rear door is excellent at keeping the sun and rain off when rigging up or down or just sitting in the back admiring the view, but I have had some gale force winds lift the door and pop the rivets on one of the gas shocks, so you might want to ensure you user strong stainless steel rivets or something and be a bit more careful in really strong winds if they are coming from the rear of the trailer. Perhaps adding an extra gas shock might be a good idea for your trailer's rear door?
Getting rid of the pneumatic tire jockey wheel and putting in a large diameter solid rubber wheel was a much better idea, but I see you already have that. :-)
The air vents on the side and whirly vent on the top help a great deal clearing the mustiness out of the trailer.
Having the roof of the trailer just above head-height makes it a lot easier getting under the door and looking into the rear of the trailer.
-Mart
What size hydraulic struts are you people's using? Length or even better Nm would be helpful.
The overall extended length of the gas strut i used is 740mm..i got it from a mid 90"s toyota hiace van.Actually got 2 but 1 is super strong and more than enough for my trailer rear door. I have welded the swivel brackets that the strut came with to the frame of the trailer and the rear door...hasnt been in any decent wind yet so hopefully they will hang on !!!
Those side vents are a good idea...might look into that....are they just vents from a home hardware shop ?
I have moved the axles/hubs 200mm back from the original position to counter the extra weight....with the solid jockey wheel its not too bad to drag around by yourself...my spare wheel was an afterthought and dont really have anywhere to put it except inside on the floor at the front...would have liked to have it outside but theres not much room between the front of the trailer box and the drawbar...something to think about for anyone starting a trailer build...( maybe underneath somewhere ????
kev
