Malone Trailer

All,

I've seen the Malone kayak carriers before; the ones that stand your kayak on one edge.  But has anybody looked at this trailer yet?
http://www.maloneautoracks.com/overview.html?page=MicroSportsTrailers
I think I gotta have one!

Fishin-T   

$1000 seems pricey, to me. Maybe I'm missing something that makes it special?

it looks like you need to purchase some additional racks to carry the Yak on there, $1000+ whatever for the mounts and straps....hmmm

Okay, yeah, well... You're right about the racks being pricey.  They're just over $100 for two racks that hold one kayak.  The trailer looks really REALLY reasonable to me at $1000.  All of the others that I'm seeing are from $1400 to $2000.  I'll round up some examples.

Fishin-T

That price tag is unfortunate... I wonder why they have to jack it up so high. Seriously, it's not that much steel and it's not assembled. There's other small trailers out there of similar size for way less than half the price. Design wise it looks great though.

Z

Zee,

Here's one that's TWICE as much...
http://kayakfishingstuff.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=KFS&Category_Code=Rack-And-Roll

Show me the one that's HALF as much, I'm in the market.  Remember, both are MICRO's, both have yakima style mounts unless you add your own Malone racks or something similar.  I'll get a link to the one that's $1400 to $1600 (depending on options like 12" wheels) after lunch.

Fishin-T

Yeah FT, that one's a ball buster fo sure!!! I actually meant one w/ a little customizing work. This one is foldable and $200.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?
Itemnumber=42709

This one seems the best deal for just kayaks. And only $169.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90153



Here's one that's not too bad. $624 for a single and $795 for a double. Those prices are w/ shipping too.
http://www.canoekayaktrailer.com/econtrailer.htm


For pricey how about this one? $1500 Mount some racks for the yaks and you've got plenty of room inside for kayak and camping gear. If I was a rich man I'd be a wastin' my money!!!

Zee,

The Magenta (or it might be Magneta on some web sites) is about $795 for a similar double kayak trailer but then you have to add $145 for galvanizing and $90 for the 12" wheels to get closer to "apples to apples".  Now you're over the same $1000.  I like the look and build of the Malone quite a bit better.

The other ones... yeah, I've seen those types at Home Depot and such, but not as low as those that you brought up.  My trouble is that I don't have much time or materials for customizing.  I'll have to borrow some of Polepole's money and get something that's at least a complete package, if not pre-assembled.

I'm really taken by the idea of a trailer instead of a car-top for some non-ferry trips.  My idea is to put a trailer hitch on a Honda Civic and then make my trips economical... fuel-wise any way.

Fishin-T

My idea is to put a trailer hitch on a Honda Civic and then make my trips economical... fuel-wise any way.

Fishin-T

NICE!!!

Z

I'm  still trying to convince my wife to let me put a trailer hitch on her "new" 2006 VW Jetta diesel to tow our raft trailer... 45 mpg on the highway!

She has not been amused by the thought of me driving her baby down Deschutes River access roads paved with softball sized hunks of lava rock, raft trailer in tow.

I dropped in on Harbor Freight in Salem a few weeks ago and was excited when I saw they carried in stock (at least at the time) the 1075 LB. CAPACITY 40-1/2" x 48" MINI UTILITY TRAILER (the first link Zee posts above). The bed is a perfect size for hauling a couple of yaks with minimal custom addons, but then I did some mental calcs and realized that the tongue is too short. It just won't handle anything close to a 13 foot yak centered on the bed without banging the back of the vehicle. Even if one were to move the yak back far enough to clear the back of the towing vehicle, it'll hang off the back of the trailer far enough (4 feet in Oregon) so as to require a red flag on the back of the yak during the day, and a red light at night, which would be a pain to deal with.

I've heard about these trailers enough to think someone's must've figured out how to put one to use for carting around their yak. Who's solved this problem, and how?

--
Mike

Oops ... Z, I accidentally deleted your post.   grrrrr!!!  So sorry.

You had a pic of a harbor freight trailer that I think had an extended tongue on it.  I recall that post from NCKA and I think the guy gave directions.  Will have to look that one up.

-Allen

Yup, I noted that the small trailer had an extended tongue. That would make the trailer usable, but metal work is not an easy or cheap customization.

--
Mike

Here's what the guy who built that trailer (jwsmith at NCKA) said.

"The trailer comes with a SHORT TONGUE......useless to me as a kayaker.   I replaced their tongue with an extruded 2x2 aluminum "shape" that I bought from just $30 from ALCO Metals, located in San Leandro, CA on Doolittle Drive just north of it's Davis Street intersection and on the west side of the street.   Those "shapes" come in 30-foot lengths...you just cut to need.    Plan your tongue-length TO INCLUDE bolt-up attachment to all three cross-members of the trailer."

Full thread here ... http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,10338.0.html



-Allen

I see. So he just bolted the new tongue to the trailer, and did the same with the hitch. That simplifies things. This may work out. Thanx for the link!

--
Mike