jhovel
10th Jul 2016, 01:05 AM
Daughter and son-in-law are going for a few months' trip around the Western half of Aus with our grandchildren.
They wanted to take a tinnie, outboard and bikes.... Their trailer is a hard-floor folding type.
To to pack the boat on top, it would have to come off every night to fold the trailer roof down over the back.
Some research showed that (very expensive) boat loaders are available for the purpose and how they are constructed.
I got a good handle on the designs, forces envolved and mounting points on their trailer and designed a DIY solution.
The forces and weights are nearly perfectly counterbalanced with 4 gas struts of 1200N each and the whole thing is completely removable without any changes made on the camper trailer (suitable fixing holes happend to already be there on the RHS chassis cross members).
Once the boat loader was installed and tried out, we also found a way to mount the outboard next to it, so it would be at a convenient height for fitting and removal once the boat was folded down.
My daughter requested that we make a brace that could have the boat stored in the vertical up position if there wasn't sufficient space to fold it out at a campsite.
Next came some requestes to rearrange the gas cylinder mountings to make space for a new 20l bucket mount to use as a 'washing machine' (half filled with clothes, water and detergent while travelling on rough roads).
Lastly, we designed, made and fitted a socket for a quick-remove conventional bike rack under the back (for two kids' bikes).
Then came the realisation that the boat could not always be unloaded next to water - if you could even drive a camper trailer there. Carying a dolly seemed just one too many things to cart about. So I designed an aluminium draw bar with cross handles and fold-down and removable wheels fitted directly to the boat. That required one the floor ribs to be extended up the sides of the boat and a removable shallow channel section bolted on the outside and through the new side ribs.
I made all that out of aluminium and fitted a couple of plastic pneumatic wheels to properly socketed axles. I got some practice TIG welding aluminium at a friend's place and it all went together well.
The weight is such that the two grandkids can move the boat and outboard quite easily, even on rough ground. The front of the draw bar has a rose joint fitted so it can be hooked to the towbar of a car for further distances (at walking speed). The draw bar comes off with two clipped pins and the wheel 'legs' can be folded up and secured once in the water - or left on the shore altogether.
That was a much bigger project than anticipated and has occupied me for a few weeks. Steve (SIL) helped whenever he was free to.
They are leaving in the morning.
When I get photos of the contraptions in action, I might add them here.
363306 363310 363316 363318 363319 363320
They wanted to take a tinnie, outboard and bikes.... Their trailer is a hard-floor folding type.
To to pack the boat on top, it would have to come off every night to fold the trailer roof down over the back.
Some research showed that (very expensive) boat loaders are available for the purpose and how they are constructed.
I got a good handle on the designs, forces envolved and mounting points on their trailer and designed a DIY solution.
The forces and weights are nearly perfectly counterbalanced with 4 gas struts of 1200N each and the whole thing is completely removable without any changes made on the camper trailer (suitable fixing holes happend to already be there on the RHS chassis cross members).
Once the boat loader was installed and tried out, we also found a way to mount the outboard next to it, so it would be at a convenient height for fitting and removal once the boat was folded down.
My daughter requested that we make a brace that could have the boat stored in the vertical up position if there wasn't sufficient space to fold it out at a campsite.
Next came some requestes to rearrange the gas cylinder mountings to make space for a new 20l bucket mount to use as a 'washing machine' (half filled with clothes, water and detergent while travelling on rough roads).
Lastly, we designed, made and fitted a socket for a quick-remove conventional bike rack under the back (for two kids' bikes).
Then came the realisation that the boat could not always be unloaded next to water - if you could even drive a camper trailer there. Carying a dolly seemed just one too many things to cart about. So I designed an aluminium draw bar with cross handles and fold-down and removable wheels fitted directly to the boat. That required one the floor ribs to be extended up the sides of the boat and a removable shallow channel section bolted on the outside and through the new side ribs.
I made all that out of aluminium and fitted a couple of plastic pneumatic wheels to properly socketed axles. I got some practice TIG welding aluminium at a friend's place and it all went together well.
The weight is such that the two grandkids can move the boat and outboard quite easily, even on rough ground. The front of the draw bar has a rose joint fitted so it can be hooked to the towbar of a car for further distances (at walking speed). The draw bar comes off with two clipped pins and the wheel 'legs' can be folded up and secured once in the water - or left on the shore altogether.
That was a much bigger project than anticipated and has occupied me for a few weeks. Steve (SIL) helped whenever he was free to.
They are leaving in the morning.
When I get photos of the contraptions in action, I might add them here.
363306 363310 363316 363318 363319 363320