How to deal with a boat: crazy idea?

[Florida Native]

I'm guessing that keeping a wet boat in your living area is going to make the living area uncomfortable (smell, mold, mildew, etc) in a short period of time.

-Mike

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[swoody126]

E-45, it is difficult to provide meaningful comments when your location is not provided

i have to assume you are in Fla since that is where Giggle Mapz says Lake Seminole is

since you just bought a practice pick up less than a year ago i suppose i can guess you are still upside down and that the above ^^^ suggestions to get a full sized p/u are moot...

also out of the question would be the suggested/pictured trailers that would be big enough to actually "haul the mail" since your Nissan doesn't have the capacity to pull them

that leaves you with the options of building a light weight topper and/or get a better tent/sleeping system

it is hard to beat the ole "tin skiff" and i would doubt you'd be willing to give yours up

what comes to my mind would be a combination of a FOAMY & the CLC teardrop to cap the bed of the Nissan or get something like a COWBOY/RANGE TEPEE w/ a weather appropriate sleeping system which could be easily carried in the back of your truck w/ a simple cab high cap

either way an improved sleeping system is on your horizon

an insulated pad/air mattress and better sleeping bag will be in order

the outfit that makes Exped SynMat's has a variety of options that work well and there are several other providers that offer similar products

there is also the option of something like the THERM A REST BASE CAMP series of self inflating mattresses

the COWBOY/RANGE TEPEE is a 4-sided heavy canvas tepee that can be erected by either a center pole or with 2 or 3 external poles (a 9x9 has full headroom for a 6-footer, an 11x11 is really comfortable)

heavy, bulky and spacious inside w/ standing headroom while easily erected solo

my tepee w/ 3 external poles, SynMat, Ultra-Lite cot and 20º bag has taken me down into the low 30's several times comfortably

GOOD LUCK W/ YOUR QUEST

sw

[Elkins45]

Yes, I’m upside down on the truck but towing capacity isn’t a problem. It’s a V8 and I think it’s rated to tow upwards of 7000 pounds. It’s wired for electric brakes. Pulling that trailer shown above should be within its capability.

Most of the places I’ve been this year have had the lakeside campsites improved, so I bought myself an electric blanket. It came in handy a couple of nights.

I’m leaning toward a home brew truck camper. I had started work on one but stopped to investigate other options. Looks like I might start up again.

[NO David!]

Smaller boat(s)?
Ours holds 4 kayaks and a canoe, (but we've stuffed more boats in there shuttling for a day trip), sleeps 6.
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=48345

As far as towing with a smaller rig, here's a recent trip report with my V6 Montero SUV:
https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/towing-with-a-gen-3-nm-3-5l-montero.198636/#post-2538849

I'm liking McDave's discussion, an idea in that realm:
http://www.grandvilletrailer.net/blog/custom-trailer/

Oh, and Welcome to the neighborhood!

Edit: how about a rooftop tent? Checkout Cascadia Vehicle Tents, fairly popular.

[McDave]

Bingo!
Excellent information, NO David!. Very viable options and proof once again that you won't take "No" for an answer. .. ..
I am surprized to see that a single axle was used here, that looks to be a substantial boat in there.
I suppose the advantage to the rooftop tents is getting it off the ground and ease of deployment? However, you would have to fold up your house if you wanted to use the truck to launch the boat.
So how about a hybrid of these ideas. Something like this maybe?


Just brainstorming here,

McDave

[John61CT]

Boat loaders

 https://youtu.be/9Dal9ruBH6s


 http://www.loadit.com/products/
 

http://www.loadit.com/boat-motor-trailer-loader/

[onehoser]

Bingo!
Excellent information, NO David!. Very viable options and proof once again that you won't take "No" for an answer. .. ..
I am surprized to see that a single axle was used here, that looks to be a substantial boat in there.
I suppose the advantage to the rooftop tents is getting it off the ground and ease of deployment? However, you would have to fold up your house if you wanted to use the truck to launch the boat.
So how about a hybrid of these ideas. Something like this maybe?


Just brainstorming here,

McDave

a buddy of mine used the sleeper section of a big rig on his jeep trailer as shown^

[Elkins45]

Bingo!
Excellent information, NO David!. Very viable options and proof once again that you won't take "No" for an answer. .. ..
I am surprized to see that a single axle was used here, that looks to be a substantial boat in there.
I suppose the advantage to the rooftop tents is getting it off the ground and ease of deployment? However, you would have to fold up your house if you wanted to use the truck to launch the boat.
So how about a hybrid of these ideas. Something like this maybe?


Just brainstorming here,

McDave

I thought about this as probably my best option after the truck camper, but my vision is a bit shorter because I think I could build a fold down rear wall and pull the trailer up into it a bit.

The rooftop tent is a relatively low cost option, but it’s still a tent with all the issues that entails.

[Elkins45]

0841AEBB-976D-4C5D-8BAB-8BB461AA9E33.jpeg (83.62 KiB) Viewed 4359 times

Here’s plan B if I don’t love the homemade truck camper.

[beachguy005]

There are lots of cab over campers that are made for 1/2 ton, short bed trucks. These here are 2000 pounds dry. If you're going to be spending a lot of time traveling I'd go with something like this and just tow the boat behind.

Code: Select all

https://www.amlrv.com/truck-campers/adventurer-truck-camper-models-floor-plans/

[working on it]

• I know this isn't what you're probably looking for, since you posted this in "cargo trailers", but here's a modified version of an older plan I made when contemplating variants of my 4x8 plywood TTT. Not that I intended to chop-up my present squareback, but as a "what-if", in case I needed to start over after catastrophic failure.
• My trailer is 12' long overall, and if I were to get a small boat for fishing, I probably wouldn't get anything over 14' long (to store inside the short garage bay), but I altered it for a longer length boat, to fit your requirements. My trailer's axle height is lower than in the drawings, but I raised it in case a mounted outboard motor is involved. In my imagined boat carrier/camper, the boat would've been a motor-less Jon boat, or similar.

• 

  rooftop boat carrier-TTT (modified 4ft wide).jpg (303.08 KiB) Viewed 4338 times

[John61CT]

Wedge-style car carrier designed that way.

A huge all-aluminum Featherlight one went for not too much on eBay recently, the short 1-car ones aren't much cheaper.

[swoody126]

Wedge-style car carrier designed that way.

A huge all-aluminum Featherlight one went for not too much on eBay recently, the short 1-car ones aren't much cheaper.

might take a look at the ones U-Haul uses to relocate their trailers

they are built like the ones John61CT suggested butt have a track added for the tongue jack wheel up the center and a winch system

sw

[Tomterrific]

How about a Vardo built on the boat trailer? The Vardo floor would be hinged on both sides to drop down after the boat is removed. The back of the vardo, with the door, would be hinged at the top and raised to put the boat inside. Launch the boat. Drop the floor and the back. Take any of the vardo furniture from the bed of the truck and set it up inside. There is lots of possibility for innovation here and a Vardo could be cute.

Tt

[redbicycle]

you said you don't mind primitive camping. Why not just put a topper on the truck. You can build a sleeping platform in the bed that gives you a flat platform above the wheel wells. Storage underneath. You could add a 2nd battery to drive a fan that is in a sliding window, add a fantastic fan, or computer fans, etc. Shore power lets you run a heading pad, blanket, or you can look at a Mr. Buddy, or Lil Buddy, whatever they are called :0

Just because you want to move from tent camping to something more comfortable doesn't mean you need to make a full jump to a camper. Lots of space in between to fit the rig you have.