The beginnings of the "Little Sport" w/pics

[S. Heisley]

Jeeper92 wrote:

august through december ITS ALL FOOTall. I guess i jsut ahve to say screw it and build it!

Get a small TV and a long extension cord!

Seriously, you could just do a little each year. This year, it could be a flat bed with the tent on top.........or more....

[mk10108]

I have been looking at light weight options for quick kayak trips and have looked into the roof top tent. I have seen a lot of designs and some plans for home made.

Here is a link for more information; they are not budget friendly!

http://www.autohomeus.com/rooftop/choose.php

As Endo mentioned in his post and because we all like to keep budget in mind, I have considered this option (this looks like with minor modification to a roof rack it could work great). http://www.kamprite.com/pages/products/double

Granted it may not be as roomy or set up as quick but considering my main use would be for a quick ovenight trip or as axillary sleeping quarters, the fact it can also be used independently of the vehicle and it is budget friendly it is worth considering. (this brand the military also uses in the single)

dreaming about MI summer

Endo, have you used it on the ground yet to see how well it works?

Something like this:

[Jeeper92]

Hahahah thanks for the pep talk. What ill do is detail the build as best possible on here. Step by step tehn ill ask for help when it arises. Im goign to stick to my original plan to have a hatch. Heck that may change I have until the end of march before the trailer is broken down. We will see where this takes me/us!!

[AJ Alley]

MK; that's on the line of what I'm thinking, do you have any more details.

I started out (and have not given up on) using the Wild Goose as a starting point, I have the basic interior design done that allows carrying the Kayaks inside. The idea was to reduce wind drag & keep them secure when traveling, weight & overall length are becoming a challenge. I will continue with this plan (I also like the Weekend Warrior), but want a more compact option for quick trips. Light weight for the car & ground clearance when off road with the Jeep. Any ideas for a smaller option would be great, we have 2 sea kayaks and when stacked only take up the room of one canoe. I like the idea of a camp box trailer with a tent top, my main goal is a compact way of hauling the gear & kayaks, If that means sleeping on the ground so be it.

[mk10108]

MK; that's on the line of what I'm thinking, do you have any more details.

I started out (and have not given up on) using the Wild Goose as a starting point, I have the basic interior design done that allows carrying the Kayaks inside. The idea was to reduce wind drag & keep them secure when traveling, weight & overall length are becoming a challenge. I will continue with this plan (I also like the Weekend Warrior), but want a more compact option for quick trips. Light weight for the car & ground clearance when off road with the Jeep. Any ideas for a smaller option would be great, we have 2 sea kayaks and when stacked only take up the room of one canoe. I like the idea of a camp box trailer with a tent top, my main goal is a compact way of hauling the gear & kayaks, If that means sleeping on the ground so be it.

There's NO easy way to do a Yak. I built this rig because of the load and unload issues. The tent (ez awn) was added for overnight capabilities, however, the problem with this set up is the small trailer foot print and the height of the tent. Both caused stability problems.

I think you have two options.

Roof mount the yaks, and pull a camp trailer. This negates over hang and turning radius issues. The tent sits lower and allows use of your rear view. Down side is yaks on the roof. Wind noise can be annoying. Stacked yaks may allow a roof tent also. Be careful - most roofs only support about 200 lbs and if you have a small car it gets wobbly.

The next option would be a roof tent and a Yak trailer.

If your an avid yaker, don't worry about the price of the roof top tents, skip the Chinese imports and buy quality. I inspected both autohome and EZ, both are outstanding products. I'm big and needed more room is why I choose EZ.

[AJ Alley]

The combined weight of the Yaks is 100 lbs, I have a 4 x 6 small box utility trailer I am considering converting. The small foot print does pose a challenge, my thought would be to use the lower box portion for gear and having the top open into a platform for a tent. This would place the tent base in the 3-5 ft high ranges depending on how much I reduce the existing box height. This plan would require unloading the kayaks to deploy the tent. (not Ideal) Tent size is also a concern, we are both tall I'm 6'4" & Sally is 5'10"

[mk10108]

I'm 6'5" and the wife is 6'2" and the EZ is large enough for both of us. We can sit up,play cards and have plenty of room.

A concern is overhang with the sea yaks. CA law says only two foot overhang and you'll need along tongue. Otherwise its bow in the tail lights.

Here's an option

http://www.kimberleykampers.com/models/ ... erview.php

[AJ Alley]

I have looked at Kimberly Kampers and they are great looking rigs

The overhang is a concern, we used the trailer for a trip last year and we did exceed overhang limits (needed to flag). Another concern was with stability having shorter points of contact with regards to heavy side winds. I am looking at possibly using an adjustable tong allowing for a longer unit to help with tie down points and to reduce rear overhang. With the adjustable tong I can reduce overall length when I go off road with the Jeep. If I adapt a Hitch Mounted Rack it will allow me to carry them on the car or jeep once we set up. http://www.prolineracks.com/hitch-mount-boat-racks.html I will base it on this idea I saw in Mikeschn's gallery http://tnttt.com/album_ ... c_id=38298

[Esteban]

Have you looked at sonetpro's FishInn? It's in the Hall of Fame. He's an avid kayaker who carries his yak above his tear drop. The picture below might give you some inspiration.
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[AJ Alley]

Esteban, yes I have seen this one, and consider this as a good option for a smaller trailer. Ideally I would use the same type setup on the tow vehicle once at camp

[Jeeper92]

is this what they call a thread hijacking?

[AJ Alley]

Jeeper92

Will bribery help forgive past transgressions?

I have a 4' x 6' small cargo trailer to use for my first build with the Yaks on top. I will watch your progress to see if a version of the Little Sport design your doing will work?

[schaney]

Being a fan of compact CampBox style camping trailers and kayaking I westled with the same problem of transporting kayaks.


See the yellow bag in the back of my trailer?


It's a 12' folding kayak

[Jeeper92]

The saga continues. I went to breakdown the trailer yesterday and the wife convinced me not to do it. Just to fix the one i had. I thoguht about it and , shes right its in great shape inside. No mildew smell and it sleeps 6 easy, I cna tow it with my jeep (not too far) So the little sport build has been put off (yet again)
I would like some advice on fixing the one i have up.
THe hitch i have is fine but the crank to raise it is ben and not in working condition. The guy who had it before me had a nail jammed in it for the crank to catch. If I want to place a new jack on it, what am i looking at spending and is it easy to do????????

thanks yall

[Endo]

The hitch i have is fine but the crank to raise it is bent and not in working condition. The guy who had it before me had a nail jammed in it for the crank to catch. If I want to place a new jack on it, what am i looking at spending and is it easy to do?

If the tongue jack is a "bolt on" jack it should be a simple fix. Just google "A Frame trailer tongue jack" for prices.