When I bought my first “real” kayak (a Jackson Kayak Big Rig), I had a full-sized pickup. I put ladder racks in the bed which were removable so I could mount the kayak up to and wouldn’t have to worry about it sticking out too far. Occasionally, I would use our utility trailer and take off the racks, laying the kayak flat on the trailer. That only works if you don’t have the trailer full of other stuff. After a while, I sold my full-size truck and bought a Colorado.  From experience, it isn’t too fun when your kayak sticks out over 5’ from the tailgate. It wasn’t long before I knew I wanted to build a one-of-a-kind trailer just for kayaking.

I knew I wanted it to have storage. That was a must. I needed a place to put all of my rods in, my paddle, and any and all tackle. I also wanted the ability to put more than one kayak on it, but for it to not look funny with just one. I chose to center the kayak on the bottom of the trailer and put the storage boxes on either side. I then thought about building a square frame around the trailer in order to build a rack to go up with more kayaks I might try to haul. This allowed me to put removable racks in the middle of the frame so I could optimize the space I had. 

Over time and after I moved to Texas, I wanted something to help me tackle the big bodies of water. I love my kayak’s, don’t get me wrong, but I needed something I could use to explore (and something my mom and girlfriend would be willing to get out on the water in with me so they wouldn’t have to paddle themselves around). So, I bought a little boat. I knew I wouldn’t have to worry though, because I already had the perfect trailer. I removed the boxes and suddenly I could fit a boat where the kayak once was and I could still put a kayak or two on the trailer by placing one up top or on the removable racks. 

This article is not meant to be an instructional on how to build a trailer because honestly, I was not the mastermind behind it. Without the help of my dad, I would not have been able to build it like you see it. This is purely to help show you what I (my dad and I) built and to hopefully give you ideas or inspire you to build your own trailer. Although we started from the bottom up, you can easily do something similar to this with an old boat trailer or old utility trailer which could use some repurposing. 

Tight lines,

Sean