Inflatable Boat Trailers: Using Small Boat Trailers

There are many styles of small boat trailer which will work as collapsible inflatable boat trailers.

Many owners simply get a small flat deck trailer and lash their boat on that.

One challenge with flat deck trailers is the weight of the motor is on the transom and the transom is not sitting on anything solid unless you let air out of your tubes.

It can work though, but is better if your trailer is long enough so the bottom of the motor sits on the trailer, to stop your motor from bouncing while driving.

I must start taking pictures of all the different systems I have seen people create for hauling their inflatable boats.

I have tried a couple different set-ups myself, but my current one is simple and it works well for my collapsible Zodiac.

I purchased my trailer from a smaller manufacturer - Road Runner - which allowed me to customize the final product with longer wider bunks and side bunks. Yes I had to pay a bit extra for the side bunks, but the final result is awesome! Loading the boat is so easy, even in a cross current or a strong cross wind!

Take some time to set up your boat trailer for ease of use. You won't be disappointed.

The key features are

• longer wider bunks that are adjusted to sit under the edge of the floor boards, and the very edge of the inflatable tubes.

• side bunks which are 2 meters (6 feet) long and contact the tubes at the widest point.

• the transom sits on the bottom bunks with 6 inches of the bunk sticking out the back.

A few more customizing points:

1. I use a transom saver, or motor brace to decrease motor bounce while driving.

2. I swapped the rubber bow block which came with the trailer with a larger Hull Sav'r V block from Tie Down Engineering

3. I added a ratcheting seat belt style tie down which is bolted to the left front side bunk brace, and a climbing anchor to hook it to on the right front side bunk brace.

4. I use transom tie downs on the transom to lock it down quickly and easily.