Carrying a boat

[YWORRYDOG]

I am buying a 2005 2720SL. I have been able to carry my 12" Porta Boat with my old camper. Has anyone mounted the carry clamps for one? Where?

[RockyMtnRay]

I am buying a 2005 2720SL. I have been able to carry my 12" Porta Boat with my old camper. Has anyone mounted the carry clamps for one? Where?
My recommendation is to put the PortaBote on your tow vehicle. The outer aluminum skin of a TrailManor is less than 1/16th inch thick and the 1 inch foam core has very little holding capability. It's nearly impossible to properly/safely screw any carry clamps into the top skin and definitely not into the sidewall skins. There are also almost no "rafters" or "studs" within the walls or roof.

If you absolutely must mount the boat on the trailer, you have two choices:

1. Fabricate the needed number of semi-large stainless steel or heavy gauge (12 gauge or heavier) mounting plates of at least 25 square inches each. Using a brazing/welding technique, then attach your clamps to these plates...be sure the the bottom of the plates is totally flat/flush to facilitate a good adhesive bond to the roof. Finally, attach the plates to the roof skin with extreme strength adhesive such as Loctite 303 Depend. (Do NOT use any epoxy...the roof temperature exceeds 150 degrees in full sun and most epoxies break down at over 150 degrees). Two of us have successfully mounted solar panels to the roof using high strength adhesive and 25 sq inch plates.

2. Alternatively, design or utilize something like a Yakima/Thule racking bar with attachments at the very edge of the roof. There is a 1 inch square aluminum tube embedded under the the edge of each side of the roof. Directly below the 1 inch tube in the roof edge is a 1 inch square aluminum tube in the top edge of each of the side walls (TM uses screws between these tubes to attach the roof to the wall). If you are very careful, you can use roughly two inch long stainless steel screws to attach a mount through both of these structural tubes. However, to do so you will have to remove or drill through the plastic cover that TM uses to hide its own roof edge screws...if you don't remove sections of this cover you could wind up trying to drill through the existing screws. You will also want to be sure to carefully seal each screw with silcone to prevent water penetration into the walls or roof along your screws. Finally, you need to be very cognizant of where the wiring is as some wiring is routed through these tubes. This all can be a bit tricky and will require careful measuring. Once you have your roof edge mounts firmly attached to the top edge tubes, you could run cross cross struts to which you attach your boat.

The bottom line is a TM's roof and sidewalls are really not structurally suitable for attaching large/even semi-heavy objects. It can be done but only with great care and realization that it's nearly impossible to expect anything screwed into the skin to remain attached if the load exceeds more than a few pounds (the skin aluminum is very, very soft and easily deformed). Additionally, if any sizable load is concentrated on just a few square inches of skin, it's not that hard to debond the skin from the underlying foam...that's why the adhesive method discussed above uses large (25 sq in or more) plates under each mount.

If I were going to roof mount a boat on my TM, I'd go the adhesive/plate approach. Under no circumstances would I ever carry a PortaBote on the side of a TM...IMO the sheering forces are too much for either the adhesive or screw mounted approaches. The far, far better approach is to carry the boat on a suitable rack on the tow vehicle.

[YWORRYDOG]

:( Anyone want to buy a Porta Bote???? I had already been thinking about an inflatable. Thank you for the info. Glad I found you! :)

[ccc6588]

What inflatable boat are you interested in. I've been doing research and I have narrowed it down to the Sea Eagle.

[Denny_A]

Dawg,

If you have a bit of spare cash, you might consider:

http://www.folbot.com/

There's also a Folbot thread on this site:

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=1685;sta rt=msg11953#msg11953

Check reply #12 (RockyMtnRay)


Denny_A

[YWORRYDOG]

Thanks for the idea, but what would I do with the new motor I have?

[Denny_A]

Thanks for the idea, but what would I do with the new motor I have?


Don't know! :P

Denny_A

[RockyMtnRay]

Dawg,

If you have a bit of spare cash, you might consider:

http://www.folbot.com/

There's also a Folbot thread on this site:

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=1685;sta rt=msg11953#msg11953

Check reply #12 (RockyMtnRay)


Denny_A


Absolutely!!!! I did indeed buy a Folbot Edisto and just love that little kayak...incredibly stable, packs into a backpackable bag that easily fits into the back of my pickup (only weighs about 50 lbs with all accessories), and is just plain a hoot to paddle around lakes. I had it out on the lake at Colorado's Sylvan Lake SP last week and got tons of compliments. ;D Pictures and write up coming soon!!!

[RockyMtnRay]

Thanks for the idea, but what would I do with the new motor I have?


Easy....eBay it! If you do a nice write up with lots of well composed pictures and properly set your pricing (including reserve pricing), you may very well be able to get a bidding war going to the extent that someone will pay you more for it than it cost you new. Lots of Web and book guidance out there on how to successfully sell stuff on eBay.

[RockyMtnRay]

Thanks for the idea, but what would I do with the new motor I have?


Easy....eBay it! If you do a nice write up with lots of well composed pictures and properly set your pricing (including reserve pricing), you may very well be able to get a bidding war going to the extent that someone will pay you more for it than it cost you new. Lots of Web and book guidance out there on how to successfully sell stuff on eBay.

[RockyMtnRay]

Thanks for the idea, but what would I do with the new motor I have?


Easy....eBay it! If you do a nice write up with lots of well composed pictures and properly set your pricing (including reserve pricing), you may very well be able to get a bidding war going to the extent that someone will pay you more for it than it cost you new. Lots of Web and book guidance out there on how to successfully sell stuff on eBay.