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Old     (liquidmx)      Join Date: Jun 2005       05-13-2010, 10:00 AM Reply   
I was driving along last night and it kind of hit me...why dont people opt to purchase enclosed trailers for their boats? Especially some of the pricier one's like the SAN 230's and X-stars?

Does anyone offer this? Has anyone seen one? I think it would be macking to have an enclosed trailer...especially if you road tripped it a lot. Here are my reasons/thinking...

No need for a boat cover or puddles on the cover when it rains. You could easily create a ventilation system for the trailer (built in dehumidifiers too).

No need to worry about locking up your belongings if you decided to crash/park in a motel/hotel parking lot, its all inside the locked trailer. (you could even carry a fairly loaded tool chest). Tower speaker theft...no biggie now that the whole thing is locked up.

No road damage, bugs or debri getting on the boat making you have to continually clean it.

Low-pro...no one really even knows you are towing a 75k+ boat when its in a plain white enclosed trailer looking like a toy hauler...Heck you could even paint it to mimic a uhaul...hahaha.

You could build it so the sides could hinge down. Heck you could even make rolling front and rear doors. Obviously the bottom of the trailer would be some sort of surface with drain holes.

You could store all your gear inside without needing to take up extra garage space...year round! You could even load up the trailer when going camping so you dont look like the clampits rolling down the road with crap strapped to the roof etc.

If you are going to a big wake event you could sit on the roof to check things out...its always fun sitting up on higher things.

Potential problems: Not being able to see who is to your left and right at the ramp when you are unloading...no biggie since you could simply look behind you as the driver backs down the ramp.

Bad drivers not being able to pull into an enclosed trailer. I got nothing here, haha.

Inability to really clean the boat with it kept in an enclosed trailer....Not really if you have hinging/detachable sides.

Added wind resistance than an open trailer...potentially yes, I got nothing there either.

Anyways I was just thinking out loud about this and figured I would throw it up on here to see what other people thought. Good, Bad, etc?
Old     (tyler97217)      Join Date: Aug 2004       05-13-2010, 10:14 AM Reply   
There is a fancy old school wood boat that launches in our area and he has it in a modified utility trailer. It is pretty sweet watching him open and close that thing up. The one disadvantage would we doing any work on it unless you could remove the sides and have access to the bottom..
Old    sperbet            05-13-2010, 10:19 AM Reply   
we've often wondered the same thing. It's actually one of many of my buddy's "million dollar ideas". Interested to see if there are actually any out there...
Old     (colombiansurfer)      Join Date: Sep 2008       05-13-2010, 10:25 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by liquidmx View Post
I was driving along last night and it kind of hit me...why dont people opt to purchase enclosed trailers for their boats? Especially some of the pricier one's like the SAN 230's and X-stars?

Does anyone offer this? Has anyone seen one? I think it would be macking to have an enclosed trailer...especially if you road tripped it a lot. Here are my reasons/thinking...

No need for a boat cover or puddles on the cover when it rains. You could easily create a ventilation system for the trailer (built in dehumidifiers too).

No need to worry about locking up your belongings if you decided to crash/park in a motel/hotel parking lot, its all inside the locked trailer. (you could even carry a fairly loaded tool chest). Tower speaker theft...no biggie now that the whole thing is locked up.

No road damage, bugs or debri getting on the boat making you have to continually clean it.

Low-pro...no one really even knows you are towing a 75k+ boat when its in a plain white enclosed trailer looking like a toy hauler...Heck you could even paint it to mimic a uhaul...hahaha.

You could build it so the sides could hinge down. Heck you could even make rolling front and rear doors. Obviously the bottom of the trailer would be some sort of surface with drain holes.

You could store all your gear inside without needing to take up extra garage space...year round! You could even load up the trailer when going camping so you dont look like the clampits rolling down the road with crap strapped to the roof etc.

If you are going to a big wake event you could sit on the roof to check things out...its always fun sitting up on higher things.

Potential problems: Not being able to see who is to your left and right at the ramp when you are unloading...no biggie since you could simply look behind you as the driver backs down the ramp.

Bad drivers not being able to pull into an enclosed trailer. I got nothing here, haha.

Inability to really clean the boat with it kept in an enclosed trailer....Not really if you have hinging/detachable sides.

Added wind resistance than an open trailer...potentially yes, I got nothing there either.

Anyways I was just thinking out loud about this and figured I would throw it up on here to see what other people thought. Good, Bad, etc?
I have seen them, but mostly on with Professional Bass fishermen and they are usually in tractor trailer models.
Old     (malibumatt)      Join Date: May 2006       05-13-2010, 10:32 AM Reply   
My brother had a 25 foot triple axle that he put his drag boat in. Took the fenders and tires off and welded golf cart spindles on. Worked slick but that was a pretty light boat (hull was only 300 pounds) at only 19 feet and pretty small beam. I think you would run into problems with width. Check out an IHBA event, you should be able to get some good ideas how they do it.
Old     (bcrider)      Join Date: Apr 2006       05-13-2010, 10:52 AM Reply   
You could also make the sides tarped like semi's where it kind of accordians back to front....If ya get what I mean. That would allow acess.
Old     (joesell)      Join Date: Apr 2001       05-13-2010, 11:56 AM Reply   
That would be sweet for all the reasons you mentioned. What if you had the boat sitting on a cradle with wheels, and a track the folded out. Then you could have a winch to let the boat out. That way you could roll the boat out of the trailer to work on in your driveway.
Old     (Matt)      Join Date: Mar 2010       05-13-2010, 12:33 PM Reply   
Sounds awesome, I priced a regular triple axle boatmat. Trailer for my supra this week and they were talking like $8100 I couldn't even imagine what they would want for an enclosed trailer with a humidifier & exc... Great idea just way too rich fir my blood..
Old    SamIngram            05-13-2010, 1:04 PM Reply   
Lots of the "Hot Boat" crowd have these. They usually are enclosed trailers with a dolly trailer that goes on the inside. They are launched and retrieved with a winch. The real problem with these is that launching and retrieving is a real pain in the butt!
Old     (psudy)      Join Date: Dec 2003       05-13-2010, 1:09 PM Reply   
no need for a storage shed either! Let me know when you get it designed.
Old     (alans)      Join Date: Aug 2005       05-13-2010, 1:15 PM Reply   
Like this?

Thanks google
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Old     (liquidmx)      Join Date: Jun 2005       05-13-2010, 1:32 PM Reply   
Matt...that is the only "x factor"...DOT width requirements. I would think opting for something soft-sided like the previously mentioned Semi truck car hauler style would work (also like above).

Matt Laird...that's my thinking exactly! (sort of). This linked one is about $5k...you figure someone paying $7,500 for a regular trailer might be tempted to spend a little more for a fully enclosed one (say $11k, so its a 3.5k increase).

http://www.trailershopper.com/page-25418.html

I dont know much about trailers though, I would imagine the floor is the main structural element for the trailer's strength. You would have to design something unique and specific to address water retention (rust), air circulation, and structural integrity.

Really I am just thinking out loud here since I dont have the funds to make it happen, but it would be kick ass to have!
Old     (jyoungusa)      Join Date: Sep 2009       05-13-2010, 1:42 PM Reply   
If you put the trailer in the water, would have to worry about tower or windshield hitting the roof as you launch or recover. Also talk about a lot of work at the ramp to cover/close the trailer back up after pulling out. Getting around the 102" width limitation would be hard to overcome as well as having a wide enough openning at the back end.
Old     (bmartin)      Join Date: Jan 2007       05-13-2010, 2:00 PM Reply   
Nice idea to kick around. If you go soft side the benefits of security are virtually gone and suspect taking off and putting on the sides would get old fast. Go hard side and accessing the boat is problematic or require a dolly trailer which will make you too wide for most boats and you probably would not make a bunch of friends at a crowded ramp with the times to launch and load. Despite that, I could see some people making it work if they traveled a lot with their boat to different places and or they have museum quality boats.
Old     (grant_west)      Join Date: Jun 2005       05-13-2010, 3:03 PM Reply   
I had the same Idea for the people that like to boat and camp. My idea was to have a trailer that after the boat was launched became your Moble Home. Like a Weekend Warrior or Toy Hauler. As soon as you launched the boat 1/2 of the inner walls folded down and coverd the bunks and became your floor.

Yea it would be a bit harder to launch but IMO if you pay a place to store your boat it would be great. Make it so that either the Moble home could detatch from trailer and you could either trailer your boat normal style or take the moble home with you
Old     (swancer)      Join Date: Dec 2009       05-13-2010, 3:45 PM Reply   
I have seen a few of them, all bass boats. I saw a Ranger Bass boat in Texas that has a molded hard cover the was hinged at the tongue of the trailer.

Old    SamIngram            05-13-2010, 4:59 PM Reply   
I have never seen that done. Here is what the hot boat guys do. They have "dolly" trailers that the boat sits on while in the enclosed trailer. Normally they are very skinny so that the dolly trailer can fit between the wheel wells of the enclosed trailer. This forces the boat to sit high up on top of the trailer.

Basically, you drive to the lake, unhitch your enclosed trailer in the parking lot and unload your dolly trailer and launch...
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Old     (nautiquesonly)      Join Date: Sep 2007       05-13-2010, 5:33 PM Reply   
I think for a wakeboat this is close to imposible because you would also have to fold the tower down to load. My 236 sits about 11'3" to the top of the tower on the trailer. If you put it in an enclosed trailer on a dolly and had overhead room for launching you would be too tall like over 13 feet. You would need escort vehicles and oversized load signs.
Old     (ktm525)      Join Date: Mar 2009       05-13-2010, 6:10 PM Reply   
Nice post. We were just talking about this today at the LP
Old     (hockeysk8er222)      Join Date: Jul 2009       05-13-2010, 6:54 PM Reply   
I think it would would if you had something like a drawer where the boat slid say half way out, then you launch, therefore reduceing the problem of tower and cieling collision
Old     (srock)      Join Date: Mar 2002       05-14-2010, 10:48 AM Reply   
Maybe a couple roll up doors on the sides for access. Interesting idea.
Old     (davomaddo)      Join Date: Feb 2003       05-14-2010, 11:25 AM Reply   
The fully enclosed trailer would make it very difficult to wash or wax your boat.
The tarp sides would probably be the most practical way to do it.
Old     (ian_ashton)      Join Date: Jul 2008       05-14-2010, 1:07 PM Reply   
I think the easiest way to do this for a wake boat would be to add walls and a roof to the existing trailer. This will solve your wide-ness and height problems, right? If I was that handy I might be out in the driveway right now trying to make it work, I'd love an enclosed boat trailer (best thing I did for my race car was sell the open trailer and buy enclosed!)
Old     (behindtheboat)      Join Date: Aug 2006       05-23-2010, 7:30 PM Reply   
That's still a tall freaking trailer with the tower

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