TexasKayakFisherman.com est. 2000

[Daniel C]

My wife and I are looking to purchase a travel trailer and was wondering how does everyone haul there kayaks when pulling a travel trailer or 5th wheel? Does any one here pull a kayak trailer behind their travel trailer? If someone has pics of there set up it would be appreciated. Thank you

[FishNMike]

Here's a pic of my set up while stuck in the sand at 3 Mile Cut! I use this when pulling my travel trailer! It is a Yakima roof rack with Outdoorsman bed rack.

Here's a pic of my yak trailer when not pulling the camper. It's 14' and I suppose you could pull it behind 5th wheel however I've never checked on that and/or capacity of travel trailer bumpers. My trailer is 32' and if I add the yak trailer I may be over the legal limit?????

[M T Stringer]

I tow a bumper pull pop-up and purchased a Thule XSporter rack for my truck. Keeps the yaks on top and allows for gear storage in the bed.

My set up won't work for a 5th wheel though, because you will lose your turning ability with the back rack on. That first pic looks like the rack allows enough clearance. My buddy Hipshot has a similar type rack and tows a 5th wheel when we go camping. I will text him and see if he can post up a pic for you.

[hipshot]

When we had a TT I used a rack I built to put the yaks up over the bed and the cab. Now that we pull a fifth wheel I use a fifth wheel rack from US Racks. It's pricey, but well-designed. I have no luck posting photographs here, but if you're interested PM me a number and I'll shoot them with my cellular phone and text them to you.

[hipshot]

I just found an old photo of the rack for the TT that the bride posted here:
viewtopic.php?f=53&t=174800

[Daniel C]

Thank you all for your replies. We are suppose to go look at some rvs this weekend but at least now I have and idea what I need to be able to haul my yaks. Does any one pull a kayak trailer behind a travel trailer?

[hipshot]

You really don't want to pull tandem if you can avoid it. When I try to back a tandem rig I can't figure out whether I need a frontal lobotomy or a bottle in front of me. Trust me on this...........

[hipshot]

You didn't post where you are from, but if you are close I'll be glad to help you build a rack for your rig. You buy the materials and the electrcity, and I'll weld you one right up. You can hold 'em in place while I tack them, and hold my beer while I weld them.

[Daniel C]

LOL!! Thanks for the offer and advice hipshot. I was actually a welder/fabricator by trade then my company found out I knew more than just welding so moved me into the hydraulic shop where I'm currently the shop supervisor. I've built me a weld shop in my garage and build things on my free time. I'm currently building a kayak trailer for myself and will probably build me some racks once I get a travel trailer. I live in Lockhart which is about 30 miles southeast of Austin. If you lived close by i wouldn't mind drinking a beer though. Here is a couple of pictures of a rack I built for my last truck.

[CopanoCruisin]

Back when we had our last Jayco 24 RKS travel trailer, we pulled out kayak trailer tandem behind it. Never a problem. No backing tandem though, I would just unhook the trailer and roll it around where needed. After setting up the RV, we could hook up the kayak trailer and off we would go to the launch. Sorry, lost all my pics on a computer crash. Just maybe, I have a pic at work. Since we upgraded to our Open Range JT337RLS travel trailer, towing tandem would put us over length to be legal. ..........cC

[hipshot]

How do you like that Open Range? We looked at the same RV, and really liked it. We finally ended up with a Salem Hemisphere Light 286RLS, which we love (the island was the clincher), but I'm still intrigued by the Open Range. As light as it is, I wonder how rigid it feels. Any issues with it?

[hipshot]

I tow a fifth wheel RV now, and I'm working on getting a SoloSkiff. It'll be too heavy to load on the rack over the cab on my pickup without help, so I put together a trailer for it. As much as I hate the idea, I was going to have to tow tandem. I checked the Texas Transportation Code and I would be well within the length limit. I see enough tandem rigs on the road that I just assumed that it's legal everywhere.....

I was discussing it with another RVer who told me that Florida doesn't permit tandem towing. I checked, and I found that a whole lot of states prohibit it. Although there are other states prohibiting it, I noticed that from Alabama east to Florida, then up the east coast to Maine, all of the coastal states prohibit it. You would be wise to check it out before towing a tandem rig; it could get mighty expensive if a trooper makes you drop the rear rig and pay someone to haul it back home for you.

[vstrom650]

I'm a little late to the party here, but I've wondered about the same issue. A while back I saw a truck with a small jon boat on top, interesting part is that the jon boat was over the truck hood and cab rather than over the bed. This left the bed completely clear and open for towing. Didn't get a pic, but found this on the interweb thing


http://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/threads/front-boat-loader-rack-for-pickup-fifth-wheel-towing.548014/

[C130]

I haul ours in our 5th wheel toy hauler. Of course it all depends on the kayak size and the garage size. We have a 12 foot garage and currently have a Coosa HD and a Hobie PA 12 with us at Lake Livingston. My Big Tuna won't fit unless I open the rear bathroom door and put one end of the kayak in the bathroom. I'm renting the Hobie to see if I like it, interested to see how the pedaling goes.