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View Full Version : trips to the topend with a boat trailer



brendan
02-07-2003, 06:52 PM
Am planning a trip to the top end and plan on taking me boat and trailer anyone have any suggestions am trying to keep away from the crowded areas.
It is a 14 ftr tinny.
Am willing to take on fairly rough roads.
Thakyou fellas

ANYFISH
03-07-2003, 03:11 PM
me and 3 mates went to limmen bight river in the territory september last year. the road was fairly good.bitumen went all the way to cape crawford then 230 clicks of gravel. the corrigations are what will break your gear. make shure your trailer is a pretty heavy build. we seen one bloke turn up with logs, ropes and chains holding his trailer together. i took a 13 foot tinny up there on top of my hilux. bloody good fishin when you get there ;D

Jack_Lives_Here
04-07-2003, 05:03 AM
Would shocks on your trailer be a benefit?? I think if it takes an extra couple of hours to get where you're going and you've not broken anything then slow is the go. [smiley=2thumbsup.gif]

Fisheasy
04-07-2003, 05:47 AM
My uncle towed a 7m Marlin Broadbill up to Weipa no problems. Took it easy (didn't have shockies either)
Main thing is not to fill the boat with fuel, gear, swags etc. As soon as you overload it - you'll have problems.
To get away from the crowds it's a good idea to go March/April or otherwise just prior to the wet season. During the dry it gets crowded, especially this time of year.
Places like Shady Camp, The Daly all get pretty busy. I don't mind Bynoe Harbour though there seems to be a few more camps there every year.

Toby
04-07-2003, 07:51 AM
Best way to do it is to have your tinny sitting on top (right way up) on a box trailer. We had a 14f tinny with a bit of gear in it, and all the heavy stuff in the trailer. The trailer had breaks and shocks though as we were doing some fairly rough stuff. We towed the whole set up weighing just over 2tonne with our maverick no worries. Travelled some pretty rough roads but slow and steady does it.
We found you cant get enough gear in a normal boat trailer set up without over loading it.

Hainer
04-07-2003, 03:20 PM
I went to the Cape last year and towed a 14 foot tinny on a boat trailer. The corrugations were terrible. We only used standard springs (two leaf) and one failed on the return trip. That was the only problem with the trailer. Our biggest problem was the rollers on the boat trailer punching holes in the bottom of the boat. When we got back to Brisy we had a fair few repairs to do. We had about four holes and half a dozen broken ribs in the boat. If your heading for realy rough roads I suggest putting the boat upside down on a trailer built for off roads, that way the side of the baot takes the hits, not the bottom.

Also, get some fine wire and wrap it around the heads of all the bolts on the trailer, then take the other end and tie it to the chassis. You would supprised how many bolts you can loose, especially the ones holding the rollers in place.

Good luck

Daintreeboy
04-07-2003, 04:01 PM
Check out my post in the Saltwater Photos section titled Barra. That's what you can get at Mapoon, 85 km North of Weipa. Should be quiet enough up that way. The Road from Weipa to Mapoon is the best of the whole trip!!
Oh yeah and don't vote me a 1 like some of the other mongrels :-X :'( :'(

Jewmaster
05-07-2003, 12:38 PM
Head out to Dundee Beach, It can be crowded but the fishing and the people are great. Good pub with decent accomadation and good food. Excellent boat ramp and a tractor to launch and retirece your boat so your car doesn't get a salt bath, it s $5 each way with the tractor, but cheaper than reaplcing your car.

Bynoe harbour is also a great spot and can be accessed of the same road to dundee and the stay at Crab Claw Island resort would also be a good one, the boat ramp at crab claw is very poor and you need at least 3meters of water to launch. But the fishing is excelelnt wqith a much wider variety of fish availabel to you.

Than off the same road again you can go down Hardcastle road and fish the finnis river which is fresh water so in 3 days you could cover all your bases from bluewater palargics, big jewies of the reefs and nice freshwater barra and tarpon. with a few yabies to boot.

Check out the freshwater photos section and go back into the history a bit and you will find some photos of the finnnis river. Also have fish from dundee and bynoe in the saltwater section.

Dezmo
07-07-2003, 10:20 AM
I plan to head that direction next year on an extended holiday and will be towing a 4.2 metre tinny.

I plan on putting larger tyres on the trailer, also probably a heavier duty leaf spring(s) and and use more tie downs for the boat. Do you think this would be sufficient ? The boat has a 40hp which is too heavy to lift off it and as i will just be going with the girlfriend the two of us couldnt lift the boat on top of a box trailer anyway.

Should i be adding more rollers to support the boat or should i be seeing a welder to reinforce the frame of the trailer ?

Thanks for your thoughts guys.

NQCairns
07-07-2003, 12:38 PM
Hi dezmo, IMHO larger tyres are a must, if you have problems with the side rollers it will be because they were used to hold weight not just keep a well strapped down boat upright with 98% of the weight supported by the keel rollers. Better still buy skids for the trip they work well when setup properly and look after ally boats.
Instead of getting heavier springs see if you can get softer ones (or stay with the ones you got) they will then do the work absorbing the road instead of transfering it to the trailer and boat. Buy a couple of spare springs with all the associated bits and pieces. Also if you go to large tyres dont be afraid to let the pressure down from highway pressures when you hit the long hard bumpy stuff to help the cushioning, I am assuming here that you will be driving at a speed that relates to the fact you are towing and where you are towing. Speed is what kills trailers on the dirt so if you are prepared to lose 100km a day over those with $20000 special trailers and use common sense you will do it easy. Mudgards cop a bashing though so be sure that they are in good condition. I can guarantee that the speed over the corregations you and the car find most comfortable will be way too fast for your boat and standard trailer, it's hard to maintain the strength of mind not to go faster after 6 hours with just 2 more to go before days end but you gotta. If you must pack the boat use light gear and keep it close to the axle and down as low as possible. hint: if the car door over the corregations pounds in and out so hard and fast it hurts your leg your probably going too fast (sometime you can get out and run faster). good luck you will have a blast. nq

Dezmo
10-07-2003, 03:37 PM
Thanks NQ Cairns

I will keep my eye out for a set of wheels to fit it second hand. I was thinking along similar lines re the lower tyre pressure.

I didnt occur to me to check that the weight of the boat is mostly on the rollers. When i raise the rollers i will make sure i check this. Some how ?

Hope the trip happens.....