Has anyone ever bolted cat cradles to the top of a pop up trailer and trailered a cat on top of the pop up long distance?

Any issues? Should I bother? Thoughts?

Bill

Thought about it for awhile. Bought a tent instead.

But would it work?

I thought it would. The problems I saw were:

1) storage when not in use. I usually stay in motels and was not willing to have a dedicated pop-up as my only trailer
2) difficulty of operation. When using the pop-up the boat would need to be unloaded.
3) additional towing weight and windage would not be economical.

On two occassions I've taken extended camping trips (around six weeks each time). The right tent makes all the difference in the world.

Hi Bill -

I looked at this option pretty seriously for some time. It absolutely will work. You'll need a beefier axle than what comes on most pop-ups. You'll also need to plan for the usual sail box storage that doesn't interfere with any AC that might be equipped. I always thought it would be a perfect arrangement for an A-cat. I looked at it back in my M4.3 days.

Better idea, I had a friend that towed his cat behind the pop-up. He did that for years (just don't get where you have to back up!). You don't have to modify anything except adding a hitch to the camper. I would suggest putting brakes on the camper though to help in stopping a train wreck.

Clayton

A well known sailor in Houston TX. always put his carbon 18square on top of his pop up trailer. Of course it was apart due to beam width of the square. He did it for years, and used the pop up as a nice camper. I think he puts his A cat on it now. Worked well for him.

We have a H-20 sailor here in Div 3 that does that. He made a frame that is removable with wheels on it. Boat goes on the frame then frame goes on the trailer. I will see about getting pics from him.

Hopefully this pic of Dennis' trailer with his old 18sq. on it will come through-

Kirt

Only about 50% of the US states allow dual trailers (mostly states with strong agricultural industries).

I have seen that - a guy used to come to spring fever that way with an a-cat for a couple of years (back in 04-05). I looked at it myself but went the RV route instead. Now that I have an a-cat and it's so portable, I'm thinking about putting A/C in the back of my pickup truck (under the shell) and sleeping back there.

Jake-
I've been thinking about that too- ever since spending a miserable night last 4th of July sweltering in the back of my truck under the shell! What type of A/C units are you looking at and how do you plan to power? I have a BIG slide in truck camper when the wife wants to go (rarely) but the shell is fine for me most of the time except when it's hot and no breeze.

Kirt

look at marine a/c units and throw in a couple extra deep cycle batteries. The engine alternator won't really charge them effectively, but if you've got shore power where you're camping you don't need the batts...

Something like one of these....

http://www.amazon.com/WA-7500M-500-...me-garden&qid=1275931785&sr=8-25

These portable units have a hose used for the exhaust air and moisture. If I ever go this route, I would build a shroud that fits one of the side windows in the cap and plumb the exhaust to it. 7,500 btu is probably overkill for the back of a truck but it's portable and pretty easy to work out.

Alternatively, you could get one of those really small window units and build a wood mount for it that would also block off the tailgate opening but with a small door to one side (tailgate would remain open).

Another alternative would be to buy a camper box that fits between the hulls on your existing trailer. LivinLite makes a box that is about 5' x 6'6" x 27"

I made an inquiry with the company and found that you can buy just the box without the tongue or axle. Could be an interesting alternative.

http://www.livinlite.com/6.0-overview.php

The 2.0 cycle thingey looks interesting.

7500 btu would turn your truck bed into a meat locker. Better pack the wool mittens and socks.

What about a marine unit?

I had this same thought with the flat bed I bought for the Viper.

Those marine units start around $1,200.

You could also get an RV roof unit but they're also quite large (overkill) and more expensive than needed.

We buy some 2,500 BTU air conditioning units for electrical cabinets - I've always thought about building a shroud for one of those and mounting it through the roof of the cap (they're long and slender too). But they start around $800 as well.

Then again, an ice cooler, a small automotive evaporator core, a water pump, and a small fan and you can create your own ice cooler. Our pilot built one for our company planes and it will cool down the inside of that plane in a few minutes...I don't think you could expect it to last more than 3 or 4 hours even with a light load though.

You guys are spending too much on airconditioning and not enough money on rum! Just do what I do when I need to sleep in the back of my truck; get wasted and pass out. When you wake up, it's a short crawl to a good puke, then go back to sleep...

Man, you fancy pants camping guys kill me...were you never in the Boy Scouts?

Finally some spot on racing advice