enclosed trailer

After traveling 5000 miles with 3 f18s on my lightweight trailer, I'm thinking about moving up to an enclosed trailer to haul multiple boats. I know there are sailors out there that have enclosed trailers. Any good advise on size of trailer. Thinking about 24ft. How do you support the boats, upside down, rightside up? What was used for construct the supports and how where they attached? Any pics would be great.
Thanks

F18's have to be dis-assembled. They will not fit inside and the trailer remain road legal.

Taylor Reiss has one on which the F-18 boats hang on their sides from the ceiling. The roof height is 10'ish tall. It's road legal but appears to be a major Pain to load the boats without a bunch of hands. Trailers that tall get pretty expensive quick.

Depends on the state.

Some states allow boat trailers to be more than 8'6". I also think that most states in my area would unofficially allow over width fishing boat trailers and such.

However in my asking around on the issue, it seems that most DOT officers would not let an enclosed trailer fly. I've also been told that the penalties would be large.

You might want to ask the Selsmeyers or some of the other CRAW crew. They bring their boats to events in an enclosed trailer, poles on, pretty much ready for mast up. I am always envious!

For Long Beach and Sarasota we had an enclosed trailer from New England, but the boats were disassembled.

Mike, there are currently 2 enclosed trailers in the CRAW group-
BOTH of which carry their F-18's, etc.- FLAT, horizontal in an enclosed trailer. One lives in N. Illinois. They may not be totally legal- but they've been getting away with it for years. Both of them were in Corpus in October 2014.

These trailers carry 2 boats flat, and a third disassembled under the bottom boat in the trailer also.

Wait until you get pulled over by the DOT. If you pass through a state without proper paperwork, it's not cheap. I'm speaking from personal experience...

It's been to/thru many a state, ask Guy and Kurt.
I only wish I could afford to build, or buy one.

at this rate it sounds cheaper to own 5 or 6 boats and store them around the country at desired race events

Florida Statues... Maybe there's a solution in that last part>?

316.515 Maximum width, height, length.—
(1) WIDTH LIMITATION.—The total outside width of any vehicle or the load thereon may not exceed 102 inches, exclusive of safety devices determined by the department to be necessary for the safe and efficient operation of motor vehicles. The use of public roads that do not have at least one through lane of 12 feet or more in width in each direction, and the use of public roads deemed unsafe for wider vehicles on the basis of safety and engineering analyses, by vehicles exceeding 96 inches in width may be restricted by the Department of Transportation or by local officials for streets and roads under their respective jurisdictions. The total outside width of a noncommercial travel trailer, camping trailer, truck camper, motor home, or private motor coach as defined in s. 320.01 may be more than 102 inches if:
(a) The excess width is attributable to appurtenances that do not extend beyond the exterior rearview mirrors installed on the motor home by the manufacturer or the exterior rearview mirrors of the tow vehicle; and
(b) The exterior rearview mirrors only extend the distance necessary to provide the appropriate field of view for the vehicle before the appurtenances are attached.

Penalties....

Notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter, penalties for violation of the maximum limits for width, height, and length provided for in s. 316.515 are as follows:
(a) Two hundred and fifty dollars per foot of violation or any portion thereof for width and height limit violations.

No solutions there. I am a truck trailer designer since 1994. In that paragraph they're talking about appurtenances.

Appurtenances are accessories like grab handles, lamps, step, etc. The body of the trailer can't be considered an appurtenances.

well, then the next thought would be to get an annual oversize permit for the trailer.

It doesn't tell you how much that permit costs, though (as it's designed for commercial trucks I'd bet it isn't cheap).

Or, just trailer the boat the way you do now and save all the hassle!

That permit is only good for your state, which is what makes it not very practical.

And some come with localized conditions on when and where you can travel (like the Keys now only allow wide loads with police escort after midnight or something).

Usually oversize or overload permits are for one specific trip. You specify the dimensions, weight and when, where. It's a one time use.

Trailers cost too fricking much too. I bought a new enclosed trailer for work almost two years ago. $15k, it's a little guy at 7x18. I would've got a 16' like my old trailer, but wanted to be able to knock the boat apart and throw it in there for major regattas.

When I win the lottery I'm doing a 40' fifth wheel behind a two ton with 20' of toy hauler in the back and quarters in front. The trick would be to do ramp doors in the sides that you could strap the boat to, then just flip it up and close it. You'd still have room for a motorcycle, a 2nd boat (with another door), and probably a Rhino.

what do Rhinos eat?
and you'd need another trailer filled with food and industrial sized doggie bags

The Yamaha variety....

Not getting too much help here. Enclosed trailers are up to 8.5' (102"). Yes, I was planning on disassembling the boats to get in the trailer. Do you all realize that the f18 is 8.5 ft wide! Been looking on CL, finding 24' trailers from $4000 to $7000, used, and in good condition. What I'm looking for is some help with how people are securing the boats in the trailer. I know there are ones out there, seen them, but at the time did not consider, so would like to see/hear what people are doing.
Thanks.

I will see if I can find some details of the trailer we used for LA/Sarasota. It was fully enclosed, 6 boats inside, masts on top. The trailer was owned by Chris Prentice, and El Presidente Riccardi was involved as well. I think there are some pictures floating around on Facebook.

E-Tracking. Mount three levels of strips horizontally on each side. They make sockets that go into the E-Track that you can put a 4x4 in making a horizontal beam from side to side on the trailer. The ones in the link from McMaster are for a 2x4, but I know I've seen them for 4x4 lumber as well. Just space the brackets out so they line up with the beam sockets, and set the hulls upside down on the lumber and strap/tie them down. You'll have to likely clump same brands together so the beam socket spacing is all the same.

You should be able to get three levels in there. Depends on the size of the sidewall on the trailer, most are about 72" though. It'll be snug.

Beware of trailers. There is a lot of cheap, horrible, shitty trailers out there. Featherlite is a good brand, as is Sundowner. Like any tool, spending less gets you nowhere most of the time. You also need a decent tow rig if you're looking at a 24' trailer. I wouldn't do it with anything less than a 3/4 ton. Even then I'd add the stabilizer/weight distribution bars. 24' is a big butt trailer for a bumper tow. It's not so much the weight that kills you, it's the windage pushing you around in a nasty crosswind.

As for beams, and the rest of the crap, I'd probably pad and strap the beams vertically to the wall, wrap each in a moving blanket and stretch wrap it. A ladder rack would work fine for masts on the roof. Cat-Trax are always the biggest hassle though, dis-assembling them blows. The rest packs pretty easily.

Karl,

Often thought about making the toy hauler you describe. Maybe a little bit smaller. it wouldn't even really be that expensive in the grand scheme of things. Biggest roadblock to all of that it was a hardly any of all the regatta destinations have a place to park/turn around such a rig.

That, and the fact you would have to go inside at the Taco Bell, instead of the drive thru. Seems reasonable.

Maneuverability is hassle with that much rig. The trailer is damn near semi size.





It makes more sense to me than doing a coach/bus type RV though and hooking the boat on. You get to where you're going and you are a pedestrian. With a big rv toyhauler, you drop the trailer, and the pull truck is your wheels. A two ton doesn't have any bigger foot print than a four door, long box pickup.

Thanks Jeff. I'll touch base with you on the side.
TC