# Transporting rafts



## Thistle

Hello fellow boaters. I have been rafting for a number is years on and off. We are finally getting our own boat. A 14.4' Sotar SL with an Eddy out oar frame. 
We have a trailer that we are going to be transporting it with however there will be times that we are going to be towing a holiday trailer. When that happens I am thinking of having the whole raft and oar frame on a rack on the truck. We have a canopy on the truck so the raft will sit on a rack above. 
My question is, has anyone transported a raft like that. If so, how do you load and unload. I am thinking of maybe putting a winch up top and then a couple of pieces of removable pipe from the rack to the ground for the raft to slide on and off of. 
Thoughts?


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## Ewetah

I have contemplated this before and have failed to come up with a viable solution. I have a 3/4 ton 4 wheel drive with a shell and would like to put my 14' Hyside raft on top but the total weight with the frame and all seems to be the biggest issue unless you have 2 men and a small boy around all the time to hoist it up on the roof.

I used to put my 12 foot fishing cats up on top of the shell but they were around 120 pounds total weight with the frame and all. Plus I was younger back then!

The only solution I have come up with is to put the frame on top of the shell and deflate the raft and rool it up to put in the back of the truck.

I am curious to see what others have to say.


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## Schutzie

Gotta ask yourself; is the cure worse than the problem?

I mean, you chuck the rolled up raft in the truck, strap the frame on top, and off you go. How often will you have to do that?

Or, you can spend the winter designing some Goldberg thingy to hold your raft on the roof of your truck and lift it off and on easily.

Then you can spend the next winter building the Goldberg thingy, and maybe you'll find out it doesn't work as advertised, or the cops take note and find a reason why you shouldn't do it, or the raft abuse from being up there isn't acceptable.

I always subscribed to the first rule of river.
You know, keep it simple.


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## oarboatman

The best solution I have found is to run a piece to 3/6" plate on top on the bed rail in the horizontal position. you make it stick out far enough that it is where the upright piece of the rack attaches. This method allows you to build the rack as an exoskeleton. As far as loading, I weld two sets of brackets on the rear cross bar to attach two 24" rollers. The roller can be found at material handling suppliers. 

To load you have two people on the front handles lift the nose up and sit it against the the rack or topper. Then continue to work the boat in to the most vertical position you can get it. Then everyone moves the the back and lifts the stern, but keeps it low to achieve a large angle of attack and maximize the effect of the roller. Then finally 1.2.3. push and she lands in the middle of the rack. 

It will realistically take at least 3 people to load and 2 to unload. If you want to talk about designs or anything else contact me through my business. [email protected] If you want to come down for a rogue trip in southern Oregon I could do the build while you were on the river. 

Happy NY


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## mtrafter

I deflate and roll my boat up on any drive over an hour,highways are a prime place for random flying objects to shiv your boat prison style while on the trailer and bam you are out $5 large,i would just put your frame on the roof and throw the boat in the back rolled up,not to mention your fuel consumption is going to be beyond horrible with a boat on your roof towing a camper lol


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## shappattack

mtrafter said:


> I deflate and roll my boat up on any drive over an hour,highways are a prime place for random flying objects to shiv your boat prison style while on the trailer and bam you are out $5 large,i would just put your frame on the roof and throw the boat in the back rolled up,not to mention your fuel consumption is going to be beyond horrible with a boat on your roof towing a camper lol


Best advice above,

I have put my raft inflated on top of my truck/canopy when doing day trips for shuttle back up on the N. Umpqua. Can only do about 50 mph max. Bad idea for long distance. 

Roll and put in truck with frame on the top is what we do for multiday travel. Not a problem. Seriously how long does it take to blow up and rig, no big deal.


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## king

before I built my trailer, I would roll up my 14ft 8in sotar break down frame and oars stuff in back of my wifes mini van. drive 100miles to the big hole river best fly fishing in sw mt. drag it out inflate assemble frame oars cooler boxes all in about 20min by my self. not that big adeal


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## Learch

I heart trailers lol. For your setup, I think it would be easier to roll it up that come up with a rooftop solution. It sounds like this won't be common for you, so you could surpass the point of making it worth the effort to keep it inflated pretty fast. If you aren't pulling the RV very often then put up with the hassle every once in a while. If you love to tinker, proceed...


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## bob larrabee

I roll my boat so that I need to rig it and can not help with the shuttle.


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## elkhaven

bob larrabee said:


> I roll my boat so that I need to rig it and can not help with the shuttle.


Smart, very smart!


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## Issip

*Good to 25 MPH*

The Jeep/Puma amphibious party vehicle can do about 25 before the raft becomes aerodynamically unstable.


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## BCJ

Yah trailers are great but not so much for multiple days on the highway. Also sounds like your trying to put a 14' boat on a pickup bed, 6 or 8'. Either that or it'll be high enough to go over the cab of the truck? There are some real wind issues going on here, along with the loading/unloading issue.


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## caverdan

Issip said:


> The Jeep/Puma amphibious party vehicle can do about 25 before the raft becomes aerodynamically unstable.


If you tied the bow line to the front bumper, you could drive faster.


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## David L

Every time my boat has been inflated and on a friend's trailer I always wonder and worry what might be hitting it.

I'd like to get a tarp to go over it, thinking it will give it at least a little protection, but how much, really, would the tarp help when it's going 60 mph and striking something? If it would stay in place in the wind. Maybe something else that would be big enough, rather than, say, a few blankets laid over it?

I usually arrive at a put-in with my gear packed in the back of my pickup. It doesn't bother me to take the time to rig; I'm used to it. It kind of feels good to be "making my boat" at the ramp, getting ready to go. However, it would also be nice to get there and be able to relax and sit with a beer.



mtrafter said:


> I deflate and roll my boat up on any drive over an hour,highways are a prime place for random flying objects to shiv your boat prison style while on the trailer and bam you are out $5 large,i would just put your frame on the roof and throw the boat in the back rolled up,not to mention your fuel consumption is going to be beyond horrible with a boat on your roof towing a camper lol


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## elkhaven

My old hyside has lived on a trailer for a dozen years, I'm sure it's got 20-30K miles on the trailer, if not more. I've never had any damage from things hitting it. I have had to clean of several inches of mud from miles and miles of dirt roads enroute to or from the river and my trailer no longer has any paint on the leading edges but the raft appears totally unaffected by any of it. I would not worry about damage but then again I like to live dangerously!

...and beer tastes better when you're watching other people rig  or :twisted:


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## goldcamp

Another option is putting a trailer hitch on your "holiday trailer" and have a trailer, trailing your trailer. This would give you the option of parking your camper and having your raft trailer for day trips.


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## liquidphoto

Mtrafter nailed it!


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## Raftin4Fun

I transport my raft on top of my rig , I installed the rack myself, and the rack comes off during the winter. Two people can load the raft , we load the back of the rig with the cooler , and other gear . . . plus I can haul 5 people in the rig comfortably.

I welded 4 d-rings to my bumpers , I use two ratchet straps , 1 front , 1 rear , when strapped down , the ratchet straps form a " A " . There are also two d-rings on the side off the carrier , where I use two more straps to hold down the sides .

 We have traveled down the road at 65 mph ... raft does not move . . .
even with cross winds .

The top of the raft carrier is 3/4 marine plywood that is carpeted with outdoor carpet which is glued and stapled on the underside . . . which helps promote a longer lasting platform , that is not affected by the elements . . . wind, rain, sand , sun etc .

Can't wait to get out there this year , hopefully, we start to get more moisture . . . been way to dry this winter .


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## gretch6364

I would be curious to hear if anyone has ever heard of a raft on a trailer getting a hole or damage from road debris


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## DoStep

gretch6364 said:


> I would be curious to hear if anyone has ever heard of a raft on a trailer getting a hole or damage from road debris


Yes.

One cause is vibration/rubbing by the boat on some debris that was on the trailer, and trailers with carpet may hold more potentially harmful debris. High speed projectiles can do damage as well. While rare occurrences, $#!t happens!

I concur with the roll the boat for trips over an hour, leave it on the trailer for local trips strategy.


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