This is the original trailer that we picked for the project. Meant for a larger, heavier fishing boat than our Daysailors, it had the suspension to safely carry two boats and another trailer. Once the trailer had been picked, my father and I designed a support system to safely hold another trailer on top. I then took these plans into the shop and cut all the parts.The brackets were welded together from receiver tube (like on the hitch for a truck) and quarter inch plates cut out on the CNC Plasma table. A horizontal band saw was used to cut the square tubing that made up the struts and the receiver tubing. Once all the parts were cut out, I tack welded them all together with a MIG (Metal Inert Gas) welder, tested how they fit, and re-tacked as necessary.
Once the pieces were all fitting properly, welding began. All of the welds were done
initially with a MIG welder, with a few of the more important structural welds on the thicker plates getting a second pass with a Flux-Core welder to get deeper penetration and a more structurally sound weld. After welding, some bending was necessary to counteract the warpage from welding.
With the welding complete, it was ready for testing! With the help of a crane, first the empty trailer was placed on the trailer, and finally a second boat was lowered on, and it passed the test.
First road test was up to Hungtington lake, and so the frames also got tested for a second purpose: kayak rack.
Having done that successfully, it was fully loaded up, and we headed across the country from Morro Bay, CA, to Annapolis, MD.
