I have the bunks of my trailer locayed 12" apart, which has the bunks more in the center of the kayak. Is the location ok, or should they reside on the furthest sides of the kayak?

If you can move them further apart, I would. Little more stability that way.

I can definitely move them outwards more. When i first placed them, i googled the best location and it mentioned below the scuppers/center channel. Once i placed it, the thought entered my mind, well two thoughts actually. 1. There certainly isnt much support side to side. 2. I would think the bunks being further apart towards the outer edges of the kayak would be better. Since i wasnt certain on that, thought id ask the question here.

Are you loading and unloading directly into the water? If so you have them in the right spot. Once it's strapped on it'll be stable.

How do you like the Malone Off Road trailer? I'm trying to decide between that and the standard

My goal is to load and unload right into the water. This hasnt seen water yet.

For me, i went with the trailer because it was black, and the off road tires. Its sexy looking 😃. I did weigh the options of the standard and off road, went back and forth. But for just a few hundred dollars more, i could get the nicer looking one. Although i have not tested it, i read somewhere that im able to drive 65-70 mph with no issues. But we'll see about that.

I went with the single kayak trailer. It was easy to put together. Im modifying a couple things, but its done for the most part. Ill post some pictures when done.

I'll be loading and unloading in the water too. I just had major knee surgery which will make carting hard on the ramps so if I want to fish I need the trailer.

No matter which of the low riders I get I will be cutting down the crossbars and I'm going with PVC bunks.

Im getting ready to cut the crossbars down too, as we speak. I believe they're meant for two kayak trailers.

Thought about pvc bunks. There are several options. I'll see how these board bunks work

51 minutes ago, crankbait2009 said:

Im getting ready to cut the crossbars down too, as we speak. I believe they're meant for two kayak trailers.

Thought about pvc bunks. There are several options. I'll see how these board bunks work

Ha, we think alike!

On 3/22/2026 at 9:04 AM, crankbait2009 said:

Im getting ready to cut the crossbars down too, as we speak. I believe they're meant for two kayak trailers.

Thought about pvc bunks. There are several options. I'll see how these board bunks work

Don't cut the crossbars just yet. I slid mine over and then attached my Yakima rod box to the crossbars.

I know that a lot of people like to mount racks above the kayak to put rod tubes and rod boxes, but I think that's a mistake. The reason is that if you put racks above your kayak, if you stand up rods in your rod holders that means that you have to place your rods AFTER you launch your kayak.

I stage everything out in the parking lot before I launch. Rods, net, trolling motor, connect batteries, etc. Then I just back it down the ramp, launch, tie it off, park my truck, jump in the kayak and go. I'm not tying up the ramp or the dock.

i have the bunk boards extended 6" past the rear of the trailer.

I thought about the rod box / rod tube as well. I went back and forth on that one. My rods will be on the front passenger side of my truck. I'm not sure I like the idea of them being attached to the trailer (personal preference), I also thought about leaving the crossbars for attaching a rack/storage container down the road. I nixed that in a hurry since I have the whole back seat and the bed of my truck to store things in. an additional storage system on the trailer is way overkill. so chop chop, the crossbars went made them shorter so that the ends were within the width of the fenders.

I did attach ratchet straps to the frame. I liked that idea better than having to deal with the traditional way of ratchet strapping. this way I can grab the hook, swing it over the top and attach it to the D ring on the other side. so much easier. no knots/tangles etc to deal with.

I do have to connect the wires together, but that's quick and easy. I will be using a wire loom/sleeve to enclose the wires to help protect them a little more from elements and everyday use. but outside of that, my mods are done for now.

I definitely need to find a better trailer jack/front wheel. I find that the wheel does not swivel easily. the weight of the trailer doesn't allow it to move. so when I try to push or pull, it gets locked in the wrong direction and it just slides. I end up having to pick the nose up to move it around. defeats the purpose. but that's something I'm looking into.

I'm probably going to order mine next week. I'm listing my Bonafide with all it's goodies within the next day or so on FB to make space for the trailer build.

I'm cutting my crossbars, or not even installing them depending on how it looks when I get to that point and can see how I want to install the pvd bunks.

I'm also going to add this item to secure the kayak from the front as well as make it even easier to load the kayak on some of the very steep ramps we have around here.

My post didn't insert the link, I'm adding a winch/post stand to pull the kayak up against.

im tinkering around with the winch idea as well. manual or powered. need to learn to work smarter, not harder. it's taken me many years to get to that point

I saw your original "link" but it wasnt clickable. So i copy and pasted. But im on the same page also. Im thinking a powered winch will be a tad much for a kayak 😁

12 hours ago, crankbait2009 said:

I saw your original "link" but it wasnt clickable. So i copy and pasted. But im on the same page also. Im thinking a powered winch will be a tad much for a kayak 😁

I'm going with a hand crank. After I order and put the trailer together I may leave on side of the crossbars long enough to mount an 8" PVC rod tube on it. I'll have a better idea once I'm looking at an actual trailer.