Are all kayak trolleys junk?

[uxb]

Someone, somewhere must make a decent kayak trolley?

My Ecla trolley is junk.. It has a self collapse feature designed into it which I had to lock out with a lump of wood and some electrical tape. The only way it works is with at least two roof rack straps and some bad language. Even then I can't trust it and my new boat doesn't sit well on it. Vee is good, except when it comes to trolleys.

The venerable C Tug has comedy wheels that squeak like mad - when they are not falling off. Which they do when you look at them, pick it up, move it or sit it in the boot of your car - although not when moving under load.. And it won't fit in a proper kayak hatch. i.e. My kayak hatch. ( OK, I admit that my boat can't be had with oval hatches and I'm insanely jealous of anyone who has them) the little stand that comes with it stays in the garage as it falls off all the time. I've seriously considered glueing or nailing it on but decided to just give in and leave it at home.

The historic C Tug has proper wheels with tyres, that you can blow up, the new C Tug has some nasty looking rims that look like the tyres are missing - do they squeak all the time though? Do they grip on hard surfaces like slipways?

I don't want to waste yet more money on some awful heap of twisted metal or a Lego-like trolley that will make me swear out loud each time I use it.

Any other trolley I've looked at seems to be a variation of the awful Ecla or comedy C Tug , the only difference seems to be in price.



So what to buy?

[Douglas Wilcox]

KCS Expedition trolley review here.

Douglas

[MikeB]

KCS x2 - I noted my comments "here" too - a most excellent bit of kit - - my original is nearly 15 years old.

[Mac50L]

Are all kayak trolleys junk? No, my T-bar trolley, built more than 20 years ago is bomb-proof (it was the original design, since been copied round the world). It is possible to drag a loaded double across a soft sand beach, no squeaking, no collapsing and yet it packs down to small parts. It also stands up and if you forget to retract the legs it doesn't matter, it won't damage them and they won't jamb anything. Just a matter of good design.

[ian johnston]

Hi UXB,

All junk? no, absolutely not...

Another recommendation for the KCS Expedition Trolley - to add to Douglas' test report, a first impression report is at http://mountainandseascotland.blogspot. ... stems.html. The latest version is wider and a bit lower than the original; and the addition of the detachable keel support (known to some of us as, ahem, the Wilcox Rear End make this just about indestuctible and usable over just about any terrain you could realistically move a boat. It can also be disassembled to fit in your round hatches, though the wheels (proper inflatable tyre type) won't fit.

I don't think you'd be disappointed....


Kind Regards

Ian

[uxb]

The KCS looks good, anyone want to buy an Ecla?

[Matt P]

I've got a C Tug with the new wheels (which squeak a bit). They have a rubber / something-rubber-like tread which is bonded to the rims and have plenty of grip, but I would have rather had the older (discontinued, sadly) wheels because they can be squeezed through the (round) hatches of my Alaw and provide a bit of suspension on uneven surfaces like some of Jersey's cobbled slipways

I've seen people almost run up those slipways pulling loaded composite boats that are bouncing about on C Tugs with pneumatic wheels, but I don't think they would do that with the new wheels

It'll do for now because I rarely have to put a kayak on a trolley for any distance and it always gets returned to the car or left on the beach (I still can't take it apart without the assistance of a rubber mallet)

Not having any oval hatches is a nuisance

[GrahamC]

I have a C-tug with the new sandhopper wheels but with a loaded boat they get stuck on every hard sand ripple or pebble - hard work. With my sailing canoe they are useless on almost any surface and shake the hell out of the boat on hard surfaces. I ended up buying some foam filled "no burst" tyres for it from an ebay seller and it has made all the difference. The only issue is that the new wheels are heavy. Trolleys are a compromise between packability and utility.

Graham

[PSK]

I took the KCS trolley on my 2012 UK Circumnavigation. Unfortunately it collapsed, causing the only real damage that the boat suffered on the trip.
I couldn't get hold of a decent trolley for the 2015 UK Circ trip, so I had one made. It did the job admirably.
The longest 'trolley' was 2km across the sands at Leasowe after an unfortunately timed LW spring tide landing.







It may be a little more than is needed if you just want to wheel the boat down a slipway but it makes a good exped trolley.

JW

[MikeB]

I took the KCS trolley on my 2012 UK Circumnavigation. Unfortunately it collapsed, - - -

Oh? Out of interest, how so??

[EK Sydney]

Not sure if you can get them in the UK, but these are the best we've used by some margin.

http://www.wheeleez.com/kayak-cart-mini.php

Wheels fit in your hatches, roll over sand and rough ground, and most important allow you to mount the frame in the middle of your boat, so you don't have to lift and pull. Not cheap though, about A$200.

Mark.

[uxb]

I took the KCS trolley on my 2012 UK Circumnavigation. Unfortunately it collapsed, causing the only real damage that the boat suffered on the trip.

JW

Picture No3 looks like good trolley testing terrain !

[uxb]

Not sure if you can get them in the UK, but these are the best we've used by some margin.

http://www.wheeleez.com/kayak-cart-mini.php

Wheels fit in your hatches, roll over sand and rough ground, and most important allow you to mount the frame in the middle of your boat, so you don't have to lift and pull. Not cheap though, about A$200.

Mark.

Looks like the Eckla on steroids!

[geoffm]

Is that much the same as Pete Baars sells John, i.e. the Freya copy?

[EK Sydney]

Not sure if you can get them in the UK, but these are the best we've used by some margin.

http://www.wheeleez.com/kayak-cart-mini.php

Wheels fit in your hatches, roll over sand and rough ground, and most important allow you to mount the frame in the middle of your boat, so you don't have to lift and pull. Not cheap though, about A$200.

Mark.

Looks like the Eckla on steroids!

The wheels are oversized, and meant to be less than half inflated. They work really well on our long sandy beaches.

[Mac50L]

Is that much the same as Pete Baars sells John, i.e. the Freya copy?

The Freya one is the T-bar trolley without the support legs, probably because I didn't send the leg part of design to Germany.

Simpler than the KCS trolley to dismantle as there is no bolt and it fits kayaks better and straps to them better. All the design details are on the web.

[geoffm]

Thanks Mac, the question was directed to John W, we've heard about your trolley in the past.....several times.

[branwell]

After trying trolleys such the Ekla style trolley, a c-tug and then a home made one, i wasn't overly impressed. Then i came across an awesome trolley made in Canada for canoes. The WESTERN CANOE & KAYAK EXPEDITION CART. It is way beyond the others in design and durability but is expensive. I snapped it up on ebay fortunately. we tend to use it to cart our Open canoe about when required and it could be used for sea kayaks too if you can store it disassembled below deck.
see here: http://www.westerncanoekayak.com/shop/11-390-003/
also sold by Clipper Canoes i think.
I did fancy the KCS trolley but at the time they were out of production. it looked like a good design. Karitek one also looks good, though not tried it.

[Sprucey]

Talking of trolleys, I thought you may be interested in this home made French design spotted at a symposium in Western Brittany a few years ago. They look good and I intend to make and try one.

They float (the square axle tube is filled with expanded foam) and break down into the 2 side-panels, axle and wheels. You can shape the side panels to work as a bulkhead style footrest and stow them in the cockpit in front of your foot pegs against the front bulkhead.





Two or three of the French paddlers used this design and all were happy to show it off.

Sprucey

[Mac50L]

After trying trolleys such the ... and then a home made one, I wasn't overly impressed. Then I came across an awesome trolley made in Canada

Why (impressed)? That is the home-made one but without the support legs.

[branwell]

After trying trolleys such the ... and then a home made one, I wasn't overly impressed. Then I came across an awesome trolley made in Canada

Why (impressed)? That is the home-made one but without the support legs.

Not sure I understand you there?
I wasn't impressed with the bought ones or my poor effort to build one. Decent attachment to the boat seems a definite requirement, something which the Canadian expedition cart excels at. Just my humble opinion.

[Mac50L]

I wasn't impressed with the bought ones or my poor effort to build one. Decent attachment to the boat seems a definite requirement, something which the Canadian expedition cart excels at. Just my humble opinion.

The thread should be "Are all commercial kayak trolleys junk?" As you have found, the answer is No, they are not all junk.

The fastening of the Canadian trolley to the kayak is almost the way I suggest doing it or the way I originally did it. The way I use now, the simple way, is to run the webbing through the T bar, across under the kayak, through the other T bar and over the kayak, meet the end from where we started and clip together with a Fastex buckle. If two bits of webbing are used they go through the T bars in opposite directions so you have two straps over and two straps under the kayak. You can pick the kayak up and the trolley stays with it. Own builds can be dependant on the builder's skill and materials used.

[muddy_duck]

KCS Trolley gets my vote.

I have a NDK Romany with 10" hatches which causes issues with getting the wheels inside the boat. Spoke to Ronnie at KCS and he provided me with an Expedition Trolley which is wider and lower but with 8" wheels rather than the normal 10". Ronnie did advise that the smaller wheel may not be as good as the 10" on wet soft sand. Over the last few weeks the trolley has had many outing over various terrain with no issues what so ever. Its a well thought out design, well built & and you can break it down into varying component parts to fit inside your boat to suit your storage needs/space. It also comes with a huge dry bag or ease of storage or strapping to the rear deck if required.

Wish I had found this trolley years ago, big thank you to Ronnie at KCS

one very happy paddler.

[Maarten Z]

Am I the only one happy with my Eckla trolley? If you give the straps some thought, it stays in place just nicely. Folds fast and fits in the hatch.
I had an old style KCS which tended to collapse on rough terrain and was afraid it would damage my boat (although it never did), as described above. KCS took me a lot more time and fiddling (especially with cold hands).

[uxb]

The thread should be "Are all commercial kayak trolleys junk?" As you have found, the answer is No, they are not all junk.

.

No it shouldn't

No I haven't

All the ones I've seen so far are.

But I have ( again) got some good info to go on from the collective brain trust on here

[michelin]

I have one of the Nigel Dennis Kayaks trolleys that he sells from the factory and I think its brilliant. A few of my friends have one as well and they are all pleased with theres. I split mine down and put it in a dry bag and then keep it in one of the hatches. It goes on the bow or stern its not one that goes on the middle of the kayak. Someone told me that Karritek make them but I'm not certain of it and they are not cheap£90

[Grahamd]

I also have the KCS trolley and find it excellent as is the service and after sale service from Ronnie.

[Steve Whetman]

I use Zoelzer trolleys made in Germany in an engineering factory run by paddlers. The trolleys are super strong, built very well out of real metal rather than monkey metal. It is used to carry my sea kayak , or canoe and when taking the family to the beach I have a sit-on which is loaded to the gunnels with beach stuff, picnics, kids etc etc and the trolley takes the load in its stride.
They are good.
They are not cheap.