beach wheelz !!!

[Southerly]

The deal!!!

[zimm]

Salvation Army $5 golf cart
1X4 plastic lumber
tie down

[surfdog]

i have used the wheelez for about 5 years now and have pulled my yak through the sand many times they work great but i still want to upgrade to the larger wheels which would be a lot better. sold that one with my tarpon and redfish, use the one from hobie now

[bdwilliams]

Zimm, that's awesome!

[tufnik]

Wheeleez is pricey, but I bit the bullet and got the higher capacity wheels. Works great on the sand. It's like, "Why didn't I do this earlier?"

As you can see, I also have knobbies for hard surfaces and dirt/gravel roads. It didn't work well in the sand so I got the wheeleez.

[ronaultmtd]

ok. i've sat here quiet for a year not complaining about the cost of beach wheels. and not having them.

but WHAT IS THE DEAL!!! why are they so expensive? and is there any way to beat the system??

ok. i'm calm again. has anyone hauled a fully-rigged kayak on soft sand using beach wheels? and do they work well??

thanks

I bit the bullet about this time of year last year and just ordered the Hobie fat tire scupper cart- $190.00 from Austin Canoe and Kayak- been worth every penny- and it works great in soft, soft, powder sand dragging my fully loaded Outback from the parking lot to the beach- once the money has been spent and you have the cart, you will be saying things like- why didn't I do this sooner?

And yeah- I launch my kayak from the beach a lot- PLO and Agualand are both sandy beaches- so are a lot of parks that I go to that have a parking lot near the beach areas- I just park in the regular parking lot, offload my Outback and go to the beach-

[Yak Fish]

I have both the cart with the balloon tires and the heavy duty cart with solid foam tires. While the balloon tires work, I found them susceptible to going flat. After it happened a couple of times over the course of 2 years, I bought the heavy duty cart with solid wheels which I prefer because I don't launch out of sand that much. Over grass and pavement the solid foam tires are better. I have not used them on sand other than a short shoreline.

The times when I did use the balloon tires over sand, it was pretty nice. It went right over it with not digging whatsoever.

[tufnik]

I haven't had any problems with the balloons, yet. You're right, Yak, the rubber material doesn't seem that tough. That's why I use it mainly for sand, even though can can also be used for hard surfaces. I try to use my knobbies for all non-sand hard surfaces. On some occasions, I don't know exactly what the launch site looks like, so I bring both sets of wheels.

[dham340]

That golf cart mod is awesome. Wish I had thought of it. I ordered the C-Tug for my Coosa. Supposed to get it today from UPS.

[jffoley]

Post #13 in this thread is what I did:

http://www.snaggedline.com/showthrea...vc+cart&page=2

Works fine over sand as well as dirt, gravel or pavement. Price was right, too!

[ronaultmtd]

My Hobie Trax plug in cart wheels haven't had any problems with leaks or losing pressure- they fit in the first set of scupper drains right behind the seat after I launch, are out of the way and give you something to lean against when you are stretching after sitting a long time- the all stainless steel construction of the cart is top quality, too-never have to worry about it breaking or becoming brittle in cold weather-

[tufnik]

Southerly,

I bought my Wheeleez two years ago. I pumped air into it once or twice during that time. The recommended pressure is 2 - 4 psi. That's right, two to four. It maintains it's tire profile well, even under load. Does excellent in the soft sand. I've used it at many sand areas such as SPSP, Cape Henlopen Beach and Virginia Beach. I do maintain it by keeping it clean and treating it with Armor-all.

Also, I load my Outback, which heavier than most paddle type yaks, on the wheeleez. I also loaded my Trident (with electric motor and 50# lead acid battery). Does fine in the sand. Does fine on hard surface as well, but there's a little more pulling resistance (as you would expect) because of its wide contact area on the ground (compared to my narrow knobby tires).

[jffoley]

lots of good info. let's talk soft beach sand only for a second - do you run the tires at low pressure so that they would look a little 'flat' on pavement, or is pressure high enough that they maintain their circular shape on pavement and sand?

I've not dragged it a "long" way over sand. Had it fully inflated for maybe 30-40 yards with no problem.

and they work well w/fully-loaded yak on dry, soft beach sand?

Yep.

I didn't glue it all together, either. Just the frame. It breaks down to tires, axle, cotter pins & washers, frame, kick stand and the 2 supports with the pool noodles. Fits in the front hatch but I have not been in a situation where I needed to do that.

Oh, it does require straps to keep the yak on the cart. I think only scupper hole carts would not need straps.

[Choptankfishfinder]

Would you guys be able to post pics of your carts? I'm interested in seeing the designs you're talking about. Thanks!

[tufnik]

Ok, Matt, here it is.

Refer to the pics in my posts on this thread. All material from Home Depot (PVC, PVC glue, rod, rod end caps, washers).
- Determine how you want to cradle the yak; figure out the distance between the rails (BTW, the width of my rails are such that they fit perfectly in the valleys of my Outback bottom hull; in fact, I don't even have to strap the yak to the cart; I just put the yak on the cart and haul away)
- Estimate your lower frame width so that the vertical tee aligns with the elbows on the rail section, then cut the 1 1/4 " PVC
- Cut other pieces for the lower frame
- Drill holes and fit the axle/wheel (I use a 1/2" dia steel rod)
- Dry fit the whole thing
- When PVC fits OK, use PVC adhesive (primer and glue) to bond pieces; this stuff is strong - I've had no problems with it
- You may want to glue (use goop) pieces of black insulation foam (for pipes) on the rails for gripping the yak
- Add kickstand as needed

Have fun making it.