Boat into travel trailer.

There is a large subculture of small light  home built travel trailers.
Mostly built on 4x8 utility trailers,  they are designed to sleep two in relative comfort.
There are a variety of ingenious builds, materials and methods that are used.

I've been looking at used trailers.
Boat trailers,  complete with the boats are the cheapest.
Boats are kinda aerodynamic and can be very lightweight,  and of course waterproof.
There is a  history of using them as the roof of a house,  so maybe use them for a sleeping trailer?

The main problem I see is width, most lightweight boats are very narrow.

I don't think your weight calculations are correct.

For a given square foot of living space, I think the boat is twice as heavy.

And,  most boat trailers I have seen don't have brakes.

So, anything big enough to live on will need a heavy 3/4 ton truck to pull it or stop it.

Why not! I have seen a lot of smallish utility trailers with a fishing boat strapped over top, upside down for aerodynamics.

My current utility trailer is a reworked boat trailer. Very versatile. But as you say, a bed for one unless they are very cosy folks.

Edit: I assume we are talking about a mini travel trailer, not a tiny house.

Yes, the idea is to make a mini travel trailers, not a live in.
Most of the small boats I see are aluminum or fiberglass hulled, maybe they are not as light as I think?

William Bronson wrote:Yes, the idea is to make a mini travel trailers, not a live in.
Most of the small boats I see are aluminum or fiberglass hulled, maybe they are not as light as I think?

The fibreglass ones are usually not very light.. aluminum can be really light but less likely to be free..

A canopy for a pickup will usually be built lighter, and be a pretty optimal width. Old ugly ones are free reasonably often.. I find one every couple years on average.

Be prepared to reseal all windows, maybe a bit of fibreglass repair, and the doors are often F'ed, but probably you would be building a better door anyhow..

William's boat + trailer idea works because it is a "package deal". The used pickup cap could be a whole other idea to outfit a utility trailer...maybe two matching size caps could "clamshell" together to have a waterproof base as well.

I think the upside-down boat/roof idea could work like a pop-up camper, or be built out at the full height. You could also consider keeping the boat useable, and making the sleeping part like a tent below it. The boat as a hard-shell roof for most of the time, but able to come off and be used at a lakeside campground or beach. Closed up, it would be secure and weathertight.

There's a lot of pickup truck roof/rack-top camping decks these days.

William Bronson wrote:There is a large subculture of small light  home built travel trailers.
Mostly built on 4x8 utility trailers,  they are designed to sleep two in relative comfort.
There are a variety of ingenious builds, materials and methods that are used.

I've been looking at used trailers.
Boat trailers,  complete with the boats are the cheapest.
Boats are kinda aerodynamic and can be very lightweight,  and of course waterproof.
There is a  history of using them as the roof of a house,  so maybe use them for a sleeping trailer?

The main problem I see is width, most lightweight boats are very narrow.

Since your info says you are in Ohio you should have no problem pulling up to a 20' boat with a half ton truck.  Many trailers do have breaks, they are a surge type break so when the vehicle slows the surge of the trailer forward applies hydraulic pressure to the brake cylinders on the axle, but adding electric brakes wouldn't be difficult.  Pulling and stopping isn't the problem, just avoid long, tall hills.  I have friends that used a half ton truck to pull large trailers in the mountains, but in the summer I always had trouble with the heat until I hit higher elevations where the temps dropped below 100.

Did anyone make an 18' boat with a cuddy cabin?  I know 20' boats had them.  What about an aluminum fishing type cabin cruiser.
https://storage.bhs.cloud.ovh.net/v1/AUTH_e7d15450bedd40b9b599e075527df3cb/shoals/f1969_Starcraft_Starchief_18ft_Cuddy_Cabi_591058af0f5b2.jpg
https://www.silverstreakboats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/18-6-CB-3.jpg

If you do away with the outboard you could easily make fold down stairs off the back.  Being an outboard the transom is lower than other boats.

I have had thoughts of getting an old fiberglass cabin cruiser, digging a hole in the yard, setting the boat down and backfilling the hole with sand, and turning it into a quest house.  Once the motors are out of the way there is plenty of room for other stuff, it would already have a shower and toilet, but you would need a pump to empty the tank unless you wanted a real toilet to plumb and you could run a sewer drain out the bottom and connect it to your sewer system or septic system.

Your idea is definitely doable, just keep thinking and looking and asking questions.

Truck bed caps are definitely a useful thing to score.
I've seen a nice  shed that used them as roofs!
I've always thought they would make for a good roof to a root cellar.

I haven't seen any free boats/ trailers in a while, but boats that come with a trailer are relatively cheap.
I could buy a 20 foot long boat with trailer for less than 500 bucks, but that is more than I could tow, store or handle anyway.
The motor is shot, but I wouldn't be using that anyway.
Boats in the 12 foot range would be more ideal.
Room enough for a twin mattress, or maybe even two, lengthwise.
They are out there, for as little as 250 bucks.

I keep picturing something that looks like a submarine on wheels, but without the conning tower.
I don't see it coming to pass, what I need is a utility trailer, not a boat/travel trailer.
I simply couldn't look at this resource without considering what all it could be used for.

The trailer is what I was looking for.
Douglas, how hard was the conversion from boat trailer to utility trailer?
Did it require welding?

Mine is a lightweight model -- I can move it around by hand. All I did was chop down the hitch to a less ridiculous length and add LED tail lights with reliable wiring. It has a shallow tub to keep stuff in place (with straps of course), it has sturdy sides that are easy to clip hooks into, it tilts to accommodate loading yard equipment, and I can pull it easily with my 4-banger manual transmission vehicle. Perfect for me.