Rigging a trailer?

The push/pull process for the shell and dolly combo works pretty well, but Kathleen's knee has a real hard time with the walk. As we prepare to leave the access ramp from Outing #2, we're talking with the neighbor there and she says her son asked the day before "why don't they use a John Deere?" Why, exactly! I hadn't thought about a motorized solution. Since the boat has some cracks in it, we get patching instructions from Dick Fuller. We got no Evercoat Formula 27 on hand on a Sunday, May 4. We decide to pass on the lake and instead I think of ways to rig a trailer.

I'm measuring and drawing and thinking and measuring and drawing again and again. I'm looking at the dolly, the lawn tractor, and this bucket-like contraption that latches on to the back end of the tractor. Then I head off to Lowe's to see what I can scope out.

After several hours, and assistance from two employees, I come away with a bunch of nuts & bolts, mutiple lengths of conduit, compression joints, squared steel, right angle brackets, and door brackets. What a get-up!





That black plastic trunk wouldn't be part of the get-up. I was just using it as a stand. I'd also cut the square steel or get a smaller piece to span those other brackets on the tractor.

However, as I use the coupling joint to put the aluminum pipes together, one 10 ft and one 5 ft length for each side, I realize .... Mega-bummer, this is too flimsy. So, what to do? Call in the big guns! 1-800-Kathleen's-Dad, the master rigger. Or is that Key Grip in the movies?