off road trailer

[stock82]

ok, i'm all jazzed about getting my fj40 spruced up and running, so i dug my old pack mule trailer out from under the wood pile. i noticed going through a stack of landcruiser mags that there was a serious lack of off road trailers. i haven't had mine on the road for about ten years or more. since i removed my rack from the cruiser, and i have some very big dogs and i want to go on a simple road trip,,,, i need the trailer. it's been so long since i have used it, i now run 31 10.50 15"s on the cruiser. the trailer tires are the old size, lt 215/75 15. my questions are, do i want to up my trailer tires to the 31 10.50? and what type of tread design should i run on them? in the old days, i just used my old tires on it. the trailer's suspension is none. it uses the tires running on about 15lbs of air. should i look into official trailer tires? why don't i see more off road trailers being used?
Bob

 

[Rubiconcruiser]

You obviously havent checked this thread, as far as trailers these guys and gals are realy into the custom, matched wheels tires, roof top tents, refrigerators etc. Hope you will display your style on the build we can all see coming. ANything you want and a lot you dont is here. Sit back enjoy and BUILD on.

 

[Vitesse_6]

You obviously havent checked this thread, as far as trailers these guys and gals are realy into the custom, matched wheels tires, roof top tents, refrigerators etc. Hope you will display your style on the build we can all see coming. ANything you want and a lot you dont is here. Sit back enjoy and BUILD on.

He wrote the thread

However, Welcome to this section

I have 33" tires on my off road trailer, Because I may tow it with my FZJ80, Which has 33" tires as well and most of us with FZJ's know you need to have similar tires so it wont ruin the Viscus Coupler, I wont go into detail about me having 15" wheels, But the FZJ guy's know what I'm talking about. My FJ40 has 35" tires, But it shouldn't be quite as big of an issue on the trail or road with a part time 4X4.
You will need to decide for yourself what vehicle will be towing what and if you decide to upgrade any components along the way.
Good luck and Yes there are quite a few good write-up's about trailer builds.

 

[Assassin]

any pic's of the old pack mule trailer.............we like pic's..........

 

[rusty_tlc]

No real reason to run traction tires on a trailer IMHO.
As far as size, many like to match the trailer to the truck. Unless it's fairly easy to do I don't see it as that huge an advantage. I'd rather invest in some form of OBA.

FWIW; Our trailer has leaf springs and no shocks, after many miles of washboard and comparing notes with others who have similar trailers shock are pretty high on my list of must have mods.



I'd say put money into the suspension before you buy tires.


Of course posting pictures of the trailer in question would be a good idea.

 

[Ebag333]

FWIW; Our trailer has leaf springs and no shocks, after many miles of washboard and comparing notes with others who have similar trailers shock are pretty high on my list of must have mods.

Why is that, specifically?

My trailer has leaf springs and no shocks, so it's something I was thinking about myself....

 

[rusty_tlc]

Why is that, specifically?

My trailer has leaf springs and no shocks, so it's something I was thinking about myself....

With just leaf springs the trailer has a tendency to bounce around on rough roads. Shocks dampen the effect, just like in a car.

 

[sirenmoses]

I'm still slowly modding my $200 beater trailer, also leafs w/no shocks, and a cut-down mobile home axle w/ mh tires. it bounces whether it's empty or full, but it can haul a s***-ton of sctuff. has earned its cost in hauling firewood alone.

sure, I'd like to have a purty suspension w/matching interchangeable wheels, but that's way down on my list of usefulness. fenders just happened this summer, and integrated steps/ sliders are in the future, along w/tailgate reinforcement.


oh, and pix or the 'pack mule trailer in a wood pile' didn't happen.

 

[Brian in Oregon]

No real reason to run traction tires on a trailer IMHO.
As far as size, many like to match the trailer to the truck. Unless it's fairly easy to do I don't see it as that huge an advantage. I'd rather invest in some form of OBA.

FWIW; Our trailer has leaf springs and no shocks, after many miles of washboard and comparing notes with others who have similar trailers shock are pretty high on my list of must have mods.



I'd say put money into the suspension before you buy tires.


Of course posting pictures of the trailer in question would be a good idea.

Well, if you have deep lugs and heavy sidewall lugs, that means rocks and other trail crap will be less likely to abrade, gouge or cut the sidewalls or thin casing.

I'm running street trailer tires on mine, but worry about rock rash. At some point I want to put on trail rated tires.

 

[stock82]

otay, thanks for the response. i'll get the LC and the pack mule hooked up and take a pic and post on this thread if that's ok.
my initial pondering was whether i should have the same tread pattern on the trailer as the LC. maybe run 31x10.50 in a trailer tire? stiffer/stronger side wall? 20 years ago when i was using the LC and pack mule alot, i didn't see much problem running the tires with low air for a suspension. not much bounce if i kept it below 20lbs. never had a tire failure. although, i have seen my trailer higher than my LC's roof a time or two. tire guy says i won't get that much improvement by adding leaf springs for the added expense. landcruiser guy says it depends on what kind of axle i have, if it's going to be a major thing to add a suspension.
haven't dug it out of the wood pile yet.
Bob