So, how much of a liability is a trailer, offroad?

[e9999]

toying with the idea of taking my trailer for some expedition-style trips.
Mostly for practice runs so to speak since I don't have much experience with that.

One thing I'm wondering about, though, is how much a problem a trailer could prove on the trail.

For instance, I've been on quite a few trails with tight switchbacks up or down a mountain, and it would have been quite an ordeal to do any sort of reversing in the tight bends if the trailer could not make it in one shot. (I do remember one trail where the switchback was so tight that it took 2 or 3 backups up a berm to make it with the truck alone. That one would have been almost impossible with a trailer.) For that matter, pretty much any kind of reverse travel on a tight trail would be interesting.

Of course, this type of situation does not happen all the time.

So, what I'm wondering is, for those of you who have real time experience with offroad trailers, what are the lessons you've learned? How often did you find yourself in trouble cuz of the trailer?

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

The ideal set up would be the proper length trailer that tracks the same as the truck. The problem I have ran into on technical trails is the line you put the truck is not the same if the trailer ends up on. So you end up taking strange lines sometimes to make things easier for the set up.

 

[RHINO]

yeah it really depends on the trailer, mine for example follows real close to the rigs track and has not proven a liability at all. we have a trail down here called martinezs loop,,, its got everything from tight rock sections, steep loose climbs and switchbacks that you have to make a little two point turn on, i decided to pull the trailer through it once just to see,,, no issues and since doing it i feel comfortable taking it anywhere.

edit: i noticed you said expedition style trips, for that the only real liability is two extra tires on the ground.

 

[NorCalBorn]

pm slosurfer and ask him to chime in here.

 

[e9999]

anybody here gave up on the use of a trailer because of trail issues?

 

[RHINO]

i rarely pull my trailer, pretty much only for family camping when we take lots of stuff and dogs ect.

i had visions of setting up as a expedition thing, like guys in OZ seem to like so much with living and everything built in, but it is kind of a pain, pulling the trailer isnt so bad is just having all the extra stuff, too much to be honest. i have been getting back to the old days when i packed much less, traveled much lighter and seemed to have a better time doing it.

 

[jonb96150]

I've pulled a trailer on the 'Con for years. Sometimes you get hung up if all 3 axles hit stair-steps at the same time. And of course backing up more than a couple feet is a real problem. The last time I was towing a trailer down Cadillac I came up to 3 rigs of opposite traffic in a bad place. We actually had to take the trailer off and push it out of the way, and then I had nose my rig off the trail as much as possible.
But for the most part it is okay because I know the trail and I know I can get my trailer through it.

Now when I'm in expedition mode I do not tow a trailer because I usually don't know the trails and I have been on trails that ended because of rock slides and I have had to back down over a 1/4 mile on mountainsides. I don't want to deal with a trailer in situations like that.

 

[Michael Hanson]

No turning around most of the time,mud holes are hell,I frequently hang up on the trailers axle. MIke

 

[cpg]

anybody here gave up on the use of a trailer because of trail issues?

Not making it up a hill with deep sand or snow is a bit of a problem to back down.

 

[e9999]

does it sound like we're talking about lockers?

the right kind of built offroad trailer will allow you go to farther on the trail but when/if you get stuck you'll be more in trouble cuz you're farther down the trail...

 

[SunTzuMD]

I'm debating this issue as well. But with a family of 4, 3 being chica's and the planned addition of a K9. I think the trailer will win out.

I think that on road, having the extra weight in a trailer (up to a certain point), with trailer brakes, is better than overloading the rig and making it top heavy, etc.

 

[rusty_tlc]

anybody here gave up on the use of a trailer because of trail issues?

In my experience trailer guys are not known for turning around. Literally and metaphorically.

 

[spressomon]

Big fat loaded question e9999! Over the past 3-years I've (sometimes "we" ) have covered tens of thousands of miles off-road with our AT Horizon and now Kimberley Kamper SportsRV trailers. I've gotten into some precarious trail situations with now both trailers and am here telling the story .

For the few % of nasty trails we do we will send a rig sans trailer up first just to be sure we aren't getting ourselves in over our head. You can ask locrwln about it because we've covered many of these miles of trails together.

Towing a trailer into the backcountry does require a different mind-set and a slightly different style of driving. They are certainly not for everyone but having said that I can not imagine giving up the comfort and flexibility of a well designed trailer. I especially like having everything ready to go for most trips. Fill it with water, connect it to the rig and go.

I also like the fact if I set camp and then want to wheel I am not compromised by having a set-up RTT atop my LC. And for those rare but welcome days we spend more than one night in a camp spot and then want to wheel we have 100% flexibility with the trailer. You could say the same about a ground tent...

Ali has towed his Kamparoo over some equally or even more aggressive terrain. He towed it up and over Elephant Hill exiting Canyonlands and Lockhart Basin without issue.

Naturally there are trails that are just not well suited for most trailers. Rubicon, Dusy, Fordyce, Hole-in-the Rock, etc. IMO are better enjoyed sans trailer.

I don't know what your wheeling style is nor do I know what type of terrain you spend most of your off-road miles on. But if you are looking for any of the short list of benefits to utilizing a trailer for off-road you will surely enjoy a well designed trailer. Further I would suggest you come along sometime on any of our outings to see if a trailer may (or may not) be for you!

 

[roscoFJ73]

i rarely pull my trailer, pretty much only for family camping when we take lots of stuff and dogs ect.

i had visions of setting up as a expedition thing, like guys in OZ seem to like so much with living and everything built in, but it is kind of a pain, pulling the trailer isnt so bad is just having all the extra stuff, too much to be honest. i have been getting back to the old days when i packed much less, traveled much lighter and seemed to have a better time doing it.

Most people in oz only take their trailers on extended trips on badly maintained roads or for camping like yourself

On most of the really long trails ,the govt departments strongly advise against trailers on the grounds of erosion caused by the extra wheelspin and the more likely event of a recovery.
They send you the bill if you leave the trailer behind.
Someone dumped a $30000 trailer in the Simpaon desert recently and at the end of the trail said anyone who wants it, can have it.

Some of the desert tracks are getting so crowded these days ,people are complaining about the stuck trailers holding them up when they get bogged half way on dunes

 

[Bighead]

Nice read Spresso'. I'm glad e9999 posted this question because the wife and I have been torn over this for a while. I like the idea of being able to keep all the gear in the trailer and just having to hook up and go. Have there been times where you have regretted having the trailer in tow?

I may have to try and hook up with someone that has a trailer and see how it works on a run.

Big fat loaded question e9999! Over the past 3-years I've (sometimes "we" ) have covered tens of thousands of miles off-road with our AT Horizon and now Kimberley Kamper SportsRV trailers. I've gotten into some precarious trail situations with now both trailers and am here telling the story .

For the few % of nasty trails we do we will send a rig sans trailer up first just to be sure we aren't getting ourselves in over our head. You can ask locrwln about it because we've covered many of these miles of trails together.

Towing a trailer into the backcountry does require a different mind-set and a slightly different style of driving. They are certainly not for everyone but having said that I can not imagine giving up the comfort and flexibility of a well designed trailer. I especially like having everything ready to go for most trips. Fill it with water, connect it to the rig and go.

I also like the fact if I set camp and then want to wheel I am not compromised by having a set-up RTT atop my LC. And for those rare but welcome days we spend more than one night in a camp spot and then want to wheel we have 100% flexibility with the trailer. You could say the same about a ground tent...

Ali has towed his Kamparoo over some equally or even more aggressive terrain. He towed it up and over Elephant Hill exiting Canyonlands and Lockhart Basin without issue.

Naturally there are trails that are just not well suited for most trailers. Rubicon, Dusy, Fordyce, Hole-in-the Rock, etc. IMO are better enjoyed sans trailer.

I don't know what your wheeling style is nor do I know what type of terrain you spend most of your off-road miles on. But if you are looking for any of the short list of benefits to utilizing a trailer for off-road you will surely enjoy a well designed trailer. Further I would suggest you come along sometime on any of our outings to see if a trailer may (or may not) be for you!

 

[eleblanc]

I went on a tripp this summer for the first time with the trailer. Most of the time we find a spot to park the trailer and camp there, next day we leave the trailer at camp site and go for the run, then back the camp site. When we travel with the trailer i'm just more carefull where we go throught but i did get myself stuck and into tricky area. I've just winch myself through rather then backing up and trying a other line.

On this occasion, i drove right over the crevase and since the M101 is narrower the trailer tipped over into the crevase and by the same time pulled the LC into the crevase and got my self stuck. It doesn't look like it but it is pretty steep.

 

[spressomon]

Nice read Spresso'. I'm glad e9999 posted this question because the wife and I have been torn over this for a while. I like the idea of being able to keep all the gear in the trailer and just having to hook up and go. Have there been times where you have regretted having the trailer in tow?

I may have to try and hook up with someone that has a trailer and see how it works on a run.

Not regret really but this summer we came out of the mountains after it had been raining for many days. The mud made it especially challenging to deal with. I estimate the trailer picked up several hundred extra pounds just from the mud spray from my LC. Mud flaps would have really helped in this situation.

Another tough situation that honed my back-up skills: A couple years ago I was out exploring and hunting an area of Nevada I had never been before. I was following a nice double-track that eventually started getting fainter and fainter. I couldn't turn around because I was on a shelf type trail hugging a rock wall with an 80+' drop to a lake. I kept going only to come to a locked gate! I had to back the LC and trailer down the trail as the trail twisted along. It took me an hour to back down the 1/4 mile or so...but I became more adept at backing it up!

So...other than the above I have zero regrets pulling the trailer on any of our outings the past 3-years. Keep in mind my locale: Nevada and California mostly: Wide open style country. Not that we don't have switchbacks and other types of terrain that demand a little more attention including many old, faint mining double-tracks when pulling the trailer.

 

[rusty_tlc]

Nice read Spresso'. I'm glad e9999 posted this question because the wife and I have been torn over this for a while. I like the idea of being able to keep all the gear in the trailer and just having to hook up and go. ....

In my opinion this is the biggest plus of the whole trailer concept. Even at the end of the season when we have all our gear sorted out and stowed in containers it takes a while to get loaded up for a trip. We did the RV thing in the past and know how nice "hook up and go" can be.

 

[alia176]

toying with the idea of taking my trailer for some expedition-style trips.
Mostly for practice runs so to speak since I don't have much experience with that.

One thing I'm wondering about, though, is how much a problem a trailer could prove on the trail.

For instance, I've been on quite a few trails with tight switchbacks up or down a mountain, and it would have been quite an ordeal to do any sort of reversing in the tight bends if the trailer could not make it in one shot. (I do remember one trail where the switchback was so tight that it took 2 or 3 backups up a berm to make it with the truck alone. That one would have been almost impossible with a trailer.) For that matter, pretty much any kind of reverse travel on a tight trail would be interesting.

Of course, this type of situation does not happen all the time.

So, what I'm wondering is, for those of you who have real time experience with offroad trailers, what are the lessons you've learned? How often did you find yourself in trouble cuz of the trailer?

I'll put my .02 cents here:

- if the trailer is going with us that means that it'll be an overlanding trip, not a rock crawling trip so the mind set is different than a trailer-less trip.

- trailer track width is very important IMO. It's nice to have the trailer's tires follow the 80's tracks and most of the time I don't worry too much about this now that I've gotten more comfortable with this setup.

-it's CRITICIAL to have a trailer that you can jack knife safely. This is the single most important factor in conquering the E-hill switch backs. This means that the tongue length needs to be proper and the tongue box can't hit the tow rig once in a jack knife situation.

- trailer hitch system helps - I love the Tregg setup. There is no noise, funky oscillation or goofy trailer behaviors. The trailer does what it's suppose to and the tow rig does its thing.

- having a trailer weight that properly matches the tow rig's power and weight is important. Even with trailer brakes, on steep dirt/loose hill, the trailer can make the tow vehicle do some strange things. On a typical camping trip, the tow rig is filled with stuff, making it heavier so the engine power output is less than normal and then you add a fully loaded trailer...you get the idea!

- having a trailer rear recovery point is good to have. I need to make something up for mine one of these days.

HTH,

Ali

 

[Dave 2000]

Many years ago I used a Defender with a tow hitch at the front, when I came to somewhere that meant reversing any real distance I would uncouple the trailer and turn the Defender around, rehitch and then push the trailer backwards, it is easier to control and you can see where the trailer is going .

regards

Dave