Trailer or no trailer?

[Billiebob]

I absolutely LOVE a trailer. At 64 I've done it all but today with a wife and a dog, we drive a TJR and tow a teardrop.

The TJR is my daily driver. It carries me, my wife, my dog all week. It tows my work trailer to every job. It takes 5 minutes to drop my trailer, pull the ladders, change doors, hook up the teardrop load the dog and wife, and leave Dodge. Stock the fridge at the first Superstore, buy a case of beer.... gone !!

Better yet, we get home in 5 minutes the trailer is parked, ladders loaded, work trailer coupled and I'm off to work. Maybe there is a bit of food to be unloaded and some laundry.

The tow vehicle never changes. My daily driver IS my overland vehicle.

The only option for me would be a 30" Class A.

Work...


OverLand




Weekends




Winter work


My Overlander, Daily Driver, Work Truck are all the same. Thanks to 2 trailers and a slide in TearDrop.

Daily... with 400,000 kms.


We never "base camp" often the trailer stays coupled on trips. And it never restricts us. It will follw the Rubi in 4L everywhere. Often over summits on power line roads. For us overlanding is not base camping, it is about traversing vast distances far from other people. Mostly alone.

 

[Road]

Awesome setup!

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Thanks, Roy. I love how it's come together and how easy it is to use.

 

[RubiVaughn]

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The best of both worlds is to be able to take your vehicle with or without the trailer and still go adventuring, depending on what you want to do and how you want to do it.

I absolutely love my trailer, though have my van set up so I can take it out without the trailer, too, or use it for sleeping when I have friends or family in camp who use the rooftop tent on the trailer.

Having a good, capable trailer greatly expands the potential of what I can do and where I can go. I tend to stay out for months at a time and like to set up base camp in a spot for weeks at a time. So, being prepared and equipped with clothing and gear for all kinds of environment, weather, and activities from desert to mountains to swamps and cities, having a trailer allows me to carry what I want and need.

When I set up a photography bunker or basecamp with the trailer, I can go off exploring in the van for a day or more and come back to a base camp that's all set, ready to use. Don't have to tear down every time I want to go somewhere. On the other hand, if a shorter adventure dictates I may be moving a lot more and not returning to the same spot at the end of the day, I can grab the van and go for as long as I want, too.

Both van and trailer stay packed pretty much all the time, ready to go. Just add water and food. Both van and trailer can be emptied out quickly and easily too, if I need one, the other, or both to haul cargo, help someone move, or for whatever other reason need them empty.

It's a fun challenge really, to see how multi-purpose, efficient, and easy to use I can make my whole setup.

In the long run, because I have a good trailer, I get out there more and for longer periods.


View attachment 111671
Couple weeks ago lake camping in the woods of New Hampshire.


View attachment 111676
Most recent van interior set up. It stays like this most of the time when in camp, though often has the middle lane packed, too, when rolling.


View attachment 111677
Photography base camp on the Mexican border, West Texas this past spring. I stayed in this same spot for a month.


View attachment 111678
Packed up and rolling.


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Road-

Well said

Awesome setup as well

 

[9Mike2]

If you would like to try out a Trailer, there are places that rent them, like here in the OC, we have Rebel Offroad that rents Teardrops set up any way you may like . ETC RTT, a Basket and no RTT, or even a clean roof. So if you have kids or extra people you can try the RTT top and use the trailer to separate sleeping... This might be a way to try it out without dropping the coin on something you may not like...Oh I just looked it up on their website, it's called Off the Grid rentals

 

[Road]

Road-

Well said

Awesome setup as well

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Thank you @RubiVaughn - having a trailer allows me to get further away and stay out and off-grid longer, and solo-adventure a lot more than I would without a trailer. I travel alone 99% of the time and am out for far more of the year than not. Last adventure was over eight months straight and close to 20,000 miles.

I've learned over decades of doing this that slowing down and exploring an area more fully allows me to both understand a local area, culture, and its flora and fauna, or people, much better and to stay out much longer. That, to me, is what adventure, 'overlanding', or exploring is all about. It's different for everyone. Anyone who thinks it should be done only this way or that hasn't done enough to know better.

Whether staying for one night or longer, unhooking or not, my trailer allows a better base camp setup from which to explore, whether on foot, bike, canoe, or in my van. I often just pop up the tent, don't bother unhooking or even raising the rack, or putting out the awning.

When I'm back in a town or working a job somewhere, van and/or trailer are easily emptied. I can carry over a ton of cargo in the trailer (2375#) and up to 12' long lumber in the van and still close the doors, both with full width between the wheel wells for sheet goods, etc.

My van is and has been my only vehicle for eight years, and serves me well whether driving around town, working a job, or out on gravel and dirt.

To get back to @RoyD@626 's original wondering when starting this thread, the only time I find my trailer to be a burden is when I'm towing in larger cities and want to park somewhere. I've only had to give up once, though, and that was in Nashville two months ago. I happened to be in town the same night as the CMA Fest and the place was a madhouse of tour buses, folks parked illegally, streets blocked off, and pedestrians everywhere.

One thing to consider when towing a trailer is that if the distance between rear axle of the tow vehicle and the axle of the trailer is the same as the wheelbase of your tow vehicle--or as close to the same as you can get--you will have a far easier time towing and backing up. It will track much better, have more the same radius in turns, not jump curbs, nor turn too sharp unexpectedly when backing up.



Camp spot along the Gulf of Mexico for the night. I have my canoe stowed so I can still open my rear doors while hooked up to access my bike, fridge, and other gear.


On a friend's farm for a night in Vermont last month. Didn't have to unhook or raise the rack; just undid four latches on the tent and gave it a shove.

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[Billiebob]

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Thank you @RubiVaughn - having a trailer allows me to get further away and stay out and off-grid longer, and solo-adventure a lot more than I would without a trailer. I travel alone 99% of the time and am out for far more of the year than not. Last adventure was over eight months straight and close to 20,000 miles.

I've learned over decades of doing this that slowing down and exploring an area more fully allows me to both understand a local area, culture, and its flora and fauna, or people, much better and to stay out much longer. That, to me, is what adventure, 'overlanding', or exploring is all about. It's different for everyone. Anyone who thinks it should be done only this way or that hasn't done enough to know better.

Whether staying for one night or longer, unhooking or not, my trailer allows a better base camp setup from which to explore, whether on foot, bike, canoe, or in my van. I often just pop up the tent, don't bother unhooking or even raising the rack, or putting out the awning.

When I'm back in a town or working a job somewhere, van and/or trailer are easily emptied. I can carry over a ton of cargo in the trailer (2375#) and up to 12' long lumber in the van and still close the doors, both with full width between the wheel wells for sheet goods, etc.

My van is and has been my only vehicle for eight years, and serves me well whether driving around town, working a job, or out on gravel and dirt.

To get back to @RoyD@626 's original wondering when starting this thread, the only time I find my trailer to be a burden is when I'm towing in larger cities and want to park somewhere. I've only had to give up once, though, and that was in Nashville two months ago. I happened to be in town the same night as the CMA Fest and the place was a madhouse of tour buses, folks parked illegally, streets blocked off, and pedestrians everywhere.

One thing to consider when towing a trailer is that if the distance between rear axle of the tow vehicle and the axle of the trailer is the same as the wheelbase of your tow vehicle--or as close to the same as you can get--you will have a far easier time towing and backing up. It will track much better, have more the same radius in turns, not jump curbs, nor turn too sharp unexpectedly when backing up.


View attachment 111874
Camp spot along the Gulf of Mexico for the night. I have my canoe stowed so I can still open my rear doors while hooked up to access my bike, fridge, and other gear.

View attachment 111873
On a friend's farm for a night in Vermont last month. Didn't have to unhook or raise the rack; just undid four latches on the tent and gave it a shove.

.

real nice outfit and kudos to you for driving on sand. it takes real talent to drive an outfit that size over soft ground

 

[Road]

real nice outfit and kudos to you for driving on sand. it takes real talent to drive an outfit that size over soft ground

Thanks @Billiebob - I appreciate the comment on my adventure rig. I love it and use it all over the place. The sand there along the western shore of the Gulf is really quite hardpack, though, for miles and miles, so it didn't take much skill to avoid obvious softer spots. Then after a long while where it narrows and the tide turns it more often, it gets dicey. Rigs larger and heavier than mine, even RVs with slide outs or whatever they call them, go down these beaches regularly. Trick is to keep an eye on the storm and full moon tides, when they're highest.

I did manage to mire my right side after backing up and hitting a buried firepit, though, where the sand was really loose but I hadn't known. I had the rear down in up to the bumper in seconds, though managed to get out by myself with some serious digging and strategic placement of both my TractionJack and Maxtrax. The Traction Jack were especially helpful in that they are hinged in the middle, which allowed a steeper climb out of the hole and not as long of a 'ramp'.

I envy your location up there in BC. I'm hoping to come up to Kamloops sometime to get some work done.

 

[billum v2.0]

A trailer was the game changer.

Coming from 35+ years of backpacking, sleeping on a waffle pad on the ground inside a two man tent (I want to meet the two "men" that fit in that thing), my current set up is a Marriott. Cast iron instead of tissue paper thick nesting aluminum pots. Eggs/bacon/hashbrowns instead of reconstituted flavored sawdust. A whole toothbrush instead of just the head you hold between your thumb and forefinger. Two burner stove that's stable vs. tripod Whisperlite that has a 70% chance of tipping (97% once the !@#$%? water has finally come to a boil). What the heck was I thinking all those years?

So, I was a base camp backpacker, with a day pack for excursions. I'm a base camp camper with a Jeep for trails (and the day pack for hiking). The trailer is small enough to fit in a tent designated site if in a commercial campground. Weighs under 1,200 lbs. fully loaded with 14 gallons of water/food/awning/etc., so well within the towing capacity of the Jeep. Couple hours and trailer is leveled, RTT deployed, awning is erected/staked and base camp is ready for the next however long.

Everything has its compromises, so does the trailer. Storage when not in use. Serious MPG hit when towing in the mountains. Easy target for thieves if they want our stuff while we're away (14 trips - so far no problems). Backing on narrow trail (see second photo.......you learn to hike blind turns/narrow trails and develop a sense of "hmmmm" pretty quick after the first backing fiasco). But the positives outweigh the downsides for us. Biggest upside is my wife loves the set-up. Total number of trips she made when I backpacked = zero. Now the unit of measurement is the number of trips she's missed (3). Biggest surprise for me is how much I enjoy having her along. 38 years and she still surprises me.

 

[PCO6]

I'm pretty much committed to trailering as we travel. It's needed to carry the "stuff" that we do. I tent camped for years with the "guys" and really didn't need one. I built an off road trailer (in my sig below) and then my wife decided she wanted to go camping too. We tent camped for a few years but then decided to get off the ground and at my age (67) that was fine with me. We set up a base camp, usually in Provincial Parks, and then head out from there usually to kayak, bike, hike or to find local trails or other points of interest.

We bought a "non off road" Coachmen Clipper that tows well behind our Jeeps and gets us to where we're going. I've made several changes to it with more are on the way that will toughen it up. I made the kayak rack for it and am able to store 2 bikes inside it as we travel. There's always something to do to it and the Jeeps (4) and that's a good thing!

To answer the OP's question, it's no burden to pull and I can't put that much on the roof and wouldn't want to carry it around with me any way once we get to camp and then head out from there.

 

[RubiVaughn]

A trailer was the game changer.

Coming from 35+ years of backpacking, sleeping on a waffle pad on the ground inside a two man tent (I want to meet the two "men" that fit in that thing), my current set up is a Marriott. Cast iron instead of tissue paper thick nesting aluminum pots. Eggs/bacon/hashbrowns instead of reconstituted flavored sawdust. A whole toothbrush instead of just the head you hold between your thumb and forefinger. Two burner stove that's stable vs. tripod Whisperlite that has a 70% chance of tipping (97% once the !@#$%? water has finally come to a boil). What the heck was I thinking all those years?

So, I was a base camp backpacker, with a day pack for excursions. I'm a base camp camper with a Jeep for trails (and the day pack for hiking). The trailer is small enough to fit in a tent designated site if in a commercial campground. Weighs under 1,200 lbs. fully loaded with 14 gallons of water/food/awning/etc., so well within the towing capacity of the Jeep. Couple hours and trailer is leveled, RTT deployed, awning is erected/staked and base camp is ready for the next however long.

Everything has its compromises, so does the trailer. Storage when not in use. Serious MPG hit when towing in the mountains. Easy target for thieves if they want our stuff while we're away (14 trips - so far no problems). Backing on narrow trail (see second photo.......you learn to hike blind turns/narrow trails and develop a sense of "hmmmm" pretty quick after the first backing fiasco). But the positives outweigh the downsides for us. Biggest upside is my wife loves the set-up. Total number of trips she made when I backpacked = zero. Now the unit of measurement is the number of trips she's missed (3). Biggest surprise for me is how much I enjoy having her along. 38 years and she still surprises me.

Billum

I appreciate your humor and how you put the trailer aspect into perspective. We’re having one built right now

I’m a bit curious how the backing is going to go

 

[RubiVaughn]

I'm pretty much committed to trailering as we travel. It's needed to carry the "stuff" that we do. I tent camped for years with the "guys" and really didn't need one. I built an off road trailer (in my sig below) and then my wife decided she wanted to go camping too. We tent camped for a few years but then decided to get off the ground and my age (67) that was fine with me. We set up a base camp, usually in Provincial Parks, and then head out from there usually to kayak, bike, hike or to find local trails or other points of interest.

We bought a "non off road" Coachmen Clipper that tows well behind our Jeeps and gets us to where we're going. I've made several changes to it with more are on the way that will toughen it up. I made the kayak rack for it and am able to store 2 bikes inside it as we travel. There's always something to do to it and the Jeeps (4) and that's a good thing!

To answer the OP's question, it's no burden to pull and I can't put that much on the roof and wouldn't want to carry it around with me any way once we get to camp and then head out from there.

View attachment 112549

Cool setup

 

[PCO6]

Cool setup

Thanks. It works well for us and I'm enjoying customizing it … lots yet to come! Here's what it looks like with the lid up along with a dealer shot of the interior. It has a few things that we don't need. The A/C and fridge will be coming out.

 

[billum v2.0]

PC06:

Nice trailer and layout.

Covet that LJ of yours, though. Dang.

RubiVaughn:

Backing is a nearly vertical learning curve. Tiny inputs have magnified results with a 10' trailer. You'll learn to take it slow and use/trust your mirrors. Some folks use an app on their phones and a cheap bluetooth camera they stick on their trailer as a backup camera. Regardless, you'll develop an over abundance of caution when the trail gets narrow and ability to turn around gets compromised (those "hmmmm" moments). You brush those off at your peril. Or so I've heard.

 

[PCO6]

PC06:

Nice trailer and layout.

Covet that LJ of yours, though. Dang.

Thanks billum. The LJ is my year round daily driver and I really enjoy it. I had the soft top on it for our trips in 2018. I decided to go with the hard top this year and much prefer camping with it that way. The half doors make it really nice. For this trip the half door tops were of for most of the time and it's a nice way to travel.

 

[billum v2.0]

Thanks billum. The LJ is my year round daily driver and I really enjoy it.

I'll be brief, apologies to OP for short thread hijack.

Have had a thing for LJ's for years. Most have been beat/ridiculously modified/lazily maintained. Finding an unmolested stock one in good condition is goofy hard. Found THE ONE last year. Bone stock 2006 Rubicon, Silver over black, manual, air, hardtop. Only upgrade was Moab wheels (sound familiar yet?). Zero rust. Original owner. 37,000 miles. Every receipt since day one (owner was an over-maintainer). Yep, she was the one.

$35,500.00. Firm.

Uhhhhhhh no.

Sure appreciate yours. Looks straight, clean and "right".

Now, back to your originally scheduled trailer thread.

 

[RubiVaughn]

Thanks. It works well for us and I'm enjoying customizing it … lots yet to come! Here's what it looks like with the lid up along with a dealer shot of the interior. It has a few things that we don't need. The A/C and fridge will be coming out.

View attachment 112575View attachment 112577

Luxury-g

Nice

Thanks for the back up pointers

I run an 06 LJ

Small world

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

I pulled a trailer for a few years, initially with just gear, then with a RTT on it. If you like base camping in one place, and doing day trips, a trailer is the way to go, IMO. I think I just got tired of setting up / taking down the RTT and Annex every time and told myself that if I kept using a trailer, I was going to at least switch to a teardrop to make things easier.. Then when I started pricing them, I realized I would have to spend more than it would cost to buy / build a 4x4 van. So rather than buy a trailer to pull with my Jeep, I bought a van and figured if I wanted to bring the Jeep, I could just flat tow it as the 'trailer'. :p

Where there is a will there is a way, good thinking but hard on the gas mileage.

 

[Todd & Meg]

Where there is a will there is a way, good thinking but hard on the gas mileage.

Gas mileage only suffers when going up hill. Okay and on flat ground. But I bet we pickup up an extra .25 mpg going down hill. Lol

Look at the plus side, more gas stops = more potty breaks. The wife likes that.

Todd

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

This is my little trailer when it came home and after I worked on it. Nothing fancy but it works.

What kind or rig do you drive ? It looks like a Land Rover Discovery.

 

[Mike harpe]

I’m trying to decide on nomading in just my power wagon with a rtt or with an overland trailer. This would be full time and I’m currently planning on mountain house for food so it eliminates the need for refrigeration. However the modern age has spoiled me with air conditioning at night unless I’m in a climate at 50 degrees or less. I prefer the cold to heat when sleeping. I have the 3 piece military sleep system which is good down to -55

What made you all decide on a trailer and why. Air conditioning would be the only reason I could see at the moment for a trailer. I’m open to all suggestions and experience.