Off road trailer towing - experiences/tips/tricks/advice

[brian90744]

Don't let the tail wag the dog= don't overload or get a trailer heavier than?? All the rest of the above answers are right ON.=brian

 

[OCD Overland]

Here's a nice little spreadsheet I found for calculating a trailer's sweep/offtracking. Nice if you're comparing different trailers or deciding on the geometry of one built from scratch...

http://toxiccelery.co.uk/Offtrack/What_you_need_to_know.html

 

[Septu]

Greetings,

Perhaps there already exists a thread similar to what I am looking for. If so, please point me in the right direction.

As we are debating what kind/type/size of trailer to add to our setup I would be interested to hear others experiences in towing off road. We really want a 5x10 TD with RTT to be able to fit our family of 5, but just not sure if that will be suitable for the trails we have here in the east.

Some of my questions would be:

how much more nimble and easy to run through trails would a Chaser-type trailer be vs. a TD?

how big of a hassle is it towing when it comes time to find parking, make u-turns, etc?

how did you learn how to drive your trailer off road? A few easy trails to start? Any suggestions on how to get more confident and comfortable? Any driving tips or things you need to do differently when towing off road?

Any other thoughts would be welcome!

I have a tear drop (Little Guy Rough Rider 5 wide) and I have a m101 that's been slightly built up. I've taken the M101 once down the trail (~180km of mostly easy trail). I wouldn't consider taking the TD down any "trail" and certainly not on the one I did with the M101. My key reasoning is this: my m101 with a couple of guys can be hand balmed if needed. My TD cannot be. Which means if I screw up a line or get into a spot where I'm in trouble, having the option to disconnect the trailer is massive.

Honestly, parking with a trailer - even a small one is my biggest hassle when doing trips (usually because I'm in a city). If you're in a mall, you must find 2 empty spots where you can pull through. Sometimes it's not an issue. Other times it is. If you're on the street, you need to find a spot big enough (usually 2 spots) to pull in. Again though, this all depends on where you are and where you're going. And once you get the hang of it, parking (once you find space) isn't a big deal. Turning around isn't that big of an issue. Both trailers are small enough that I can usually turn around on a street if needed. However I usually just go around the block or find another way to get going in the other direction.

I took it down a mostly easy trail. That gave me a lot of confidence, and I'm a lot less concerned about doing it again - to the point where if I know the trail it's not a big deal. But yeah, just go do it. Take it on some easier stuff (even around where you live). Just get it slightly off camber and go over some rocks or whatever to just get used to having it back there.

There were two things for me that was a shock when pulling the trailer down the trail. First off how much slower I had to go. Bumps my jeep didn't even notice had the trailer bouncing. The other was how stressful I found it (it was also my first time off road with it) having to watch what I was doing and what my trailer was doing and considering both when hitting rocks and planning my line and whatnot. It wouldn't stop me from doing it again... just pointing this out.

 

[Septu]

My 2 cents;
A trailer no wider than the tow vehicle will prevent worrying about "will it fit thru what the tow vehicle made it thru".
I prefer a trailer with wheels mounted outboard of the box as tires are more forgiving than the panels.
A short tongue length will increase the probably of making a turn around an obstacle like a tree. As the tow vehicle turns, the rear will swing out keeping the trailer in the same arc.
Keeping gear in the tow rig no higher than the bottom of the back windows will allow full view of the trailer when backing up.

I like the suggestion of keeping the gear in the tow rig from obstructing the view of the trailer. The comment about trailer width and "will it fit" is good too but not always true. If you're moving straight forward then yeah a trailer of equal or lesser width is going to fit where the tow vehicle just went. If you're making a turn that may or may not be true. Even if the trailer is the same width, if the tongue is too long the trailer will travel in a tighter arc and could contact obstacles on the inside of the turn. Ideally, you have a trailer with the same track width as the tow vehicle and you match the distance between the tow rig's rear axle and the trailer axle to the wheelbase of the tow rig. If you are able to match that wheelbase distance along with the track width, then the trailer should track in the same path as the tow rig.

Agree completely with this. Was exploring a trail with my jeep last summer and had to squeeze between two trees on the way in. It was a VERY tight fit to the point that I had maybe an inch on each side - if that. However due to other tree placement I couldn't get the same line on the way out. Not sure why, but for whatever reason I just couldn't get the jeep where I wanted it. Almost tore off my door handle as I had the tree that close all the way down the one side of my jeep. Point is that while it should fit... it might not always fit.