Sankey trailer appeal

[revor]

Ok Keith, that was just a cruel hearted picture to show while I'm stuck in Iraq. Below the belt, really. Can you send just one leaf of grass out here. Then this country would have 2 colors in it for a day or two. :littlefriend:

That 110 is in it's playground. You're pretty much doing everything I wish I was in it.

Mark,
You know I'm not teasting you BUT!!! Get your tail home and we'll bag up a bunch of of us to go out and make sure you get to see GREEN again!!! And get your truck set up

Keith,
There is potential someday that one day (the boychild is about done with it ) or the other (the Girlchild will bring friends till she's 18 I'm afraid) us adults can go by ourselves... I personally (with scouring looks from the boss) have done so....

Personal stuff like clothing goes on the roof (light!) in water proof bags. Other Misc things like tools (shovel, axe, jacks) are mixed between the two units.

There is always a full store of tools and spares (? not much) under the the dogs.

Setting up "full camp" for four. takes about 20 minutes if we're in a hurry. The only "hitch" is the bins used for storage in the trailer, they all have to come out as they all have specific purposes, there are three of them plus a cooler for things like fruit and vegis that don't need the fridge (plus beer), cooking and eating stuff go in one bin, cleaning and houseware's in another and some other junk that apparently we have to take... There's room for about six 8"X 18" logs as well.

I wouldn't worry about taking four adults on a 4 week trip with the set up provided they have short legs to sit in the back of a 110.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I really have no clue why someone would want to tow a trailer. Someone please educate me because I just don't get it.

To expand on what Terri wrote.

I have 2 kids who fill the back seat. So not only do I lose half the storage capacity of the truck, but I've got 2 more people to pack for as well.

Now, I could put everything on a roof rack. Which would mean having a semi-permanent rack sucking fuel milage every day of the year. I could worry about keeping things on it waterproof. Climbing a ladder to go get the stuff. I could worry about how top heavy the roof rack makes the truck, even when the rack is empty. And, also not being able to get the truck in the garage anymore...

Or, I could just use a trailer. The milage penalty is actually pretty small, and I'm told equal to a roof rack, but I can just unhitch the trailer when not wanted/not needed.

Another thing people out west apparently don't have to deal with is bugs, rain, and root filled rocky muddy ground on which to pitch a tent, or having warm temps only 3 months out of the year. A rooftop tent helps with all this, and it's better on the trailer than the truck, just as with the rack. And a large heavy and bulky 12x12 screened dining tent won't even fit in the truck at all.

My trailer design is rather large, but surprisingly not that heavy. It will allow a comfortable camp for a family of 4 that sets up in... literally 5 minutes.

It's still unfinished in this picture, but imagine the luxury of being able to stop for lunch, fold down a door and be cooking in a fully equipped kitchen while others are still trying to figure out where they put the stove.

I will be building a smaller equipment trailer once I'm finished this one for "minimalist" camping.

The only thing I don't get about Sankey trailers or other military ones, is the amount of effort put into refurbishing them instead of just building something from scratch. Ultimately they're not as durable or efficient as a purpose built unit, and some of them come in really rough shape.

 

[muskyman]

To expand on what Terri wrote.

I have 2 kids who fill the back seat. So not only do I lose half the storage capacity of the truck, but I've got 2 more people to pack for as well.

Now, I could put everything on a roof rack. Which would mean having a semi-permanent rack sucking fuel milage every day of the year. I could worry about keeping things on it waterproof. Climbing a ladder to go get the stuff. I could worry about how top heavy the roof rack makes the truck, even when the rack is empty. And, also not being able to get the truck in the garage anymore...

Or, I could just use a trailer. The milage penalty is actually pretty small, and I'm told equal to a roof rack, but I can just unhitch the trailer when not wanted/not needed.

Another thing people out west apparently don't have to deal with is bugs, rain, and root filled rocky muddy ground on which to pitch a tent, or having warm temps only 3 months out of the year. A rooftop tent helps with all this, and it's better on the trailer than the truck, just as with the rack. And a large heavy and bulky 12x12 screened dining tent won't even fit in the truck at all.

My trailer design is rather large, but surprisingly not that heavy. It will allow a comfortable camp for a family of 4 that sets up in... literally 5 minutes.

It's still unfinished in this picture, but imagine the luxury of being able to stop for lunch, fold down a door and be cooking in a fully equipped kitchen while others are still trying to figure out where they put the stove.

I will be building a smaller equipment trailer once I'm finished this one for "minimalist" camping.

The only thing I don't get about Sankey trailers or other military ones, is the amount of effort put into refurbishing them instead of just building something from scratch. Ultimately they're not as durable or efficient as a purpose built unit, and some of them come in really rough shape.

Rob

Your trailer turned out pretty cool.

But dont kid yourself, it is heavy as all get out and the hit to fuel mileage will suffer big time. I pull all kinds of trailers all the time and trust me on this the mileage takes a huge hit.

Also your comment about the military trailers not being durable is just 100% wrong. The Sankey is way way over built for the use that the average enthusiast will ever use it for. They were designed for hauling heavy loads of things like munitions and such. Your argument is 100% on the wrong side of it. The real answer in why to build your own trailer is so you can build one lighter to more align with the much lighter equipment a camper will carry in comparison to a fighting force.

Many of the trailers I see out there are just way way over built. Our club has a AT off road trailer and that thing is a total pig. There is just no need to build stuff that over the top IMHO. With modern materials these trailers could be made plenty strong to carry camping gear. You dont need full steel walls on a camping trailer.

 

[Crookthumb]

Now, I could put everything on a roof rack. Which would mean having a semi-permanent rack sucking fuel milage every day of the year. I could worry about keeping things on it waterproof. Climbing a ladder to go get the stuff. I could worry about how top heavy the roof rack makes the truck, even when the rack is empty. And, also not being able to get the truck in the garage anymore...

Or, I could just use a trailer. The milage penalty is actually pretty small, and I'm told equal to a roof rack, but I can just unhitch the trailer when not wanted/not needed.

I will be building a smaller equipment trailer once I'm finished this one for "minimalist" camping.

Do you tow the trailer everywhere you go? I know you probably don't, but if you are really worried about a roof rack sucking fuel mileage then take it off when you aren't using it, just like your trailer. That is if you are really worried about fuel mileage after everything else that has been done to make your Disco a little more off road capable. Is it really that hard to make sure things are waterproof on a roof rack? There are all types of waterproof bags and cases to take care of that. As far as being top heavy put the light stuff on the rack. There are several rigs that have loaded up roof racks and they are still able to do very technical trails so this is just a lame excuse. Plus I know more trails that don't allow trailers on them than ones that don't allow roof racks. Actually I don't think I have seen a trail that doesn't allow roof racks. Why would you need a trailer for "minimalist" camping isn't that going away from being minimalist, shouldn't you be carrying only the necessities needed for the vehicle and your travels?

I could see the appeal of a trailer if you are big game hunting, or if you are hauling multiple dirt bikes, or hauling fire wood, and don't have access to a pickup. Mainly those things that are too large/heavy to fit/lift inside of or on top of your vehicle/rack.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Musky, I have already towed it. I normally get 17.5mpg through the hills, and I get 15.5 with the trailer. Not bad at all, and I hear people say their roof racks suck that much. I designed it to fit into the slipstream of the truck, which it seems to do pretty well. The 4.6 engine is going to be able to pull a load without straining as hard as the 3.9.

The weight is 1860lbs, as it sits, with the tent, battery, spare, etc. So no, I won't be pulling it on hard trails, never intended to. It's for logging roads or easy trails nice and slow. Compared to a Horizon at 1100 empty, typically 1500 outfitted, and I'm not doing too bad.

As for the military ones, I haven't seen a Sankey. I have seen the guts of plenty of M101CDN or M416. The frames are C-channel, and the tubs relatively thing and bolted on. I know they go through the rigors of military use, and I never said they are weak. But they are designed to be as cheap and easy to build as possible. They are not as durable as a custom trailer with a full box-steel frame. And not as efficient as having steel paneling welded to the frame.

C-channel just can't take the pounding that a box tube can. And steel panels are not as heavy as you'd think when compared to all the bracketry bracing required for "lighter" construction methods.

The military trailers are ok. But you could custom build a trailer to be as strong, but lighter. Or the same weight, but stronger. Especially when you consider how rusty and pitted they often are when you pick them up surplus. Almost every one I've seen, has to be completely dissassembled, professional sand blasted, tongue cut off and a start tongue put on, rewired, and reassembled. Then many go to the trouble of cutting a tailgate into the back, etc.

The next trailer I build will be a 5x6 box, and designed to alternatively carry 3 motorcycles, a snowmobile, firewood or landscaping supplies. No plywood trailer will do that well.

Skyler, I've never seen anybody remove a roof rack and reinstall it regularly. Way too much trouble. My fuel milage hasn't suffered much with the mods I've done. My best ever when stock was 18.5mpg. Now I get 17.5 in similar conditions, and 15.5 towing the trailer. People say racks suck 2-3mpg just by themselves.

The places I go don't have any rules at all, regarding trailer use or other, they are not recreational areas.

Trailers are still required when "minimalist" camping. In case you missed it, we're talking about having the back seat occupied. The rear of the truck can be filled just with a cooler, recovery gear, tools, and the kitchen supplies.

I know people have done technical trails with a roof rack. But it's even better without it. It's even worse out here because we have trees over most trails. I often have to cut them out of the way as is. People use racks a lot less out here.

 

[muskyman]

Rob

since you have never seen a Sankey I think your opinion is almost worthless. They are stupid over built for what enthusiasts want to use them for.

I done believe you can pull a 1850 trailer behind your 04 DII and get 15.5 mpg with over sized tires and a heavy aftermarket bumper and winch, in fact I would bet anything you want on that fact.

You need a few trips pulling that trailer I think before you can start claiming mileage numbers.

Thom

 

[benlittle]

but imagine the luxury of being able to stop for lunch, fold down a door and be cooking in a fully equipped kitchen while others are still trying to figure out where they put the stove.

Wow, that does sound fantastic. I guess the only way I'll ever know is to build a trailer just like yours.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Rob

since you have never seen a Sankey I think your opinion is almost worthless. They are stupid over built for what enthusiasts want to use them for.

I done believe you can pull a 1850 trailer behind your 04 DII and get 15.5 mpg with over sized tires and a heavy aftermarket bumper and winch, in fact I would bet anything you want on that fact.

You need a few trips pulling that trailer I think before you can start claiming mileage numbers.

Thom

Granted, for the Sankey. I've only seen the M416.

So now you're calling me a liar on the milage. Nice.

Edit: was measured with a ScanGuage, BTW. It's a 100% accurate on-the-fly measurement, averaged over a few hours of 50mph hilly highyway driving.

 

[muskyman]

If you want to use the word liar that's fine but you said it. I said you need to take a few more trips with the trailer. Also toss the damn scan gauge crap and do a real mileage caculation because a dynamic readout "averaged" over 50 miles is far from a real number.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Do you know how a Scangauge works?

 

[muskyman]

Do you know how a Scangauge works?

Your not the only one with a ScanGauge II

 

[R_Lefebvre]

That's not an answer to the question. Do YOU know how it works that you can criticize the readings it's giving?

The mass-airflow sensor measures the incoming air mass, and the computer attempts to achieve stoichiometry by varying the fuel flow. It's assumed stoichiometry is at 14.7:1 air to fuel ratio, which is how it assumes how much fuel is being injected. It integrates that fuel flow rate over time to determine bulk fuel usage.

There are a few variables at play. Namely the scale of any given MAF sensor, and the actual chemical composition of a blend of gasoline.

This is corrected for in the Scangauge when you do their calibration proceedure which involves running several tanks of gas, from the same station, and generating a correction factor by inputing the actual fuel used on a tank which is compared to their integrated instantaneous flow rate.

At the end of the day, if you've done the calibration proceedure properly (which I have), the fuel consumption is bang on.

In fact, it's better than what some people might do by hand, because it also corrects for odometer error. I corrected the Scangauge odometer measurement to my GPS.

So, if the Scangauge knows the exact milage you have driven, more accurately than the odometer, and it predicts the fuel you are about to pump within a few 10ths of a gallon, tell me again why you think the average milage measured on a trip would be off?

The Scangauge is more accurate than a "built in" milage readout on the factory instrumentation. The OEM ones are inaccurate, I agree, because they do not and can not correct for MAF sensor and fuel composition variation. The Scanguage is bang on when I've verified it with the manual method.

 

[Martyn]

I don't want to get into the Scangauge debate, but our experience is as follows.

For trailers that fall into the slipstream of the tow vehicle we see about a 10-15% increase in fuel consumption.

Adding a roof rack to a vehicle usually increases fuel consumption by +15%

 

[seashore]

My personal experience reflects what Martyn states.

I do better towing the laden trailer than I did with an unladen roof rack...

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I don't want to get into the Scangauge debate, but our experience is as follows.

For trailers that fall into the slipstream of the tow vehicle we see about a 10-15% increase in fuel consumption.

Adding a roof rack to a vehicle usually increases fuel consumption by +15%

And that's just about what I've seen.

My trailer is heavy, you feel it getting rolling, and you really feel it climbing hills. But once rolling on level ground, you barely know it's there.

I did one trip with the motorcycle across the tongue, where the front and rear wheels were about half-way out in the slipstream, and I lost another MPG just from that. I was also significantly more loaded on that trip, overall loaded at least 500lbs more than the other trip I took with the trailer.