Whats the ideal length for an offraod type trailer

[Big Daddy Chia]

Whats to big, Whats to small. I noticed the horizon is under 10 feet and the chser a little over 10 feet in length. How long are the m416s

 

[JIMBO]

:26_7_2: Yo BDC, I don't think there is an IDEAL length

It all, is determined, mainly by your TOWING VEHICLE, because of WEIGHT REQUIREMENTS

Whats to big, Whats to small. I noticed the horizon is under 10 feet and the chser a little over 10 feet in length. How long are the m416s

My Tentrax is about 9 1/2 feet and 5 feet of that, is tongue/locker area, so it stays LIGHT and tows EASILY

I think the main length you should consider, is the tongue length for MANUEVERABILITY ease

Good Luck

:clapsmile :clapsmile JIMBO

 

[Martyn]

Whats to big, Whats to small. I noticed the horizon is under 10 feet and the chser a little over 10 feet in length. How long are the m416s

The question is simple and straight forward but the answer is very complicated.

There are many factors involved and they all effect each other in varying degrees.
Some of the variables are:
Tongue length
Distance from coupler to axle
Overall length
Distance from axle to rear

If you are considering length because of tracking, maneuverability, approach and departure angles then the individual variables are very important.

You could take two trailers that were 10 feet long and have different dimensions for all of these factors.

Trailers and backpacker are very similar in that no matter what the size they are always full. But the analogue doesn’t work well if you are just looking at trailer length. The Chaser has 46 cubic feet of storage, but the shorter Horizon has 54 cubic feet. So longer doesn’t always mean bigger.

 

[SAR_Squid79]

When designing my trailer, I based the tongue length off of the width of my truck so that I could make a 90* turn and the trailer would not hit the truck. As far as the rest of the trailer (i.e. the cargo box size), I calculated the axle placement and everything so that the trailer would have the exact same ride height, track width, and approach & departure angles as my Tacoma.

When my trailer is done, is should be able to go over anything that my truck can (and will probably scrape everywhere that my truck does).

 

[the dude]

I am in the process of trying to answer a lot of these questions myself. I like the idea of matching it to your truck, but that's assuming your truck is the perfect setup.

I currently own a CDN M101 and would like to build a trailer more along the lines of the AT Horizon. I also just got finished pulling a m416 on our Alaskan Cruiser Trek 08.

From those experiences I have a couple ideas on length. I would ideally be able to jackknife the trailer and have no damage to truck or trailer. The trailer should be more capable then the truck. If your truck scrapes over it I would like to see my the trailer to ride over it. Why limit the trailer to your truck.

I like the track width just under that of the tow vehicle.

I would like to know what hitch to axle measurement is on peoples trailer and if they would like it longer or shorter.

I think the AT suspension solves a lot of the inherent ride issues with a short wheel base trailer. Springs and a short tongue make for a trailer that spends more time on one wheel or in the air then with two wheels on the ground. With that resolved my only concern is the maneuverability in reverse. And there is always a compromise with that and tracking the tow vehicle closely.

With my M101 I would like to see about 18" more tongue length and a shorter box with the same to less over hang out back

 

[Big Daddy Chia]

Well right now I am trying to figure out a base trailer size to go with. I think I deally I want one thats 4 feet wide and 5 or 6 feet long. I am gonna buy a bassic utility trailer and and use the frame as a base to start.

 

[Markgyver]

On my trailer Im going to make the trailer tounge adjustible so that you can extend it longer for the highway and shorten it up for tighter trails and also so you can remove it when you are up camping and to make more room for storing the trailer.

 

[the dude]

I like this idea as well. I have thought about having that receiver portion run front to back so that you had a good (well maybe not good, but better) tow point on the back of the trailer. That way you wouldn't twist the frame up if you had to give it a tug. And it would give you the ability to have a very short trailer or very long...

My only concern is if I you want to have a box on the tongue that is recessed between the A frame, which is a great idea to keep the COG low.

 

[Robert Bills]

The WWII T3 and MBT, the Bantam civilian T3-C, and also the Korean War era M100, are each 108.5" in total length. The tub itself is 72" long and 38" wide at the bottom (46" wide at the top). The M416 and CDN M101 are a tad longer and wider.

In my opinion, a good size for an offroad trailer would be with a tub no longer than 6' and no wider than 3.5'.

The tongues on military trailers are (in my opinion) considerably too short for offroad work. I designed a 2" receiver for the coupler on my Bantam trailer that allows me to lengthen the total tongue length by interchanging couplers.

 

[JIMBO]

:bigbossHL: Thats the way I have mine, except I have a 2ooolb winch at the 2" rear, receiver

I like this idea as well. I have thought about having that receiver portion run front to back so that you had a good (well maybe not good, but better) tow point on the back of the trailer. That way you wouldn't twist the frame up if you had to give it a tug. And it would give you the ability to have a very short trailer or very long...

My only concern is if I you want to have a box on the tongue that is recessed between the A frame, which is a great idea to keep the COG low.

I think you can see it, just barely in the shadow, it's covered with a black nylon bag !!

eepwall: eepwall: JIMBO

 

[Robert Bills]

Here is the rear receiver on mine:

 

[GeoTracker90]

BDC

You pose an interesting question, and as others have mentioned the answer is based on may variables.

My question is, what would you like to ideally accomplish with your trailer? What items do you envision being able to put in, on, around your trailer? Also to what extreme are you going to be using this for off road / overland travel?

I think that these are all questions that need to be answered when deciding on the ideal.

Mike

 

[Big Daddy Chia]

BDC

You pose an interesting question, and as others have mentioned the answer is based on may variables.

My question is, what would you like to ideally accomplish with your trailer? What items do you envision being able to put in, on, around your trailer? Also to what extreme are you going to be using this for off road / overland travel?

I think that these are all questions that need to be answered when deciding on the ideal.

Mike

Well for being in Texas and having no land access I am looking for something mostly to haul all my stuff. When I went wheeling at Superflift Offraod Park i towed my jeep behind my xterra and the jeep was compleletly loaded down with stuff as was the xterra. That was travelling with me, the wife and a 6 month old at the time. When I go wheeling or camping I dont pack lite at all. right now I am trying to figure out how to either pack everythign in one car for a weeks trip to AZ next year, or figure some way to build a low budget trailer to pull behind my jeep and still be able to handle leaving the trail.

 

[RHINO]

as others have said, its a very varied answer and there really isnt a "right" answer.

but heres some numbers for you, the popular 416 that so many have based off road trailers off of has a 6ft long box and about 2ft of tongue.

most agree that 2ft tongue is way too short and that 4ft of tongue is real good.