I can't remember if they make them themselves or if they just import, however I understand that they are from one of the main miliraty trailer companies in SA.

I can find out more if interested.

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Cheers,

Julian Voelcker
Overland Cruisers - Specialising in Land Cruiser preparation and servicing.

The guys I spoke to said they were working out of Holland and trying to start a UK market.

I can't tell the difference between an Africaans accent and Dutch, so I don't know whether they were from SA or not.

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Ollie

www.jollyfollies.com

Land's End to Sydney 2009

He was Dutch, but had spent a lot of time in the South of Africa runnng tours.

I was talking to them about possibly becoming a distributor, in addition to doing the trailers they are also bringing out roof racks and drawer systems.

__________________
Cheers,

Julian Voelcker
Overland Cruisers - Specialising in Land Cruiser preparation and servicing.

Man, I'm tempted to have kids just as an excuse to buy one of those trailers.

From the reaction of all the people I spoke to at billing, they have a market. Costly, but had the wow factor...

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Ollie

www.jollyfollies.com

Land's End to Sydney 2009

Ollie,

Be careful with taking a trailer to Oz. I know a couple who did the same trip Netherlands to Oz with ex army trailer. First of all the thing broke down twice (big time) before they reached Oz. When they got there, the trailer was not admitted because it didn't comply with Ozzy road rules. They could scrap it and had to buy a new one. They actually had one completely rebuilt to their original design but now Ozzy road worthy. Everything together it set them back quite a bit of money.

With respect to general experience of pulling a trailer, they were very happy with it and would take it again on their next trip and they are actually doing that right now on their RTW.
2nomads.nl: De auto This is their site with the Ozzy trailer, also in english

I guess you could drop em a line what the specific requirement were for the Ozzy trailer.
Cheers,

Noel
exploreafrica.web-log.nl

Hi
I had never really got trailers in the radar till i saw them at billing, and there has just been an article in Overland Journal comparing some, whether they are available here i am not sure..

I think they would be great for the bennefits outlined so far, but there are other things maybe worth considering when towing.

I tow a sawmill and trailers daily; In this country you are restricted to 60mph and not allowed in the outside lane on the motorway, not sure what you might find in other countries, and maybe not an issue. Heavy or badly loaded ones put extra stress on your vehicle- had to fit oil cooler on the LC. The more space you have the more you will carry- the temptation of carrying masses of cheap fuel when you find it... Trailers will reduce mpg considerably,

So its a pros and cons list...

I would give one ago i think just from the versatility aspect.. its such a pain with a roof tent set up if you just want to go out for a day from camp.

Cheers

Stan

I towed trailers round Africa for many years and I swore I'd never have one of my own. However, after having three kids I'm tempted to stick one on the back of my car and do see the benefit side as well.

Smith Family Odyssey

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ChrisC

Ollie - think in part it depends on your route. We tow our Sankey regularly and it would be fine on routes where its mainly tarmac / gravel tracks. This would probably give you most the route out to Aus, Iceland, Europe. Gets a bit harder if you going into more serious terrain such as deserts, mud, tight mountain tracks. Met a dutch couple in a LR 90 towing a trailer in Africa but they ended up having to travel in convoy with two other Landrovers through places like Sudan where they were crossing lots of soft sand. They could have done it without going in convoy but would have spent a lot of time on solo recovery - they got bogged more often / easily because of the drag of the trailer. On their own, they would either have to get both free or decouple the trailer, get the 90 out and then drap the trailer out. Certainly do-able but depending on your route and likely terrain, could be a big hassle. Down to how much you rate the convenience of having a separate trailer - of course with a trailer, have you thought about taking other toys like a motorcycle / kayaks / jet ski / inflatable boat + outboard / etc. Lots of options.

Well it all depends what is pulling the trailer, LR's will struggle but LC's with that big 4.2 D will just power on throught - (all said tongue in cheek!!!)

DUCK, the flying spanners and expletives!!!!!

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ChrisC

Hi Toby - hope you and the family are well ...

Currently we are probably not going to go for it, although saying that if the wife was a little keener to release the funds I may have bought one by now. She is, of course, the sensible one.

I think maybe for part two of the trip, Oz onwards, we can start looking at more options, for now its probably best to keep things simple.

We are, though, taking our bikes and an inflatable canoe with us

Say hi to all from me and throw a stick for Havoc

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Ollie

www.jollyfollies.com

Land's End to Sydney 2009

Hi

As Julian has said, I have an off road trailer - Desert Wolf.
Without any doubt, the best single item I have ever bought. My wife and children agree.

A couple of things which are relevant and should be considered.
1) The trailer gives you room to pack rubbish, so pack carefully..
2) We carried nearly all our stuff in the trailer, so the car was relatively empty - the roof rack made a fantsastic game viewing platform.
3) You only need the second carnet in some countries - in our case egypt and sudan. All the other countries I just used the car carnet. The trailer has the same reg as the car.
4) Ferries - you have to pay extra for an 8m long vehicle vs a 5m long vehicle. On our trip this equated to USD60 extra per ferry.
5) Shipping - This was a surprise to me. I used a 40ft container to ship from Durban back to Tilbury, and it cost me the same as most people shipping 20ft containers.... I think a 20ft high top container is the same cost as a 40ft standard container... (my guess anyway), so if you have a loaded roofrack and no trailer you will pay roughly the same a someone who has a trailer and empty roofrack.

The advantages of a trailer for us
1) Extra space to walk, sleep and play
2) Total privacy when you are camping, eating etc in areas where you are being watched
3) Better load distribution
4) Being able to drive off, leaving an established camp - go game viewing, etc with the children and returning to a cooked dinner...
5) Protected kitchen - You dont have to cook in the wind and rain at the back of your car...
6) Roofrack is empty so better stability and off road capability, especially when you want to play (and leave the trailer in camp). This is a HUGE additional safety feature.
7) We have a ready means to go camping spontaneously now we are home. Everything is in one place, and simply stopping for groceries is all we need to do to go camping
5) The trailer can carry heaps of diesel. Mine has a 70l tank plus I now have 7 x 20l jerry cans. Total 210L!!! If you are travelling South through Africa where diesel generally gets more expensive, filling up all of these things saves ££££ $$$$. This saving can easily be far greater than the extra cost of ferries and shipping etc. I dont recommend carrying the tanks full all the time, only where it is strategically advantageous.

Now for choice of trailer, because not all trailers are the same...
I will declare that I have a Desert Wolf and although it is expensive to buy - it is without a doubt the best off road trailer made. While we are in Southern Africa I looked at lots of trailers and the quality can vary considerably.
A few things to look out for:-
1) I recommed getting a trailer which has a braked tow hitch. Unbraked trailers are a hassle and probably very dangerous when fully loaded.
2) Get one with decent springs - ours now has 8mm thick leaf springs. These are now standard on all new desert wolfs. Some of the trailers I saw had really weak springs.
3) Tent design - some trailer tents can take an age to put up. Ours -which has the main tent and kitchen tent takes us 6 minutes!!! So I would recommend an A-frame tent wich does not need side panels etc added to it. If you are only going to be going to static sites and staying there this is largely irrelevant.
3) Get 15inch wheels minimum, and if possible get the same wheels as the tow vehicle.

Finally tow vehicle. I you want to tow a trailer I recommend the 4.2 turbo Land Cruisers. Our car did 15 to 20mpg, with the trailer. She really doesnt even know the trailer is there...

There are about 15 companies in Southern Africa making trailers, so if you are interested in a trailer have a really good look at their differences. If you are unsure.. just buy a DW - you wont regret it!!!

PM or e-mail me via the website: Smith Family Odyssey if you have any questions or would like a list of manufacturers

HTH
Graham.

Mr. Smith ,
I wondered about the trailer thing knowing you've the same experience as me of them, though somewhat larger and heavier.
It's good to read your views on them.

Did you have the same track on it as Miranda?
Did you ever need to lower the tyre pressures?
Were the tyres the same size as on Miranda?
Could you see enough of the rear corners when reversing?
Any maintenance to it?
You had a broken spring I think, how did you overcome that? I notice you now say "ours now has 8mm thick leaf springs".
Did you get yours from the dealer in the UK?
What made you decide on that model and not the Cub or Lynx or whatever?
And finally - can you reveal roughly the cost of a basic one of these things as there are no prices on the web site?

Thanks a lot,
Mark.
P.S. Only 35 degrees and sunny here today, but nevertheless I'll brave the weather and go to the pool yet again.

My car is so much nicer/cheaper to drive when it's not loaded down. I heard some advice at Ripley that I hope to apply before I leave. Lay out everything I think I need, put half of it aside and then halve it again! I'm not sure I've got the balls for the second bit, but if I think of the fuel savings and handling, it might help take the fear out of it.

Anyway - just my thoughts. Best of luck.

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I've a feeling I'm not in Kansas anymore.

Toys sound good - so are you still cycling back or are you now paddling back in the inflatable canoe, dodging the crocs and sharks of north Australia?

Family is good. Havoc on the positive side has chilled a bit (its all relative) but is now substantially larger, stronger, heavier which has its challenges.

Cheers Tobias