Go Back   Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB > 4 wheels > Equipping the Overland Vehicle
Overland Trailer - should I go crazy and buy one? Overland Trailer - should I go crazy and buy one?
Register FAQ Calendar Today's Posts
Equipping the Overland Vehicle Vehicle accessories - Making your home away from home comfortable, safe and reliable.
Photo by Hendi Kaf, in Cambodia

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Hendi Kaf,
in Cambodia



Overlanders Handbook - everything you need to know, available NOW!

Reply
Page 4 of 5 123 4 5
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #46  
Old 3 Sep 2008
Registered Users
HUBB regular
  
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Vanderbijl Park, South Africa
Posts: 76
Pulling an off road trailer
Graham,

it wasn't a problem in most sand. It runs 265 BFG AT's that we deflate in sand. In Egypt we drove from Bahariya Oasis to Siwa, going up the dunes wasn't a problem but going down the slipface of the dunes were a bit scary.

You feel the trailer in the mountain passes, it takes 150 litres of water in belly tanks and when they are filled you feel the difference but living on the road with kids it makes all the difference, I don't regret for one second bringing it along
__________________
__________________
Jean Visser

http://ons4.reproroom.com
Reply With Quote
  #47  
Old 3 Sep 2008
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
  
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Warrington UK
Posts: 703
Hi Jean, thanks for the reply.
We are planning a trip in our 2005 land Cruiser 120 series.
It would just be me and the wife.
I stuck whether to take a good size roof rack, or take a trailer.
They both have good points and bad points.
I will just look to what we could cram into the Land Cruiser, and what we could stash up on the roof, all making for a very heavy vehicle.
or pull a trailer, removing all the weight and clutter from in the Land cruiser, but have an inconvienience of pulling a trailer that could give you any number of problems.
Still undecided !
Reply With Quote
  #48  
Old 4 Sep 2008
Contributing Member
Veteran HUBBer
  
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Ledbury, Herefordshire, UK
Posts: 324
If there is only two of you, surely you should have enough room in the 120 series - if you don't I would have thought that you are probably taking too much :-)

The standard configuration for two people in an LC is to have a roof tent and probably spare wheel and gas cylinder on the roof rack and then strip out the 3rd row of seats and have some sort of racking arrangement in the boot for most kit.

You can then strip out one part of the 2nd row of seats for (keeping at least one seat for guides/friends) and have the fridge and a few other goodies in it's place.
__________________
Cheers,

Julian Voelcker
Overland Cruisers - Specialising in Land Cruiser preparation and servicing.
Reply With Quote
  #49  
Old 7 Sep 2008
Registered Users
New on the HUBB
  
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Maryland, USA
Posts: 12
Hello all,

I've been lurking for a while but wanted to post about this. It seems that trailers may be more popular in the UK, Europe and AUS than here in the states as most RV's here are more strictly for "road use" but there are a few designs used quite often here when goining off road.

I have a Jeep Wrangler used for exploring and camping and with two kids and the wife there is only about half a cubic meter left for storage in the entire vehicle, so a trailer is mandatory. Many Jeepers use surplus WWII cargo trailers like the Bantam or M416. I built a modern copy of the M416 using a Torflex axle for extra ground clearance with the stock Jeep wheels (same bolt pattern as the vehicle):



Another type of trailer gaining popularity again here (due probably to rising fuel costs) are the "teardrop" style trailers. Here's a link to a good build up article.

Outback Teardrop Trailer

-C
Reply With Quote
  #50  
Old 7 Sep 2008
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
  
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Warrington UK
Posts: 703
Hi, in South Africa, the Venter seems to be the number 1 trailer year after year.

Venter Trailers

I am not sure how good they are on a serious "off road" trip.

Their "off-road " trailer looks reasonable
Reply With Quote
  #51  
Old 15 Sep 2008
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
  
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Southampton
Posts: 671
Update
Well, thanks to all who have given us some ideas to consider. We have reached a conclusion, although as those who might know me will tell you it might not be a permenant one

we are going to drive to Oz with our current set up of 110 land rover and rooftent. plenty of room for everything and not too much in the set up to upset us overlanding novices. In Australia we will then consider going onwards with any of the following 4:

1. Current set up
2. Current set up + trailer
3. Some sort of live inside (big!!!!) truck
4. In a boat

Recently going onwards by pushbike has been ruled out. When we get to Oz we will have a lot more experience, and if we do decide to continue onwards it will take us a year or two to replenish our funds and we can spend this time familiarising ourselves with the next form of ransport.

Thanks again for all the advice.

Cheers

Ollie
__________________
Ollie

www.jollyfollies.com

Land's End to Sydney 2009
Reply With Quote
  #52  
Old 2 Dec 2009
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
  
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Southampton
Posts: 671
Update
We're nearly in Oz now, well India! And the current plan is to take some time in Oz and pop out our first pup, conceived somewhere in central Asia, but under no circumstances going to be called Stan!

So, we will probably look again at a trailer at some point. One new one to the market is from MyWay - the people who kindly helped us with our roof tent. I haven't seen the trailer, but it looks like a nice half way house between building your own, or splashing out the cash. When Paul, the MyWay UK man came down to help fit our tent, we discussed at great length this, and it seems it has come to fruition.

More can be seen here:

MyWay Roof Tents (UK)
__________________
Ollie

www.jollyfollies.com

Land's End to Sydney 2009
Reply With Quote
  #53  
Old 2 Dec 2009
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
  
Join Date: May 2007
Location: London
Posts: 621
Why don't you see if there's any decent Australian-made ones when you get there?

Would cost a fortune to ship a MyWay out to Oz, no?
Reply With Quote
  #54  
Old 7 Dec 2009
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
  
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Southampton
Posts: 671
Hello Mark!

Was only really posting as a way to update the thread .... will have a look in Oz, but not sure whether we will buy there or UK - depending how long we stay etc. All up in the air at the moment, as I am sure you can imagine
__________________
Ollie

www.jollyfollies.com

Land's End to Sydney 2009
Reply With Quote
  #55  
Old 7 Dec 2009
silver G's Avatar
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
  
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: south Cumbria
Posts: 364
Quote:
Originally Posted by CornishDeity View Post
We're nearly in Oz now, well India! And the current plan is to take some time in Oz and pop out our first pup, conceived somewhere in central Asia, but under no circumstances going to be called Stan!

Hey, well done folks
__________________
Chris
-----------------
"Never have a stupid argument with an idiot - he gets a lot more practice than you"
there I go again
not too hard really
Reply With Quote
  #56  
Old 8 Dec 2009
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
  
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Southampton
Posts: 671
tHANKS
Thanks for that - our greatest achievement - done without trying
__________________
Ollie

www.jollyfollies.com

Land's End to Sydney 2009
Reply With Quote
  #57  
Old 8 Dec 2009
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
  
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 381
Reply With Quote
  #58  
Old 11 Dec 2009
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
  
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Southern England
Posts: 205
Hi Ollie,

I travelled around Morocco with a Nissan pick up pulling a trailer. They had endless problems with it - the towbar on the truck sheared bolts, and various bits of the trailer body were regularly cracking under the stress requiring regular and prolonged repairs. The owner was in tears at one point and vowed never again !

Andrew.
Reply With Quote
  #59  
Old 16 Dec 2009
Registered Users
HUBB regular
  
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Vanderbijl Park, South Africa
Posts: 76
Trailers
Andrew, with all due respect then it must have been a crap trailer

Ollie, have a look at Conqueror off-road Campers - the original off-road camper for a list of their Australian agents. Don't know what prices will look like in Aus but for GBP 4300 you can get a fully kitted one here, including fridge/freezer!

We are now back in South Africa via the west side, the trailer still working fine. We broke the shock mountings on the road to Timbouctou and the chassis crossing from Nigeria to Cameroon both times a local welding job sorted the problem. The trip was in excess of 70 000 km and the trailer kept up remarkably well. Although the trailer was a bit of extra work here and there on the balance it just made living on the road so much easier.

A few pics:



Near Atar, Mauritania



Bushcamp on the Niger river, Mali



Grand Mosque du Djenne, Mali



Camoroon mud



Crossing the equator again



Congo bushcamp



Namibia rivers
__________________
__________________
Jean Visser

http://ons4.reproroom.com
Last edited by JeanVisser; 16 Dec 2009 at 17:23.
Reply With Quote
  #60  
Old 18 Dec 2009
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
  
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Bristol UK
Posts: 454
We met up with Jean in Morocco and he doesn't drive slow, not even on piste! if the trailer can put up with that kind of abuse, it says something about its quality and construction. I agree with the above also, that if your not taking 4 people/kids then a standard vehicle should suffice.

Jean - When is Pete likely to reach you in South Africa? He is Egypt at the moment. Hope all is well.

Gareth
__________________
Land Rover D90
www.Siroccoverland.com | Follow us on Facebook
Reply With Quote
Reply
Page 4 of 5 123 4 5

« Previous Thread | Next Thread »

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 Registered Users and/or Members and 1 guests)
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Nice to see I'm not crazy PistolaPete Welcome to HU 9 20 Oct 2008 21:39
Ola!, I have a crazy plan :D N[]vA Welcome to HU 2 31 Jul 2008 01:00
MZ 250: crazy? Simon Kennedy Which Bike? 11 15 May 2008 17:55
am I crazy? MZ ETZ 251 Polly Which Bike? 5 20 Apr 2007 06:47
Crazy revcounter?? Braam KTM Tech 3 4 Sep 2002 18:05

 
 

Announcements

Thinking about traveling? Not sure about the whole thing? Watch the HU Achievable Dream Video Trailers and then get ALL the information you need to get inspired and learn how to travel anywhere in the world!

Have YOU ever wondered who has ridden around the world? We did too - and now here's the list of Circumnavigators!
Check it out now, and add your information if we didn't find you.

Next HU Eventscalendar

25 years of HU Events
Be sure to join us for this huge milestone!

ALL Dates subject to change.

2025 Confirmed Events:

Virginia: April 24-27 2025
Queensland is back! May 2-4 2025
Germany Summer: May 29-June 1 2025
CanWest: July 10-13 2025
Switzerland: Date TBC
Ecuador: Date TBC
Romania: Date TBC
Austria: Sept. 11-14
California: September 18-21
France: September 19-21 2025
Germany Autumn: Oct 30-Nov 2 2025

Add yourself to the Updates List for each event!

Questions about an event? Ask here

See all event details

 
World's most listened to Adventure Motorbike Show!
Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...

Adventurous Bikers – We've got all your Hygiene & Protection needs SORTED! Powdered Hair & Body Wash, Moisturising Cream Insect Repellent, and Moisturising Cream Sunscreen SPF50. ESSENTIAL | CONVENIENT | FUNCTIONAL.

2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.

2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.

"Ultimate global guide for red-blooded bikers planning overseas exploration. Covers choice & preparation of best bike, shipping overseas, baggage design, riding techniques, travel health, visas, documentation, safety and useful addresses." Recommended. (Grant)



Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance.

Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance™ combines into a single integrated program the best evacuation and rescue with the premier travel insurance coverages designed for adventurers.

Led by special operations veterans, Stanford Medicine affiliated physicians, paramedics and other travel experts, Ripcord is perfect for adventure seekers, climbers, skiers, sports enthusiasts, hunters, international travelers, humanitarian efforts, expeditions and more.

Ripcord travel protection is now available for ALL nationalities, and travel is covered on motorcycles of all sizes!


 

What others say about HU...

"This site is the BIBLE for international bike travelers." Greg, Australia

"Thank you! The web site, The travels, The insight, The inspiration, Everything, just thanks." Colin, UK

"My friend and I are planning a trip from Singapore to England... We found (the HU) site invaluable as an aid to planning and have based a lot of our purchases (bikes, riding gear, etc.) on what we have learned from this site." Phil, Australia

"I for one always had an adventurous spirit, but you and Susan lit the fire for my trip and I'll be forever grateful for what you two do to inspire others to just do it." Brent, USA

"Your website is a mecca of valuable information and the (video) series is informative, entertaining, and inspiring!" Jennifer, Canada

"Your worldwide organisation and events are the Go To places to for all serious touring and aspiring touring bikers." Trevor, South Africa

"This is the answer to all my questions." Haydn, Australia

"Keep going the excellent work you are doing for Horizons Unlimited - I love it!" Thomas, Germany

Lots more comments here!



Five books by Graham Field!

Diaries of a compulsive traveller
by Graham Field
Book, eBook, Audiobook

"A compelling, honest, inspiring and entertaining writing style with a built-in feel-good factor" Get them NOW from the authors' website and Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk.



Back Road Map Books and Backroad GPS Maps for all of Canada - a must have!

Your ad could be here, on EVERY page of the HUBB, or the whole website, or as many as you like!

New to Horizons Unlimited?

New to motorcycle travelling? New to the HU site? Confused? Too many options? It's really very simple - just 4 easy steps!

Horizons Unlimited was founded in 1997 by Grant and Susan Johnson following their journey around the world on a BMW R80G/S.

Susan and Grant Johnson Read more about Grant & Susan's story

Membership - help keep us going!

Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.

You don't have to be a Member to come to an HU meeting, access the website, or ask questions on the HUBB. What you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. Contributing Members and Gold Members do get additional features on the HUBB. Here's a list of all the Member benefits on the HUBB.



All times are GMT +1. The time now is 13:10.

Contact Us - Horizons Unlimited Motorcycle Travellers Website - Archive - Privacy Statement - Top