Surfy hit it on the head here, everyone spouts what not to do, most have not tried only imagined. Im not talking solely about people here but generally in these circles.

Im not getting into any debates either as we are still on the road and I have better things to do. As a bit of background we have just finished a 42,000km trip across Central Asia, Russia, Mongolia and Europe. We have towed on ice roads in the Arctic, Desert in Uzbekistan, BAM road in Siberia, across the Gobi following dry river beds etc.

Not adverse to a bit of offroad as we love greenlaning in the UK, We set out to enjoy our trip and take the road less travelled. We could have sat on the trans Siberian all the way to Vladivostok like some but thats not how we roll.

The trailer came about because we had a well prepared D90. It made more financial sense to take a trailer. The yanks love them, the Aussies too, so why not? It was a compromise yes, but the situstion dictated it. I see so many people wanting to do trips but yhink they cant because they dont hsve this or that, it doesnt matter, go with what you have!

I wanted to keep it light and tough so we bought a sankey with box body and extended A frame. It weighs about 1 ton loaded.

Europe - perfect on roads, ok in towns, parking in cities is sometimes a problem but you can get around this by camping outside and driving in. If your visiting lots of cities you should question why your overlanding. Ice roads were a bad idea, but it may have also been our tyre choice. I wont be doing Arctic Scandinavia with a trailer again, but we had little choice. Parking generally isnt a problem you just hsve to look out for the right space, takes a touch longer. Your all ready excluded from multi storey so it doesnt make much difference! If I can tow through central Istanbul at rush hour on a Monday morning, anyone can!

Aral Sea/Uzbekistan - sand here wasnt too much of an issue. On our own for 200km to reach the new coast line. Bukhara and Samarkand no issues.

Central Asia - No real issues here, the rough roads reminded us to secure everything inside. Towns, cities parking no problem as there are no restrictions like Europe and its less populated. No U turns necessary. Pamir Highway done also with Wakhan Corridor and 1 or 2 other off routes, trailer left the ground a few times. Kyrgyzstan we were rock crawling up to Altan Arashan in the Tien Shan, after a while I questioned the sensibility of it but we made it up snd down with no issues in low 1st and 2nd. With big rocks, mud holes and switchbacks any issues would have been the same for a lone vehicle.

Tried a remote track in the Russian Altai, but it was not possible. Having a trailer made no difference.

Mongolia - followed old Russian military maps deep into the Gobi. We went 2 days without even seeing a local! Following dry river beds we were often not even on tracks. Entry and departure angles tested with trailer and were better than a standard Land Cruiser which scrapped its way through a lot of situations.

Drove the BAM Railway service road. Bottled it at the Vitim bridge as we didn't know the conditions ahead and wether or not we needed to drive on the rail bridges. Forded big rivers, collapsed bridges and got some grest side slope action. Trailer no problem.

Road of Bones - Generally no trouble but the 4000km return to Yakutsk was a really crap road and the truck took a hammering. The final 1000k down to the trans siberian was the worst. As some of the rivets broke we got metal fatigue in the body which has fractured at the front in a few places. I blame the trailer spare wheel. We also cracked both headlights, smashed a side window and 3 big cracks in the screen. Blown rear shocks to so the trailer is the least of the problems.

Overall I thought the trailer was great. It afforded us the space to have a proper fold down kitchen, water tank and filter all within easy reach which made daily living a breeze. We also brought along climbing gear, packraft and a few toys which really made the trip. The short physical size of our setup meant we couldn't carry a lot and that is why it's designed like it. We are keeping the trailer for Australia so will see how it goes. A few things need redesigning but we think it suits our needs. For less than 2000GBP ontop of the D90 It made perfect sense. It allowed a couple in their early 30s to do a long haul overland trip. It also spreads the payload over 3 axles stabilising the whole setup which we were grateful for a few times when we flew into car size holes in siberia.

Compared to West Africa the routes we did were not really sandy. I dont think I would take the trailer up sand dunes for example, but for the majority of roads I think it would work really well.

If your starting from scratch it would be easier to go with a bigger vehicle but as time goes on your kit evolves. The trailer is just another accessory.

Sorry for the long post but I felt like some actual real world experience was necessary to put down.

G

www.Siroccoverland.com




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