expedition/over landing trailers

Gets the weight off the truck and allows for a Basecamp set up, so I can set you camp and then hit trails, and not have to do a bunch of crap to my truck for longer trips, I can just hitch try trailer fill the tanks and go. Don't even need to unpack it...

 

The plan would be to take the trailer as far down the trail as you can or until you find a good site. The trailer then could become a base camp unless your on a trek where you keep going and don't come nack

 

They just seem really expensive for what you get. If I'm going to pull something and set up a "base camp", I would MUCH prefer something like a pop-up or smaller conventional camper for around the same price point. Usually when I go on long offroad adventures, I generally don't have a specific camp site. I would hate to be halfway up a mountain, pulling a trailer, and realize I am not going to be able to make it around the obstacle with said trailer.

But, then again, everyone wheels differently. What works for you might not work for me. Glad you're happy with your set up! I gotta admit, when all set up... they do look pretty cool.

 

I understand why you're not building your own, nor am I suggesting that you do. Just saying that $6k for a trailer (even an empty one) is a pretty typical price, and the only way to get something for less is generally by building your own or buying a used re-purposed military trailer that has been modified. But even then it's probably going to be an empty shell. NBD I understand where you're coming from.

Having built my own trailer and knowing the amount of work and time that it requires, I fully understand the prices of trailers, used, new, DIY or otherwise. What may look very basic is often a lot more complex and has a lot more time involved in its creation than most people will realize.

 

The Moby1 trailers are built locally to me so I see them periodically. They are very impressive, but also very expensive. I'm also impressed with the Turtleback Trailers. Again, they are expensive depending on options.

My trailer is very basic and more or less just an empty shell. I have a power source that's portable, I carry water and a camp kitchen but they are not permanent fixtures of the trailer. As a DIY build, I wouldn't sell this for less than $6k so I can understand why some other basic ones like the Smittybuilt or a RockBox cost more than that.

 

They'r about as simple as yo can get. It's like a hard tent on wheels. Your still pretty much tent camping in all other aspects

 

I've been researching trailers for the last three years...if you seriously plan on taking it off road, consider the independent suspended models vs. solid axle units. From what I've seen, their performance (any of the AT/Turtleback) is superior in articulation heavy situations.

Also look at (if you haven't already) having your trailer hubs modified/matched to your tow vehicles lug pattern to increase your spare capabilities when traveling remotely.

Good luck man, having a towable that suits your need off road greatly expands your camp kit in the wilderness and storage needs exponentially!

 

The trailers will go over much of what a stock truck is capable of doing, and there are situations where it'd be a lot easier to not have a trailer, or not passable, however not frequent. If I was going for the pure off road aspect I'd obviously leave the trailer and not carry 20 gallons of water etc, but I'm more into the overlanding and exploring aspect now, so unless I decide to rock crawl a IFS truck, I don't see too many issues lol.

 

I definitely want the trailing arm style, it's one of my requirements if I am going to spend... I forgot which brand it was, but one of them runs air bags on the IS so you can level it out, and having the same wheels and tires is a must have, the spare for both truck and trailer would be mounted to the trailer to free up the truck.

 

The articulation of the trailer wheels in real world situations is not that important. Speaking from experience with my own trailer with a solid axle, and going with friends (and occasionally pulling one) with trailers with independent trailing arms, articulation is really not a factor. Generally speaking trailers are not heavy enough to force an axle (or trailing arms) to articulate. Instead the trailer just leans over with either type.

However, the independent trailing arms can be superior for overall ride and not disturbing items packed inside the trailer. A solid axle trailer can be made to work really smoothly too with the right spring/shock setup (and also tire pressures). The real advantage to either setup is the use of airbags. Airbags allow you adjust pressure and ride quality based on the load in the trailer and conditions. Something like leaf springs or coils will have a constant spring rate that doesn't change with the load of the trailer so an empty trailer is going to ride differently than a fully loaded trailer.

For me the leaf springs have worked fine since the load on the trailer stays pretty constant and doesn't change all that much. If I do need to make any adjustment I do it with tire pressures. I regularly run in the 10-12psi range on the trailer even on the highway. Have for years with no ill effects and it has really smoothed out the ride of the trailer.

 

Any issues with clearance?

 

None for me. Been using my trailer hard since 2008 and have never had it hung up by the axle.

 

One other thing...
I know I'm likely in the minority but the simplicity of the axle and leaf springs has turned out to be something I prefer.
I've only had one time where something has broken on my trailer during a trip. I pull the trailer pretty fast offroad so it doesn't get babied. On one trip I broken a spring hanger on the frame. Because it has leaf springs and solid axle the axle still stayed mostly in place. I was able to use a ratchet strap to stabilize it but drove another 200 miles on dirt before I could repair the spring hanger.

Had it been a trailing arm mount that broke (equivalent of a spring hanger) the trailer would have been disabled completely until the mount was repaired since the wheels would have no way to stay aligned and tow straight. Towing further would likely cause more damage.

Not saying that leaf springs are necessarily "better" but they do have some advantages. And with trailing arms you may need to plan differently to be prepared for trail breakage. Like having spare airbags, air lines and fittings, on board welder perhaps.

Just something to consider.

 

Perfect! I know mine offers 12" of ground clearance with 15" wheels and tires and since I have no desire to pass through any super difficult stuff I'm hoping it'll pass down fire roads and mtn trails easily. I reckon we'll eventually see

 

Over on expedition portal it seems this is a popular trailer (the Smitty built) and most are happily modding it and stating it's a good starting point. No one likes the "galley" part of it but everyone's making it work. Only common issue seems to be rust after rocks chew the finish to pieces. Bedliner solves that, and several have found 15-20% off coupon from various dealers to get it.

 

trailers are fun

 

Nice trailer. Shit! Nice Garage!

So, more specs on the 416 trailer. I guess your hitch is some extra articulating type? Your tongue length looks fairly long. I've heard that increases the difficulty of backing up. Your experience? Any other trail problems or considerations in having it back that far?

Oh, and Shit! Nice Garage!

 

Thanks man, it's actually a M100 with m416 style fenders cause they look wayyy better. I had @Mobtown Offroad extend the front for me, he did a awesome awesome job. It's actually much easier to back up now compared to before. The hitch a maxcoupler works like a universal joint.

 

I went with a longer trailer arm too on my trailer, it does make it easier to back up. Great trailer man, totally dig it.

 

I almost went with the maxcoupler, but decided on the hitch n roll instead.