Has anyone taken a small rental trailer off road?

A small 4 x 7 looks like it would go anywhere I would take my 2013 4 DOOR SHORT BED. The legal liabilities aside, worst case having to buy the trailer, this seems like a doable option. Plenty of ground clearance. Nice and short.

Am I crazy?

 

How do we tell?

When you say 'off road' what exactly does that mean? The severity of your terrain is your guiding factor, as well as the construction of the underbelly of the trailer.

Dragging a fiberglass UHaul unit over rocks might not work out so well. Pulling it down a semi graded path with an occasional sippy hole might not be so bad.

I had a trailer I made out of an old boat trailer for a number of years. But I clearanced it by moving from 8" wheels to 13" wheels (from a Vega!) and some decent 13" tires. Just had to be careful not to hang the axle on something. Towed it many a place with great success.

 

Lol well this trailer I was thinking of is all steel and aluminum. And the terrain is classified as easy by most off road guys I have spoke with.

 

Actually I am thinking of the Blue Lakes to Lost Lakes trail in the Sierra Nevada. Was in there a month ago so I know the truck can get in there without scraping.

 

Your more apt to get stuck towing a trailer off road. Had a similar sized trailer with my atv on it and when I went diagonal on a ditch....got stuck. Unhooked the trailer and got out of the hole easily, then unloaded the atv and pulled the trailer out with it. So just remember, you will not be able to have the same off-road abilities with the trailer on there.

 

Thanks Jim. Yeah I know enough about off roading that it can kill you or otherwise ruin your day real quick. For now I plan to stay on the bunny trails...

 

Bunny trail...don't see a problem with it personally. Just remember there is something back there that can get stuck as wel and doesn't have any dedicated power to move it out on its own. Got any pics of said trailer?? People do it all the time. Check out Expidition Overland on YouTube. I can't remember if it's season one or two that they take the trailer with them. It'll give you an idea of what you may or may not expect.

 

The trailer is Uhaul's smallest utility trailer. 4x7 A ton of pics on Google but I'll be dumped if I can get one to come up here...

 

It's a rental so of course it's off road ready. Anything rented can tackle the Rubicon!

 

https://www.uhaul.com/Trailers/4x7-Utility-Trailer-Rental/FS

 

Reminds me of that joke about what's the fastest car in the world? A rental of course. Most places have policies about what they consider abuse so I would make sure to clean it after use and I wouldn't post any pictures on social media since things like that seem to have a way of coming back to bite folks on the butt.

I've been surprised how many people have used inexpensive Harbor Freight trailers as well; that might be an option of you're only driving things like forestry service roads (not familiar with the trail you're talking about). They need to be braced up, all of the hardware either needs to be Loctited on or use locking nuts or washers and you need to pull and clean the cheap grease in the bearings and replace with good grease but I've seen them in some interesting places. They wouldn't be my choice, I'd just build what I wanted, but a google search shows plenty of folks modding and using them.

 

Those things are where the phrase "Tow it like you rented it" started. They have taken more abuse than Cadillacs in Vegas.

 

Jeff Foxworthy's Comment on Rental cars

• [about rental car employees who ask if he wants the additional insurance]

I say "Yes, I would. 'Cause you've got a Ford Fiesta that's about to see more airtime than a skateboard at the X-Games.

 

Well I found out I'm not so crazy after all...just inexperienced. Got a good video of the first up hill portion of the Blue Lakes to Lost Lakes trail. The trailer never hung up or gave me any trouble. This was the first of many to come. Our trucks are a little small if you want to go camping with a canopy, tent, and all the gear a family of five and their grandpa needs or wants. So now I know....

https://goo.gl/photos/Ejeit5fr5mZTHV9f8

 

Got the video of the first part of Lost Lakes trail...thanks for the input. I towed it like I rented it lol

 

Cool video. Did you bring any extra tires for the trailer just in case?

 

No I didn't. And I only had the one factory spare for the truck. I figured that if I went slow enough on a flat, I could take it off once we got back to the pavement and deal with it then. I did get insurance, and the guy said these things go off road all the time so I was pretty confident. I would like to see 16's instead of the 14's Uhaul uses.

 

Quite a few guys have spent a lot of money on a proper trailer hitch to have the flexibility needed offroad.

Short answer: it's not as easy as you think.

 

Yes...obviously this is beginner stuff. I was looking at a high lift hitch and saw where it's a good four or five inches higher.