Trailer touring pros and cons

Gidday NL

Best way to stop trailers bouncing around is to avoid "over-springing" them. That's why I originally specified 12 cwt springs on mine instead of 18 cwt springs. They ride better ...

A tow hitch is a rated device. The most basic one starts at 5,000 pounds. Ditto the tow ball. Even with mine both being over 30 years old, they have the maximum load stamped on both of them.

At both places where I have seen caravans flipped, they have used standard ball hitches. Even though both car and van had rolled several times, the hitch was completely intact with the van attached to the vehicle.

An off-road articulated hitch would be useful if one were planning to drag a fully off-road trailer around behind a diesel Landrover Defender across country (i.e. literally not on roads or tracks). I suggest that this is not really a sensible use of our kind/s of vehicles, so this kind of hitch is probably not necessary, except for 'bragging rights' that appeals to some people. Whatever rocks any given person's boat is fine.

This thread has been a great source of information that led us to our final destination. From Apsilon's comment... roof top awnings - Subaru doesn't do well, Guzzla's absolutely awesome write up of the Podtrailer, My04Tone's loving refurbishment of the "Goose" - Jayswan, Venom... ALMOST thinking of digressing from a Subaru to a Landcruiser... hmmm! And of course, Ratbag's awesome 7x4 trailer & mods.

For those of us that still need to use the rear seat of our Subaru's to transport people... the whole "carrying everything you need for a weekend away in a Subaru" has been a source of consternation for me personally for 13 years. It just about does my head in & drives me mental, but somehow, for this long.... we have managed.

This year was a turning point. Torn between the podtrailer and a roof top tent ... on a totally unrelated trip... we found...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/musicsubarus/8660465882/

& subsequently named it.... The Love Shack

https://www.flickr.com/photos/musicsubarus/8659365931/

Great storage under the bed and the kitchen pull out the side ... first time in my camping lifetime (alot of years) ... YES... there is a kitchen sink WITH running water

So now, Scooby2 & the Love Shack... are a most definite item:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/musicsubarus/8659369015/

There are no worries now about being overloaded in only the car, and ... fully loaded, she tows really well

So... I would like to say thank you. To all the contributors to this thread. For making our decision when we made it, a good one

Thats a great name you've chosen for your trailer/camper Scooby2

Also great to hear the decision you made was a good one & suits your needs

Regards
Mr Turbo

Thanks mr turbo... it just seemed the right thing to call it... derived from our bands latest rendition of.. you guessed it... Love Shack. It has become quite famous in its own right... - people know when we're humming the tune under our breath that we're off on some random adventure. Also is going to make Camp Subaru x 2 + 8 passengers a LOT less head stress for me!

Ratbag said:

An off-road articulated hitch would be useful if one were planning to drag a fully off-road trailer around behind a diesel Landrover Defender across country (i.e. literally not on roads or tracks). I suggest that this is not really a sensible use of our kind/s of vehicles, so this kind of hitch is probably not necessary, except for 'bragging rights' that appeals to some people. Whatever rocks any given person's boat is fine.

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I chose to have a Trigg off-road hitch fitted to my Stockman Podtrailer when I bought it but I have also towed a rented trailer with a ball hitch which is an easy swap (just unbolt the U part of the Trigg hitch from the tongue and bolt on the ball). I'd take the Trigg set-up every time under every condition. It doesn't have the slightly loose shunting feel and knocking sound that a ball set-up has. The Trigg feels tighter and more insulated. Also I have seen a rolled car still attached to the caravan it was towing but I have also seen a ball set-up that has come unattached when towing over corrugations. That's when you're thankful to have a safety chain attached.

Ratbag & Guzzla, some great information in your posts regarding hitches. Here is a link which explains with diagrams:

https://www.campertrailers.org/couplings.htm

I suppose, it all depends on what kind of towing you do and how far you are going. At the end of the day, we don't all start out with the precise knowledge of what is best in each individual's situation, that's what makes this site great. Being able to make an informed decision based on your own and other people's experiences

Guzzla "I'd take the Trigg set-up every time under every condition. It doesn't have the slightly loose shunting feel and knocking sound that a ball set-up has. The Trigg feels tighter and more insulated."

... That "loose, shunting feeling" that you speak of Guzzla was my experience when I towed 1400kms with a loaded trailer on sealed roads from Canberra to Brisbane. It was not the ball, it was the type of towbar (quite a popular brand), and had my nerves frazzled after that many hours towing together with mechanical problems along the way. I did not expect it to be that way, and not alot I could do about it because I had borrowed my Dad's ute to move. It also was safe, and did not come off the ball the whole way - contrary to how it sounded! Long story short... when you hitch up and drive off to your final destination, you want the experience to be a safe one, so doing the research before you leave is always a good thing.

Gidday S2

My old hitch doesn't have the adjustment bolt and lock nut.

However, I have found that a 2c coin (5 cent coin, these days) is exactly right to take the slack out of the hitch/ball. For some strange reason, this does not fall out! I have had the same 2c coin now for about 20 years ... I keep it in the car.

According to Jimi (the trailer guy) almost no one knows what that bolt and lock nut is for anyway !

Now that my hitch is no longer a semi-integral part of the rusted A-bar, I may find one that has the adjustment nut, or drill and tap one into my existing hitch. After all, its hardly rocket science :rotfl:!

If a trailer is 'knocking' like that, it indicates an incorrectly adjusted hitch/ball connection. I can understand why people don't like that - it drives me nuts!

Love Shack Extensions.... Fiamma Awning

https://www.flickr.com/photos/musicsubarus/8884923766/

Gotta say, we are very happy with the new addition to the Love Shack. Nothing like a verandah to enjoy the view at your destination. All that needs to happen now is some improvements to how the tinny is tied down, and decide on what kind of motor it needs.

Here is my box trailer I made. Consists of steel angle frame and aluminium sides and tray. Suspension is from a Leone Touring Wagon so it is height adjustable, torsion bar, shocked trailing arm.



No notice able drag and very well behaved but the main thing is that everything is water proof, dust free and NOT bashed about. No beam axle means that it can out perform the car in every off road situation and hwy high speed is rock solid.

:biggrin:

Here is my modified M101 trailer. I want to turn it into a true expedition trailer. However I keep using it as a utility trailer.

My Forester tows this old immaculate Jayswan without a whimper.

Hey Guzzla, looking to tow my 1300kg van.
Notice you have 230k k's on your xt. How goes it. any drama at all.
Thanks and rgds

Just came across this thread. My story ...

Started camping with gear carried on the back and still bushwalk and ski tour overnight. 'Graduated' to a garden trailer, stand alone tent, esky etc. The extra space was helpful with 2-3 kids. Six years ago stepped up to a camper trailer. Opted for a basic but quality Oz-made job, ex rental in good nick. Spent a bundle electrifying it, adding lekky brakes, inner spring mattress, chest fridge etc.

Paid close attention to weight as we planned to do outback trips, on smooth tracks and rough roads. It would be around 850 kg loaded. It's a soft floor job so there's plenty of space but a complete setup takes us an hour or more. That's OK as we prefer to prop somewhere for a few days at a time.

We've now done four outback trips (the standard destinations and 'iconic' tracks inc. some classified at the time as 4WD only). Got stuck once. The Foz is std but has good tyres, alloy sump guard and roo bar.

The only gripe I have is with the large unsupported areas of canvas that snap in fresh winds and jolt the trailer, despite chocks, handbrake and lots of guy ropes. Keeps me awake (but I'm a light sleeper).

We will probably step up to a hard floor camper for the quicker setup and smaller walls.

Bobam said:

Hey Guzzla, looking to tow my 1300kg van.
Notice you have 230k k's on your xt. How goes it. any drama at all.
Thanks and rgds

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Only a year or so late.... The XT now has 253,000km on it and is still going and towing fine. Uses no oil, recently had its big, big service and also replaced the struts with KYB's (fantastic) and springs with firmer Kings and reckon it will feel even better the next time it tows. I reckon the 1300kg van will test it out though.

Ratbag said:

My old hitch doesn't have the adjustment bolt and lock nut.

Now that my hitch is no longer a semi-integral part of the rusted A-bar, I may find one that has the adjustment nut, or drill and tap one into my existing hitch. After all, its hardly rocket science :rotfl:!

Click to expand...

I have now done this. It was far easier than I had imagined it would be ... :biggrin:. It works very well.

If a trailer is 'knocking' like that, it indicates an incorrectly adjusted hitch/ball connection. I can understand why people don't like that - it drives me nuts!

Click to expand...

I have since found out that the single adjusting bolt and lock nut on the removable tow bar tongue will work loose when towing. Since the main retaining bolt for the tongue is not a very tight fit, the adjustment of this bolt is of extreme importance to prevent knocking.

Since discovering this problem, I have tightened this adjusting bolt up so that it acts as a locking bolt. When Jimi does the couple of extra mods to my trailer to fit the tent, I will get him to drill and tap another hole for a second adjusting/lock bolt at the rear of the removable tongue tubing.

Rapidly coming to the conclusion that I prefer the bolt-on tow bar tongue to this removable type ...

Gidday Folks

I have now decided to replace my 50 mm ball and coupling with one of these - a McHitch camper/trailer 2 tonne universal joint type drop-on coupling.

It is a straight, bolt-on replacement for my current ball type coupling (that's how they designed it to be). So just un-bolt the existing ball; un-bolt the existing trailer coupling; drop these into the holes - and it's done. Designed to be a drop-on replacement for both 2 and 3 bolt couplings (mine is a 3 bolt).

Managed to extract and edit the photograph of it so that it looks reasonable ...

The pointy bit is what bolts onto the tow bar instead of the 50 mm ball.



Once the hitch is locked onto the tow bar pin, it does not move at all. The universal joint and rotation of the hitch shaft provide all the rotational, horizontal and vertical movements.

It should be theoretically possible to turn the trailer upside down while it's still attached to the vehicle, AFAICS.

$169 delivered ... :biggrin:

The downright gouging prices that other off-road hitch coupling makers were asking turned me off them, big time.

Back about 18 months (post# 29), Venom observed:

Venom said:

I'm not a fan of the rear tyre/fuel carrier anyway. It's adding weight to the car just so you can carry more weight on a less than ideal place on the vehicle. Not as bad as having the weight on the roof, but any additional weight outside of the wheels is not ideal. That extra distance from the "axles" amplifies the effect that weight has on the car. It also realistically needs to be atleast as heavy as what it carriers to have the strength to do it reliably. Plus you need to carry it around for daily duties.

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The rear wheel carrier I designed and had built for my MY07 Foz isn't all that bad. While the spare weighs a tad under 20kg, the carrier itself is less than 13kg. So the whole lot was less than half the max ball weight spec for the standard (not HD) towbar, and centred directly above the ball location. Rigid as all getout, and was "field-tested" over 14,000 kms recently (including about 1500 km of corrugated gravel roads).

And unlike the Cruiser/Prado/Patrol types of carriers, this one unbolts in about a minute to leave no sign it was ever there (except the need to refit the number plate), so is not an issue with daily duties. That was one of the key design criteria.

There's no way I would put a spare on a roof-rack system on the Forester unless there was absolutely no alternative. Fuel consumption hit, weight up high, wind noise are three reasons that immediately come to mind.

Towing a trailer - even a lightweight one - can be a real PITA in and around shopping areas of towns.

I guess it is a case of horses for courses.

Gidday Zippo

A warm to the ORS forum, mate.

Your spare carrier sounds good. I don't mind towing a trailer, having towed them for many tens of thousands of miles, but I do understand that a lot of people hate doing so.

How about posting some photos of your spare wheel holder ?

Ratbag said:

Gidday Zippo

A warm to the ORS forum, mate.

Your spare carrier sounds good. I don't mind towing a trailer, having towed them for many tens of thousands of miles, but I do understand that a lot of people hate doing so.

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I've towed all sorts of things (caravans, cars, cars on trailers, trailer across Oz) and I don't mind doing it per se. But when you try to pull up in the main street of (say) Mt Isa, anything on the back becomes an issue.

Ratbag said:

How about posting some photos of your spare wheel holder ?

Click to expand...

Could do I guess. Have posted several of them in that OzFoz thread in the link.

Here's one from there.

G'day again Zippo

zippo said:

I've towed all sorts of things (caravans, cars, cars on trailers, trailer across Oz) and I don't mind doing it per se. But when you try to pull up in the main street of (say) Mt Isa, anything on the back becomes an issue.

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For all the rest of the displeasure I receive from the Gods, the God of Parking Spaces always smiles on me ... :iconwink: :biggrin:. I could even manage to find a park for my '68 LC and tandem axle, two horse float.

Could do I guess. Have posted several of them in that OzFoz thread in the link.

Here's one from there.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I saw the link in your previous post, and promptly forgot all about it.
It's been one of those weeks ... . Today has been particularly bad, but so were yesterday and Wednesday ...

Looks very similar to an old bike rack I have that attaches through the tow ball hole. I might re-purpose mine for the same thing if I ever decide that I don't want the trailer.