Do you need a trailer to haul your camping gear? Well, maybe. Depends on your camping style, how much gear you have, how many people are in your group, what kind of vehicle you have, where you are going. what kind of activities you will be involved in, and how long you are going for. The larger your group, the more complex your activities, and the longer you plan to be gone, the more likely you will need room to haul more stuff. You might also need extra supplies if your destination is very remote and you won't have reasonable access to additional supplies as needed.
If you normally go camping in a motorhome, camping trailer, or truck camper, you probably won't need a utility trailer to haul your camping gear. You can usually stow everything you need in your rig. But sometimes you may want to bring along more stuff than you have room for in your normal recreational vehicle. Having more people than usual or going on a longer trip than usual typically requires bringing along more stuff. In such cases or if you are a tent camper and don't have a large vehicle to transport your gear, you will probably want to consider buying or making a light-weight utility trailer to tote your stuff around. Pickups, vans, and large SUVs might have enough capacity but ordinary passenger cars, especially the small, compact, fuel efficient ones we generally prefer for daily drivers, will probably need extra cargo carrying space.
Even if you are a tent camper you may or may not need a trailer to haul your camping gear. If you drive a large SUV or a pickup truck you probably have all the room you need to transport your normal camping equipment. Even a station wagon or a full-size sedan may be adequate. However, in these days of steadily increasing fuel prices you may choose a smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicle for your daily driver. Or if your family or regular camping group is large your gear might not fit in any vehicle, especially a smaller one. If either is the case, you might need a small, light-weight trailer to transport your camping gear. When I was a teen our family of 4 went camping in a '57 Hudson with sleeper seats and were quite comfortable for several days of travel and camping in and around Yellowstone Park and everything we needed fit comfortably in the trunk. The same trip in a regular passenger car a year or so later required motel stops.
Some alternatives to a trailer might include a roof top carrier or hitch-mounted cargo rack or box. If you have a vehicle with a roof rack you may be able to carry a lot of the bulky, lighter weight items like sleeping bags in a waterproof cargo bag secured to the roof rack. If you live in an area that gets little rain you might get way without covering your cargo, but whether you use a cargo carrier or a tarp it is still a good idea to cover the load to protect it from sunlight, wind, possible rain, and prying eyes. Simply keeping things out of sight can provide a certain level of "security by obscurity" and reduce thefts of opportunity. Whenever you haul cargo outside your vehicle make sure it is securely anchored so it doesn't blow or bounce off during travel. Avoid putting heavy items on roof racks. Getting it up and down risks injury and having heavy loads up high can affect vehicle handling and could damage the roof.
A lightweight utility trailer isn't hard to come by. Many home centers sell small trailers for home use and for transporting lawn mowers and other power yard equipment. If you have a bent for do-it-yourself projects you can build your own trailer using trailer kits like those available at Harbor Freight. They have kits for different size trailers. A popular size is 48"x96", just right for a single sheet of 3/4" plywood to make the floor. It is small enough and light enough to be pulled by a small vehicle yet large enough to carry almost all the camping gear you will need for the average family. Flat bed trailers or utility trailers or even enclosed box trailers are all good possibilities. What you choose will depend on your individual needs, budget, and availability. Flat beds make it easy to load and unload wheeled toys. Utility trailers help keep things secure in transit without having to tie them down. You may be able to tarp both flat bed trailers and utility trailers to protect your gear against sun and rain. Enclosed trailers provide the most security for your gear on the road and in camp and provide convenient extra protection against the weather. You can often find small, inexpensive trailers for sale on craigslist.org. I have used old tent trailers that were repurposed as motorcycle or utility trailers. You might pick up an older tent trailer with a ruined tent pretty cheap (maybe even free!) and strip it down to make a utility trailer.
I have a camping trailer that started life as an Apache tent trailer. Someone before me had completely gutted the little trailer to turn it into a utility trailer. I actually got it for free on craigslist. It needed a little work (including a LOT of cleaning and a new paint job to match our Jeep) and I upgraded from 10" wheels and tires to 12" for extra road clearance and an added safety margin. One advantage to this particular trailer is that is has a clam-shell top that completely closes it during travel. On one of our first trips we encountered very heavy rain. So heavy there was about 2" of standing water on the freeway on a 6% grade! Once out of the storm we pulled off the freeway and opened the clam-shell to access and mitigate the damage and were pleasantly surprised to find only 2 or 3 drops had gotten inside! The clam-shell can even be locked for extra security. It also gives us a convenience place to haul and store our camping equipment so it saves storage space in the garage and is always ready to go.
Packing your camping trailer may take some fore-thought and a little practice. Basically you will want to load the heaviest components over the axle but you will need to maintain a certain amount of weight on the tongue to keep the connection secure and to avoid swaying. Tongue weight for most small trailers should be in the range of 200-300 lbs but ultimately will depend on the overall trailer weight and how the load is distributed. If there isn't enough tongue weight on the hitch (shoot for about 10% of the total loaded weight) the trailer may sway back and forth, kind of like the tail wagging the dog. If there is too much weight on the tongue (more than about 15%) your vehicle may become less responsive, especially when turning and braking. You may have to take your loaded trailer to a weigh station to find out how much it weighs. You might be able to use a home bathroom scale to weigh the tongue, but use caution. If it is too heavy for the scale you can damage the scale. Trailer sway can be a serious problem. My family and I have experienced at least two significant accidents due to excessive sway. In one case the 28' toy hauler trailer my son was pulling was too big and too heavy for the 1/2 ton pickup pulling it when it got caught in heavy crosswinds. The other problem occurred when one of the bunk boards holding our sailboat broke, dumping the boat onto one of the fenders and crushing it down onto the tire so it created excessive drag on one side causing the trailer to sway.
Plastic tubs are a good way to pack and organize the things you put into your trailer. Things like tents, sleeping bags, stoves, and camp chairs can usually be loaded in their own factory bags or even as is but cooking gear, provisions, linens, and clothing will be safer and easier to manage in plastic tubs. I prefer translucent tubs so I can sort of see what is inside. If you use opaque tubs you might want to label each one with what is inside to make it faster and easier to locate stuff in camp.
If you store your camping gear at home in your camping trailer be sure you remove perishable items between trips. Putting perishables in a separate plastic tub makes this a lot easier. Also make sure all your equipment is cleaned up before putting it away. Left over food scraps will attract all kinds of pests, from microbes to raccoons and bears. Microbes will turn scraps into nasty rotten messes and larger pests can do considerable damage to your gear and maybe even your trailer. Bears have even been know to break into locked cars in search of food. Animals in search of food may not be able to smell the difference between a few leftover crumbs and a whole sandwich, so cleaning everything up is critical!
Camping trailers can sometimes find additional uses in camp. Once the gear has been unloaded you might put up a pipe frame to support a tarp over the top of an open trailer to provide a nice kind of pavilion to keep you out of the sun and rain and up off wet ground. Some people even add sides or set up a free-standing tent in the trailer and use it as an off-the-ground shelter. Not quite as complete as a tent trailer, but a step above sleeping on the ground. You probably should not plan to cook in it, just as you normally would not cook in your tent, but it can make a safe and comfortable place to get out of the weather and for sleeping and to protect your personal gear. Sometimes even an empty utility trailer makes a good playpen for younger children you might want to keep up off the ground and away from snakes and insects on the ground in many remote campgrounds. You can install an awning on a box trailer to provide patio shade and protection from light rain in camp. For an economy awning you might make your own using an inexpensive tarp and arms made from PVC pipe. Similar canopies can be installed over the bed of open trailers.
If you use an open utility trailer you will want to tarp it to protect your gear against rain. Having it tarped also provides a little bit of "security by obscurity" by keep your desirable items out of sight, reducing the chance of some passerby helping themselves to your property and helps minimize getting dust and dirt in your gear. If you haven a enclosed trailer (like our little Apache trailer or a box trailer) you might even use the trailer for permanent storage at home. Not only does that save space in your garage, shed, or basement, it keeps everything all packed and ready for your next trip. Be sure you have a tongue lock or other security so it can't be easily stolen!
Some accessories you might want to add to your camping trailer might include a portable toilet (Portpotti) and a chuck box. Portable toilets will give you comfortable sanitation where ever you go and a chuck box makes a good portable kitchen for use in camp. A camping trailer may also give you room to carry extra tools you might need in camp or on the road. I have a large, heavy-duty vinyl bag I use to carry firewood. Firewood can also be carried in a box or even laid loose where ever there is extra room between items in your trailer, but having it in its own container keeps things cleaner and makes the wood easier to collect for your campfire. Having a trailer may give you room to carry cots to make sleeping more comfortable.
Loading your trailer. I talked a little bit a few paragraphs above about using plastic tubs to load and organize your camping trailer. The other thing you will want to do is put the things you need to get to first when you get to camp where they are easily accessible. Normally you will probably want get out your tent and camp chairs first, perhaps along with a canopy or dining fly for shade. Sleeping bags should go into the tent once it is set up. All your kitchen gear and supplies should be easy to get to because you may very well be more than ready for a good meal after your travels. Lanterns and flashlights should be close at hand in case you arrive at your destination after dark. Heavy tools usually find a good home somewhere near the bottom of things and often kind of out of the way since you probably won't be using them right away or often. While placement for convenience is important, it should never override the need to load the trailer for correct balance and a proper tongue weight.d Also make sure things are loaded so any shift during travel won't damage items or the trailer.
Used trailers can be a good option. Few of us get to go camping as often as we would like and even personal utility trailers probably get little use so used trailers and likely to still have plenty of miles left in them. Check out your local craigslist to look for bargains in your area. Things to check will be tires, brakes (if so equipped), hitch, lights, safety chains, springs, an door/tailgate latches. Tires will often look very good but may have ''aged out'', so check the date of manufacture. Tires typically have a maximum usable life of around 6-10 years, depending on how they have been stored or protected. If you are looking at box trailers, also look for any signs of leakage. Check to make sure the floor is solid. Used trailers might have been commercially made or homemade. Homemade trailers can be very good trailers but you may want to pay special attention to how they are constructed. A popular option for homemade utility trailers is to mount an old pick up bed on an axle. The axle may be a trailer axle or an old car axle. Old car axles are very sturdy but also add a lot of weight. Commercial axles come in different weight ratings so make sure the axle is strong enough to handle the weight of your trailer and anything you plan to haul in it. Most single axles are rated at 3500 lbs but you can find heavier duty models. My custom made enclosed motorcycle trailer is on a single axle that has a 5500 lb rating. You want to be sure whatever you buy will have the capacity you need (cubic feet of storage and weight rating) to handle whatever you need it to carry. In most cases, almost any trailer is going to have more than enough capacity to haul all the camping equipment you need for the average family. If you plan to haul ATVs or any other large, heavy pieces of equipment or have an unusually large family or regular camping group, you may need a larger trailer. I once picked up an old 19'construction office trailer to haul camping equipment and dirt bikes. It was big, ugly and heavy but it was cheap and it did the job.
Make sure the vehicle you use to tow your trailer is properly configured with a correct hitch for the trailer weight, has adequate power, tires, and suspension, and has appropriate connections for trailer lights and safety chains. Trailer brakes may be required on heavier trailers, along with brake controllers on the tow vehicle. Surge brakes are an alternative that provides self-contained brakes on moderate sized trailers. Surge brakes use a special, articulated hitch on the tongue that pushes a rod into a brake master cylinder to apply the brakes on the trailer whenever the trailer pushes against the hitch as the tow vehicle slows or stops.
Small, light-weight trailers may or may not have to be licensed. Some states required ALL trailers to be licensed, but some only require licenses on trailers over a certain loaded weight. An unlicensed trailer may save you annual registration fees, but having it licensed may guard against theft or make it easier to identify and reclaim your trailer if it is stolen. Normally if you are towing an unlicensed trailer with a licensed vehicle from the state of residence where the trailer license is not required, you will not need to have a license even a state where residents are required to license all trailers. However, having the license might prevent you from getting pulled over from time to time when driving out of your state since local law enforcement might not know your home state regulations. You may be able to defend against a traffic ticket but avoiding the potential problems in the first place might well be worth the modest cost of registering the trailer, even it isn't required in your home state.
Haul away!
No comments:
Post a Comment