“Real” off-road trailers…

Mickey Bitsko

Adventurer
OC, you been talking all this posturing about how bad to the bone your never been anything better than your beat too cr@p trailer. Showing pictures of trails that you say no other trailers could handle, anyone can post pictures of trails ,pictures to prove your point or don't talk stuff.... keyboard off roaders are a dime a dozen.
 

mep1811

Gentleman Adventurer
I have a Mission Overland trailer now for about two years. I just completed the Utah Backcountry Discovery route about 700 miles off pavement.
I've driven the Camino Del Diablo,Magruder Corridor Trail, Medrano Primitive Trail,Smokey Mountain road.
Hours of washboard , some rock crawling, hours with the trailer enveloped in a dust cloud, and high-speed highway driving.
The main issue has been the screws holding the burners on the Dometic stove coming loose.
A know issue but not to me. I was able to make a field repair. A little locktite would have solved that.


image000001 (7).jpgimage000004 (4).jpg
 

billiebob

Well-known member
The real issue with a trailer off road is the extra stress on the tow vehicle. Pulling a trailer up a powerline trail strewn with scree is likely to cause a bit of wheelspin and what lurks beneath can be deadly on tires, ask how I know. My trailer weighs 1500# fully loaded and my Jeep is almost empty on trips, everything rides in the Jeep but one tire spun, dug into the scree and found a sharp rock. I doubt it would have happened without the trailer.

This was one of those places I was crawling, 4L, 2nd gear, not much more than an idle. But dragging 1500# made a difference.

I've never felt a loss of mobility with the trailer, actually after 20 years with a F250 Crewcab, the Wrangler and trailer are capable of driving around obstacles the F250 would need a chainsaw to get past. But weight is the enemy. Regardless of what you overland in if you don't need it, don't pack it.
 

2Jeeps&PatriotX1

Active member
Id put my patriot x1 up against any other trailers for its offroad capability. Its seen more difficult trails here in CO, UT & AZ than many jeeps have. My motto since owning it has been “it can go anywhere our jeep or truck can tow it”.
 

R_Lefebvre

Expedition Leader
Either way, we aren't really talking about high-speed driving when we're pulling trailers in challenging terrain - even more so if you are really driving cross-country (no road). As long as the trailer has enough ground clearance (and most of these have better ground clearance than most of our trucks) then the trailer isn't going to be the limiting factor. The limiting factor when encountering any obstacle will be whether or not the tow vehicle has the power to pull the trailer through. If the truck will clear the obstacle, the trailer will clear the obstacle.

Agreed. I used to want a serious off-road trailer like the OP is seeking. I even built one. Then I very quickly realized that our trucks are not capable of pulling a trailer through any kind of serious trail. It somewhat depends on where you are, but up here in Ontario and Quebec, forget about it. A buddy of mine had a really nice custom made teardrop, much like those shown here. We went on a trail ride, and he got hopelessly stuck on a fairly easy powerline trail. There was a flat spot with a big mud puddle and then an uphill climb. As the truck started up the uphill, it jammed the trailer tongue down into the mud, and that was it. Took us about 2-3 hours to get him out. We were starting to think that we'd have to abandon his rig and come back the next day.

In the deserts of the SW, there are lots of trails to take them on. But still you just can't do hardcore trails. Just take your truck, and a ground tent.

I was dreaming of one of the really nice Aussie campers, until I saw that a 15-18 footer weighs 6000lbs empty! I bought a Winnebago Micromini. Anything more serious than a good dirt road, I'll take the truck by itself with a tent, or more likely, a canoe to get me anywhere seriously remote.
 
Last edited:

Mickey Bitsko

Adventurer
Id put my patriot x1 up against any other trailers for its offroad capability. Its seen more difficult trails here in CO, UT & AZ than many jeeps have. My motto since owning it has been “it can go anywhere our jeep or truck can tow it”.
Where's that darn pictures or it didn't happen thread. Did you post some good off road trailer pictures?
I'll look again.
 

4000lbsOfGoat

Well-known member
Where's that darn pictures or it didn't happen thread. Did you post some good off road trailer pictures?
I'll look again.
That's a strange sentiment. When I'm attempting to drive a challenging section of road I'm kind of tied up with the driving bit rather than making sure to take pictures to impress people with. My partner would also rather enjoy the ride than be out trying to take pictures. If it's especially challenging, I need her on the ground spotting, not messing with a camera. I guess we get out to the woods for different reasons. Taking pictures is not the reason for some of us...
 

billiebob

Well-known member
That's a strange sentiment. When I'm attempting to drive a challenging section of road I'm kind of tied up with the driving bit rather than making sure to take pictures to impress people with. My partner would also rather enjoy the ride than be out trying to take pictures. If it's especially challenging, I need her on the ground spotting, not messing with a camera. I guess we get out to the woods for different reasons. Taking pictures is not the reason for some of us...
same. Most of my overlanding pictures with my Jeep/Trailer are taken after camp os set up and often as part of a sunset or.... picture

Not a youtuber or twitter twit not instagram goon looking for likes, I overland to leave all the idiots behind and find solitude.
 
Last edited:

journey unknown

New member
I recently watched videos on 'real offroad trailers , they look 'As seen ' in these posts , shown set up in nice flat sites .
Can you drag any of these through Fordyce, the Rubicon? I think i need to look up what the new 'off road ' meaning is..
Pretty much filmed on non maintained fs roads , nice rigs though, im jealous, couldn't afford to insure one.
Honesty on the Internet that’s refreshing. Most people just bash something they can’t currently afford. With that attitude the sky is the limit for you my friend and I hope you can get one at some point.
 

journey unknown

New member
That's a strange sentiment. When I'm attempting to drive a challenging section of road I'm kind of tied up with the driving bit rather than making sure to take pictures to impress people with. My partner would also rather enjoy the ride than be out trying to take pictures. If it's especially challenging, I need her on the ground spotting, not messing with a camera. I guess we get out to the woods for different reasons. Taking pictures is not the reason for some of us...
What about those of us that are passionate about both camping and photography? I personally don’t use social media other than forums like this. I stay off Facebook, Instagram, and all the other similar platforms. I do however enjoy nature photography and sharing some of my favorite photos with family and friends. Not everyone is trying to look cool on social media that brings a camera along with them :)
 

4000lbsOfGoat

Well-known member
What about those of us that are passionate about both camping and photography? I personally don’t use social media other than forums like this. I stay off Facebook, Instagram, and all the other similar platforms. I do however enjoy nature photography and sharing some of my favorite photos with family and friends. Not everyone is trying to look cool on social media that brings a camera along with them :)
I was not talking about taking pictures in the general - most of us want to document our trips in some way. What I was talking about here is specifically "action" shots of rigs "conquering" obstacles. Unless the purpose of your trip is specifically to capture these types of photos, you are unlikely to get these types of photos since you are busy with the obstacle in question...

Snap pictures to your hearts' content!
 

journey unknown

New member
I was not talking about taking pictures in the general - most of us want to document our trips in some way. What I was talking about here is specifically "action" shots of rigs "conquering" obstacles. Unless the purpose of your trip is specifically to capture these types of photos, you are unlikely to get these types of photos since you are busy with the obstacle in question...

Snap pictures to your hearts' content!
Haha gotcha! Just wish the wife wasn’t scared to fly the drone or drive the Jeep. Then maybe I could get some.
 

4000lbsOfGoat

Well-known member
Haha gotcha! Just wish the wife wasn’t scared to fly the drone or drive the Jeep. Then maybe I could get some.
Well we're WAY off topic now but don't get me started on the drone! It turns out that you are not allowed to fly a drone on ANY lands administered by the Park Service (all NPs and nearly all National Monuments, National Recreation Areas and National Wildlife Refuges). Even some National Forests don't allow them (particularly near fire towers). So, at the end of the day, there is hardly anywhere to use it anyway...
 

journey unknown

New member
Well we're WAY off topic now but don't get me started on the drone! It turns out that you are not allowed to fly a drone on ANY lands administered by the Park Service (all NPs and nearly all National Monuments, National Recreation Areas and National Wildlife Refuges). Even some National Forests don't allow them (particularly near fire towers). So, at the end of the day, there is hardly anywhere to use it anyway...
Lots of good apps to let you know where and when you can fly. Common sense and courtesy are at the top of that list but yes, sometimes tech can take overtake a trip. Something to be cautious of indeed, but it’s about the only time I fly my drone and it’s usually less than 20 minutes the whole trip.
 

ROA-OFFROAD

Supporting Sponsor / Approved Vendor
If your budget allows, Kimberly makes a very nice trailer as well. The US distributor is David Bates in Ohio. I have a friend who owns a Mission Overland trailer that he very much enjoys. You may already be aware that there is a very active Mission Overland trailer thread on this site. Conqueror makes a very nice off road trailer from South Africa but no longer imports into the US. There are occasionally used units for sale around. If you are not set on hard sided then Patriot is hard to beat for true off road capability.
I second this! KK's are amazing. I am actually the second dealer in the USA, based in Utah. We have been using the Karavan and it has blown us away with its versatility and the technology they use in these units. They really are a cut above the rest. 600 AH of lithium is insane...the features list goes on forever.



64831781768__DABB442F-540B-441E-8767-81F1CDF4E05E.JPG
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,529
Messages
2,875,562
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top