The Reality of Handling Trailers in the Back Woods

[CAPTNDAVIE]

A couple of thoughts here. One is have you ever seen the vault handler trailers that they use to transport vaults to the graveyard? I always thought there has to be other good uses for them things. If you haven't seen one, they utilize a truck axle and have a hydraulic motor attached to a driveshaft that is powered by an onboard power unit.

Second is related to winching. I used to run a dozer and plow for the forest service and all our dozers had rear winches and the plows were trailer type fire plows. All the plows had loops or pintle hooks welded to them to run the winch cable through so that when you were winching the plow would track straight back.

 

[toymaster]

You ask an extremely valid question. Surprised I missed this thread last month and that it is up to five pages.

Trailers do become a hindrance off road and that is why there is a whole niche market for a light weight "off road" trailers. However, these fully loaded "light weight" trailers are usually ~1,000lbs or more. 1,000lbs is a lot to move on all but the smoothest of surfaces. Throw in a rut, rocks, or an incline to the equation and you quickly exceed human capability, leverage or other mechanics is required in short order.

The key is to match the trailer with the tow vehicle's capability, meaning ground clearance and tire diameter. With an AWD CUV with all-season street tires one hits the limit pretty quick. Of course, any set up has its limits. With my, slightly more hard core, rig I solved the problem your asking by the use of a winch and a skid plate added to the trailer tongue. This way I can (with the trailer jack up and out of the way) winch the trailer from the front or back (trailer has a rear 2" receiver) without damage and align the trailer for reattachment. As mentioned in previous posts, the tongue weight needs to be keep within human lifting limits. For your set up a come-a-long https://www.amazon.com/Neiko®-02256A-Puller-Pulling-Capacity/dp/B000MBWCIU and some pull rope or pull strap would do the trick.

The next level, for me anyway, is to add two 5' or 6' bridging ladders to the trailer. I figure they can be stored with brackets neatly under the trailer frame and will not impede ascent or descent angles. I have not gotten around to this yet but one of these days....

 

[1Louder]

This is precisely why I purchased the XO trailer jack/wheel. Because maneuvering the trailer is difficult in a good situation and it makes it WAY easier. I mean it. In a driveway it is an actual dream. On the trail it is doable. Well worth the dough...

My trailer also has a manual brake---I run an electric over hydraulic brake actuator for my disc brakes and I put an inline hydraulic "drifting" handbrake which locks them up.

http://www.arkportablepower.com/pages/xo-trailer-jack

Ditto! I also keep a standard jack stand on the other side of my trailer tongue if I need to keep the trailer from rolling. I also agree with learning how to manuever your trailer. There are typically places where you can make a quick back up 90 turn and get out of a situation. Any of the lighter trailers like a M416 tub style are usually pretty easy to manuever. My current trailer is too heavy without the aid of the XO Jack to make life easy.

 

[WeLikeCamping]

it's not that hard to back a trailer down a 4wd trail. Just take your time, go slow, watch what the trailer is doing and don't forget to keep an eye on where the front of the tow vehicle is going when pushing that trailer around bends. Don't be afraid to pull forward and take another try.

Like others, I typically will scout a trail if I think it's going to be a challenge, but I have had to back down with trailer once or twice. It's not fun, but you will gain confidence with success. The best advice I can give is take it slow and pay attention to not just where the trailer is going, but where the tow vehicle is going as well.

 

[yzingerr]

Winch!
Ive got a receiver on both sides of my truck with a winch carrier that can be easily moved from one end to another.
A winch can do more than you can imagine...mine makes me breakfast sometimes

 

[teotwaki]

Put a receiver on the back of the trailer an carry a short removable tongue just hook up and pull it backwards

My trailer does have a rear receiver but I never thought of using it to pull the trailer backwards. I'll have to practice with a test fitting of the coupler to see what is needed to make it all work.

I do not have a hand brake but I do have electric brakes along with onboard battery and runaway trailer switch. A few times I have purposely activated the switch by yanking the cable rather than breaking out the wheel chocks.

 

[fike]

My trailer does have a rear receiver but I never thought of using it to pull the trailer backwards. I'll have to practice with a test fitting of the coupler to see what is needed to make it all work.

I do not have a hand brake but I do have electric brakes along with onboard battery and runaway trailer switch. A few times I have purposely activated the switch by yanking the cable rather than breaking out the wheel chocks.

Are you saying that electric brakes engage when they are unplugged from the tow vehicle? Does the trailer need power from its own battery to maintain the braking power, or do the automatically spring into the locked position? I have never used electric brakes, so I am unfamiliar with this stuff.

 

[maktruk]

When engaged (actuating cable yanked) the onboard 12v battery engages electromagnets in the trailer hubs to activate shoe/drum brakes

Y'all with electric brakes offroad should be super careful fording streams and such. Electric brake drums do not like being immersed in water. Most boat trailers utilize surge brakes for this reason.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[teotwaki]

Are you saying that electric brakes engage when they are unplugged from the tow vehicle? Does the trailer need power from its own battery to maintain the braking power, or do the automatically spring into the locked position? I have never used electric brakes, so I am unfamiliar with this stuff.

The breakaway switch has a small wire lanyard which is temporarily attached to the tow vehicle side of the hitch. If for some reason the hitch fails and the trailer breaks away the lanyard is yanked and pulls a small plug out of the breakaway switch. That switch applies power to the trailer brakes from the trailer's on board battery.

 

[teotwaki]

When engaged (actuating cable yanked) the onboard 12v battery engages electromagnets in the trailer hubs to activate shoe/drum brakes

Y'all with electric brakes offroad should be super careful fording streams and such. Electric brake drums do not like being immersed in water. Most boat trailers utilize surge brakes for this reason.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

I have forded water a few times but not had a problem. I do carry a spare solenoid in my trailer spares kit.

 

[calicamper]

A trailer with solid strap points at the corners is a big deal. Especially for folks with some rigging skills. Having the ability to strap up a trailer to drag, move or stablize it can really be nice if you get in a bad spot. Not having strong points at the corners can result in limited options or bending something as you try to rig a solution that will let you get the trailer moved around etc.

As I said before. As a Subaru owner a 2010 Outback with a higher load rating than a Forester and we tow a 4x6 on our trips. Base camp at trailer accessible locations that dont involve trail blazing is a good fit for the Subaru. Then day trips or even light overnight trips on the technical trails is more Subaru friendly. Dirt roads with some rough spots are no biggie with a trailer. Its when you add ledges vs Subaru car gearing and draging or pushing trailer over ledges is where I see the Subaru raising the white flag. I love our Subie its an awesome machine. But it has its limits.

 

[fike]

Resurrecting an old thread:

About recovery equipment for trailer jockeying--come-alongs, snatch straps, small winches, etc--what are some good brands to look for. I started looking at come-alongs and saw so much super-crap. It is hard to tell what is a cheap knock-off and what is a quality piece of equipment.

Need recommendations on:
* come alongs (I don't think I want a hi-lift jack) and straps
* small winches that would be good for a teardrop trailer

Yes, I did look at the recovery forum, but I couldn't find much on brands and stuff.

 

[fike]

I found this thread.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/120448-Come-Along

Looks like the Wyeth Scott is the winner. I think the one with the fancy rope looks darn good.
https://wyeth-scott.com/index.asp

Looks like it would be plenty of oomph for jockeying around a teardrop. It wouldn't be bad for pulling my subaru out of a bind.

I have found some awesome but tight little campsites, so I will absolutely need to turn the trailer around and pull the trailer into the right spots. This guy looks right for the job.

 

[steelhd]

You may not need much more than one of these offroad jockey wheels.
http://www.arkportablepower.com/pages/xo-trailer-jack

 

[Curtis in Texas]

I still find it hard to believe that trailer builders aren't building camper trailers with steering axles.
Especially those single axle tear drop style trailers intended for off road use.

It can be built lightweight with nothing more complicated than using a steerable front straight axle and a 12 volt electric driven push/ pull actuator ram attached to the tie rod just like a steering dampener. Heck, put a dampener on one side and the steering ram on the other side.

Or for more ground clearance just use the front IFS suspension off a small Japanese truck.

Think of the possibilities! You can use wireless remote control to steer the trailer around trees and big rocks.
That way your trailer will follow the exact path your truck used. It takes nothing more than a wireless electric winch control.
In / Out or Left/ Right, no difference to the relays!

And being wireless your spotter can steer the trailer from the side of thee trail while you concentrate on the driving the truck.
That way your Spotter can put you on the best line and then as you follow his signals he steers the trailer to follow your line.

Backing up in tight corners would be a breeze too.






Should have mine on the road in a few more months.
The steering part already works on it.