4x4ing with a trailer

Did you see the gadget they showed on the new inventors (ABC program) this week? Might be just the ticket for your assumed dilemma.
I have driven over enough sand dunes to convince me that a trailer is too much trouble there for this old bloke. Maybe if you're young and like shovelling sand....
Klaus

Grumpy,

A hand winch and some recovery is a must, just like having a spare tyre. You should not go away with out one.

If the trailer is stuck you can winch it back, unhitch and move the vehicle. The uses are just about limitless.

Wayne

Excellent question! I don't know. A few years back the wife and I took a 'short-cut' which was a narrow, hilly track which got progressively steeper and the surface became slick clay. After an hour of driving we came across a locked gate not shown on our old map. It took a 20 point turn to get the Troopie facing back the way we had come. I don't know what we could have done if we had a trailer as well. It was steep and narrow and nowhere to put the trailer if you unhooked it to be able to drive past it and re-hook. I guess being properly prepared ( ie using a current map, although state forest maps hadn't had their 20 year update at that stage LOL) we would have known that there was a gate but it could just as easily have been a fallen tree or landslide that had just occured that no one knew about.

G'day Grumpy,

I've towed a trailer to a lot of places. If you can travel with others this is good as a recovery solution, the hand winch is good, lots of straps is good but most important is to have a quality tow point on the rear of the trailer. Also not such a bad idea to practice reversing in awkward situations as this is the best way out.



Kind regards

I've towed the Ultimate over some fairly ordinary tracks. On a crossing the Simpson last year, I got about 2/3rds of the way up one dune and realised I'd been too optemistic in my gear selection (3rd low...should have been in 2nd low).
I reversed down the dune about 100 meters without any difficulty....the trailer wheels actually tend to stay in the snad ruts for the most part unless you really stuff up at the tiller!!! lolol
I've also been in some sticky situations in the High Country and have managed to keep safe and my sanity in tact.
For the most part (and sometimes it's easier said than done, I admit), you need to weigh up the situation before you get yourself into a nasty position in the 1st place.
If I see a track I don't believe I can drag the camper up, I simply don't attempt it.
Cheers
Roachie

Your question is probably why I don't tow anything, as I have seen people with awfull problems towing trailers on the Creb Trek and on the track into Walcott inlet.The day may come when I will get an offroad camper but I think if you can be comfortable camping in a tent it saves a lot of hastle and fuel.It also is a lot easier to explore those unmapped tracks that go whereever.

The starting point is with the trailer - Most well made Camper Trailers have a good distance betwen the tow bar and the axle - this allows for easier reversing (couple of months ago I got several trailer loads of sand for the garden - do you think I could reverse the trailer, but I never have any trouble with the Camper)

The other more important issue is to keep a good line on the way up the hill or sand dune. If you change your line and the trailer ends up at an angle to the vehicle thats when you will have trouble. I have always found that when I feel I am in trouble to just let the vehicle slow to a stop in as straight a line as possible - Never any problems to reverse out then.

Some good points made already. Certainly the long drawer bar is very helpful.

Snatching out a 4B and trailer from the rear is not as easy as it might seem. Most of us can reverse our trailer pretty well, but doing it under power while being snatched is not easy, particularly if they are not is a perfectly straight line to start with.

I've found the best thing is to disconnect the trailer and get the vehicle free, then reassess. Not always possible of course.

The best thing is not to get stuck in the first place (HA HA). Consider the trailer and potential recovery routes before taking on a difficult section.

We also try to manage our load based on conditions. When fully loaded, we have 200 lt water and 80 lt diesel on the CT (diesel on drawer bar). As far as possible I try to time my water and diesel fills so that we are not fully loaded for the most difficult sections. Again, not always possible.

The theory (offered by many CT builders), that the CT will go anywhere the vehicle will is a bit misleading. Of course, if the vehicle gets through, the trailer will follow. But the trailer might prevent the vehicle from getting through in the first place.

No matter how well set up the trailer is, it does restrict movement to some extent.

Despite all this, we are happy to take the trailer to most places. This year it will do Bore Track, Walkers Crossing Track, Mitchell Falls, Kalumburu, Cape Leveque, etc etc. But when we venture into the Simpson, it will stay at Birdsville. I don't fancy reversing down Big Red with the trailer on.

Hi grumpy I do a lot of beach driving and just bought a camper trailer. I find the trailer treat like the car let the tyre pressure down on the trailer the same as the car normally I let them down between 25 to 18 depends on load and conditions. that comes with experience but if you do get stuck un hook the trailer get the car out if need be let a bit more out of the tyres trust me 2 pound could make all the difference. Throw your snatch around the tow ball and pull it out exactly as if you are pulling out a car just remember when you slow down the ball will tend to dig in. I all so got 2 tow points put on the back of my trailer so I can also tow it backwards. Ps make sure the jockey wheel is up and the handle secure or you will tear it off. Dags

Grumpy

I have gone the trailer way as well after many years of doing without one. If I travel with company I am most usually leading the trip. My worry is also what to do when confronted with a difficult situation.

Last year I went down a track to a beach(without a trailer) somewhere near Esperance and found rocks I could not get over and had to do a 10 point turn to get out as my vision was blocked by the stuff in the back of the truck.

This year I am going on a number of serious Offroad treks and it remains to be seen how the trailer will handle the situations as there are usually many times when one has to Back-up!!!

Cheers

Grumpy,

There is a big difference driving/towing up a sand dune and reversing if you can't make it than towing up a steep rocky track in the high country...
Reversing with a trailer in sand is pretty much straight forward, in the high country not so...
THis is a real case, a friend of mine was towing his camper behind me (the reason why he took his camper was because there were three other vehicles in the convoy... Coming up a steep hill, lost traction (not a matter of power) but traction, no problem reverse and try again, didn't make it, this time however reversing didn't work, trailer went sideways and jacknifed, but because the trailer was pulling on the car (electric brakes don't work backwards) the car would not stop and continued to jacknife to the point of getting dangerous.
It did stop but any attempt to move it would have it on a worse more precaurious position, in this case if he was on his own, a hand winch or anything would have been a wast of time, he couldn't even get out of the car!!!!
In the end, we pulled him up by the vehicle in front.
Long draw bars: Yes as previous comments, OK to reverse... try them in the high country on a tight turn.... the amount of terrain they need to turn makes them very hard to use in tight tracks....
Another situation, all OK but rained overnight, trying to come back even the easy way, going down hill for those with trailers was almost impossible, those with override brakes (cannot be controlled) and lockup due to the weight of the trailer pushing on the car, those with electric brakes had similar problems, they tried no brakes and it was slightly better but then the car got pushed too hard...
We ended up hooking up a snatch strap behind the trailer to keep it straight....

These are not extreme treks, normal tracks good quality off road campers and good vehicles and experienced drivers.

I don't discard trailers but everyone who owns one should ask themselves the very same question you asked in this forum and should do some training before heading off...
With company (in a convoy) they are OK, every situation can be resolved but on your own, you can quickly get into trouble.

Got to say that I am enjoying reading the thoughts put forward in this thread as a CT owner.

I often think about recovering the trailer if need and wonder whether the jockey wheel, or more specifically the support, would stand being dragged out of mud or rocks when it is digging in under load. Particularly on the likes of the KK which is notorious for its high ball weight. I have wondered whether some kind of skid plate attached underneath the front of the draw bar would be a useful addition. This way (in extreme situations) you could disconnect and drag the trailer forward without damage to the jockey wheel. Any thoughts?

The other point that I have found useful is to understand the value of a recce. We have sometimes disconnected the trailer and I leave the family to have a cuppa and leg stretch while I have driven on ahead to check the 'pucker factor'

An ounce of prevention, I guess.

Matt

buy an enduro bike and if you are not sure go for a quick spin and see if it is possible. If not find another way then load the bike back on and continue on.

Ok I've been stuck 3 times with my trailer on. And I mean stuck.

Once my mate winched me out backwards no problem, all done in about 5 min.

Second time, level ground looked firm but it was sloppy mud and I sank like a stone. As she sank I realised I had left the recovery gear at home, oops. I was on my own.

I managed to back up about 150mm and un hook the trailer. I then rocked the car back and forth for some time not really getting anywhere. Eventually I stopped the car as far back as it would go in the hole and filled in fromt of the wheels with some railway ballast that was near by and the car drove out. I then recovered the trailer, the jockey wheel was not on. I then sat the kids on the back of the trailer while I fitted the jockey wheel and re attached it to the car. All up about 3.5hours. Lots of fun.

Third time I was in the Vic Hich Country and simply lost traction on a wet slippery track that got too steep. Trying to back down the trailer jacknifed. First I chocked the wheels on the car. I jacked the trailer on the high lift and pushed it off a number of times to get the trailer in line I then continued to back down the hill and had another crack, slightly differnent line and a bit more momentum saw me comfortably to the top. About 15 mins.

The next day I was asking about directions to get from A to B via some pretty steep tracks and the Policeman I was talking to said what will you do if you get stuck? This applies whether or not you have a trailer on, and I think Roachie alluded to it. Stop, boil the billy and have a think. Work out a sensible strategy for getting out of trouble and then do it. Each situation is different, the most valuable piece of recovery gear you can own is a level head.

Duncs

Hello Grumpy
Thats a brilliant question cos i got a brilliant answer, been there done that, Towed an O'Brian Off road trailer across the Simpson via Rig Road 1997 and found that when i had to reverse back down a dune the trailer followed the wheel ruts and kept straight ,If you go to the O'Brien's web site http://www.obrienstrailers.com.au/ and click the button for trailers then the Explorer model you will see my old white Rocky and Trailer taken in the Simpson .

Hi there,
this worried me too when i got mine.
Mine has a 6' draw bar and that helps, and a large fold up jockey wheel.
ive had no real probs towing with my 60 (which has dual lockers). You can snatch out of a bog hole no prob with a big jockey wheel. Fit recovery points to the rear of the trailer.
As said b4, don't atempt anything you are uncomfortable with.
I wouldn't go for a week+ trip without my trailer now.

We replaced the jockey wheel with a spare wheel same as trailer mounted on stubb axle with full bearings.
2 advantages.......spare set of bearings and able to tow trailer unhitched

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply, lots of good advice here. No closer to a decision but at least now I feel a little more informed that I did before.