I really need to be able to pull a trailer mainly for the tent, cooler, some spares, water, and gas. I am looking at around a 700lb or less trailer. The idea is to have a frame on wheels with a tent that has places to hold the above items. As minimalistic as possible.

I will need a trailer to support the 3 of us. I've never run Desoto Mine trail so I'll have to pre-run it to see if it will be possible with the trailer. I would think I could drag my trailer through anything a loaded down truck can make it through.

My trailer will have a couple upgrades by then (airbag suspension and 3 axis hitch).

I want this trailer, Santa Claus.... altogether it's an 8x8


http://www.maximog.com/trailer.html

Desoto has hillclimbs like the coves, but about 3-4 times longer. Brent will be a good judge on how successful you can be with a trailer, but some of those climbs are steep and loose.

I was hoping to get the word from Brent when he pre-runs it. The plan is to keep the trailer SUPER light. I don't need the extra weight carrying capability, but need the extra surface area of a trailer. In fact the trailer might just have a cooler, gas cans, and a tent on it. There is a very slim (very very very slim) possibility I might have another 80lb dog as well...

Brent I would like to see pictures of how you are building your airbag suspension. My plan is to continue to run the Xterra leafs and shocks with overoad bags since the trailer will weight at least 800lbs more on the drive from Texas since I have to tow the LTBs. I have had good luck with the curent setup on fast dirt road stuff and some pretty steep climbs loaded with 3 sets of tires.

I only had trouble with the one hill in the coves. It was pretty dang steep and flipping through pictures of the Desoto mine trail I didn't see anything that looked that steep.

If it were just a degree or two less steep or slightly better traction I wouldn't have had any issue with it.

quote:

Originally posted by reddog:
I only had trouble with the one hill in the coves.

Dustin and I were just recalling that last night. That was the most perfect, barely-made-it, hill climb we have seen to date.

I wouldn't say I barely made it. I made it on the first try and didn't have to pull cable .

If you watch Steve's video from that day of the run you can hear me go up the hill. Unfortunately I'm off screen when it happens, but you can hear the engine roar and the radio chatter when I get to the top. I've listened to it a few times since the run, it makes me smile every time.

We were scrambling for the video cameras, but it was over by the time we had one qued up. I have it forever engrained in my mind's eye, though.

If you're going to use a trailer for offroad and camping, I highly recommend an M416. Or the canadien M101.

I built my own .


The whole buildup is here if you missed the build thread.

Queef is building his own trailer too.

There is that one downhill, off camber, right-turn on DeSoto, which may cause some trouble. Last time there, most trucks slid down and around it more than anything..

The Military trailers are cool, but way too heavy and usually overpriced for a good one compared to what you can start with by building your own.

Yeah.. this spot on Desoto is gonna be a bit spooky with a trailer:



More photos of the trail:
http://www.piratepathy.com/photo/Photos/Trail%20Runs/20...e%20Trail/index.html

that's the one..