Outskirts Overland Podcast
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Outskirts Overland Podcast
Off-road Trailers: Worth the Hitch?
Are expensive trailers killing the spirit of overlanding? I dive deep into my honest thoughts about the growing trend of off-road trailers in the overlanding community. After 15+ years of vehicle-based adventure, I struggle to understand why so many enthusiasts are gravitating toward setups that fundamentally limit where they can explore.
True overlanding, in my experience, has always been about the journey - setting up camp, sleeping, breaking camp, and moving forward to discover new terrain. The beauty lies in the freedom to navigate challenging trails without being tied to a base camp. When you're pulling a $30,000 trailer that requires backtracking to the same location each day, are you still overlanding or just participating in a fancier version of traditional car camping?
The evolution of gear in our community fascinates me. We've watched the progression from simple ground tents to rooftop tents (which dominated from 2017-2021), then to quick-setup options like Gazelle tents, and now trailers represent the latest trend. Each iteration seems to prioritize increasing comfort, often at the expense of mobility and simplicity. But when these expensive rigs sit unused in driveways for most of the year, becoming what one listener aptly called "giant paperweights," we should question their practical value.
For those considering a trailer purchase, I share critical considerations about trail access limitations, additional costs (insurance, registration, maintenance), and the fundamental change to your adventure style. While I acknowledge trailers might make sense for families needing extra comfort or those using their vehicles as daily drivers, I challenge listeners to honestly assess whether the benefits outweigh the compromises.
What's your take on the great trailer debate? Do you prefer the freedom of a single-vehicle setup or the comforts of trailer camping? Join the conversation and let me know your experiences!
Welcome to the World of Warcraft, episode 1 Warcraft 1. Warcraft, 2 Warcraft, 3 Warcraft, 4 Warcraft, 5 Warcraft, 6 Warcraft, 7 Warcraft, 8 Warcraft, 9 Warcraft, 10 Warcraft, 11 Warcraft, 12 Warcraft, 13 Warcraft, 14 Warcraft, 15 Warcraft, 16 Warcraft, 17 Warcraft, 18 Warcraft, 19 Warcraft, 20 Warcraft, 21 Warcraft, 22 Warcraft. Good morning and happy monday. Um, I got my mics today. I actually just went live and it said my mic unexpectedly quit. So I was was like well, I better get off then, I guess. So how's it going today, guys? It is Monday.
Speaker 1:I'm back again, like I said I would be, not a whole lot went on this weekend. I mean, I had the kids, I did kid stuff, I watched a good bit of hockey. The blues won both games this weekend, so that was sick. Um, that's a big deal to us in my house, but other than that, not a whole lot going on for me this weekend. Uh, more expos coming up. I'll be there with mid midwest adventure mods or midwest adventure outfitters, excuse me, I I keep saying mods and I don't know. It just rolls off right, I don't know Midwest Adventure Outfitters. I'll be there with Benji. We will be doing a after-hours show one of the evenings, friday or Saturday, I don't really know, but I'll be there so you guys can come talk to me, talk about gear, upgrading your rig, whatever. I'm there as a resource for everyone going there, just as well as Benji. So rather than him being kind of stretched thin, I'm going to try and take a little bit of that load too, with my experience as well. So, anyways, today it's Monday, but I wanted to.
Speaker 1:Something that I've been talking about amongst my friends is like so overlanding to me is vehicle-based travel and it's you know, you'll stay somewhere for a long time potentially, but you'll kind of get up and move. It's more of a transient thing In my opinion. That doesn't mean it's right, but that's just my opinion. So, that being said, as I think about it, trailers are so popular now, and every single time I talk to somebody about a trailer they're like base camp and I'm like I just don't understand this idea of of. I guess I I don't want to say I don't understand I I completely understand. I don't understand the allure of a trailer when you can't take it down trails and you got to come back to it. I mean, it's no different than a fifth camper, really. Honestly, honestly, like the same people that have RVs and pull Jeeps behind them. It's really the same, even though that it's RV pulling the Jeep. It's not the Jeep pulling the trailer, but nonetheless it's the same thing and to me that just doesn't resonate with overlanding. I don't know what it is, but for some reason I just don't see it that way.
Speaker 1:Nobody that I see doing the Pan American Highway and I may be completely just off base here but I don't see them pulling trailers, do I think you could do a pull in a trailer, absolutely, but what you can't do is go to the Ozarks and go through all the trails, camp somewhere off the trail, get up in the morning, go back on the trails. I mean, the whole point of somebody that is doing that, is doing trailer camping, is they want to take their capable vehicle, pull the trailer somewhere, drop the trailer, go, do capable vehicle things. Come back to the trailer trailer somewhere. Drop the trailer, go, do capable vehicle things, come back to the trailer, where I like to kind of go like I don't typically want to backtrack or even loop around back to the same spot. The only time that I see the benefit of that myself, the only time I see that myself, is at like an event Like so rendezvous in the Ozarks. You're going to go out and wheel and you're going to come back for two, three days.
Speaker 1:But I don't know that I'd buy a trailer for two, three days a year, you know? I mean, I don't know I wouldn't buy a trailer for two or three days a year. I'm just not a trailer guy and it's not and I wouldn't say that because I, like I don't have an opinion of it one way or another. It just wouldn't work for me, like I'm not a trailer guy Cause I just don't see it working for me. It won't work for me. I, I would be. You know, I'll take my gazelle and my rooftop tent in my truck single vehicle I think of.
Speaker 1:A trailer is another vehicle, honestly, and a lot of them don't have the swivel hitches, so like in, even if you try to go anywhere, like decently off road, like it's stuck to a regular ball hitch, I don't know. I mean please, please, please, someone, someone explained to me or someone. If someone wants to come on, I got it. I'm trying to understand where they fit in with what I've, at least what I've been doing for the last I don't know long time 15, 20 years I just don't see where a trailer falls in. I can see where a trailer. You know a lot of people pull trailers to go camping. That's nothing new. I mean, I'm talking about these.
Speaker 1:You know, off-road teardrop, and that's's a whole other topic in itself. Like, not every teardrop's an off-road teardrop. Like if it's got a straight axle and it doesn't have those Timbren independent axles, like it's probably not even that great off-road. Yeah, you could put some matching wheels and tires on it, but it's still just a straight axle. You know, hard, hard trailer. So I don't that's also a convoluted thing to me too. Like, just just as someone that's mechanically inclined and interested in the space like a lot of these off-road trailers are no better than the trailer I pull behind my atv. Like they're just hard trailers, they're a teardrop. But not every teardrop is going to be an off-road teardrop. I mean, there are some things that classify it as such. I think that's a swivel hitch and I think that's some type of rear suspension of some type. Otherwise you're constantly about to flip the thing. But again, pull your trailer, do what you do.
Speaker 1:I'm not trying to throw any any shade or hate on anybody. I just I just actually don't understand. I want to get on here and talk about it, you know cause I do talk about it a lot amongst my friends and I'm like trailer's just not going to be for me and that's fine. But I just don't understand the broad spectrum of applications. A trailer is actually better than just a. I mean then even a gazelle tent. I just don't understand, because if you're like, oh, rooftop tent doesn't have as much space, well, a gazelle has a ton of space and that's very easy to deal with. It doesn't require extra insurance, extra license plate registration. It's not an extra thing that can break. It's not something else I got to worry about. I just don't.
Speaker 1:It seems to me like the benefit, in my opinion, would be you don't have to set up a bed, and maybe you do. I don't know a whole lot about them, but the benefit to me would be you don't have to set up a bed. Maybe more comfortable, I don't know. My rooftop tent is pretty comfortable. It may be more comfortable. I just don't see the benefit, other than if you are someone, that this is a benefit I can see If you're somebody that daily drives your vehicle and you don't have the ability, like my truck doesn't have back seats. The whole bed's built out, the whole back area is built out, all the fronts, the cab's built out, you know, like the whole vehicle is built out.
Speaker 1:If you're somebody that has to leave the interior of your vehicle more stock, potentially, um, a trailer to sleep in, or even a gear trailer with a rooftop tent on it could be your way of staying packed so that you could get out quicker. It still doesn't get rid of any of the problems I listed before, but that might just be your drawer system, for lack of a better term. It's just far less capable than if it was in the vehicle, because the vehicle by itself is just going to be the most capable. Everybody knows tight corners and everything else are harder with a longer wheelbase. Well, you're definitely got a longer wheelbase with a trailer and it seems like the potential of jackknifing it, I don't know, it just seems like a lot of. It seems like the juice I always say this term the juice isn't worth the squeeze. It just seems like the juice isn't worth the squeeze for a trailer.
Speaker 1:I do know people that are like, oh, for my kids, my wife doesn't want to go unless I have the trailer, etc. I think those are. You know, you do you. It still doesn't change that you can't do as much with it. It does mean that you get your whole family wants to go. It does mean that you know it's not going to whip around in the wind. You know, necessarily, in theory. I mean last time I was out in the wind a guy said his almost blew over off the truck so he had to hook up the truck so it didn't blow over because the winds were so crazy. So I mean, but that's not every trailer, that's one. That's that's one time I've heard that that's not every trailer. So I just don't. I just you know if it gets your family out and et cetera, et cetera, like that's what it is.
Speaker 1:But I mean people have been getting out with their families in trailers, you know three quarter ton, one ton truck, fifth wheels and still exploring the wilderness too, you know, on a. And that's where you know what, what. It's the same people that get the, the, the toy hauler trailers and they put their side-by-side or their ATVs in them. I mean you really kind of do the same thing. You're going to get to a place, you're going to drop it, you're going to take your vessel to off-road just because yours is a car and not an ATV. It's really kind of the same thing. You're coming back to the same spot. You have to come back for it, right, like you want to sleep in it.
Speaker 1:I just don't get it. I just don't get it. I see again, I see the appeal to some people for a couple of instances. But for the amount that I for the, if you go in, well, hell, they're so expensive, you'd have to go a lot. I was about to say for the amount I go, it doesn't make sense. But hell, it almost makes. You'd have to go as much as I go for it to make sense, because they're $20,000, $30,000, $50,000. I just don't get it. I just don't get it. Overlanding to me means you know you're going from place to place like stop sleep, stop sleep. You know, and that I just don't't. Could you do that trailer? Absolutely, you're just not gonna go, I guess.
Speaker 1:I guess where I get jacked up is like you could do that in colorado probably, or new mexico or out west. That'd probably be more applicable where you could also go in a full size truck. You know, I'm I'm I'm not anti full size truck. It just flat wouldn't work in the ozarks. It's just everything's too tight, too rugged for for for a big truck to work. I mean I had a big truck, I wanted it to work. I liked the space still single vehicle, still rooftops here, but like I liked having the uh, the interior room is more comfortable, it's a heavier vehicle, like there's a lot of benefits, you know, just comfort. But ultimately I mean I have a Tacoma, literally because that wouldn't work. Um, that just wouldn't work for me. Um, here's this Red Beard Sasquatch says there's always pros and cons about a Venture trailer.
Speaker 1:No trailer for me, because I don't need one. Yeah, and and and again you say you don't need one. I just don't understand what application. I just don't understand what application. I don't understand what application does need one. You know, like what application needs a trailer? That is that's, oh, you know, again, for me it's vehicle-based travel, but you're not, you're, it's limiting your, it's limiting your travel. So to me, I'm just, I just don't understand. And again, I might just be completely and totally ignorant, like I don't know, you know, I don't know, I might just be completely ignorant, you know, like it just doesn't, but it doesn't land with me, that's for sure. So, and I was just even talking to Benji and he's like I, a trailer, because this and that, well, he's got a shop, okay, and he's gonna go to expos and be a dealer or whatever you want to call it a, a store at expos and stuff. I can see him having a trailer to not only put some type of dwelling on it to live in but also carry equipment. But that's a very specific, that's a very specific like trade show expo scenario. That is not your typical, that's just not your normal person. But, man, do. I see trailers becoming extremely popular.
Speaker 1:I've seen it go from regular tents you know way back regular, I mean that. Seen it go from regular tents you know way back regular, I mean that's all there was regular tents, hell, even trek and pull tents, single man tents. I did a lot in a bivvy sack like a bivvy tent, not a swag, but a bivvy tent um, long long ago. Then it went to rooftop tents were like everything. Then gazelle tents came out and some knockoff gazelle tents came out and it kind of went from rooftop tent to gazelle tent but like you weren't cool unless you had a rooftop tent for a few years there. You know, 2017 to 21, probably you're like that was it? Um, and I didn't even get one until 22 rooftop tent.
Speaker 1:I slept in a tent. I was fine Awning, I had awning, but I'd done it for so long. I just, you know, I just don't you know, if it's not broke, don't fix it, type theory. Then I slept in a rooftop tent and that changed my life actually, cause they're so freaking, they're so freaking comfortable actually. But anyways, yeah, so, and then it went to. You know, like I said, it went kind of from rooftop tent to gazelle tent.
Speaker 1:Everybody kind of did that because they saw the appeal of like again, kind of base camp. But if you didn't want to, it's also quick to set up and take down the tent itself. Now I've seen people like make a hotel in that thing and that's not quick to set up and take down the tent itself. Now I've seen people like make a hotel in that thing and that's not quick to set up a takedown. You've got freaking. I mean they're putting cabinets up. You know I'm joking, but like it's wild how set up people get those in two hours of setup and take down and everything else.
Speaker 1:Um, and now I see trailers, like I am there is less because there's more trailers than there is rooftop tents and regular tents combined. So they're they're popular extremely, but again, I still just don't. And again, where I'm seeing them, I guess I'm saying they're popular, but when I'm out, and when I'm out like actually doing the thing Redbeard Sasquatchatch, I slept inside my jku the last four years, yeah, and and actually if you go way back to like my earlier podcast last year, my favorite way to to travel is sleeping in the vehicle. If you have the means to sleep in the vehicle, that is 100 the way to go. Um, I think that's by far the most comfortable, practical. You literally can leave your bed set up if you've got a drawer system under it or something like that and then just dip out, like, but again, I'm still thinking like you're going to go place to place to place. So I I mean that's still my thought process and maybe that's, maybe that's just not the thought process of somebody that is doing trailer. Maybe that's where the disconnect is for me. So I just don't understand that myself.
Speaker 1:But I have friends that are starting to want to get trailers and trailers are becoming more popular. But I'm saying more popular, but literally the last two times I went camping. We're at like events. There was no wheeling, there was no like. You know what I mean. There wasn't anything. So I say they're getting more popular. I'm not running into them on the trail by any means. I mean I'm really I'm never running into them. I never have ran into somebody pulling a trailer on the trail. Literally never have, um, I can't even think anywhere I've been, have I? I don't think. I mean I might be wrong here, but I don't think I've ever run into one.
Speaker 1:And I so understand that my friends are all wanting to get in, wanting to talking about getting into trailers. I mean I don't think everybody just has 20, 30 grand, you know, to throw away A rooftop tent's two grand and people complain about that. Trailers a lot and I mean you really got to. That's a. That's quite the investment, um, and I've put a lot into my truck, don't get me wrong, and it's quite the investment as well. But I'm not going to add another 20, 30 K to it Just to just carry more crap or I don't know. I don't know. I'd say, make my life easier, but I don't think it does. So, yeah, so I just want to kind of kind of like as I come on every day.
Speaker 1:I'm kind of just going over my own thoughts and my friends are wanting to get in these trailers. I'm like man, this is going to be where we I mean where we're going to divide, because I don't want to go back to where I just went to. I don't want to sleep, you know, same place multiple times. I'd have so much damn anxiety leaving the trailer behind, cause I mean it's, it's a very expensive piece of equipment and the whole point that they, that that's proposing me through them and others, is base camp, and I'm like, well, that's still lens, lens itself. Do you got to leave the thing somewhere? How do you keep somebody else from not just going and backing up and taking it? I mean there's probably. I mean I'm sure there's ways, but like nonetheless, like how do you keep it from? You're just leaving it there, like I don't know. I don't know, it's just, it's just weird thing.
Speaker 1:Anyways, I that's my thoughts for this morning as I'm driving, as I woke up this morning, I was like I'll talk about this trailer thing. I haven't ever hit on it. And uh, uh again, I was on with newfound overland last week. I think that'll go up this week. But he said something and I even said I'm like that's just.
Speaker 1:I have sat and thought long and hard about if that is a viable thing. You know, like I got a Subaru, I drive my Subaru right now. I'm in my Subaru, this thing, a bowl of trailer. I could get rid of the truck altogether but I could not do what I'm doing. It just doesn't, it just does, it will not. I won't be able to do what I'm doing now. My truck is far too capable sleeping, cooking, carrying, wheeling, like all of it. It can do it all. A trailer, seemingly, is going to limit you.
Speaker 1:Now again, if you just like to go to, uh, expos and meetups and stuff like that, like maybe it's a way to where you don't have to pack as much, you don't have to build out a vehicle, maybe it is. Maybe, well, you know my vehicle is built out, but like, also I'm married to that vehicle. Maybe it is Maybe, well, you know my vehicle is built out, but like, also, I'm married to that vehicle specifically, like a trailer could attach theoretically to any vehicle. So I mean, maybe that's the appeal, you know, maybe I'm selling some people on it and moving some people away from it. I don't know. I'm just trying to critically think through how it even makes sense to do. Again, I don't think building a vehicle always makes sense either. I'm not saying that because that can be extremely expensive as well. Um, I mean, it has been for me. So, yeah, I just want to talk about trailers today. Hopefully it brings up some discussion. I do have my mics today, so hopefully that sounds better. I do have this stuff set up on my phone. As you guys can hear, I am interacting with the chat now and it's just hard.
Speaker 1:Red Beard Sasquatch. I agree, I did think about it over six months and chose not to get a trailer. Yeah, I mean, I think if you seriously are somebody that does make, this is going to sound terrible. But like just in general, like if you're somebody that makes well thought out decisions on what you're doing, period, like I'm somebody that researches everything, it doesn't matter Like pants, you know, like just I want to make sure that I'm getting what I want to get for what I'm doing, you know, and as I think about a trailer, I'm like I just can't think of a way where it makes better sense and it have to make better sense for me to move to it. I'd have to. It have to, it would have to. It have to make sense.
Speaker 1:Um, and I don't travel with, like I mean, I I bring my dog sometimes fits in a rooftop tent, though Like I just don't, I don't know, I don't see the trailer deal, I don't see, like I just don't, I don't know, I don't see the trailer deal, I don't see it, I don't get it. So I mean, but by all means, somebody sell me on it and make it make sense to me. Or maybe I am just, maybe what I'm doing and somebody with the trailer is doing totally different. Maybe we're like different beings in the space. I'm not saying it's not overlanding, I'm just saying to me, base camping is what people do at off-road parks. You could do it in public land, but you're still just going out and coming back and I want to explore like new stuff and maybe get lost, getting lost with your trailer back somewhere else. That's again that just be so much anxiety for me. Like I got to make sure I can get back. Some trails you go up, you can't come back down, but they also don't loop back around. It just doesn't. I don't know, I don't know, it just doesn't, it's not gonna, it definitely wouldn't work for me. Um, so that's that. That's that's where that is. Um, anyways, guys, have a good Monday again. Like I said, hopefully this strikes up some good conversation and gets people thinking, gets people going. I don't know what I'll talk about tomorrow, but I'm sure I'll think about something.
Speaker 1:You know, this is my life kind of. As much as that might sound cool or depressing to some of you, I mean this pretty much is my life. I pretty much live to do this thing. Um, everything else in my life is very minimalized just because I spend as much time as I can specifically doing this. Um, so, yeah, I mean I think about it a lot, I work just to do it. Um, yeah, so in red beer, sasquatch is a giant paperweight sat in the driveway to use three or four times a year. Yeah, that's how I see it too. I mean me and you agree, man, like we, we agree 100%, we agree. Um, I see it the same way. But yeah, like I said, you know, as as as weird as it may sound, this is pretty much my life. Like I work to, to, to support being able to go as much as I do and have a job. That understands that I'm going a lot, and I mean so maybe I'm just completely different, you know, maybe perhaps, um, you know it's it, it's just what I do.
Speaker 1:Everything in my life is minimalized because of it. House is smaller. I don't have a big house cause I won't be in my house. I want to be in my house after work, when I go home from work, and on the weekends I don't want to be there Like I don't want to be there Like I'm gone. So the majority of the time I would spend like living in a house. I'm typically gone and I try to facilitate the ability to do that all year round. So I do spend differently because of that as well, and that is different. Not everybody can do that outside of kids' sports and stuff, but even in a lot of ways kids' sports are. I leave after kids' sports, go camping. It's not like that deters me. A kid's a game of some type is an hour, hour and a half. I'm gonna go camping after that like it's just it, just it, just maybe. I just am different.
Speaker 1:I was at a. I'm trying, I was trying to get off here, but you just can keep going anyways, but I was at like a mixer with work thing, like a department mixer, and I guess I'm just. They all thought I don't't think interesting. They were like you do what? Like what is this? You know, it's just. Maybe it's just I'm so, I don't know.
Speaker 1:Hopefully it strikes up some conversation because I want to try and understand the trailer, the trailer situation. Even looking at them, I don't think it's got more sleeping space than the damn rooftop tent. So I just don't get it. I just don't get it. I just don't get it, guys. But if you get it, let me know. Anyways, have a great Monday. I'll catch you guys tomorrow. Like I said, I'm sure I would think of something in the next 24 hours to talk about. I can usually get on and ramble about anything, so I'll catch you guys later. Have a good Monday. Redbeard, I really appreciate you being on this morning. It's early and I appreciate it. I like having somebody to interact with. So you guys, have a great one and I'll catch you tomorrow Later.