Are Overlanding Trailers Worth It?
April 2, 2021
Overlanding Trailers…..are they really worth it? Well, that’s what we’re going to take a look at today.
Table of Contents
What is Overlanding?
Overlanding is essentially camping, where the goal is not the destination, but rather the journey. Where camping and off-roading come together.
Different Kinds of Overland Camping Shelter Options
Many will convert their car, Jeep, Truck, or Suv into a personal camping vehicle that has a sleeping area, cooking supplies, and other proficiencies to basically live right out of their vehicle while others will keep a ground tent with them and set that up at every new destination along the way. Some will purchase a rather pricey rooftop tent that may also require the purchase of an additional roof or bed rack to mount the rooftop tent to.
Then there is the group that either builds their own camping trailer or purchases an already fitted camping trailer to pull behind their vehicle. Is there a better way to camp and sleep when comparing these different methods? Well, in my opinion, it's subjective.
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Types of Overland Trailers
First off, there are Teardrop trailers which basically just look like a teardrop shape, the Military style trailers that will typically look like square steel or aluminum box and will typically have a rooftop tent strapped to the top of it, caravan trailers, or like the hard shell, hard sides trailer and then there are the pop-up or pivot roof style camping trailers that will have a canvass for walls.
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All of which have their unique features. But is a camping trailer even worth it? What are the advantages of having one, compared to the disadvantages?
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Pros and Cons of Overland Trailers
Well for starters, a really great advantage to having a camping trailer is that it is modular, meaning you can usually customize it to how it works best for you. There is a bit more room to pack camping provisions, like cooking gear, extra tools, spare tires and parts, additional water carrying capacity, recovery gear, propane, and the list goes on. The nice thing with that is the majority of the weight is being added to the trailer and you’re not adding static weight to your vehicle.
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Now the disadvantage to that is you will still have to pull that extra weight around with your vehicle and there are a lot of vehicles that may not have the towing capacity to allow the extra weight. Trucks...usually no problems to add a trailer and pack it full of extra gear. A four-wheel-drive SUV might not want a trailer unless it’s pretty small.
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Things to Keep in Mind When Getting an Overland Trailer
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Leave the trailer to go off-roading, don’t have to pack everything down if you’re going to hit the trails and come back to your campsite.
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Don’t have to convert your daily driver to go camping, leave the seats in,
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Trailers can be cumbersome on the trail.
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There’s more maintenance, trailer tires, brakes, operational expenses increase.
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Depending on the trailer, it may have a provision for a place to do your business in private.
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Trailers often provide extra convenience for running electrical equipment, from a coffee maker to a heater.
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*Photos of trailers courtesy of Gear Junkie.
