Trailer vs Seat delete

[Mattyp1214]

Hello everyone!

My wife and I are looking at doing a multi month overland/roadtrip out west for 2-4 months with our golden retriever. We are trying to decide it a trailer makes sense or if we should suck it up and take the route of minimal gear and get a platform system like goose gear or AAL for the back of the jeep. A trailer sounds appealing because it would allow us to set up a basecamp. However we'd be limited on where we could go etc. Anyone have opinions on either direction?

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[Jeff1]

All depends on how much stuff you carry since when you sleep in the back all the stuff has to go somewhere. I had a trailer and sold it already and went back to a tent. Planning on making a removable platform that will work with the seats folded down.

Not sure what your budget is. but if I was going a couple month trip I would look into a Ura Minor top for the Jeep.

 

[Mattyp1214]

All depends on how much stuff you carry since when you sleep in the back all the stuff has to go somewhere. I had a trailer and sold it already and went back to a tent. Planning on making a removable platform that will work with the seats folded down.

Not sure what your budget is. but if I was going a couple month trip I would look into a Ura Minor top for the Jeep.

I have a RTT for sleeping so platform would be for kitchen and gear storage. The more I look into it the less I like the idea of having a trailer to deal with

 

[Jeff1]

I have a RTT for sleeping so platform would be for kitchen and gear storage. The more I look into it the less I like the idea of having a trailer to deal with

Goose gear makes sense with the RTT, I think I read they have extended lead time on their stuff.

I bought a Runaway Venturist, I was overall disappointed with the build quality. DIdn't back up very well(short tongue). If you are doing trails, youre better off without a trailer.

 

[bigbaozi]

The AAL stuff looks nice and you can keep your back seat (if you think you might need it).

I actually like having that separation with the seatback between the front and back when we are camping in ours. We end up with some stuff in the seats, some stuff under the seats, heavy stuff like water bottles and battery on the floor.

 

[alksion]

Was trying to decide to go with AAL or a trailer. Decided on a trailer. I’m going with a Turtleback Getaway trailer, fully spec’d with the ikon suspension system. Should be ready first week of September.

I simply don’t want any camping stuff in or on top of my Jeep when I’m driving to work each day or simply commuting. All items are pretty much ready to go, hook up and leave. To me, it’s the most ideal setup.

 

[wibornz]

I wheel and camp all over the US, I pull a small camper down the trail, set up a base camp and wheel from there. I hated unloading and loading the Jeep ever morning and every evening. I hate stuff bouncing all over in the back of the Jeep while we wheel. I just want the essential that I may need with me while out wheeling. I can pull up drop the trailer and have base camp set up in about 5 minutes.


One of the guys that often Jeep travels with us sleeps in the the back of his Jeep. It is a 30 minute thing for him empty out his Jeep set up his bed in the back. Then something in the morning. He has to take his bed down, pull all of his stuff out of the Jeep and re arrange everything back into his Jeep to go wheeling. Note he does not bring a lot of stuff with him as he depends on me to have all the cooking gear, food, water coffee and such. He basically carries his cloths, some snacks, a cooler and a camp chair. If he was on his own, It would probably be an hour job on each end.

It is nice to pull back into camp and have everything set up and done.

 

[johnnyj]

I camp with dogs and prefer boondocking in out of the way places. There's certainly guys who pull badass solid axle trailers where we go - and they're rad, but ultimately I wanted everything to be "in" the Jeep, so went with a seat delete and built my own platform for I think about 115.00 in materials. I sleep in an Ursa Minor conversion top, similar philosophy of use to a RTT and the seat delete leaves plenty of room for bins/fridge/doggo sleep pad. The cool thing about the DIY seat delete is you can get to 95% functionality of Goosegear (my first world problem is I need to reach under the platform to pull out my air compressor vs having neato little storage doors) for just over 100 bucks. If you like it and need to doors/bling look of Goose...you can certainly buy it. IMO give the seat delete a try. I've had it in all my wranglers and would never go back. Cheers~

Some pics:

 

[wibornz]

While I pull a trailer, I also did the seat delete so that I have more storage. I have about $40 into.

I did not want it to contour to the Jeep as I wanted the whole thing to lift up if needed and I can access the underside with fold up doors. I left the space open where I did because I have specific things that I will put there, that will not be in a tote.

 

[alksion]

I wheel and camp all over the US, I pull a small camper down the trail, set up a base camp and wheel from there. I hated unloading and loading the Jeep ever morning and every evening. I hate stuff bouncing all over in the back of the Jeep while we wheel. I just want the essential that I may need with me while out wheeling. I can pull up drop the trailer and have base camp set up in about 5 minutes.


One of the guys that often Jeep travels with us sleeps in the the back of his Jeep. It is a 30 minute thing for him empty out his Jeep set up his bed in the back. Then something in the morning. He has to take his bed down, pull all of his stuff out of the Jeep and re arrange everything back into his Jeep to go wheeling. Note he does not bring a lot of stuff with him as he depends on me to have all the cooking gear, food, water coffee and such. He basically carries his cloths, some snacks, a cooler and a camp chair. If he was on his own, It would probably be an hour job on each end.

It is nice to pull back into camp and have everything set up and done.

Exactly my thoughts and why we went with a trailer purchase.

We moved fast. Bought the Jeep in November 2020.

Took it off-roading/camping, sleeping in the back of the Jeep first with a DeepSleep air mattress. The wife and I knew pretty quickly that even at 30 years old, this setup would not work for us long term.

Next, we quickly moved to a roof rack, rooftop tent, and 270 awning. Did a 9 day trip up CA through OR. Badass trip and we’re hooked. We did however pickup on many small nuances.

Being the researcher in the relationship, I quickly discovered an off road trailer would suit our needs best just like you’ve described. It will make camping even easier task and probably will allow us to go more.

We’re super pumped to get the trailer. In the 8 months we have had our jeep, we have already thrown some cash down. I get the whole money pit thing. On top of that, my 392 should be ready by late July early August.

 

[alksion]

While I pull a trailer, I also did the seat delete so that I have more storage. I have about $40 into.

I did not want it to contour to the Jeep as I wanted the whole thing to lift up if needed and I can access the underside with fold up doors. I left the space open where I did because I have specific things that I will put there, that will not be in a tote.

Very nice. Great purpose and solid finishes.

Hey I have a question about slides.

The whole point of me going with an off-road trailer is to avoid carrying any of my camping gear in the vehicle during daily/normal commutes. I pretty much want a stock jeep 392 as my daily.

The specific Turtleback trailer I’m getting does not have a fridge slide in it. If I were to add a slide like this one to the back of my jeep. Is it something that I could easily remove and reinstall each time I go camping?

 

[brewski]

Hello everyone!

My wife and I are looking at doing a multi month overland/roadtrip out west for 2-4 months with our golden retriever. We are trying to decide it a trailer makes sense or if we should suck it up and take the route of minimal gear and get a platform system like goose gear or AAL for the back of the jeep. A trailer sounds appealing because it would allow us to set up a basecamp. However we'd be limited on where we could go etc. Anyone have opinions on either direction?

as someone who has to tow a trailer on any camp trip, I would advise against towing if you can. Towing on easy trails is no big deal, but towing a trailer can really limit you when you get to those 5+ point turn switch backs or find yourself on a narrow trail that is blocked and you have to reverse back to a turn around. While do able, they can really turn a small thing into a deal.
Trailers have some HUGE benefits especially on a destination trip. But on a nomad style trip they can limit you if the trails get technical. I have a lot of experience towing a trailer off road and think I could tow one downhill on a trail like Elephant hill, but I would not do this because the potential for huge failure is not worth the risk when you could dump the trailer do the special section and then grab the trailer to continue around a bypass.
mid you don’t have a lot of experience with a trailer you may want to learn with one before you’d do a big trip like this with one.
I’m amazed at how often I’ve seen someone get themselves all discombobulated with a trailer trying to reverse (around the city, usually at gas stations)

 

[alksion]

as someone who has to tow a trailer on any camp trip, I would advise against towing if you can. Towing on easy trails is no big deal, but towing a trailer can really limit you when you get to those 5+ point turn switch backs or find yourself on a narrow trail that is blocked and you have to reverse back to a turn around. While do able, they can really turn a small thing into a deal.
Trailers have some HUGE benefits especially on a destination trip. But on a nomad style trip they can limit you if the trails get technical. I have a lot of experience towing a trailer off road and think I could tow one downhill on a trail like Elephant hill, but I would not do this because the potential for huge failure is not worth the risk when you could dump the trailer do the special section and then grab the trailer to continue around a bypass.
mid you don’t have a lot of experience with a trailer you may want to learn with one before you’d do a big trip like this with one.
I’m amazed at how often I’ve seen someone get themselves all discombobulated with a trailer trying to reverse (around the city, usually at gas stations)

I definitely think there’s specific trips one might plan in advance where going without a trailer would be ideal for the type of wheeling planned. For most of the camping and off roading my wife and I will do, I’m hoping it will just make it easier for us to get out more and enjoy nature. Less prep and tear down. Prior, during and after the trip

 

[wibornz]

as someone who has to tow a trailer on any camp trip, I would advise against towing if you can. Towing on easy trails is no big deal, but towing a trailer can really limit you when you get to those 5+ point turn switch backs or find yourself on a narrow trail that is blocked and you have to reverse back to a turn around. While do able, they can really turn a small thing into a deal.
Trailers have some HUGE benefits especially on a destination trip. But on a nomad style trip they can limit you if the trails get technical. I have a lot of experience towing a trailer off road and think I could tow one downhill on a trail like Elephant hill, but I would not do this because the potential for huge failure is not worth the risk when you could dump the trailer do the special section and then grab the trailer to continue around a bypass.
mid you don’t have a lot of experience with a trailer you may want to learn with one before you’d do a big trip like this with one.
I’m amazed at how often I’ve seen someone get themselves all discombobulated with a trailer trying to reverse (around the city, usually at gas stations)

And this is why I set up a basecamp. I have no desire to pull the camper on level 5+ trails. Heck I don't even want the back of the Jeep loaded down with gear doing off chamber trails and such. I also don't have any real time constraints, so it is no big deal for me to drop the camper, go explore and come back to the camper. I will pull mine down the trail, a trail, not a obstacle course. For instance, drop the camper at the beginning of Top of the World trail, run the trail, and pick up the camper when I am done.

 

[wibornz]

Very nice. Great purpose and solid finishes.

Hey I have a question about slides.

The whole point of me going with an off-road trailer is to avoid carrying any of my camping gear in the vehicle during daily/normal commutes. I pretty much want a stock jeep 392 as my daily.

The specific Turtleback trailer I’m getting does not have a fridge slide in it. If I were to add a slide like this one to the back of my jeep. Is it something that I could easily remove and reinstall each time I go camping?

I also replaced the back part with wood. My fridge slide is held in with six lag screws. it take less than a minute to remove the fridge slide with a cordless drill or cordless impact driver with a socket. I rarely remove the fridge slide though. I will remove the fridge and leave the slide in the back.

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