Question for those who tour with a trailer
 

A question for those of you who do self supported tours with a trailer.
Do you use panniers (rear, front, or both) as well?

I have an extra wheel. When touring with our children, it is used in conjunction with front and rear panniers. Otherwise we prefer to travel with front panniers only.

That depends on a lot of what you plant do, but I had plenty of room on the trailer so no need for panniers. In fact I probably carried too much because i had so much space and the trailer (a BOB) was longer so I could carry longer items like a lawn chair!

no. yes. yes.

one aspect of using the trailer is taking "some" of the weight
off the rear wheel.

for 18-month tour, with TOO much stuff, had fore and aft
bags, h-bar bag and a bob. the lightest stuff went into the
rear bags. heavier stuff (5 gallons h2o) went to the rear of
the trailer. no problem with handling as the "stupid" heavy
configuration was only for dessert flatland.
kitchen stuff and food in the front bags.

for shorter, lighter tours, would omit the rear bags. kitchen
and food in the front as before. sometimes would carry
sleeping bag in dry sak on the rear rack.

I use an ExtraWheel trailer with my carbon frame Jamis. Although it has eyelets front and rear, it really is only rated for light touring. A moderate load in rear rack panniers generated shimmy in the steering, so I got rid of the rack and got the trailer. If I could pack lighter, I would use a handlebar roll, frame and seat bag, bikepacking style. But I need the trailer and 2 medium panniers. It works well.

Less is more!
R&J

I did an interrupted tour that began with four panniers and a handlebar bag. Second half was with a B.O.B. trailer holding the contents of the panniers. Each portion of the trip was with about 50 pounds of gear. While I could ride with panniers and a trailer I would not do so for an extended period, since I can't imagine needing that much stuff or, more importantly, having to propel that much crap down the road and up the next hill.

I've retired my BOB trailer but when I used it I would just carry the equivalent load of two rear panniers back there, about 20 pounds. I would also use two small front panniers to distribute the load and for quick access to daytime food, tools and foul weather gear. Despite the added weight of the trailer I liked it's low center of gravity and easy morning pack up over that of panniers. The trailer novelty has since worn off and I've returned to using panniers alone. I also used to lead ACA tours and the trailer was handy for group grocery shopping.

I have a Burley Nomad. Can't say enough good things about it. It carries everything I need, so no need for panniers. It tows easily, has no effect on bike handling and nets out weightwise only slightly heavier that panniers and racks.

trailer
 

When we prepped for a three week tour, a friend with 100,000 miles of experience told us maximum weight, 50 lbs, "including" the trailer We did use a bob, struggled to stay under 50 so we also retired our bob, now use a "DOM" aluminum version of a one wheel trailer.
We tandem and have a carbon front fork, so I am not comfortable with a pannier load on the front.
We do Credit card tours with just rear panniers and a trunk bag but have learned as many, every pound slows you down, "Less is more"! :)
R&J

http://www.bike2013.com/wp-content/g...x_dsc_0459.jpg

Most of my cycling has been just with panniers.

However, I have an Extrawheel trailer that I used along with rear panniers for a ride from Portland, OR to Fort Collins, CO.

not correct, unless that individual meant their recommendation for maximum load.

the trailer itself weighs about 13 pounds, and is rated to carry up to 70 pounds of gear.
that's a lawyerly 70-pounds, so prolly capable of much, much more.

i pulled a bob with a semi-full load, was many moons ago, just guessing around 35-40
pounds, and would add 40 pounds (5 gallons) of water for dessert crossings.

With through axles becoming more popular that adds a complexity to using a trailer. But certainly not impossible.


Is the 13 lb wt for the Bob trailer only? Doesn't their duffle bag weigh around 3 lbs?

more like 4.5#, thus total of 18#

And thus, more is less, so the ultimate in lightweight touring would be to carry everything!

Anybody know if Bob-style trailers can be daisy chained? How about behind a triple extrawheel rig?

Having had an Extrawheel trailer I wonder at the need to also carry Panniers. Even when camping I would have thought that two large panniers on the trailer with the tent and sleeping mat carried on the rack would prove sufficient......after all one of the main advantages of the trailer is that it frees the rear wheel from the load of the weight of luggage.