Hello all.
I’ve had quite a few years experience of towing a touring caravan. I’m now wanting some advice regarding the small trailers that are generally available. (5 or 6 cwt. Pay load)
In my mind I’ve always thought of them as garden trailers probably because I’ve occasionally borrowed one from a friend for garden centre visits:- with a mileage range of about ten miles round trip.
I’ve set myself up with a new tent along with all the equipment. It’s occurred to me that a small trailer would be great for loading all the gear. What I’m concerned about, I do like to make occasionally quite long trips. The small trailers I’ve viewed appear perfectly capable to carry the bulk of my equipment well within the actual weight loading factor of it all as well. I’ve earmarked one with a opening tailgate and a decent weather protection cover. But loading the gear in and driving from Sheffield to say Portsmouth does seem to be asking a lot from such a small trailer.
The Small wheels and tyres whilst they look quite sturdy for local trips I’m unsure if long runs would suit them.
I’m wondering if anyone who uses these types of Small trailers can put my mind at ease regarding their suitability for long journeys and indeed any recommendations, Hints or negatives you would be willing to share.
We towed a small trailer to the south of France and back. My advice is make sure wheel bearings are packed to correct capacity with correct grease and carry two spare wheels, we had a tyre blow. If replacing a tyre, make very sure they are designed for higher trailer speeds and loads, in France they fitted a scooter tyre on our wheel, did the job perfectly.
Thank you for your reply. That’s reassuring to know. I had thought that when buying the trailer I would get a spare wheel and tyre as well. Your point regarding two actually seem the way to go.
I haven’t studied the trailers in any depth other than a casual look to assess suitability size wise and load capability. Plus regular servicing taking your point for the wheel bearings.
I have a good choice of dealers around Sheffield including a branch of Towsure. So spare parts should be easy to source.
Best regards
Brian
Many years ago I built my own using parts from Honeyfield Trailers no longer trading I believe. I think you will probably be able to buy parts from several suppliers now if you google.
I used mini car wheels so properly rated as they were car tyres. Fitted to Indespension hubs and suspension units which bolted to the trailer.
Look at the speed rating of the tyres. We towed a small trailer all over France for several years with our camping gear. It was quite a long time ago but I remember when we were buying it there was some discussion about the tyres on different brands. I remember one we looked at had a very low speed rating on the tyres and we ended up buying a more expensive trailer but which had better tyres.
The other thing to think about which we completely missed on our first camping trip with the trailer is how you pack it. We packed it like a jigsaw puzzle, just fitting everything in as best as we could but when we arrived on site we realised that the things we needed first were right at the bottom! It’s probably just us who would do something so silly but eventually we worked out a way to pack it so that the things were packed in the reverse order in which they were needed so the things we needed first were on the top nearest to the tailgate.
The trailer was a real benefit for us as we didn’t have a massive car at the time and it made it a lot easier to carry everything we needed. However, we always ended up taking far too much!
We used to have a small trailer when we camped in Germany back in the late 70s. We did have a spare wheel,and the car had a scissor jack so we could have changed a wheel.
Bear in mind you are restricted to 50mph on single carriageways and 60 on dual carriageway or motorways. You often see cars belting past at 70 plus with small trailers.
We were restricted to 80km in Germany which was a bind on derestricted autobahns. The Polizei would issue a stiff on the spot fine if they caught you speeding.
We just kept with the trucks.
------------- DS-There's more to life than football!!!
Towed a fair range of different things over the years, power boats (lots!), car trailers, horse boxes, smallish camping trailers and caravan, so in a good position to judge pros and cons. Not owned a camping trailer, but towed a couple of different ones a few times, and been a passenger when one being towed quite a few other times, and aware of general 'principles' of small trailers. Got friends who've towed them extensively on camping trips, one has now migrated up to a twin axle high top box one that weighs (loaded) nearly as much as my 4 berth caravan (but they are no one's idea of 'minimalist' campers, and they are a family of 4 with 3 being female! ).
When it comes to the towing experience with camping trailers, arguably, bigger and heavier is better! The really small lightweight ones tend to be quite bouncy and a bit skittish on the road especially at cruising speed, you won't necessarily be aware of your own trailer, but watch other people's being towed to see how they move around, sometimes alarmingly, but no doubt the driver was oblivious as out of sight and too light to be having much effect on tow car!
Think about the gear you put in the trailer and the ride it's going to get, it's generally a pretty rough ride in a trailer (far, far worse than a car boot!), suspension can be very crude, garden rubbish doesn't care, but camping equipment can suffer from 'movement damage' like chaffing of tents and other fabric/fragile items (storage bags seem to suffer), breaking of more delicate items, crockery etc. We've experienced it ourselves and seen it with others, attention to packing is critical to ensure contents don't suffer. Heavier trailers and bigger diameter wheels reduce the roughness of the ride.
Small trailers are VERY difficult (read near impossible!) to reverse, they jack knife in an instant, the shorter the distance from tow hitch to axle the worse they are. In general, without a height extension of some sort (extended sides, top box etc.), they are usually invisible from the driving seat, so you are reversing TOTALLY blind! ... first sight in most cases is when it pops into view in a door mirror after totally jack knifing!!!!! .... at which point you are likely to reverse into it and damage both car and trailer! Still challenging, but a second (knowledgeable/skilled!) person to guide you is near essential. You don't always get to be the one that chooses when to reverse, we've been caught behind broken down cars in traffic and needed to get past, and redirected in ferry queues etc., jumping out to unhitch, manoeuvre trailer AND car, rehitch, rather than reversing even if only 6ft, before driving off is not always going to be popular! We've certainly unhitched and manhandled the trailer in car parks when breaking a journey, rather than attempt to reverse it into bays. I certainly don't have that problem reversing my large caravan!
If you think, just unhitching it and manhandling it instead of reversing it is the answer, consider how unwieldy near 1/2 ton (Gross weight!) of 'runaway' trailer is on a slope if no jockey wheel and/or brakes, and generally no handholds other than the tow hitch release lever! For safety, often a multi person task. Also when parked, if no brakes, you may need to chock the wheels to stop it rolling away.
The bigger the wheel diameter, the less revolutions it does for any given linear distance, which means less wear and tear on tyres and bearings, also replacement small trailer tyres can be hard to find, sometimes having to be specially ordered in, which can take days, so the need for a new tyre on a journey can be a big problem (been there, done that, but thankfully reached destination before needing replacement!). Two spares as already mentioned is very wise with specialist trailer tyres. When I built my boat trailer from scratch, deliberately went for car wheels/tyres to ensure easy replacement of tyres, and they're often cheaper too! Good maintenance of bearings is pretty crucial for long journeys especially, it is a trailer after all and any deterioration in bearings on the road will be unnoticed in tow car until things have got very serious like smoke/fire from overheating bearing or detached wheel from failed hub! Seen both (on other people's trailers)!
Friends regularly do Essex to South Wales with their trailer. We've done long journeys quite a few times, London to Devon, and London to France (Le Mans) with a moderate sized camping trailer (6x4ft), relatively uneventfully, no problem with trailer, but learnt a bit about towing one, certainly learnt quite a few do's and don'ts along the way. Personally IMHO I wouldn't consider the really small lightweight ones with tiny wheels for camping use/long distances, best used for a short trip to the dump with garden waste etc. For practicality, a jockey wheel and ideally brakes (if only for the hand brake when manoeuvring!) make life so much easier, grab handles for manoeuvring are also a real benefit (mostly relevant if you have a jockey wheel!), some height extension even if only a couple of poles (on rear corners) with obvious markers on top that are visible when driving (tennis balls are good), give you some feedback about how the (normally 'invisible') trailer is towing AND where it is if trying to reverse. Long distance travel is perfectly possible, safe, and relatively worry free, with the right trailer, preparation, and maybe a little assistance with reversing and manoeuvring.
I think just about everyone who has ever bought a trailer says 'wish I'd got a bigger one, not enough space for all my gear in this one'! I know people who have replaced first small trailer with a larger one after a few uses! No doubt, as with car boots, if you've got the space, you will fill it! .... no such thing as spare/empty space when camping it seems! .... 'spare space' can be a downside if trying to be minimalist!!!!!
Not to be overlooked, is where do you store it when not in use, and can it be (and how many people necessary!) stood on end/side to reduce ground space. Ensure you can find decent security (wheel clamps AND hitch locks) to fit your trailer, they are so easy to steal.
Like everything in life, the wish list probably needs curtailing for practical and budgetary reasons, but hopefully food for thought.
As well is two words!
How does a sage know everything about everything? or does he? or does he just think he does?
Remember, if you buy something you bought it, not brought it.
Totally agree with everything Monty says there, especially the bit about reversing! I have no problem with my caravan, and have towed many other large trailers in the past with no problems, but trying to reverse my little box trailer when taking rubbish to the tip is nigh-on impossible! I can't see it at all until it has already jack-knifed. I avoid one local tip with the trailer specifically for the reason that you have to reverse into a bay.
If it’s going to be used for the occasional trip with garden rubbish or an old piece of furniture, check whether your recycling centre has a limit on the trailer length it allows in. Ours does.
Quote: Originally posted by Fiona W on 16/4/2022
If it’s going to be used for the occasional trip with garden rubbish or an old piece of furniture, check whether your recycling centre has a limit on the trailer length it allows in. Ours does.
I live mid-way between two. Neither has any trailer length restrictions as far as I know, but they both need a licence to access them. Very easy to obtain though just by going to the council website and putting in your details, and completely free. One is drive in - drive out, so that's fine with a trailer, but the other one is drive in - reverse into a bay - drive out, so that one is no good for trailers.
To be fair Montys advice is all you will ever need.
But from my personal experience, i owned a small erde trailer with extended sides that was fine, as long as you check the tyres and bearings regularly.
I have use of a brenderup trailer that belongs to a friend and it tows so much better than the erde.
And as for reversing !!!
I am a class 1 driver and still have nightmares about reversing a small trailer that you cant see in your mirrors ! ( un hook and push )
But a good small trailer is always a useful tool.
Brenderup 1205s is what i would go for.
Not sure what is considered as "small" however, when I was a tenter, I towed a Brenderup 1150s with extension sides and ABS lid with my MINI Cooper then the MINI Countryman, kept nearly all the camping gears in the trailer for storage in between trips except for the main tent.
It towed like a dream, and I often forgot I was towing it and exceeded the 60mph limit! I would highly recommend Brenderup as a brand.
As the others have commented, I too found it difficult to reverse with the trailer, and had to unhook it from the car and push into place.
It is not air and water tight unless one seals every single hole and gap with silicone sealer. However, water ingress was only an issue a couple of times when it was raining cats and dogs and I was travelling against the wind and rain direction. Not a huge amount of water getting in, just a small pool which dried in no time.
Far better than having a roof box as I did not have to empty the trailer at the end of each trip and re-loaded for the next etc...
If I were to go back to camping in a tent, I would definitely get a trailer again.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
DK and Skipp - I have a Brenderup 1205s trailer and it's superb.
I went for the caged sides, as shown in the photo so that I could use it for carrying work tools and bikes. However, it can also be ordered without these, but with a lockable fibreglass lid if you want the extra security. The main advantages are that it's far, far sturdier than most smaller trailers, and also that it has 13-inch wheels for which new tyres are available at most dealers. Drawbacks are that with the load bay measuring 2m x 1.15m it's not exactly small (though there is a 1105S model which is shorter) and with a payload of 600kg (necessary, because to give it a higher weight capacity would mean it needing its own brakes, making it much heavier and more expensive) it's frighteningly easy to overload it.
There are smaller, lighter and cheaper trailers available - one very popular example is the 'Erde' brand sold at most Halfords stores. However, the disadvantages with these are that they're a pig to reverse for the reasons that Monty and Colin have stated, and also that the wheels are only 10-inch diameter for which new tyres are not commerically available. So if you get a puncture, you have to replace the entire wheel.
------------- "Don't wait for the perfect moment. Take the moment and make it perfect."
We had a 600kg maypole trailer with mesh high side kit and cover and towed it to France and back many times - think we worked out that it had covered over 10,000 miles by the time I sold it.
It came on 10 inch wheels which were changed when the tyres got to about 3 or 4 years old (was cheaper buying new wheels with tyres rather than getting the tyres replaced), I eventually changed the wheels for 13 inch wheels which gave a much better tow.
All the tyres were high speed and the trailer towed well up to 80 mph.
Maintenance wise, it was a case of stripping the old grease out of the bearings and packing with fresh grease every year before our trip, a check of the tyres and a general check around the trailer making sure all the nuts and bolts were in place and fully tightened..
Sold it when I purchased a caravan and was surprisingly bought by someone that lived in France
Apologies to all for my slow response to your excellent advice, comments and recommendations with regard to my post.
I really appreciate the effort and time you have taken to add your comments.
We are in the process of moving house so I’ve put the trailer purchase on hold at the moment. I will however be getting myself sorted hopefully in Early July.
During my pondering I was considering going the roof box Route but the comments by ‘DK’ have made me re-think that. I will have a garage at the new place and storing the camping gear (ready for the next trip) within the trailer does appeal to me.
The advice regarding the Brenderup trailers is interesting It’s not a brand I’d heard of but my thoughts are that I want one of those now!
Thanks to all again for your much appreciated advice.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Small Trailer Pros & Cons
via mobile 15/4/2022 at 8:53am
).
