Trailer or no trailer?

[Road]

Put an XO Jack by ArkPak on your trailer and it is pretty easy to move in move situations. To date I have never gotten stuck and I have been in some pretty tight situations. Sometimes it takes 20 turns to make "3 point turn" but I have been able to turn around. Most of the M416 style trailers are pretty light and very easy to move. I understand the concern if travelling solo and don't have some type of scouting vehicle... I will say that most true "Overlanding trails" vs "Off-road" should cause no issues with pulling a trailer.

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I'll second this. I've had mine all over the place, from mountains to bayous to desert and everywhere in between (stayed aired down for 62 days this past spring in the borderlands, with 90% or so of the time on dirt and gravel), and have never been in a situation where I had to back back out and down a trail, though I am not a rock-crawler kind of guy, either.

As I was writing elsewhere, if the distance from your rear axle to the trailer axle is the same as your tow vehicle's wheelbase, not shorter, your trailer will track much better and be easier to maneuver around curves and corners and be FAR easier to back up. Some like that distance longer for backing, though I find mine being about the same I can back my trailer wherever I want.

Another thing to consider is what distance you have clear between whatever is mounted on the rear of your vehicle and whatever is mounted on the tongue of your trailer. Jam that space up with too much stuff and it will be harder to back up your trailer in a tight turn as it will prevent you from turning as tight as you want. I can back my trailer to a right angle to my van, making it a lot easier to turn around when needed without unhitching.

LOVE my ARK XO 750 Jack. XO stands for Xtreme Offroad. They make a 350, 500, and 750. Those are KG ratings, not pounds, so the 750 has a static rating of 1650lbs, dynamic rating of 1100 lbs. Rugged as hell, and the dual wheel makes maneuvering your loaded trailer by hand much easier. I was amazed at how much more I could move my loaded trailer (3500# GVW) with the XO jack than I could with the Fulton single-wheel, less HD, jack. I used to put a 2x8 under the jack wheel when unhooking so I could nudge it those last few inches when hitching back up, but don't need to with the XO. I've also swung the trailer around by hand, though if on really rocky, deep and loose gravel, or off-kilter grade, it would be more difficult, of course.



I bought mine from Schutt Industries, who makes my trailer. They currently have the best price out there, too, as far as I know.

Tell them Road sent ya . . . it won't mean a thing as far as discount, and I don't get anything out of it, but they like knowing where their customers come from, and you might hear a story or two.

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