Originally Posted by EriktheFish

This is an excellent question, and part of the answer is almost never addressed, including by those that have commented on this topic so far. Most new trailers come with a lower priced, lower psi rated (around 45) tire/tires. I've found that putting higher quality, higher psi rated tires makes a big difference in rolling resistance. The Schwalbe Marathon Racer in 16" has an 85 psi rating and the Kenda Kwest is 100 psi.

On my recent cross country tour we pulled two 2 wheel Burley Nomads and one 1 wheeled BOB. All did fine, but I personally prefer the 2 wheelers due to perceived better handling/less weight on rear wheel. With good tires, I really don't notice a difference in rolling resistance between 1 or 2 wheeled trailers. Before the next tour I'm going to replace my Nomad with a Qik-Pak as they are a little larger, are more watertight, and have a superior hitch to the Burley's.

As others said, after years of pannier touring, I now prefer a trailer. I like that my bike still performs mostly like my empty bike when pulling a trailer as opposed to being loaded with panniers (especially in quick manuevers, I can dodge any unforseen pothole much faster with a trailer vs pannier). I found lower resistance to crosswinds with a trailer. I find cars seem to give me more room when pulling a trailer than panniers- I think some drivers equate a gear trailer to a kid trailer.

http://www.biketrailershop.com/schwa...c5298_a_7c1427

http://www.biketrailershop.com/kenda...15-p-1394.html