I am towing a Bob. This is my first tour with a trailer (all my previous tours were with panniers). I think there is advantages and disadvantages to each. I rode down the Pacific Coast, then east on the Southern Tier, then down to Key West FL where I am waiting for 4 or 5 weeks for winter to go away before riding back to Seattle. One nice thing about the Bob, is that I can load an ice chest and folding chair in it, and go to the beach everyday. I've also used it to haul firewood (when I was camping at BlackJack NF campground in NM)