Originally Posted by crazybikerchick
On my first week long tour I used panniers. I already had the panniers from commuting (where a trailer would be overkill IMO) so it was a simple matter of convenience and avoiding expense. On the trip we ran into a couple that were about 2000 km into a cross Canada tour. The husband had a BOB trailer and the wife had panniers. They mentioned the BOB was *much* easier to pull the weight. I would say too its a matter of how light you plan to travel, on the heavier side I would definitely think the BOB would be nicer.
A single wheel trailer is a bit easier to get up to speed than a pannier loaded bike but there are handling issues. I have used, and will continue to use, a SWT for off-road touring because of clearance issues and other factors. But on the road, the trailer tends to push the front of the bike when in a corner especially if the bike has a springier rear triangle. I found that using a steel touring bike which handles a pannier load just fine, the trailer would pushing it to the outside of corners and tended to lighten the front end. A stiffer aluminum bike doesn't have this problem (at least mine doesn't) but I didn't want to risk problems when I was out in the middle of nowhere so I went the pannier route.
To the original poster, the cost is about the same especially when you figure in racks. For example, 2 sets of Ortlieb classics cost around $290 while the Tubus racks for the bike cost around $200 (front and rear). That's a even a bit more expensive than a trailer.