Originally Posted by
Louis Le Tour
For my first X-county tour starting next spring I'll be pulling a YAK-BOB trailer. Do those of you who pull a trailer find you tend to overload it? Right now I'm looking at tents and having a nice BIG tent with plenty of room for me and my trailer is a really tempting idea. However, that big tent will probably weight about 6+ pounds and I just may very well deeply regret every extra pound I have to haul up a long hill climb. You experienced trailer pullers please chime in here and help me stay on the straight and narrow! BTW, I'm 5'7", 180#s and 71 years on the planet.
I had a BoB that I bought with touring in mind and used around town, but decided it was not the best way to go for touring.
I then did a fairly heavily loaded (45-50 pounds) coast to coast tour using 4 panniers. On that tour I took a very heavy tent and cursed it every day. I was carrying a good bit of community gear for our group of three.
I gradually went lighter and lighter. I went from 45, to 30, to 20, to 15, to 11 pounds of gear and from 4 panniers, to 2 panniers, to stuff sacks and other gear strapped on. Through all of that I was comfortable and had what I needed to camp and cook.
As listed, I have experienced a wide range of packing styles. A few things that I learned from all of that are that, for me at least:
- Lighter is better
- A big tent is just more bulk to carry without much benefit. I am generally in it only if sleeping or reading. Neither require much room.
- Shedding pound on the gear list means being thoughtful but ruthless with packing decisions
- You really NEED very little gear
- Bike, panniers, and most gear can stay outside just fine. I only take in the most theft worthy stuff and what I need to sleep and get dressed in the morning.
- Making your gear choices first and then deciding on the bike and luggage options to suit makes more sense than picking the luggage first. That way you take what you need not what you have room for.
So, I would have suggested that you not decide on the trailer until you had your gear list sorted out. Since you already have, I'd suggest you work out the packing list without thinking about the trailer and how much it can carry. Don't take anything because it is on someone else's list, or because it seems clever. Don't take spares for anything that isn't absolutely essential. Remember that you can buy things along the way if necessary.
Don't mistake a lot of space or a lot of stuff for comfort. Where comfort is important is on the bike and while sleeping. On the bike the less stuff you carry the more comfortable you will be. While sleeping it takes very little space to be comfortable.
Suggested reading:
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/Ultralight