I was thinking why would anyone consider a trailer? So I did a little math. If you are going fully loaded and need 4 panniers or equivilent, 3 lb front panniees, 4 lb rear, racks 1 1/2 lb each, gets you to 10 lbs. A bob is about 13lb, not a crazy amount more, and almost 1/2 the price of good panniers and racks. But personally, I still think 1 pr. panniers 1 rack at less than 5 lbs. is better. But the the trailer might not be as crazy as I first thought.

Trailers are pretty handy for groceries and other shopping, but I wouldn't use one for touring--just personal preference.

Good for family touring. Mine is strictly for hauling around town, not touring.
I did meet a young couple in Netherlands on their Dutch bikes hauling a caravan-style gas double hob with a heavy cylinder.

We have a trailer, and Rowan has used it for hauling stuff ...

... like when we were on a hub-and-spoke tour in northern Tasmania and went to a penny farthing event in the next town and wanted to bring table, lawn chairs, etc.




But we have used it on a short tour as well ...

Because a trailer fits their needs and wants.

And as I said 4 panniers vs. a trailer is not as much wt diff as I first thought. But light is a whole different story.

Some bikes aren't designed to mount racks or carrier heavy loads. But a BOB trailer can be easily towed by almost anything. I prefer racks and panniers to my old BOB trailer for touring, but the quick-attach trailer works really well behind my old 26" hardtail for hunting or fishing when I have a big load of gear that would be otherwise difficult to carry.

Folks are actually making a lot of sense here--use the right tool for the job.

I used a borrowed trailer for the first time last summer and it was perfect for the situation. But I haven't used one since and may never do so again.

I bought a large hammer drill and bit when I reinforced a concrete wall with 1/2" x 24" bolts last summer. I'm not going to use that tool to drive sheet metal screws, and I may never use it again.

Trailers can make sense for some folks on some trips, but when comparing weight to panniers, don't forget to includes spare tubes, or the fact that you still need to include some kind of bag for the gear. If you use the bag designed of the trailer they are not particularly light.

On the other hand some folks go heavier than a BoB trailer with the heaviest duty Arkel panniers and handlebar bag mounted on super heavy Surley Nice Racks. That can come in heavier than the trailer even when including a big bag and a couple spare tubes.

If you are using the Dry Sak with it (or whatever), you need to add in the weight of it. Also does the weight include the quick release attachment system, spider bungee, 2 piece safety flag, fender and reflectors? If it's published on the website, I don't see it. The same 13.5 pounds is quoted everywhere even in the Amazon reviews. I'll send them an E-Mail.

OK, spare tubes also...credit to staehpj1 ^^ for that!!

Weight is one aspect, weight distribution another. A trailer is likely to reduce the stress on the rear wheel, compared to two fully loaded panniers. May reduce the incidence of flat tires and broken spokes.

and don't forget the spare tire! if the tire goes out in the wilderness, what a pain
to drag a wheelless bob back to civilization.

if you do manage to find a tire in a small-town department store, most likely it'll
be a bmx tractor tire.

mine went bad on south island, new zealand. like a zillion miles from the nearest
bike shop. cross threads snapped or something....tire offcenter and bouncing.
didn't come off the rim or blow the tube, but basically unrideable. yes, had a spare
zip-tied under the trailer deck.

sure, could have managed without. set up camp, hitch to auckland, spend a day or
two trying to locate a smooth tire, hitch back......try to locate campsite.....um, it was
next to a tree, i think....

Not including the dry bag.

My 5' tall, petite GF was not too keen on the idea of riding with weight affixed to the frame so she went with a trailer.

I have tubus racks and ortlieb panniers but also love my trailers

Found this clip on the Carryfreedom site:

https://player.vimeo.com/video/109179910?portrait=0

Awesome goodness

This type of trailer (Extrawheel) is better for off road compared to the Carryfreedom above:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ekBCe3d9jw

My $.02 is when you need to carry more weight than the bike or rear wheel can handle.

You might also think about the logistics of traveling by air, bus or train to the start of a tour or the return trip home. A trailer may be be more difficult to pack and ship than panniers.

I have seen people with trailers on racing bikes with skinny tires. If I wanted to tour and only had a lighweight skinny tire bike, I would seriously consider the trailer option. I have never used a trailer, I am just looking at this with an open mind.

A friend of mine picked up a two wheel trailer (the type used to haul small kids) at a garage sale for cheap. He already owned some dry bags for kayaking tripping and a mountain bike with short chainstays. The trailer then was his entire touring investment and he had a great time on a week long tour. I think his entire touring investment cost less than one of my Schwalbe tires.

But a down side - four of my tours involved Amtrak - not sure how you deal with a trailer if you take the train.

a Trailer with a Portage pack-bag, as with shoulder straps in it , will allow you to wear the trailer
and lift Your unlaiden bike over obstacles you cannot ride around ..
Mudslides, Road wash outs, Climb stairs, Fence Stiles, etc.

Trailer tech seems a bit limited, I'd like to see a trailer w/carbon frame & rim & foldable carbon basket. Overall weight might then be comparable to dual-rack/4-pannier setup. Carbon cross bike w/ample & easy cargo capacity of carbon trailer could be sweet. Trailer users say they can be a handful on descents but loaded panniers can be a problem too w/wind buffeting.

I've used a farfarer trailer (Trailers | farfarer bike trailers and racks) on a couple of 1-2 week mountain bike tours and really like it. My bike has a thru axle so I wanted a seatpost mounted single wheel trailer. The trailer/wheel weighs about 9.5 lbs. Instead of using the bag that came with it, I used a drybag and suspended the bag from the trailer frame. I didn't weigh the bag, but my guess it weighs 1 to 2 lbs. One benefit of this trailer is that you can break it down and ship it with the bike. The downside is that farfarer is a very small company and their response time can be pretty long. Seem like nice guys though. Carrying an extra tube for the trailer wheel adds a little weight, but not much.

The problem for me is a trailer turns your bicycle into a tricycle

unless the trailer itself has 2 wheels , that = 4.

Mine with 40 lbs of Cola.

I was wondering if I how much I would use one. I didn't want to invest $300 bucks to have it sit in the corner. I bought a $60 eBarf trailer and ended up using it several times a week. I sold my truck and no longer drive.

I now own a BOB. It's worth double the difference between it and the eBarf copy. Not so noticeable below a 30 pound load but worlds of difference with 50 pounds of groceries.

One main reason for using a trailer is that I don't want to carry my garbage to the county dumpsters in my panniers.

Wow you have a lot going on in that picture! Ha, thats fantastic.