Has anyone use the BoB Yak with a full set of front and rear panniers.I know more weight I could care less how heavy my bike is.My panniers all four of them only weight is 40 pounds my ride is the Surly LHT 52 cm with 26x1.75 tires.Would like to know if it can be done with a rear rack with panniers on it too.

Depends on how your rear rack eyelets are set up. I have one bike I can run a rear rack and a BOB with and another that the trailer contacts the rack right where it mounts.

It can be done though, but run a stout rear wheel, potential is there for a lot of weight.

Thanks CCrew guess I will have to order one and find out if it will work for my bicycle.

May need to put the rear bags mounted higher to clear the triangulated tow fork at the axle ..

Rack higher on special mounting scheme , or move the hooks on the bags further down from the top.

BoB trailers torque the rear triangle of the towing frame , and you may want some heavy duty wheels as mentioned above .

36 at a absolute minimum 48 with Salsa Gordo rims not a bad Idea, modify a Shimano Tandem cassette hub.
You will be shortening the axle from the left end.


My personal favorite is 2 wheel trailers, Ive got 2 now a Carry freedom City,
it folds flat, within the perimeter of its frame.
plus, has a slung bag that comes off with a buckle, and carrys on your back like
a messenger bag off the trailer .

and a Burly Flatbed , late in the CoOp production. 406 wheels QR off , uses 2 front wheel hubs.
at home the one trailer stores folded up in the cargo area of the 2nd.

I do it everytime I go on my monthly Trader Joes/WholeFoods/Publix grocery run. Takes all that space to get all the groceries on the bike. That's using Ortlieb Rollers front and back and the Yak on a 56 LHT. No problems at all except it gets a little wobbly with all the weight. That's a heavy load!

I have hand-built 36h wheels from RockyMt Cyclery. No mods to the hub -- just changed out the skewer for the Bob mount. My rack is a Topeak. Again, clearance is totally fine.

Yep. I've used four panniers and a trailer for the past 13,000 miles from Alaska to Bolivia. It's heavy, but doable.

Thanks to all that help me out on this matter.The only reason I want one is so I can have room in my panniers for some good food to take with me.I like to cook and camp so this will let me do it a little better and give me room to bring a few things back home to my wife she can not go on this trip it would be to hard on her.Not like its going to be easy on me either lol.

Just a suggestion, but... It is usually way better to buy food as you go. In the US at least most places you will pass stores often, like at least daily, most of the time. As far as taking things home for the wife, why not just mail them home?

The BoB weighs 13 pounds all by itself. That is a huge difference before you even put anything in it. I can't imagine wanting to carry more than will fit in my smallish panniers, but it is obviously your choice to make.

It just cost to much to send stuff home and then you have to pack it up real good and hope it don't get broke in the mail.Now for the food the rout I will be going there is not a lot of stores to get from and some of them is in a bad area.And I want know where I will be at when I setup camp for the night.I like to have it all with me I never know I might want to stay a while at one spot and swim or fish a few day at a time.This trip I am going on I am in no hurry to get to Bangor Maine.And when I do get there I will be there no telling how long.This is a one in the life time trip for my self.

It was just a suggestion, but it has worked for us even in some pretty remote areas. We did have some occasions where there was nothing for 80 miles or so. I have never been anywhere like that east of the Mississippi though and fitting a few days worth of food in the panniers is pretty easy.

Just food for thought...

I guess it depends on what you want to pack and how long you will be between stores. So yeah it may not work for you, but I would spend quite a bit on postage to avoid hauling a trailer with a bunch of heavy stuff in it in addition to my panniers for a multi month trip (or a short one for that matter). A trailer in addition to panniers may make sense if you are really hauling a lot of stuff, but I doubt it makes sense unless you plan on carrying a load approaching 100 pounds . It may work for some, but that load would suck every bit of the joy out of touring for me.

On the mailing stuff home...

We have had good luck with finding boxes and packing stuff at the post office. The cost is pretty variable depending on the size and weight of what you are mailing. If the stuff is light it is pretty cheap to mail. If it is heavy but not too large flat rate boxes work well.

Also we have had stores that were willing to mail home stuff we bought for us at no charge. It never hurts to ask.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you need to get that trailer home at the end (or to the start at the beginning) of the trip. Shipping it is both an expense and a hassle.

Getting to the start is easy I will be leaving from my home.And getting back I will rent a U-Haul Van and drive back when time comes.I have always had bad luck send stuff home it cost way to much and I hate to spend more that I have to the money is for my self to have fun on and not sending stuff home with.That's half the fun of a trip to me bring stuff home.Even with the BoB on and loaded up too I still want have over 60 to 65 pounds in all of my gear if that much.I just think that having the BoB will help me out a little.Like you said its not for all of us just some of us like doing things a little different than others do lol.Beside I went and got my self the BoB today at my LBS I have it all hook up and done a little test run with it we have hills here and lots of them so it gave me a little look at what it will be like.But it was not loaded up at all.But I have time to do some more test runs before I leave for my trip.Thanks for the info you gave me it does help.

I hope it all works out well for you. Have a great trip.

Not to derail the thread, but why is the weight of a BoB an issue? Ok, it's 13 pounds. You use small bags, but many who would use a BoB use the biggest bags available. What is the net difference between the weight of those bags, racks and mounting hardware versus the BoB? No doubt the Bob weighs more, but what are we talking here, a few pounds? Just wondering why this always comes up in BoB conversations.

The BoB would weigh about 9 - 10 lbs. more than my rack and panniers. Since my total touring load is about 20 lbs. this would be an increase of ~50%. Clearly the OP of this thread is planning on carrying much more stuff and the BoB may well be best for him. But for me the added weight and the complications with shipping to/from the trip make it an undesirable choice.

+1 wrt the last question, and it's not just Bob's. It's any trailer v pannier thread, it seems.

FWIW, I just weighed 4 old-style Blackburn panniers w/rain covers and a low-rider front rack that I picked up on eBay AND the rear rack that came with my Windsor Tourist. Compared to a Bob trailer, wow, a total of 3 pounds difference (less than the Bob)! I've just received a different manufacturer's trailer (not for public release/sale yet) and the total weight difference is even less. If we were talking about big Arkel's or Ortleibs, I would almost bet the trailer would set up might come out ahead (especially with true expedition racks which I don't have).

Get the 700c size trailer and it will clear for sure. The 26" model should work but it depends on your rear rack arrangement. Plus, the 700c size trailers are more sought after in the 2nd hand market so there easier to sell if you decide to, IMHO.

Exactly! I know there are some who do lightweight touring but most don't. When reading some of the bag versus trailer threads, the anti-trailer group makes out using trailers akin to dragging a lead weight uphill. But usually no supporting net weight differences are offered. The truth is, there isn't much of a weight difference between the two systems. Weight really isn't an issue.