I recently did my first overnight trip with a Burley Nomad, and it works perfectly for me. A couple of perceived advantages over a one-wheeled bob-clone or panniers:

- Balance: I feel that it takes a lot less work to haul the same load in a two-wheeler than it would with panniers or a one-wheeled trailer which requires effort to balance. Uneven loads make very little difference with the Nomad. If the bike tips over, it won't take the trailer with it. If you dump your bike or lean it at an odd angle on a hill, the trailer won't stress your frame. If you're aggressively pedaling up a hill, the trailer won't swing back and forth. The trailer takes almost all the weight, further reducing stress on your frame and rear wheel.

- Maneuverability and and off bike: It's really no wider than a pair of well-stuffed rear panniers. I expected to have to constantly worry about tracking a wheel off the road, over potholes, or tracking too close to a rail/post and getting the trailer stuck/flipped. In reality that has not been an issue at all. It tracks over small obstructions often enough, but it's generally barely noticeable, as the attachment arm dampens must of the jarring. I haven't had to adjust my riding style at all. The hitch isn't fussy at all and can be attached with one hand. The trailer itself is easy to move around loaded, and makes a handy cart when off the bike. Mentioned this, but it's also easier to park.

It should be mentioned that while I love the trailer, I can't deny that it pulls down my average speed significantly. Maybe that'll change as I get used to it. More importantly, I don't care. I'm more of the meandering sort of tourist with no need to get anywhere fast. The trailer fits my style very well because despite slowing me down, I actually feel less exhausted late in the day, probably because I'm not having to balance heavy panniers constantly. It's also not truly weatherproof, but that's nothing a tarp around your gear won't fix. I rode for hours in heavy rain, and no significant amount of water got in. I'm still using the big squishy stock tires on the trailer, but I plan on putting something slicker on it.

I like that. It had never occured to me before but looks like with the trailer packed neatly like a suitcase you don't have to fumble through layers of stuff and then have to repack exactly the way it came out.

Yep. It's more like rummaging a car trunk than anything. There is another, smaller, compartment in the front that isn't shown, with an optional divider between the two. I use the front compartment for damp items, and items that can get wet without it mattering much.

This may seem trivial, but another thing I'm pretty happy about is that lack of dry-bag smell. Ortlieb panniers tend to stink after a lot of use. Clothing coming out of an Ortlieb pannier smell like rubber and whatever odors have been absorbed by the waterproof material. The trailer is not 100% weatherproof, but the upside is that it can breath a bit.

I knew there was something about that picture!

i have a copy of the bob cargo trailer, my fear with it is, it could pop out of the quick release is there a device diy or whatever that will ease my worries.

I've usually used panniers for touring but have sometimes used the Bike Friday trailer system for one-way trips where I wanted to have the suitcase along for packing the bike at one or both ends of the tour. Both work fine, but I prefer to use panniers to reduce the total weight. I try to pack light and keep my camping gear and other touring luggage to about 20 lbs. The trailer adds a substantial amount to this which I prefer to avoid. Might well be different if I were planning on taking 40+ lbs. of touring gear along since then the trailer weight would be a smaller percentage

I Captain a Vision Tandem and went with the BOB trailer for a few reasons.
1. The Vision is a recumbent and space is at a premium.
2. Balance issues on a recumbent...the load is at or above the rider's COG.
3. Gear for 2 is easier to pack on the trailer.
4. I go to the grocery store and SAM's Club with the trailer and do our shopping for the week.

I also have a set of Jandd Expedition panniers on the bike full time now. There were too many times we stopped at the grocery store on our regular rides and wanted to do our shopping.

Best to all
Bob

Bob,,,BOB,,,,I like BOB,,,,,I like pannies too,,,,Use both,,,,last year I had panniers front and rear, BIG ONES, trunk bag and BOB.
Couldn't fill it all.

Well the BOB trailer did not work out for my son. Long story short, on a downhill the trailer started swaying back and forth on a Vermont downhill. He braked slowly, (right thing to do) but the swaying continued before he could stop and a crash resulted. 5 hours later in the hospital - severe road rash, swollen ankle, luckily he kept his head up and no broken bones. He's light (125 lbs) and I suspect that like a small car pulling a heavy trailer it wasn't a good combination.

Unfortunately it ended his first tour on the 1st day. Mom drove up 3 hours and picked him up so that my friend and I could continue on the tour. It was my first tour in 20 years and bitter sweet to say the least. I did enjoy touring again, but it would have been so much better with my son.

I'm getting him Low Rider front racks -
John

Sorry to hear about your son's accident.

FWIW, an often overlooked issue is speed when puulling trailers. Bobgear, for instance, has a Safety Warning that the speed of the bike/trailer combination should not exceed 25mph. This is fairly easy to do on downhills. I had the same concern with a Mayacycle trailer - a speed induced wobble as speed approached 25mph once, as it approached 30 another time.

Of course, wobbles from poor load balancing can occur with panniers also.

Also, I've found that when braking with any trailer, and I've towed both single and double wheel trailers behind a diamond frame bike, applying the rear brake first and "pulsing it" tends to feel much more "positive" control-wise than applying both brake simultaneously or front brake first (which many people recommend).

Something to consider/be aware of...

IMHO, unless your son weighs less than my GF and what she pulls in her Bob Yak weigh (she -> ~120lbs, her cargo rarely over 35 lbs/plus trailer weight (14-15lbs?)), I'm not sure rider weight is much of a factor in the wobble problem. Otoh, she prefers using front panniers with 5-7 lbs of weight in each when towing a trailer. She says it makes her steering "more posiitive".

Sorry to reply to this so late:
I was one of the Mayacycle trailer testers, so, um, yeah been there, did that.

I decided to test things for myself.

Last weekend, I loaded the panniers as if going on a two week tour and went around 180 kilometres on Saturday afternoon and evening and Sunday from morning until mid-afternoon. This weekend, I did the same loop, with the same gear, but using a trailer instead. There were two other factors to consider. For this weekend's trip, I had new tires since the old tires were almost completely worn out. Also this weekend, I had a headwind a little worse than last weekend.

The trailer was a Burley cargo trailer.

The panniers keep everything on the bike, but I didn't like the feel of the front panniers. Swapping out the front rack with a lowrider rack may have helped here. I also have noticed a difference in the feel of the bike with panniers, since the positioning of the load can alter the centre of gravity.

The trailer is much easier to load as there is one bag, not four. The centre of gravity on the bike does not change since the load is behind the bike, not on it. Also, while I did not encounter flat tires, it would be much easier to fix a flat on the bike or trailer than on a fully loaded touring bike where some or all the gear would have to be removed.

Right now, I'm interested in the trailer for longer rides or rides where extra gear is required, while panniers seem better when the load is lighter.

Of course that's just my opinion. Others will have different preferences, and that's fine with me.

Slow down there bud. It sounds like you're trying to carry wayyyy too much stuff.