Travel trailers and Dirt Roads

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Dara

Dara

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 6, 2017
Posts
85
Location
Long Island, NY
How capable is a travel trailer in navigating dirt roads, access roads, gravel roads?  is it not recommended if the TT doesn't have "4x4/off-road" capabilities?  and how do you figure it out before you end up on that road?  Call the park ranger?
 
Great question and I'm interested in the answers. We've seen trailers 5ers in some rough places and wondered how they got there  :eek:
 
We do dirt and gravel roads all the time with our TT. Most of our favorite FS campgrounds are along such roads. We do NOT do 4WD roads though; the trailer isn't set up for it with ground clearance besides being way too long. Our pickup itself is really too long and wide for 4WD roads! We never head into roads that we don't know where they go. The thought of backing a 28' trailer back up a wiggly, tree surrounded road for a few miles because there wasn't a turn around would give anyone nightmares! Your best bet is to ask at the ranger station. I also know folks who will unhitch the trailer and then take the TV down an isolated road to make sure it is safe.

If you go down bouncy roads, make sure all your cabinets are latched and things are stable. As a PP noted, it is rough on them.
 
Thanks.  I've figured as much.  sometimes though it may be hard to escape those pesky "potholes" that you find on some dirt roads.
 
We live on the end of a 3/4 mile dirt road with plenty of bumps, pot holes, etc. and don't have a problem so long as I take it easy with the gas pedal.  Although the trailer has plenty of clearance to the frame, our drain lines are much closer to the ground. I worry a lot more about the odd stump, log or other obstruction taking out our plumbing then dropping into a pothole. I had thought about trying to make up some kind of frame or cage to bolt up to the frame to try to protect the pipes, but it would have to be pretty heavy duty. There is another thread on the forum about putting some sort of swivel fitting on the drain lines that may be easier and more effective in the long run.
 
We use my father-in-law's 28' bunkhouse for deer camp.  Our property is about 4 miles off pavement, on gravel roads maintained by the county. No problems so far.
 
Last year in the North Kaibab National Forest we saw a group of about four 5ers parked probably 25 miles from the nearest pavement.  Looked like they'd been there a while.
 
Just take it slow and easy and its not a problem.  We've pulled one over quite a few gravel and dirt roads over the years.  Lots of dust gets inside if its dry.  Our longest trip was from Dawson City, YT to Chicken, AK over the Top of the World Hwy a few years back with no problems.  Had to wait a couple days after a rain so it wasn't too muddy. 
 
I take mine as far off road as I can get it. There have been a few times that we unloaded the ATV's to scout ahead just to make sure we didn't get into a position that we couldn't get out of.

Dirt roads for us are nothing new. Washed out, two tracks get a little exciting though.
 
We have a TH and take it of the road all the time, however I have had a couple issues. We were arriving into a area that we have always camped in the past without any issue when the property owner had done some grading and the road we needed to use had a pretty steep slope down. I did not think about the drop until my rear stairs drug the ground and bent the stair frame back, then ripped the rear stabilizer jack back horizontal. The jack required me to replace it and the stairs were pulled back into place with the Quad and winch. The lesson learned was go slow and watch for those sudden drops, You see I was 50 feet ahead of the rear more concerned about what was in front of me rather than what was going on behind me. Then one other weekend we were leaving right after a sudden rain shower or down pour. You know you are in trouble when you are tugging along and you feel all four wheels start spinning in the mud, 10-11k lbs of dead weight wants to sink in the NC red clay mud. Just decided to drop trailer where it sat and come back a day later after it dried and pulled it right out. Once again lesson learned that these rolling boxes will go a lot of places but when its muddy its like snow, just wait it out or you will have a mess. I told the wife that we could just leave it in storage and never have a issue or take it out and use it for what it was designed to do and enjoy the life experiences. No good stories ever start and end with the storage lot.
 
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