Have recently been thinking about buying a bigger car than our current Skoda Octavia as we seem to fill it to the brim when going away for family breaks. Two children and a dog suddenly doesn’t leave much room for all the other ‘bits’. However, my dad suggested that we might be better to buy a trailer for the odd occasion that we need it, rather than buying a more van like car (caddy maxi).

Thought about it for a couple of nights and I think he’s onto something. 99% of the time the estate is perfect for family life – and I could just store a trailer around the back of the house.

So I’ve been doing some research and came across the Anseems GT series trailers. They can be fitted with a hard top on which Thule roof bars can be mounted, and then up to 4 bikes can be placed on top. Seems perfect. But I’m not really clued up on all this stuff – and the car is going to need a towbar fitting. So I’m after some advice on what I should be looking for in terms of towbars, an any extras that I might need for the trailer. My dad mentioned something about a hitch lock and a spare wheel.

I got a cheap tow bar from Tow Trust. Then got an auto electrics place to fit it and wire in the electrics. Works perfectly.

Hitch lock / wheel clamp, spare wheel and suitable jack are all very good ideas.

Can you live with the 10mph speed limit restriction?

Save up.
Sylvan GoSport for the win.

Also be aware that you will be limited to 50mph on single carriageway roads and 60mph on dual carriageways and motorways.

Make sure you get a trailer you can make watertight, I’ve no experience with solid lids but the ones with a tarpaulin held down by bungee round the edges are good.

It depends how big a trailer you’ll get but advantage that you can pack it in advance and just hitch up when you want to go (more so if camping as you can leave most of the stuff in it all the time).

depending on how big a trailer you need I’d also look at the larger roofboxes – they don;t slow you down when travelling (although mpg may suffer more) but can limit you on car parking etc unless you take them off whilst at your holiday destination.

Hadn’t thought of the speed limit thing. But shouldn’t be an issue. We’ve used a roof box up until now but just not enough space.

I had a trailer tent when the children were young & it was pretty good. It was a French make ‘Andre Jamet’ a French make but the really good ones – Rolls-Royce like – were Conway Trailer Tents which I always aspired to…

The good thing is having beds off the ground and some space inside when it’s all folded down to store & carry all your camping kit. Bikes on the top may be an option but I preferred a tow bracket rack which leaves the tow ball free & can be used all year round. In fact I have transplanted to every successive car & its presently on my camper van (sorry VW T5 STW folk).

There is normally a few Conway T tents around – in the classifieds & possibly on EBay – and the winter is the best time to buy one before the sun comes back out and everyone thinks about camping again.

You buy the trailer to free up some space but you will end up filling that space with more stuff. More stuff = more faff = more time setting up/packing away = less time relaxing and enjoying trip.

Go the opposite way, ditch some stuff and stick with the car/roofbox.

Are you talking about a trailer tent or a trailer?

I have a trailer, it was a cheap one, double height wall, soft cover, medium size. One of the best things i ever purchased.

Don’t buy too small, mine is approx 2m x 1.5m at a guess and it is ideal. Get one that is a sturdier than the cheapest but don’t over spend. I have some supports on the wheel arches that i can stand on that’s useful (especially on the motorway :). I would not buy the hardtop and bike racks immediatey but make sure it is upgradeable if you want them.

Before you buy it make sure that all your neighbours and friends know it is 20 pounds to rent it.

If you are talking about a trailer tent then i ain’t got a clue!

Sorry, this is for a trailer, not a trailer tent!

Our trailer got plenty use before we moved up to a Caravelle. All our camping gear stayed in it over the summer so we could head off with minimum packing and having a hard top it served as a camp kitchen when we were on site.

Also very useful for domestic duties like taking garden waste to the tip.

Also be aware that you will be limited to 50mph on single carriageway roads and 60mph on dual carriageways and motorways.

Judging by the M5 in summer I thought the trailer towing speed limit was an 80mph minimum!

Got another kid on the way so our Civic and roofbox+towbar bikerack wont cut the mustard anymore. I was toying with the idea of a trailer anyway for camping and one popped up cheap on Gumtree. £200 for this Erde 122 with ABS lid+spare wheel.

https://goo.gl/photos/GYJPfYf3PTidCVLJ8

As our towbar rach wont fit anymore, we’ll be getting a Thule rack for it as well.
The lid is fairly flimsy when lifted, but seems nice and secure, certainly weather tight. I wouldnt store fabrics like a tent permanently inside though as it would get damp – this did cross my mind, just hitchup and go.

We have a small Erde trailer (122) that I picked up on Gumtree for £150. I made a 35cm height extension from marine ply, and I use the original tarp top.

I also fabricated a drawbar 35cm longer than standard, using strength specifications I found online. This allows a towBAR mounted bike rack to be used with the trailer without fouling. I sling the kayak on top of the tarp and ratchet it down.

Very little effect on fuel economy as it sits in the slipstream of the towbar, which was a Berlingo last summer, but will be a Doblo now.

Edit: the wee Erde can be lifted (empty!) by two people and carried into our back garden for storage standing on end out of the way.

We had the same situation OP – outgrew our car and so we got a small trailer to use for family camping trips, but still have the benefits of a small economical car for the rest of the year.

Echo everything said above about the Erde trailer, although ours is a medium sized 153 model. When towing it fully loaded with our Corolla we hardly notice it’s there, and less drag/wind noise than a rooftop box. Ours lives in the garden shed most of the time with all the camping gear stored in it, but it’s small and light enough to store up on end at the back of a garage if you wanted. We went the soft top route and still put the bikes on the back of the car as you can see from the above photo, but I’ve often thought about getting a hard top or putting a rack on the drawbar like TroutWrestler – got any pics of that by the way?

Overall, I’d say if you’ve got space to store the trailer for the time you’re not using it, then it’s a good way to go.

Sorry TroutWrestler – just re-reading your post I realise you don’t have a drawbar mounted rack, just a longer drawbar so you can use a car mounted rack – same as I currently do.

Another couple of thoughts for the OP – extras you should consider are a jockey wheel if it doesn’t come with one (makes it much easier to manoeuvre around off the car), spare wheel (especially if going for a second hand trailer, as trailer tyres get to sit out in all weather, nearly flat, slowly rotting away for most of their life, then once a year get thrashed down a motorway at 80mph under full load!!), and a hitch lock or wheel clamp.