Camping trailers

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Discussion

DonkeyApple

Original Poster:

54,921 posts

168 months

Tuesday 20th August 2019
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I’ve managed to find a few threads regarding trailers on PH but none have gone into much depth.

While I am not the world’s greatest fan of camping my two girls have reached the age where for them it is a lot of fun and a lovely experience. I am also set on them having a natural appreciation that staying in large hotel rooms, in fancy hotels is not normal and never sits in their heads as such. Ergo, camping over the next few years I have deemed to be the way forward.

I’m not going to go and live in a field for a week at a time but instead plan 2/3 day breaks by the coast whenever the weather looks right.

So far we have had some fun choosing the tent, chairs and other basics and we’ve done two trips with great success.

Anyway, to cut a long story short and get to the point, if I use a roof box then the children cannot help pack and unpack it and Indont agree in them not being involved in that aspect. There is a similar issue with regards to loading and unloading the boot which is that it requires a bit of science to get everything to fit. Also, I have nice cars and I don’t really want them wedges full of kit doing damage to the trim or grinding mud and muck in etc. And finally, the tent is enormous and needs to be lain out to dry once home and is hard work to get into its bag on your own so in terms of packing up, I just want a simpler approach.

I want the whole thing to be simpler. All the main kit and the tent to simply live in a hard top trailer that I can hook up and go and that we can all pack and unpack.

I’ve shortened the list to three brands, Erde/Daxara, Lider and Brenderupp. I don’t want any of the little ones and they need to be at least 110cm wide internally anyway, so for the Daxara this is the 167/8 upwards, the Lider, Venise upwards and the Brenderup the 1205.

These all seem like good quality trailers with hard top options and the plan is to find a good used one that if looked after will hold its value until the girls grow out of camping and it can be sold on.

Ebay doesn’t throw up all that much, Google is mostly dominated with new sales and other brands marketing under other keywords, I’ve looked a bit on Gumtree but there doesn’t seem to be a lot about.

Is there a market place that I am missing? Or are there simply not many of these larger trailers ever up for sale, or is it seasonal etc? Could someone educate me as to this market place and if there are better places to look? Thanks.

surveyor

17,767 posts

183 months

Tuesday 20th August 2019
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Friend Idid exactly this. Found people hung onto them.

It was a case of watching eBay for a while...

Southernscouse

1 posts

56 months

Tuesday 3rd September 2019
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This the one I have keeps everything out of the van Awning,bbq,table,chairs,

TwinKam

2,936 posts

94 months

Wednesday 4th September 2019
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Great thinking inasmuch as we did exactly the same; when the weather looked fine we simply hitched the (already packed) trailer rather than retreiving (or rather, forgetting) far flung items from the garage, sheds, loft etc.
I agree with the sentiment that a lot of trailers are hung onto. But I bought both of my trailers on ebay; however, you do have to be patient as not only does it have to be what you want, but also geographically convenient too.
You may well have to buy new if you are model specific and impatient wink

snake_oil

2,039 posts

74 months

Wednesday 4th September 2019
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There's loads on eBay?

DonkeyApple

Original Poster:

54,921 posts

168 months

Wednesday 4th September 2019
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snake_oil said:
There's loads on eBay?
Yup. Lots of the small ones like the Daxara 107 or 127 etc.

The 168 and 198 are the two that are wide enough internally for the kit that have to fit width ways, leaving enough space to the rear to lift in the 6/8 man bohemoth of a tent. They also have an A frame and will be more stable and less bouncy in transit.

snake_oil

2,039 posts

74 months

Wednesday 4th September 2019
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What dimensions are you after? This seems like good kit:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...

snake_oil

2,039 posts

74 months

Wednesday 4th September 2019
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The above will do you different sizes. This however seems ideal?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...

DonkeyApple

Original Poster:

54,921 posts

168 months

Wednesday 4th September 2019
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snake_oil said:
The above will do you different sizes. This however seems ideal?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...
Thanks. I’ve already elongated that brand on the grounds of tying up £2k for this project is too much. Especially as I have a 100% tax to pay on top of these types of purchases (Whatever I spend on non essentials I give my wife the same!!!).

The Daxara ones seem to be just as good and in a more sensible price range for the job at hand.

Blakeatron

2,514 posts

172 months

Friday 6th September 2019
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said:
(Whatever I spend on non essentials I give my wife the same!!!)
!

CubanPete

3,630 posts

187 months

Friday 6th September 2019
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In my experience, the little trailers are a paon to tow and especially reverse.

Here's a probably untapped source. Though you may have to travel. The one at the bottom looks nice.

http://www.zebedeelist.co.uk/list/trailers/


Watchman

6,391 posts

244 months

Monday 9th September 2019
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I had a Brenderup 1205 - great trailer with taller wheels than the tiny ones on the Daxara etc, so they don't spin as fast and can take bigger loads.

I had a front hinged hard top with a frame arrangement they called a gallery which was perfect for putting my Thule bike racks on and the bikes on top.

I had a massive tent - a polycotton Outwell which sat comfortably in the trailer alongside an inflatable canoe, a proper fridge (compressor type), a massive speaker I made for remote parties, a huge fold up table, chairs, cooking kit, and just about every other thing you could imagine you might possibly need for camping. The trailer swallowed it all.

Problem was, it was so deep that getting stuff out from the front was hard. It would tip backwards when I tried to get in. I thought it could use a couple of caravan stabiliser legs to prevent this.

And although it had hydraulic assistance for lifting the lid, which gave some useful assistance even when the bikes were still on top, there was no "prop" to hold it open. I used a cut-down broom handle but because that was only wedged in place, I didn't have the confidence to reach into the trailer over the sides when the lid was open. If it had fallen closed, it would have likely taken off my arm. I did implement a few modifications to it, but a fixed prop was something I just didn't get around to.

I notice on the Brenderup website that their current lid is ABS and looks much lighter. Not that it's a requirement, but my lid was strong enough to stand on but the weight all came off the overall 750Kg capacity.

Apart from the lid, it was ace. I put a couple of blue commando sockets on the outside and an RCD double socket inside so I could leave the fridge in the trailer and have it powered from either the site electrics (230v) or the car (12v).

I only sold it when I stopped camping but sometimes I wish I hadn't.

Get some decent security for it though. I'd suggest a massive Almax chain and Squire padlock. It'll set you back about £200 but there are very few people who could break it.


4 bikes plus a TagAlong:






Massive tent, was big enough to park a car inside:





Edited by Watchman on Tuesday 10th September 12:02

task

418 posts

170 months

Tuesday 17th September 2019
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Buy a boat? They come with a trailer and are pretty useful if you're by the coast.


Seriously though, as previously mentioned, small trailers are a pain to reverse/tow. They're bouncy. You can't see them easily behind the vehicle. Those larger box trailers look a much better option as mentioned by previous poster.

bristolracer

5,527 posts

148 months

Tuesday 17th September 2019
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If you are going to use it for tip runs, check your local councils policy.
Some have restrictions on the size of trailer.

DonkeyApple

Original Poster:

54,921 posts

168 months

Wednesday 18th September 2019
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Well, as of about 15 minutes ago I am now the owner of a Brenderupp 1205 via eBay. It seems in good fettle and the price seemed fair at just under £500. It doesn’t have the side extensions but I don’t require them at this moment in time and don’t think I will going forward.

Thanks for all the tips and guidance.

Spare tyre

9,456 posts

129 months

Saturday 12th October 2019
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DonkeyApple said:
Well, as of about 15 minutes ago I am now the owner of a Brenderupp 1205 via eBay. It seems in good fettle and the price seemed fair at just under £500. It doesn’t have the side extensions but I don’t require them at this moment in time and don’t think I will going forward.

Thanks for all the tips and guidance.
Trailers are fantastic to buy, I’m always buying one for a certain task, using it then selling it. As long as your don’t overspend I’ve always sold it for the same or more than I purchased it for

I have a 1205s with the hard top

My recommendation would be proper led lights, either replacing them completely or adding to the existing. Trailer lights are always ste if they are traditional bulbs

DonkeyApple

Original Poster:

54,921 posts

168 months

Saturday 12th October 2019
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Thanks. I reckon that at £470 it was a good buy. It’s now all cleaned up and come Spring I’ll grease it up like a Texas pig.

Thatnks for the tip re the bulbs. It might be problematic as I once fitted LEDs to the rear lights of the car and they stick the front lights on permanently!!

Spare tyre

9,456 posts

129 months

Saturday 12th October 2019
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DonkeyApple said:
Thanks. I reckon that at £470 it was a good buy. It’s now all cleaned up and come Spring I’ll grease it up like a Texas pig.

Thatnks for the tip re the bulbs. It might be problematic as I once fitted LEDs to the rear lights of the car and they stick the front lights on permanently!!
Sounds like something wasn’t right there

I would bother with led bulbs either on a trailer, they will still vibrate

I’m going to try these next https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07XP7Z19B?pf_... I’d fit them in addition to the existing lights if possible


Have fitted probably 20sets of these before now https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pair-12V-20-LED-TRAILER... simple and just work.

DonkeyApple

Original Poster:

54,921 posts

168 months

Sunday 8th March 2020
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Ok. Getting to that time of year when I need to start thinking through the summer ahead and what’s needed.

The first step is that I need to fit load bars so that the bike racks can go on top of the ABS lid.

I had just assumed that I would simply google Brenderupp 1205 load bars and be proffered a long list of options but nothing at all comes up.

Are loadbars pretty generic with most fitting the same way?

Watchman

6,391 posts

244 months

Monday 9th March 2020
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DonkeyApple said:
Ok. Getting to that time of year when I need to start thinking through the summer ahead and what’s needed.

The first step is that I need to fit load bars so that the bike racks can go on top of the ABS lid.

I had just assumed that I would simply google Brenderupp 1205 load bars and be proffered a long list of options but nothing at all comes up.

Are loadbars pretty generic with most fitting the same way?
Depends what lid you have. If, like my old one, you have a flat lid, then the bars mount directly to the lid and don't have to rise much for clearance. I think they advertised mine as a "galley" or "gallery" or something like that.

If, on the other hand, you have one of the ABS lids then the bars mount at the edges, where the lid rests on the sides, and rise up to clear the shape of the lid. That lid is 45cm high.

The current Brenderup website is a bit of a mess if you're looking for options though... unless the bars aren't offered by them at all.

Perhaps have a look on eBay for other people's trailers to see if they have any terminology for bars that your missing?