Newbie: Recommend Trailer Size for Forestry Roads?

[Luckie1999]

Hello everyone,

Long time lurker, first time poster getting ready to buy my first CT to convert into a mini rv space for the family of 4.

I was close to pulling the trigger on a v-nose 6x10 last week, but after renting a 6x12 uhaul special to try towing with the old '02 Suburban for the first time (mainly to and from a empty parking lot to practice backing up with a friend) I am now a little worried about making the wrong choice in usable size.

A larger part of the trailer's intended use is going to be boondocking in national forests/BLM land out here in beautiful Washington State, where the forestry roads can be somewhat narrow and the chance of a downed tree in the road is ever present.

I would love to hear any recommendations or advice on the following 2 questions, as they are the last couple worries I have keeping me from taking the dive into part of the CT conversion community:

1) Even for my suburban, the 6x10 wheel base sticks out a little less then a foot on either side. Is that going to create issues for me when driving over roads with ruts and muddy shoulders or is it pretty manageable once I get some experience with it?

2) I've looked into trailer dollys as a way of detaching and turning around a trailer if I come up to a downed tree or impasse on a narrow road with no turnarounds close. Does anyone think that would be a feasible plan for a trailer with an estimated final weight of about 1800 lbs if I make sure to back up to a (relatively) flat section of the road with not too many potholes (dirt and/or gravel road)?

Thanks for any help you can give, and sorry about the long post! hope to join your ranks soon and document my build. Hoping to show the build up from a more novice perspective.

[MtnDon]

1) This is the main reason we selected a 6 foot wide CT with the wheels inboard.

2) I have a tongue dolly I sometimes use at home to maneuver the CTC in its designated parking area. That is part concrete and part finely crushed rock, well enough packed and quite level. After experiencing that I would never try to unhook and move/turn the CTC around with a dolly on the typical FS road that we travel on here in NM, AZ, CO, UT.

Yes, one of the bugaboos of traveling unknown forest roads is the question of "what am I going to do if I need to turn around?" As a result, I do not explore some new/unknown trails with the trailer attached. As it is we travel some trails where turning about is difficult even without the trailer.

I have, on one occasion, backed the trailer into a smallish turnout, placing the trailer more or less at 90 degrees to the road. Then blocked the trailer wheels, unhooked and backed down the road to another wide spot where I could turn the Tacoma itself around, then reversed back to the trailer where I re-connected the trailer to the truck, facing the other direction, and then went back the way we came from.

As for downed trees we always carry a chain saw with a sharp chain and a spare chain. I carry a cordless E-GO chainsaw; 16" bar, 5 AH 56 volt battery. It gives plenty of cut time, no gas to mess with.

We have a 6x12 CTC with deep vee nose.

[John61CT]

The wheelbase width is one issue

but the critical one is if you have walls going up past say 5-6', they will be fighting with branches encroaching into "the drive tunnel" maintained by regular trucks and SUVs

so you'll need to use the chainsaw more frequently.

Wider down low, and say well under 7' up high, less of an issue.

[dirtsailor2003]

We run our 6x10 all over the Forest here in Oregon. My TV is smaller though so tight corners aren’t as big of an issue. Over all length is more of an issue I think than width, in most scenarios. Our friends have a 22’ trailer and dodge crew cab short box and they can’t get into a lot of spots we do because they can’t wind through the trees without wrapping the trailer around them.

Like others we carry a chainsaw all the time. Recently I went to a dewalt battery powered saw. Works great.






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