# Bug Out Trailer



## Just Cliff (Nov 27, 2008)

Another thread is dealing with Bug Out Bags. In the past I have seen bug out trailers. Those dedicated only for bugging out. I have an old truck that has seen its last days on the road but still has a good bed and cap on it. I was thinking very seriously about making a bug out trailer out of it. Has anyone here a bug out trailer? 
My reasons for using the old truck are;
Its a long bed and can be slept in by two people
Water resistant (doesn't leak)
Extra fuel storage (original gas tank)
Very road worthy 
already wired (brakes& turn signals)
Can put water tank underneath like the gas tank
Spare tire mounted underneath
Im sure there are some other benifits i will find.
How about you?


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## Riverrat (Oct 14, 2008)

We just use out tent tralier. This is set up so we can be hooked on and gone in less then 20 min. This is only good in the summer though, we can hardly find it right now, so much snow. The only time we would have to bug out is in the summer and only because of wildfire. The one thing you would have that we do not is the extra fuel storage.


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

If anyone is interested in building a trailer as a bugout trailer, but also useful for vacationing, I'd suggest looking at the designs for teardrops. I know it's been brought up before, but man...they're really a useful little trailer. Options are only limited by your imagination
_(click a thumbnail for the larger image)_



this couple takes theirs all over the west...it's built a little heavier for offroading with the jeep. LINK to one of their trips/pages with more info/pictures. The "home" page has links to the building, plans, tips and tricks.


This link is to a "built in a weekend" trailer that's designed to be quick, easy, inexpensive. There's a page on the site about using it as a bugout trailer (which also has MORE links to other survival pages/ideas)

Most of us fit out the trailers so that we can just hook up and go. putting in Fresh foods (meat, veggies, BEER) and just take off. Clothes are kept inside, bedding, tables, chairs, first aid, dried foods and condiments. Generator maybe. Some are set up with solar panels. Most have a stove, often a fridge/cooler. Some even are set up with a camping toilet and shower.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Ann that's so neat.
Thank you for posting it.
Angie


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## Paul72 (Mar 13, 2005)

Abug out trailer design that I am working on will be very similiar to the "bush style" camp trailers they use in Austrailia. google off road camper australia or
bush campers. Also try bushmantrailers.com for some good ideas. I am going to build one that is large enough to hold camp supplies for 2 but not so large of a trailer that I need a full size truck to tow it.


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## oldcj5guy (Jul 24, 2006)

Might lok at adventure trailers. They are made in the US and I know several different people that have drug them all over the back country al the way up through the arctic circle.


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

Glad you like it, Angie.

I really do urge anyone wanting to build a small trailer that's set up for quick travel, pulled by small vehicles, etc. to check out the tear drop forums. http://www.mikenchell.com/ in particular has a wealth of information. Main page has some plans and pictures and a link to the forum. The people on that forum range from outback "get out of my face" types to ultra high tech engineers. They're all VERY polite, and the focus is on building and camping. 

Quite a few are survivalists. Many, if not most, build their own trailers. Many many pictorials on "how I built it". Lots of "i tried this, but it didn't work" and many threads about building the base, or what to USE for a base/axle/chassis. Also some folks who use little but wood...right down to using an oak tongue.

Lots of info on what and how to store in your trailer. how to build in "hidden" areas, get more storage. Section devoted to bicycle travel trailers, non traditional, scrounging materials, Tips and tricks, electrical....

I don't THINK you need to be a member to read the posts. It's been so long I can't remember.


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## Madame (Jan 1, 2003)

Ann,
Are these sold somewhere, or strictly for make-it-yourself types? Also, are they lightweight enouch that you can pull them with a mid-size car (specifically, a Toyota Coralla) or do you need a bigger vehicle? I really like the concept!


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

Madame, there are a number of manufacturers, and if you know someone who's handy with tools, they're fairly easy to build, so you could probably give the plans to someone (like my next door neighbor who rebuilds cars) and have one built.

let's see....[email protected] is one well known builder, littleguy, SoCal. Another site of interest is http://www.teardrops.net/index.html. They have links to manufacturers, a "for sale" section, and other information.

They're pretty pricey to buy...running around $3000 or more, finished. BUT they are turn key ready to go. Usually build out of aluminum. 

Yes, many are built to be pulled by a normal car, as opposed to a truck or SUV. The ultralights are meant to be under 900#...most of them try for under 600#...meant for pulling by a minicooper or the like. Our big Teardrop is over 1000#, and if necessary I could pull it with our VW jetta, but I wouldn't want to take a really LONG drive that way.


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## Madame (Jan 1, 2003)

Thanks for such a fast response! I'll look at the websites.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

The thing I don't like about truck box trailers is the rear axle and the diff. If you can fix it to free wheel that's 75% of the battle but it still sticks down and catches on stuff. I'd replace it with a straight trailer axle eventually. Still use what ya got for now and see how it goes. One feature I saw on a truck box trailer was the builder had cut doors out of the front lower box pannels and made boxes in behind.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

If, heaven forbid, I had to bug out from my bug out location, I'd be carrying a lot of stuff with me. I'd carry my 7.5'x18' trailer. I can put several tons of stuff on it. I'd load all my barrels of fuel. ATV's, if I ever get around to getting one/some. Carry some animals in crates. Load up feed for the critters and probably half a trailerload for us humans. The camper shell would go on the truck, and it'd be the designated sleeping quarters.

More than likely, any trailer would be lost, at some point, as well as the vehicle towing it. When you run out of fuel, you're dead in the water... unless you keep your generator handy to pump fuel out of tanks. I can carry 700 miles in the tank, and each barrel would get me another 1200 miles. 

And there are other people to contend with... sleeping in a camper of any sort is risky, unless you're way off the road, deep in the woods. I'd seriously consider carrying a camper or trailer, and sleeping in the bushes, if there was any hint of humans nearby. Otherwise, the first scavenger that comes along might just unload a clip full of bullets into the trailer, taking me out, and then having all of my hard earned treasure.

There's a need to balance out the portability/mobility of the bug out hauler versus the need to haul a lot of stuff.

My work trailer is pretty much bombproof. I can load it rim full of stone, and the wheels squish a bit, but it keeps on ticking. I wouldn't have any problems carrying it up a mountain road, and building a knock up cabin in a few hours out of the trailer bed and walls.


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## Stephen in SOKY (Jun 6, 2006)

A friend of mine bought her teardrop off Ebay. It's homemade but quite nice. She pulls it handily with a Toyota passenger automobile. She's a serious crafter, so it will also be carrying her stock to craft shows.


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## hunter63 (Jan 4, 2005)

A BOT is a good idea, but a truck with cap is just about ideal.
Most of my gear is in the home preps, or already at the BOL, but I do carry gear in the truck.
I do use a covered ulitity trailer, 12' x 6 ft that has tools, extra gear and is big enough to carry the older/smaller ATV as well, inside out of sight. 
This is large enough to sleep in if nessary.

P.S One can never have too many trailers.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

I just thought something a bit useful but lighter would be nice brought back to life.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

I've also got a 4.5'x8' trailer. My father and I pulled it to CO elk hunting one year... the previous year we all bagged out, and finding room for all the meat was difficult. So, we pulled a trailer. I carried some tarps, and a bundle of pvc pipe... welded some six inch sucker rod at intervals along the sides of the trailer... folded the pvc into a hoop over the trailer, and fit them over the rods. Tarp on top, and voila, it was a beautiful tent camper. 

Now, I'd probable just bend a cattle panel over the sides, put a tarp on, and have something to set up a lot quicker, and be blizzard proof.

One year, my housing in Denali NP was doubtful, and I had a quickie cabin plan formulated. About seven sheets of plywood, a couple dozen studs, a couple boxes of screws, some paint, tarpaper, and tarps, and I can knock up a cabin built onto the ~4x8 trailer... in less than a day. Luckily, I got housing at the last minute, and didn't have to build my porta-cabin and live out in the bush...


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

Texican, that trailer idea is great. A sort of conestoga wagon concept. Cattle panels would be an excellent choice...easy to put up, tear down..and useful for penning in any animals you happened to take along once you got to wherever you set up permanent camp.

I've been thinking about the bugout trailer thing a bit lately, and got to thinking perhaps a secondary trailer like thing, which is portable by hand, would be good to put into the trailer. I'm thinking along the lines of "well crud. The road is gone and we really need to get out of here". And no..an offroad vehicle isn't going to cut it. I have one, I know the limitations

So what about adding a travois like object to the trailer? Simple to make (even on the run) but I'm thinking about adding 2 long poles (easily stored) to my trailer, with a heavy weight nylon (like tent flooring) as the "netting". Perhaps with pouches presewn into it for small items. Native americans use a travois to move a LOT of heavy stuff across many miles....Or am I just being silly or not thinking about other alternatives?


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

Ann, they have small trailers that are portable, designed to be pulled by a horse, or humans, for hunting purposes. You can put large elk on them, and maneuver them down a trail. 

You 'can' pull a regular trailer behind a trailer... just gets tricky if you have to back up. I'd probably try and jury rig a travois 'with wheels' if at all possible. A short axle (less than 4', to get down hiking trails) with atv type tires would haul more than the kind that use bicycle tires.

good thing about travois, there's plenty of trees in most places... just keep lots of hay string handy... and when the haystrings used up *in later years* you can start using rawhide rope...


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

Ah...a short axle would be easy to store and assemble, too. Much more maneuverable than a straight travois. I like bicycle tires for my garden cart, but I do surely agree about the ATV tires on my hmm...man trailer. I believe I will look into the solid tires, as well. heavy dickens, but....

I need to get Artificer to check into the small trailers for hunting, too. dragging a sled is just plain nasty when it's not snowing  HEHEHEHeeeee....he's not a huge believer in prepping..chuckles at me and shakes his head when I get talking about it...BUT I bet I can sell him on a "hunting trailer" for backwoods use! Thanks for the idea


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