Ideas for Travelling Cargo Trailer

[furrydogs1]

Hello all. In light of $3 a gallon gas and the prospects for $4 a gallon gas I am now considering taking my '03 Vibe on this summer's family trip instead of our gas guzzling '02 V8 Dodge Dakota. The only problem is that the Vibe can't fit 2 dogs, a child in a car seat, a wife and all of our luggage. I have seen some cool looking fiberglass type trailers but I have been able to locate much information on smaller trailers. If anybody has any suggestions, websites, brand names or personal experience with some smaller trailers please let me know. I did a search on trailers on GenVibe but most of the results had to do with towing capacity, wiring and hitches. Thanks for helping.

[2006_Salsa]

By the time you load the Vibe down with all that you might be better off with your Dakota

[prathman]

How long is the planned trip in days and miles? And do you have other uses for a trailer afterwards? If it's mainly for the one trip then renting may make sense - and would give you a better idea of trailer pros/cons if you later decide to buy one. U-Haul has one model that's pretty low-profile and aerodynamic.Another option would be to put the luggage up on the roof rack. We carried a full-size couch up there on a trip across much of the country without any problems (gas mileage did suffer but was still in the low 30s), so a pretty decent amount of luggage up there should work ok. That would also avoid the usual issues with towing a trailer when looking for parking places, backing up in congested areas, etc.

[furrydogs1]

We will probably do about 3000 miles during this summer trip. Most of our trips are road trips so having this trailer for the long term wouldn't be a bad idea. We go up to the mountains quite a bit on the weekend so we could also use it for that. I plan on having our two bikes on the roof so I probably won't have room for the cargo box on top. I'm surprised that more people don't use trailers with economy cars these days.

[prathman]

If it were me, I'd put the two bikes on a rack behind the Vibe (hatch or hitch mount) and free up the roof rack for the other luggage. But that's partly because I really don't like to worry about the limitations you have when towing a trailer (hard to find city street parking, hard to back up, many restaurant lots don't have appropriate space, etc.). I also find the lower bike racks to be more convenient than the rooftop ones.If the trailer is only going to be used for vacation trip luggage carrying, then a design like the U-Haul Sport Trailer would seem good: aerodynamic, locked storage space, fully water/windproof. But for more general uses a small open utility trailer seems more versatile.

[furrydogs1]

I currently have a hitch mount bike rack so I might just end up using the roof option for luggage. I've got to figure out the biggest box I can get on top of the Vibe. I know it only holds 75 pounds but I'm more concerned about the length and getting the hatch open.

[Digger]

I favor the trailer since the center of gravity is changed on the roof top racks and it is my opinion they are not safe. The small ( Bike like) trailer like the U-hale one cost around $1500.00 and up. I checked them out last year when I took the vibe on the family summer trip for the first time. I managed to fit everything in the cabin with a few compromises with the wife LOL, so I did not buy a trailer. I am now looking at a small 4x4 utility trailer on e-bay.

[furrydogs1]

If you get the trailer on eBay let me know. I'd like to know what you went with.