Got an itch for a dream 4WD destination like Cape York or the Kimberley? Here are a few important tips and tricks for towing a camper trailer along with you. This is fantastic information that will let you take your offroad camper trailer to the destinations you’ve always dreamed about. Of course this assumes that the camper trailer you’re towing is a genuine offroad camper trailer like the Kings MT1 Camper Trailer – it could also be a hard floor camper trailer  and of course a soft floor camper trailer – but it must have a genuine off-road strong construction and proper clearance. The last thing you want to do is take an under-equipped camper trailer offroad and have the wheels literally fall off it because it was never built for more than  a grassy caravan park!

TRAILER TOWING TIPS – TYRE PRESSURES ON THE DIRT

Like with sand, it all starts with the correct camper trailer tyre pressures as well as tow rig tyre pressures. Traction on dirt is more about safe driving than it is about preventing getting bogged. 28psi is a good dirt road tyre pressure that will allow your vehicle and camper trailer tyres to mould around the terrain, softening the ride and preventing wheel spin. It will also extend the life of your tyres by going a long way to preventing damage like cuts, knicks and torn tread. When you lower your camper trailer tyre pressures, the sidewalls can flex more, and actually start acting like a second set of shock absorbers, absorbing a lot of the roughness of the track.

If you  have a part-time 4WD that gives you the option for 2WD, 4WD high range and 4WD low range, you should select 4WD high range on the dirt. This means in the event that you hit a wash out, a big patch of bulldust, or come up on an unexpected corner, you’re less likely to over or under steer.

But the biggest tip when it comes to dirt road driving a camper trailer? Almost everything that goes wrong, can be traced back to excessive speed. Wash off 10 or 15 kilometres an hour and things happen a whole lot slower – giving you much more reaction time to adjust to whatever pops up.

LOW-RANGE TOWING TRICKS

Okay, so your favourite campsite is at the end of a super steep High Country track, or you’re dreaming of tackling Gunshot up in the Cape. Here’s how to do it with your camper trailer in tow!

If you’ve got this far then it’s safe to assume you don’t need to be told to use low-range on a low-range track. But I will say that the key to successfully tackling a tough low range track with an offroad camper trailer on the back is to plan ahead!

That means getting out, walking the really tricky sections and deciding on the line you want to take. It also means building up the low sections of the track with rocks and locks to minimise wheel lifts or bad side-angles. And part of your plan should definitely be getting the 4×4 winch ready, because there’s no shame in winching through a tricky section of track, but there’s a lot of shame in breaking a diff or a CV, or caving in your front quarter panel and two doors because you hit it way too hard! Having the right recovery gear and not being afraid to use it is vital to towing a 4×4 camper trailer up a tough low range track.

And here’s a beaut little trick for descending steep low-range tracks – manually activating your electric camper trailer brakes. Just about every electric brake controller has a manual activation button, which lets you apply the trailer brakes independently of the vehicle. This can be very useful if the camper trailer is starting to get a bit crossed up and off-line, because by braking the trailer you slow it down and let it fall back behind the tow vehicle again.

Of course that just scratches the surface of camper trailer towing tips and tricks, but it covers a lot of the basics – and if you remember these tips, you’ll minimise your chance of something going wrong when you tow your trailer offroad.

START EASY, AND BUILD UP TO THE TOUGH STUFF

The best way to get good at towing your offroad camper trailer in different terrains is practice, practice and more practice! Start easy, by towing it around some gentle dirt roads with a few hills thrown in for good measure. Get comfortable with swinging wide to let your camper trailer clear trees, and learn what the extra weight of your camper trailer means when it comes time to negotiate rutted sections of track. Then, when you’re confident, step up to some low-range tracks – which will definitely put your skills and your tow-rig to the test! I’m not suggesting you go hang your vehicle and camper trailer off the end of your 4×4 winch on the gnarliest hillclimb you can find, but if you’ve got a secluded favourite campsite at the end of a long 4WD track that needs low-range then that’s the perfect next step. Finally, when you’re really confident you can progress through to towing your offroad camper trailer up the beach – a true test of your driving skills and your 4WD abilities.

The Kings MT1 Camper Trailer has been genuinely built to head offroad, and go anywhere you want to tow it – whether that’s Cape York, Fraser Island, the Victorian High Country or anywhere in between! It can be totally customised to suit your individual camping requirements, and can be setup any number of ways. Make sure you watch our camper trailer videos to see it in all its glory!