Winter Travel Trailer???

[JohnSKepler]

I keep looking at those Sprinter vans and thinking... "I could get off the trail and just come to the parking lot and take a nap..." Then, I remember that I'd like to retire someday and a second mortgage on the house for a van doesn't fit into that larger plan. And, do people pull trailers in the winter???

Yes! They do! I do see pickup trucks hauling snowmobile trailers all over the place and some of them are nearly as big as my house, and with the multiple snow machines inside, probably cost more than my house. At any rate, it definitely means that pulling a trailer in the winter is not only possible, but a lot of people do it and they do it when it is snowing.

Question is: has anybody put together or used what I'll call a... let's say, skiing trailer. In my head it would basically be a small camping trailer, say, 16 feet long, or so, outfitted for winter. Besides beds and somewhere to cook and possibly use the bathroom, it would be insulated and have a heater and generator. If it had water tanks and/or gray or black water tanks they'd need to be heated. It could be more or less complicated than that and, in the end, also be useful in the summer.

I have a 4x4 Ford Expedition that I could pull it with.

Thoughts?

[Bohemian]

Nice idea!
Just make sure your trailer has proper winter tyres, preferably with better grip on ice than the tyres of the pulling vehicle: the last thing you want is the trailer overtaking the car downhill in a curve when you need to stop or slow down for whatever that pops up...
And have snowchains ready to put on the trailer for downhill use unless you put the whole combination on spiketyres.
Even for my tiny little 750kg cargo trailer without brakes I have a set of chains and it's on winter tyres all year round (they were cheaper than so called trailer-tyres which are in comparison like slicks)

[JohnSKepler]

Nice idea!
Just make sure your trailer has proper winter tyres, preferably with better grip on ice than the tyres of the pulling vehicle: the last thing you want is the trailer overtaking the car downhill in a curve when you need to stop or slow down for whatever that pops up...
And have snowchains ready to put on the trailer for downhill use unless you put the whole combination on spiketyres.
Even for my tiny little 750kg cargo trailer without brakes I have a set of chains and it's on winter tyres all year round (they were cheaper than so called trailer-tyres which are in comparison like slicks)

I have pulled a trailer in the winter before. I can still recall the double fishtail over that pass in Wyoming between Cheyenne and Laramie...

Like the idea of year round snow tires, though. Cheaper than two sets of tires an the trailer doesn't really get pulled all that often. I do think if I was going to be pulling a trailer I'd have good snow tires on the tow vehicle. The idea is to gain some functionality at a reasonable price. Snow tires are a drop in that bucket for a lot of prevention.

[consular_ship]

It’s a solid move. There’s a guy at Midwest telefest who put a diesel heater and kitchen space in his trailer. It cuts down gas mileage significantly, but he stayed warm when it was -20F last year. And much cozier looking than the floor less hot tent that I slept in. One of the cooks at mount bohemia converted a horse trailer and put a wood stove in it, also pretty slick.

[Bohemian]

Oh, the horse trailer sounds like a nice idea: you can often get them for a low price!
In any case you need to account for the space which proper insulation takes up + space for all the engineering stuff like heater, insulated (heated?) fresh water tank, grey & black water tanks, small diesel tank for the heating, household battery, switchboard, solar charge controller, etc.
Luxuries like kitchen and shower/toilet: depends on where you're going:
In the Alps there are a lot of proper winter campings with good showers and kitchen blocks but of course it is much nicer to park somewhere out in the bush-bush but in all too may places in the Alps this is totally banned... except on trucker parking lots. But even that can be quite OK: for example the big parking at the South side of the San Bernardino tunnel in Switzerland on the N13, 1600m above sea and plenty nice routes around for AT and XCD & XC.
Ultimately in Europe you have to go to Scandinavia to enjoy the "allmannsrett": just park anywhere where you don't disturb any neighbours, or kindly ask for permission
However much I like the idea of the horse trailer I also like the idea of having one sort of all-purpose platform trailer (e.g. for transporting cars/boats) and have a kind of living container which you put on the cargo bed. It would require some kind of jacking system like you get with the camping containers for pickup trucks. This gives you the possibility of using the chassis for more purposes: handy if where you live it makes sense to keep your trailer fleet small: think of taxes, registration, mandatory technical inspection, insurance, replacing tyres / maintenance of brakes & wheel bearings.
In most of Europe every trailer, regardless of weight capacity, needs its own registration, own tech inspection (usually every 2 years), own insurance.

[TallGrass]

I have a 4x4 Ford Expedition that I could pull it with.

I would see how much flat space you can create in back, such as 78" long by at least 36" wide, then 4" pad (slice and stack a thinner mattress topper). This avoids all the trailer/fishtail issues and you're going to have to deal with "car camping" nitty gritty regardless of truck, camper (top), trailer, or RV, so best play with "truck" first as if you hate it you don't have a camper/trailer to turn around and sell off.

[mca80]

Towing a trailer really, really limits the places ypu can go--room to park, room to turn around, towing trailer in deep snow.

I lived in an Airstream B190 camper van full time for 2 years and part of the year for another 5 years while travelling for work. It was equipped with all the basic things any RV has, plus I installed solar on the roof and AGM batteries to operate the coach power when not docked.

These and other RVs will likely be too expensive nowadays but I think from reading posts that you are handy and if you can get a used Ford E350, put 4wd and lift conversion, and modify the inside using your own handiwork and stuff from RV suppliers for reasonable price that would be best option hands down. I kinda regret having sold my van but I needed money more than I needed it at the time and for the forseeable future.

[Krummholz]

@JohnSKepler 28K ???

[wabene]

There are some fiberglass Canadian travel trailers that are set up for winter. More insulation, double pane windows and tanks that are protected from the cold in the heated envelope. Bigfoot made great trailers and they are available used. Not sure if they are still made. Escape is a brand that is still going. I'm sure there are others.

[Telerock]

My female acquaintances inform me in no uncertain terms that the most important part of “car camping” is a private place to piddle in the middle of the night; without putting boots on.
We set up our 4wd toyota sienna with a shelf bed and other sundries. I bought a $12 toilet seat that fits on a kittie litter filled bucket, and that is unsatisfactory for them.
She also gripes about me bringing in the outhouse toilet seat in winter; a no-win situation.