Hound-of-Ulster
Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Planning to walk June "2017"
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Without reading other responses, a fine monsieur from France walked the Portuguese camino with us in 20whenever. He was amazing, quietly progressing up and down dale with seemingly little effort. he designed it himself, and was using it because he had back problems that precluded him from carrying a mochila. If it works, use it. Whatever is going to allow you to do what you want, which is to complete or continue a pilgrimage - we are living now, not back in the day! USe the advances in technology that enable you to follow your dream. Buen camino, https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/members/hound-of-ulster.56443/Buen Camino all,
My wife and I walk the Frances route last year, there were parts we missed out due to injuries, time contrainsts etc, we completed about 300 miles and made it to Santiago....
But
We want to go back and walk again sometime in the future doing the bits we missed out on, in particular. But to ease the walking, I notice a few people towing hiking trailers and I thought what a wonderful idea.
I’m morbidly obese and struggled with the last 100kms to Santiago, determination got me there, but I had brought to much stuff in the first instance but also hadn’t trained sufficiently for it.
What’s everyone’s thoughts on hiking trailers, has anyone any particular experience with them. All advice gratefully received. Wheelies or MonoWalker or another!!!!
David.
I haven't been on the WHW but I am sure the Wheelie would cope,the wheels are approx 18" / 46cm wide.What about the West Highland Way, would it cope with the narrow stretches on that walk, another one we are interested in tackling.... I certainly like the look of the Wheelie. If it’s ok I’ll PM you with a few other questions Dinkumdigger
Thanks everyone, have had a look, but am wondering how correct the assumption is that having two wheels is better than one. To my mind both trailers slope and both have weight over the wheels, but also transferring up to the waist straps as well. This is the Monowalker Design Im looking ator compared to the https://www.benpacker-hikingtrailer.com or the
Thanks for the advice Purky, I did travel relatively light, having posted gear home TWICE, lesson learned, but it still took a toll on a really old ankle injury and next time I’d still want to take my camera gear etc I thought the 2 wheels might struggle on other walking routes and that a mono wheel might be better as a multi purpose tool. As a Morbidly Obese 27 stone man I could do with the overkill to help ease the ankle and leg pains. Funnily enough I had knee pain before doing my Camino last year, which disappeared walking the Camino.I have owned a Radical Design Wheelie and used it last year on the St Olavsleden from Sweden to Norway. My mixed feelings were such that I have sold it again. I used it primarily as a try-out, to see if it would make life on the road a little easier, having to bring a tent and camping gear for two persons. On tarmac and paths wider than the width of the trailer it performs beautifully, off-road or on narrow gametrails is another matter IMHO. I blew my top a couple of times ramming, slogging and hauling the thing up and down muddy hills or along trails riddled with rocks and roots. It might be that I have a short temper, though.
I agree with @Nomad Pack and @Dinkumdigger that you won't have much trouble with the Wheelie on the CF, but I think it would be overkill. You don't need that much gear on the Frances to warrant a walking trailer, unless in case of back problems as mentioned earlier. Apart from that, the Wheelie is quite expensive; I was lucky to get a good secondhand one (and sold it again for the same price). I think you'd be better off checking out some of the packing lists on this forum.
Have seen this on YouTube, to my mind it would cover a greater range of trails where the Wheelie would be fine for the Camino path/road style trails. Very expensive though. The side panniers and a small bag would be more than sufficient for the Camino thinking coming down the shale hills into Zubiri in particular or in Molinaseca.....I am seiously considering the monowalker fatmate for the VdlP.
There is an Australian woman who is pulling one thru South America to the Arctic Ocean right now. One really nice aspect of the monowalker is the brake...you can lock the brake and lean back on the fatmate to catch a quick rest withut havign to unclip and set the trailer down
Hiking trailers CAN be a good idea. But on a very well-developed Camino such as the Frances, my recommendation would be to invest the funds in mochila transport. For about € 6 - 8 daily, you can have one rucksack or any suitcase (if you do this I recommend a rolling carry-on bag) sent ahead to your next night's lodging. These services are VERY reliable.
If you do this, you only need to carry rain gear, first-aid, snacks, water, and all your medications and valuables. Two people can put all their night stuff and extra clothes into the shared suitcase or mochila. It DOES make a HUGE difference. Later on, after a few weeks walking, you can choose to carry the rucksack(s) especially if walking a relatively level stretch, like the Meseta.
There are several services, with Jacotrans being one of the largest. However, their service starts at Roncesvalles. To get your bag over the Pyrenees from France to Roncesvalles, consider using Express Bourricot. They run a regular daily service up the mountain to Orisson, and the head of the trail over the frontier, and also over the mountains from SJPdP to Roncesvalles.
If you consider the HUGE initial investment and transport costs, plus the added drama that having to care for and protect a hiking trailer entails, mochila transport starts to look cheap in comparison. For example, most of the better trailers cost around €500 - 600. At €8 nightly (high end of mochila transport estimate) that is 62 nights (€500 / €8). The Frances takes about 35 nights, if you walk the entire 799 km from Saint Jean Pied de Port to Santiago.
So, the point is made. Send your rucksack ahead, or share a suitcase, and lighten your load.
Hope this helps.
It sounds like they didn't do much training with their trailers before the Camino, to see if they would actually work well for them.For what it’s worth..... I met 3 ladies on the CF last Summer, each with a wheelie trailer. In fact I heard about them long before I finally met them, in Larrasoaña. Everyone was feeling so sorry for them, they were so desperately struggling with their trolleys apparently. In the morning, they told me they were arranging for said trolleys to be sent ahead by taxi.... They couldn’t cope any more. I never saw them again so I don’t know how it turned out.
It sounds like they didn't do much training with their trailers before the Camino, to see if they would actually work well for them.
Check out, EFREN, on Youtube. He did the CF in 2017 and the Via Francigena using a trailer just last year. He offers a One Minute format for each day so it is easy to get through the video and research in the comments for anything you need in particular. Efren is also very approachable, as you will see. Other trips he has shown recently include a trip to Costa Rica and Peru, to Machu Pichu.Buen Camino all,
My wife and I walk the Frances route last year, there were parts we missed out due to injuries, time contrainsts etc, we completed about 300 miles and made it to Santiago....
But
We want to go back and walk again sometime in the future doing the bits we missed out on, in particular. But to ease the walking, I notice a few people towing hiking trailers and I thought what a wonderful idea.
I’m morbidly obese and struggled with the last 100kms to Santiago, determination got me there, but I had brought to much stuff in the first instance but also hadn’t trained sufficiently for it.
What’s everyone’s thoughts on hiking trailers, has anyone any particular experience with them. All advice gratefully received. Wheelies or MonoWalker or another!!!!
David.
Hi - trailers are great! Or rather, two-wheel trailers are great! There are no sections of the Camino that are too narrow or too rough for a trailer - for instance, the Wheelie is only 56 cms wide. Wherever your shoulders can go your trailer can go. Also the Wheelie has built in shoulder straps so that it can be quickly back-mounted if necessary, and such straps can be added to any trailer simply by buying an old cheap rucksack and using the harness from that.
But, Hound, you say that you are morbidly obese? You may do better - as mentioned above - to use a daily luggage carrier and walk as light as you can.
Also - a trailer can be like a new bookshelf - the temptation to just fill it can be almost irresistible!
I have made a trailer for Jenny in Sydney and am making my own now. I bolted a handle onto her one so if necessary she can wear her backpack and lift the light trailer by the handle, should she come across a problem such as a staircase in a refugio.
I did have a Wheelie but thought it over-engineered for Camino. The design, especially the big pack built into it, is for trekking rather than ambling and wanting to get at the sorts of pockets you get on a backpack.
Whatever anyone does, do not get a mono wheel trailer as half the weight is still on the body and they are narrower, true, but unstable. The advantage of a two wheel trailer is that the load can be organised over the axle so that there is no weight on the body. However, to stop the trailer draw bars rocking up and down one loads the trailer to give half a kilo or so of weight onto the hip belt.
The Wheelie is a seriously expensive piece of kit but there is a French one (has a wine bottle holder - no it doesn't) that is less than half the price - they have recently renamed it Camino specific, it was the Chariot but is now the Ultreia!
- see here - https://www.chariotderandonnee.com/chariot-de-randonneur.html?___store=chariot_en
The American army, on test, found that using a trailer uses 80% less energy expenditure than the same weight back carried and I have found this to be true. The three women, mentioned above, may have been carrying a huge amount of stuff and were also terribly unfit, as there was no other reason to give up on their trailers.
I not only carry my personal items but a large first aid kit plus back-up first aid supplies but have strolled up the steep hill out of Pamplona, and slowly descended the other side (the one with the big boulders) with no problem whatsoever, the same with the big steep hill out of Castrojeriz. But! you cannot beat the laws of physics and the difference between weight and mass. On the flat and gentle undulation you are hardly aware that there is a trailer behind you, but rising in elevation you still have to 'lift' whatever weight you have - but it is much much less effort than doing the same wearing a backpack.
And you can see the difference - especially on hills! - you constantly coolly stroll past sweaty struggling pilgrims with strained faces - this is a fact.
However, a trailer isn't necessary on Camino, not at all - if one packs superlight then why add six kilos of trailer? and then there are the situations with refugios - they never want them in the bunk rooms, so you lock them downstairs and lift your pack up to the room. I do not fly but I understand that there can be problems sorting a trailer for loading in the baggage hold, but I don't know about that, and most trailers quickly dismantle and go into a bag.
You will read negatives about trailers but they tend to be from people who have never tried one. The first couple of minutes walking and the new owner always goes "Wow!!!! - this is SO easy!!!"
The only real 'downside' - not really- is that you are always being stopped and asked about the trailer and pilgrims always want to try it!
End of post! - but I am just finishing making a new one and there are pics below if you are interested.
I bought a secondhand aluminium frame one-seat child carrying cycle trailer cheap secondhand on ebay and cut it down. I then made a new frame from the parts, added flat strips of aluminium to make a load platform and brackets to take the draw bars. Here is the secret of the trailer making world!! Window washing supply companies have the most wonderful strong light telescopic poles and angle brackets, and they are cheap!!
Where you see the draw bar bolted to the frame - the lower one stays bolted so that it can be pivoted back to lay flat on the frame and I sleeved the tubing there with mild steel tube to strengthen it. Has quick release 20 inch! wheels, and all dismantles in two minutes to make a rectangle that goes into a bag with a shoulder strap. Not quite finished yet - but nearly done -
any questions about building one please do message me.
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I am using a mono wheel trailer (Carrix) since 2006.
Both in my country (Switzerland) and on the Camino.
I estimate to have walked roughly 5000 km with.
The weight distribution is not 50/50: because the center of weight of the load is much closer to the wheel than to myself, I have only 15-20% of the total on my harness. I measured around 2 kg when testing.
By construction, 1 wheel systems are less stable than 2 wheels, but they can go through much difficult trails. For myself I know that I need a few minutes every morning to get the right position of the load on the trailer. Once it is done, it follows me without problem.
It needs a "learning" phase every time I start a long hike, so I am only using it for more than 2 days. But I'm not knowing of any Camino so short...
In short: yes I would get one and use it again!
Buen Camino, Jacques-D.
PS: once dismounted, it fits in the hand luggage box at the airport!
This one is only about 500 samolians american. https://www.dixonrollerpack.com/index.html#/Having only walked one Camino, that being the Frances last year, I can perfectly understand why at Larrasoaña they were struggling. Parts of the Camino from Roncesvalles are single track or less and uneven thus causing problems if towing a two wheeled trailer. On the wider tracks paths and roads it wouldn’t be a problem. Coming down the Shale mountains into Zubiri would quite frankly be a nightmare for many. I know at my age and weight, being total unfit, it was a time for total concentration. A mono wheel might cope better under those circumstances.
David.
THANK YOU for this info!I have a Radical Designs Wheelie V, as shown in the last video clip.
I last used it in September doing the Southern Upland Way here in Scotland,a lot of the route is serious hill walking over rough and boggy moorland with very steep ups & downs.The Wheelie was fully loaded with camping gear,gas stove,food for several days,spare clothes etc.
It would have been hard work with a backpack but was so much easier having the weight balanced between the wheels and the trailer ran easily,even over the roughest terrain.
I did tend to pull it by the handlebars rather than just by the waist belt so felt very little weight on my waist.
I haven't used the Wheelie in Spain but will definitely be taking it the next time I go.
I have walked the Camino Frances twice and there is nowhere on that path that this trailer wouldn't go.
I hope this helps you.
there is some added pressure because you have to make sure you make it to the destination where your gear is being sent. I would carry toiletries and sleeping stuff in case you don't make it there. that does place a little stress. You would then have to call jacotrans to have your bags picked up from the town where you aren't and have it sent ahead to your next best guess as to where you will make it too.Hiking trailers CAN be a good idea. But on a very well-developed Camino such as the Frances, my recommendation would be to invest the funds in mochila transport. For about € 6 - 8 daily, you can have one rucksack or any suitcase (if you do this I recommend a rolling carry-on bag) sent ahead to your next night's lodging. These services are VERY reliable.
If you do this, you only need to carry rain gear, first-aid, snacks, water, and all your medications and valuables. Two people can put all their night stuff and extra clothes into the shared suitcase or mochila. It DOES make a HUGE difference. Later on, after a few weeks walking, you can choose to carry the rucksack(s) especially if walking a relatively level stretch, like the Meseta.
There are several services, with Jacotrans being one of the largest. However, their service starts at Roncesvalles. To get your bag over the Pyrenees from France to Roncesvalles, consider using Express Bourricot. They run a regular daily service up the mountain to Orisson, and the head of the trail over the frontier, and also over the mountains from SJPdP to Roncesvalles.
If you consider the HUGE initial investment and transport costs, plus the added drama that having to care for and protect a hiking trailer entails, mochila transport starts to look cheap in comparison. For example, most of the better trailers cost around €500 - 600. At €8 nightly (high end of mochila transport estimate) that is 62 nights (€500 / €8). The Frances takes about 35 nights, if you walk the entire 799 km from Saint Jean Pied de Port to Santiago.
So, the point is made. Send your rucksack ahead, or share a suitcase, and lighten your load.
Hope this helps.
I'm thinking of this one because it's only 300 and I can use it for my bike as well. We want to go on bikes but I'm thinking of walking the sections from SJPDP to Roncesvalles and also from Trabelo to O Cebreiro. We can use this travoy on walking then use it as a bike trailer in easier sections. https://www.burley.com/product/travoy/This one is only about 500 samolians american. https://www.dixonrollerpack.com/index.html#/
Donkey cheaper but mule stronger altho I hear they are more contrary?Lol, so now I’m looking a horse as well
The Trekkers friend is only 240 AUD (approx 148 Euro or 180 USD). It weighs approx 1.6 kg and comes in a small daypack, so needs no special transport arrangements. If you need to go somewhere that is not suitable for wheels (eg. into a shop etc) you just pick it up and carry it.
Oh No. Those bouncing handles and hence weight would drive me nuts..
Thank you for this suggestion.Oh No. Those bouncing handles and hence weight would drive me nuts..
"Bouncing handles"? Doesn't happen!Oh No. Those bouncing handles and hence weight would drive me nuts..
"Bouncing handles"? Doesn't happen!
I came to the conclusion that on rough or steep sections it would be better to carry the whole lot on your back. It's just physics really - anything on wheels will be wanting to run downhill, either pushing you forwards or pulling you back. Thus you will be expending a lot of energy in stopping it going where it wants to go, and that's before you get to the problems posed by tree roots, boulders, fences or narrow paths. I think also mono wheel trailers will need a lot of energy just to continually balance the load on the wheel; it just doesn't make sense to me. So I was looking at ultralight trailers that can be easily carried, and found the Trekker's Friend, which weighs 1.8kg and uses your hiking poles as the frame. (Incidentally, hiking poles are a must if you are not young and fit anymore, like me - saves you lots of strain on the joints). This design is also less than half the price of most others, and much less bulky for taking indoors etc. I can't give direct experience of it's functionality, but can't anticipate any problems with the design, and have decided to order one for my Camino.Having only walked one Camino, that being the Frances last year, I can perfectly understand why at Larrasoaña they were struggling. Parts of the Camino from Roncesvalles are single track or less and uneven thus causing problems if towing a two wheeled trailer. On the wider tracks paths and roads it wouldn’t be a problem. Coming down the Shale mountains into Zubiri would quite frankly be a nightmare for many. I know at my age and weight, being total unfit, it was a time for total concentration. A mono wheel might cope better under those circumstances.
David.
Hi, What about using a baggage service. I haven't used them, but some people really like them. I think for 5 a day they move your bag to your next destination and so on...Buen Camino all,
My wife and I walk the Frances route last year, there were parts we missed out due to injuries, time contrainsts etc, we completed about 300 miles and made it to Santiago....
But
We want to go back and walk again sometime in the future doing the bits we missed out on, in particular. But to ease the walking, I notice a few people towing hiking trailers and I thought what a wonderful idea.
I’m morbidly obese and struggled with the last 100kms to Santiago, determination got me there, but I had brought to much stuff in the first instance but also hadn’t trained sufficiently for it.
What’s everyone’s thoughts on hiking trailers, has anyone any particular experience with them. All advice gratefully received. Wheelies or MonoWalker or another!!!!
David.
Hi Coverbid, yes that was the price €5, it may well be more now. I however being a slow stroller wanted to take my stuff with me as I’m never to sure how far I will be walking etc. Thanks for the thought though.Hi, What about using a baggage service. I haven't used them, but some people really like them. I think for 5 a day they move your bag to your next destination and so on...
I came to the conclusion that on rough or steep sections it would be better to carry the whole lot on your back. It's just physics really - anything on wheels will be wanting to run downhill, either pushing you forwards or pulling you back. Thus you will be expending a lot of energy in stopping it going where it wants to go, and that's before you get to the problems posed by tree roots, boulders, fences or narrow paths. I think also mono wheel trailers will need a lot of energy just to continually balance the load on the wheel; it just doesn't make sense to me. So I was looking at ultralight trailers that can be easily carried, and found the Trekker's Friend, which weighs 1.8kg and uses your hiking poles as the frame. (Incidentally, hiking poles are a must if you are not young and fit anymore, like me - saves you lots of strain on the joints). This design is also less than half the price of most others, and much less bulky for taking indoors etc. I can't give direct experience of it's functionality, but can't anticipate any problems with the design, and have decided to order one for my Camino.
I agree, I like the flexibility as well. Maybe on certain days the baggage service is an option.Hi Coverbid, yes that was the price €5, it may well be more now. I however being a slow stroller wanted to take my stuff with me as I’m never to sure how far I will be walking etc. Thanks for the thought though.
Hound of Ulster
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