Towing off road: tips for navigating dirt, sand, rocks, water and more

In this ultimate guide to towing series, Robert Pepper discusses towing off road on different terrains such as dirt, mud, rocks, sand, water, hills, narrow tracks and more.

Now, this isn’t a full-on offroad advice article, but more targeted at occasional rough-terrain towing. Maybe to get to an isolated spot or even out of a difficult parking situation. I’m going to assume you are towing an offroad-ish van with a 4WD, and that you have at least a little offroad experience because if not, don’t try anything beyond a well-formed gravel road.  I’m not going to explain all the intricacies of offroad driving here, but focus on the differences with a trailer. 

The first thing to say is that these offroad caravans…aren’t.  If you want to go down a road classified as a 4WD track, then you need to be towing a camper trailer which is the same width and track (distance between two wheels on an axle) as the towcar, and weigh no more than half of the towcar’s weight.  Even then, you’ll be restricted in capability, and there’s also the social consideration of taking up more track room, which inconveniences others, and many areas legally restrict trailers. 

Don’t believe all that you see on social media

I know you see on YouTube large caravans being dragged into improbable places, but believe me, that’s a lot of risk, effort, skill and selective editing. I have done a lot of serious offroad towing and instruction, and can confirm you need to be a top-notch 4WDer, tower and have a good crew with you equipped with plenty of gear – and that’s before you get stuck.

Okay so with that warning said, here’s some towing off road tips for when the smooth stuff stops and it’s into terrain that’s either softer, requires more clearance, or steep – the sort of stuff where a normal car couldn’t easily go and you’d need or prefer a 4WD.

What do I need for trailer off road driving?

A very capable 4WD with a suspension lift, preferably with both front and rear cross-axle differential locks, as your ability to use momentum will be limited.  An electric winch is a great idea too, as is six or preferably eight traction boards like Maxtrax.  An offroad coupling on the trailer, such as a D035 is a must, plus the trailer needs high clearance so when it does touch, it will slide and not damage anything important. Independent trailer brakes, usually electric, are a must. Overruns simply do not work well offroad and rob a skilled driver of the ability to play trailer vs towcar brakes.

What if it goes wrong?

If you get stuck when towing off road, that’s bad news as the recovery is hugely more complex and with greater forces than just a car. Turning around may be a problem.  So, ask yourself, “What if I get stuck?” and if the answer is, “Cross that bridge when we come to it”, then either don’t go or make sure you video it.

It is helpful to get out and walk the track first, send another solo car up, or have someone spot you as you drive.

Dirt roads

Presuming you’re towing off road with a 4WD, engage 4WD mode if you have a part-time 4WD like most utes, and slow down as the reduced traction and bumps will increase braking distance and the chances of trailer sway. The biggest risk is things not being tied down in the caravan, coming loose or breaking over the rough ground, and dust ingress. A proper offroad caravan will allow for tie-downs and will be dust-proof.

Rocky and rutted terrain

The limiting factor in towing off road in rocky terrain is usually clearance, not traction.  Often the vehicle has a surfeit of traction, particularly if you have one or more cross-axle locking differentials. So as long as it doesn’t run out of clearance, it is able to pull the trailer.  And if the trailer has clearance too, and it should if it’s an “offroad” version, then you may well be able to cruise along slowly.

Hills

A 4WD can pull a surprisingly heavy trailer up a surprisingly steep hill, with one huge caveat – if it has sufficient traction, which means the track is level (not flat), dry, and minimally rutted.  Add any of those factors and you will find your hill-climbing ability severely limited. Downhills are much less of a problem thanks to gravity but do remember to bias the trailer brake so the trailer braking force is greater than that of the tower.

Mud

Mud is where things start to get more interesting when towing off road. Here, you are traction-limited, not clearance-limited, and the extra drag of the trailer could well see you making no progress due to the slipperiness of the surface or the trailer getting into ruts and causing drag. On flat ground, you should generally be okay, but as soon as there’s any hill, there’s a risk. The lack of traction and the addition of ruts can also make reversing the trailer much harder than usual.

Sand

The golden rule of sand driving is to lower tyre pressures, and that particularly applies to the trailer, too – so drop them.  The other thing is to realise the effect of turning.  When the rig is driving straight, you will have two tyre ruts, maybe four if the trailer’s track is a bit wider than the towcar.  As soon as you turn you’ve got six ruts for a single axle trailer, or eight in a tandem. That’s a lot more drag. So…avoid turning as much as you can, and pick up a little speed for any turns. 

If you get bogged when towing off road in sand, then don’t spin in. Stop early, dig out, use those traction boards and ease out. You can expect reversing in sand to be more difficult too.

Beach driving

There are many places you can easily tow your trailer off road and onto a beach, even at road pressures in 2WD.  But as soon as it gets soft the risk factor rockets up.  Trailers are very sensitive to any sideslope, and every beach has a sideslope.  What will happen is that the back of the back is slewed sideways down the beach, and you’re going nowhere with a complex recovery on your hands, plus the fun of tides. 

I’m sure you’ve seen beautiful drone shots of caravan convoys cruising along some idyllic beach, and that can certainly be done, but with a trailer your beach-driving ability is severely curtailed.  You may also find exiting the beach a problem as that’s where the sand is softer, you’re turning, and needing to go uphill.

Water crossings

The extra drag of the trailer may see you needing a lower gear, but if it’s just deep with good traction, generally water crossings do not pose much more of a risk when towing. Unless it goes wrong of course, or water gets inside the van!

Narrow tracks

Here, we run into a problem of size and cut-in around corners, as sometimes you may need more room to turn than the track can provide.  In that case, you either need to put up with scratches, cut back the undergrowth, or somehow turn around.

Unhitching the trailer

Many people will say “oh just unhitch the trailer if you get stuck” when towing off road and while that is indeed an option, practical experience suggest it’s not the panacea some suggest. First, actually unhitching may be quite difficult because neither the trailer nor the towcar is likely to be on nice, flat, high-traction ground.

Second, once free of the towcar, the trailer is unstable, and its parkbrake may not immobilise it, so you’ll need chocks. Then, if you need to pull or winch the trailer, you need to deal with the jockey wheel, which is not made for rough work – not even the heavy duty ones. So you’ll need to track-build for it.

Then you need to re-hitch the car to the trailer which can be very, very difficult in rough terrain, harder than detaching.  Personally, I find unhitching a massive pain in the backside, incredibly time-consuming, dangerous, and would only do it if there was no other option plus a good crew with lots of gear.

Summary

If the track ahead is rough but not slippery when towing off road, then you’ll probably be okay with your 4WD and caravan.  If you need to climb steep hills, be cautious.  Flat sand that’s not overly soft should be traversable once your tyre pressures are down, but dunes and sloping beaches are high risk.  Narrow tracks are a problem too. The one piece of advice I’ll close on is this – think “what if”, as caravan recovery is much, much more difficult than just a 4WD.

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