Troop Trailers - Luxury or necessity

[Old_OX_Eagle83]

The answer all depends on what you use the trailer for, and how.

 

Today's more responsible, fuel efficient vehicles, aren't friendly with hauling a pack and stave per passenger, and this is a good reason to have a troop trailer. Easily added to this are the needs to transport pioneering project materials, canoes, skis, or whatever special event material may be needed.

 

The downside to troop trailers, expense aside, is the ease of bringing un-needed items. Bulky stoves, massive shelters. enormous tents, cots, back yard chairs, massive coolers, generators, and event televisions make the list of non-scout like junk I've seen in troop trailers. These are good examples of bad ways to use a trailer, followed by an even more basic one ... scouts feel comfortable bringing more then will fit in a backpack.

 

One of the elements of scout camping is figuring out what you actually "need", and learning to share and pool resources to get by. Another key element of scout camping is patrol method. Each patrol should have its own gear, there should be no such thing as troop gear. Patrol gear is split between the patrol members packs, with a few items carried .. again team work.

 

Troop trailers encourage the potentially fatal disease known as drag and drop camping. If trailers are used, they should be parked far from the camp site, to intentionally make access difficult.

 

Scouting is a game with a purpose, and we have to constantly our choices to make certain they support, not detract, from that purpose.