Back to the Scoutmaster Issues Again.....

[elitts]

On 4/26/2022 at 9:23 AM, InquisitiveScouter said:

Our practice is that all trailers must be single axle, under 3000 lbs, so as not to require brakes on the trailer, inspections (in our state), and vehicles with higher towing capacity and wiring for a trailer brake controller.  The trailers can be towed with most SUVs and just about any truck.  We have at least 10 families that can tow (about 20% of Troop).

These solutions make sense for our unit, and the program that our Scouts have chosen.  These are the basics for us.

 

see below

13 hours ago, mrjohns2 said:

We are starting to look for small trailers. 1 axel, 8 or 10 feet. Really just to free up seatbelts. The goal is to have it towable by a midsized SUV. 

Keep in mind the idea of surge brakes even on trailers small enough to not require electric brakes, surge brakes can help make it a safer tow.  Just make sure it's easy to disable them for backing up.

Also, take a look at this product.  https://www.weigh-safe.com

If your troops are anything like mine, even among the people who can pull a trailer, the idea of correctly balancing one is frequently a foreign concept.  I got one for my troop and it's been pretty helpful a few times cause I (equipment coordinator) can simply say "DO NOT LEAVE if this doesn't show at least 300 lbs of weight on the tongue".  Which used to happen regularly since in our old single axle trailer all the gear tended to get piled up right at the back.  (I showed up one time as they were about to leave for a 2 hour drive down the highway and I could lift the tongue off the ball with one hand.)

12 minutes ago, swilliams said:

Okay, I HAVE to share this story now.  One of the new parents that came on the last camping trip brought two suitcases, two full-size pillows, and a massage table.  I am not even kidding, swear on my life.  She set it up in the middle of camp and lay there while everyone else was fixing lunch.  

Sounds about right.  We had a family in our troop whose dad (an ASM) though he was an absolute genius for deciding to have each of his kids pack all their gear in a 40 gallon plastic tote. (that's one tote per kid)  He was peeved when I told him they couldn't bring them inside the troop tents.

While I'm personally not a fan of backpacking at all, (give me a canoe trip any day) that does make me wish we could start all our new scouts out with a campout that requires like a .25 mile hike in, just so they understand carrying 4 or 5 different bags and parcels isn't workable.

[fred8033]

14 minutes ago, elitts said:

Thought he was an absolute genius for deciding to have each of his kids pack all their gear in a 40 gallon plastic tote. (that's one tote per kid)  He was peeved when I told him they couldn't bring them inside the troop tents.

We had many scouts that would pack everything in a 18 gallon tote.  40 gallon sounds huge.  Advantage of plastic tote is things stay mostly dry in a downpour.  And it stacked, packed fairly easy without stuff being damaged.  Scouts quickly figured out how to pack the trailer so those totes fit well.

IMHO, it would be interesting to watch the scouts interact and fit 40 gallon totes in the tent ... but then again, that's their issue.  I'd be busy making coffee (or hot tea at night) to drink. 

 

[qwazse]

At camporee last weekend, the SM got in the "wrong" line first, and we were allocated spots on the "light" grounds before they realized that we were camping "heavy." Our boys had no problem taking multiple trips to schlep gear that 1/4 mile. The ones I talked to would do it again.

Although, I'd much rather hike in from 5 miles out with everything on my back ... that's not my troop culture. So, I suffer with them and do things like stop at a local Mexican grocery and buy:

• lamb (and lime and mango in which to marinate it),
• fresh tomatoes and jalepenos
• canned tomatoes, corn, and garbanzo beans
• tostadas, hot sauce
• red beans and pinto beans, 1 bag each. FYI, if you want passers-by to stop for a chat, empty a pretzel jar to pre-soak beans overnight. I was astounded by the number of scouts who stopped to ask about it. My scouts just asked what happened to the pretzels. (They were in the chips bag, of course.)

Oh, and a dark chocolate bar from Mrs. Q's trip to Switzerland.

I called it "My Big Fat Greek Vegetarian Chili."

The boys did not complain about the extra haul. After breakfast, it kept me and one of the new dads cooking and out of their hair. After lunch another dad cooked down a couple of steaks for the base of a spaghetti sauce, and by the end of the evening there were two options to mix and match with the pasta.

For any boys who lingered at the campsite, we told them:

• Here's a box of (maybe 300) patches, grab handfuls, give them away, don't let me every see them again.
• You aren't muddy enough, go fix that.

Sometimes we have to make sacrifices ...

[elitts]

1 hour ago, fred8033 said:

We had many scouts that would pack everything in a 18 gallon tote.  40 gallon sounds huge.  Advantage of plastic tote is things stay mostly dry in a downpour.  And it stacked, packed fairly easy without stuff being damaged.  Scouts quickly figured out how to pack the trailer so those totes fit well.

IMHO, it would be interesting to watch the scouts interact and fit 40 gallon totes in the tent ... but then again, that's their issue.  I'd be busy making coffee (or hot tea at night) to drink. 

 

I've seen scouts pack in a duffle and then put their duffle, sleeping bag and pad into a tote.  That makes a certain amount of sense, particularly if you may have to set up in the rain. 

Honestly, besides my thinking it was ridiculous, my bigger issue was that I didn't want hard plastic totes going into troop tents.  You get the tent bottom pressed between the plastic and a stone or a root and it doesn't take much before you have a tear in the floor.

[fred8033]

41 minutes ago, elitts said:

You get the tent bottom pressed between the plastic and a stone or a root and it doesn't take much before you have a tear in the floor.

Ahhh ... philosophy ... the purpose of a tent floor ... and triggers the classic tarp religious war.  ... answers.  to keep the shape of the walls.  Tarps go inside the tent.

Edited April 27, 2022 by fred8033

[yknot]

4 hours ago, elitts said:

If your troops are anything like mine, even among the people who can pull a trailer, the idea of correctly balancing one is frequently a foreign concept.  I got one for my troop and it's been pretty helpful a few times cause I (equipment coordinator) can simply say "DO NOT LEAVE if this doesn't show at least 300 lbs of weight on the tongue".  Which used to happen regularly since in our old single axle trailer all the gear tended to get piled up right at the back.  (I showed up one time as they were about to leave for a 2 hour drive down the highway and I could lift the tongue off the ball with one hand.)

Thank you. Just having a tow vehicle doesn't mean you know how to tow safely. There's a lot to it but in scouts often any warm body with a tow vehicle gets the job because there is hardly anyone else. There really ought to be (yet another) BSA training course on towing. Also amazing how many people in the camp-no-matter-what category don't calculate in how a towed object can affect bad weather driving. When towing personally, I prefer something with electric brakes and stabilizer bars and I always keep the cargo load well below maximum. 

[swilliams]

We use 15.8 gallon plastic totes as patrol boxes.

A few of the newer scouts pack in duffles, but it never takes long before they switch over to backpacks. The summer camp we go to is the perfect 1/4 mile hike in. Other spots vary.  NoBeBoSco is probably the longest hike in we’ve done. Of course, backpacking trips not included. 

[MattR]

10 hours ago, qwazse said:

lamb (and lime and mango in which to marinate it),

 

10 hours ago, qwazse said:

I called it "My Big Fat Greek Vegetarian Chili."

Lamb is vegetarian?

[DuctTape]

8 minutes ago, MattR said:

 

Lamb is vegetarian?