New Front Fork or Trailer

[SHuelin]

Hi Everyone
I'm a newbie in the bicycle touring world. I began as a mountain biker, then flirted with racing, discovered that I'm not big on competition, and now I am really getting excited about doing some bicycle touring. I have a Raleigh Grand Sport which is a combination between a road and touring bike. The front fork is carbon and I've been told that if I want to use front racks I should get this replaced with a metal one or I could avoid the fork replacement and buy a trailer. I am not sure what to do and I am on a fixed budget. Buying a Bob Yak trailer sounds great, but the cheapest I can get one up here in Canada is $440 (with the dry sack). Any advice on what I should do would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Sheldon
PS I'm going to start with "light" touring this year and work my way up to some longer trips.

[whittierider]

If you're going to start light, you probably don't need a front rack, so you don't have to make the decision right away.  You'll probably want to start with rear panniers and a handlebar bag.  BTW, there's only one fork on a bike, and it's always in the front, so you don't need to specify.

[JimF]

Take a look at the ACA Classified, ebay, crazyguyonabike, and other sites that run classified. You may be able to pick up a Bob at a good price. Good luck.

[SHuelin]

Thanks for the advice (I've been calling it front fork for years). I have a saved search on ebay for Bob Yak trailers, nothing used at a decent price has come up in 5 months.

[daikaregi]

Hi
at the moment i am touring the states   www.on-bike.net
will have finished by may and before I go back to germany I want to sell my used bob, I dont want to pay the airfare again and in germany I only use my front bags. since it has travelled with me through scandinavia in 2008 and all around the perimeter of USA the trailer is well used , has a lot of travel experience, looks its age but is top functional and I have the spare tires.  I sell it cheaply to a fellow cyclist.
so here it comes, your new trailer? Have a look at a.m. homepage, lots of pics of the trailer in it.
if you are interested and you can wait until the beginning of May just contact me.
have a good day
Regina