I test drove one of the jeep liberties and didn't care for it. It was nothing that I could put my finger on just didn't want to buy it. I did, however, end up buying a Ford Escape for the wife. Love that vehicle. It was a reasonable price and had all the whistles and bells that she wanted. It also gets great fuel mileage. We took it out in the snow and it performed GREAT!!!. The tires are not as agressive as they should be for hard playing, but that is not why we bought the SUV. Take a look at it, maybe it will serve you purposes. I looked at the Xtrera and it was a close second choice. It was about $3000.00 more and had less options. It was a good vehicle though.

I cant afford the fuel of the suberbans or Yucons etc... for the 1 or 2 times that I will be going into the hills a month. Plenty of space, if you can afford to get all that stuff up to the hills in the first place.

I like your idea of a trailer. I have a Lowes special trailer (4x8 flat bed with a ramp). If I need more room then the escape and the jeep, I hook up. Problem being is that it is not enclosed. Anything on it WILL be wet, dirty, muddy etc...

On E-Bay they have a few Bantam trailers made for the jeeps in WW II. They are tough as nails if rust and previous owners have not taken too much of a toll on them.