Starcraft Comet Extreme Review

[tlrols]

Just purchased a 2016 Starcraft Comet Extreme. For what its worth I will update this post with what I learn about this neat little trailer, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

First, the lowdown on the motivation:

• The trailer had to have a bed suitable for 2 mid-century adults. If you are younger than 50 enjoy it now! Aging demands some glamping like luxuries.
• It had to be at or below the 2000 lb weight mark...its being towed by a doggedly game 1997 Toyota 4Runner with a 3.4 liter V-6
• It had to be reasonably lifted from the factory to match up with the mild Old Man Emu lift on the 4Runner.
• Hot water and a shower was a must. A furnace was a bonus. No toilet inside wanted. Ewww, sleeping and eating next to...never mind.
• Total tow length had to be under 20 feet, if possible closer to 15 feet with modest storage capabilities.
• No canvas allowed, and it had to tow below the tow vehicle--this leaves really one choice.

Cost was hoped to be closer to $10K than $20K (it was at $14k).

So, with these wants in mind the search began. I do have a M101 A2 trailer that I have camped out of in the past. Its a bit of a beast that is better suited to an industrial/military purpose than glamping (I have seen heavily modified M101's that are pretty cool however).

Some web searching leads to the conclusion that an A-Frame pop-up trailer might be just the ticket. We live near Spokane which is rather RV friendly so off we went looking. ALiner, Chalet, Jayco Jay Series, Forest River Rockwood, Coachmen Viking...sigh...13" tires standard? Damn. What about the off-road variants? A 14" tire? Really? Is this meant to towed by a Subaru? Wait, my daughter has a Subie and it has 15" tires. Sigh...more looking.

Whoa, what is that! Bingo. The Starcraft Comet Extreme. Wow. That looks tough. Hey, this thing is up there. Ah, nice 15" wheels and a reasonable lift from the factory.



Iced the deal. Interest rates are still crazy low. Homeward bound it is.

First impressions.

• Buy a push broom. Two inches of snow on the roof means forget about lifting the roof. Like ever. 12 feet of roof equals its damn heavy with just an inch or two of snow on it.
• Its just on the edge of "big." The cargo rack adds a couple of feet to the length. 18 feet, 8 inches long--doable.
• Tows easy. Off road (no rock crawling thanks) you know its back there on inclines but being under a ton it isn't bad.
• Setup. It is just silly fast. It warms up wicked fast. It is tall inside.
• Predictions: Weather stripping. My guess is that every few years the A frame weather stripping will need a good inspection and replacement. The factory left a few gaps in the seals that looked like an interstate for bugs. The dealer fixed all that. Six lug wheels...need to test fit the spare Toyota wheels to see if the hubs match. Might go 16" wheels in the future but for now the 15" wheels seem fine.

Plans for this trailer is a run south to north along the Washington Back Country Discovery Route. More to come on that.

So far we like it, recognizing of course that RV trailers like the Comet are far from perfect and that they need inspection and maintenance and they no doubt have their share of issues. It nicely fills the gap between a tent and something much larger and it keeps us 4wheeling to get to those places less traveled.

 

[tlrols]

Updates (May/June 2016)

Some more feedback on the "buy not build" option I went with. RV's all seem to have issues...so "mostly buy and certainly tweak" is more what you get. I filled the water tank...and it falls off/out. No harm since the hoses just kindly disconnected themselves without much fuss. If you Google "RV water tank fell out" you get around 400,000 hits. Terrible design but easily fixed. See the pictures.

Aside from that the trailer fits anywhere the 4Runner goes. It can be unhitched and manually turned around in tight spots. Had to do that twice when I ran into snow in the Coeur d'Alene National Forest. It is a great base camp that can be drug around with relative ease. It does weigh literally a ton so you would never want to haul it on some super technical trail.

Hot showers, a microwave, furnace, sink, TV, bed with comfy sheets, dinette table, refrigerator...all in a compact package. Its nice.

One thing I will note which is more of a Toyota thing. The hitch height of the trailer is high and the typical Toyota factory hitch is very low. CBI rear bumper is in the future.

View attachment 349610

 

[tlrols]

Pics of the fresh water tank fix/debacle...note my choice for angle iron tank support compared to the stock install.

 

[tlrols]

Some pictures of it in play...

 

[ripperj]

Looks like you are getting some fun out of it. I thought you were kidding about the Google search, until I tried it

Sent from my Passport

 

[tlrols]

It is sadly funny. Factory made RV's find amazing places to be cheap. I dig the A-frame trailer and this one has the ground clearance I wanted. Everything else can be fixed or made better as I figure it out.

 

[TwinStick]

At least you had actual angle iron from the factory. Our 30' toyhauler had a 100 gal fresh water tank & it was held on by what looked like angle, but turned out to be sheet metal that was bent in a brake-to 90*. Our didn't fall out but it came close. I also replaced with 5 pieces of stout 3/16" thick 2x2 angle, bolted to the frame with grade 8 hardware. ALL RV's are made cheap---unless you get into the $1 million+ club.

 

[tlrols]

I am thinking the so called angle in that thing was about what you described. I have been running around and reinforcing the staples in the cabinets with screws as I feel the need. I dig the folding A-frame and the 4500 pound Dexter axle with the brakes. Everything else is on the path to a slow upgrade i imagine.

Next fix is a beefy jack and wheel(s)...something suitable for unhitching and turning around on skinny roads.



The picture is deceptive, that road was damn steep and pretty much glued to a mountain side.

 

[gaap master]

Next fix is a beefy jack and wheel(s)...something suitable for unhitching and turning around on skinny.

Not sure if this would work for your application, but the XO Jack has been a great addition to my expo trailer

http://www.arkportablepower.com/pages/xo-trailer-jack





Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[tlrols]

XO Jack

That jack might work. Any input on it? It looks beefy...how does it compare to the standard 2000 pound crank down, fixed in place, triangle mounted trailer jack? My trailer jack is built into the tongue and cranks down a sheet metal cylinder with a cheesy wheel on it. That thing from OZ seems bad. I would love to handle one but it doesn't seem to be retailed in the Spokane area. Feedback please?

 

[gaap master]

It's very beefy and very adjustable. However, it's the type of jack that mounts on the side of the tongue and swivels up out of the way while you're in transit. The prior wheel jack I had was the same type of swivel setup, but it wasn't nearly as robust and had a cheap plastic wheel. This one is way better.

I bought it from Amazon.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[grogie]

First, that looks like a comfortable setup! I've heard a lot of positive comments from owners of A-frames.

I as well had to google the water tank falling out! One guy's comment was maybe we should all go back to driving cars and staying in cabins?

I also have the XO Jockey Wheel. It's way overbuilt for my 1100# box trailer. Very easy to move it around as my last one was the cheap part of my trailer and I didn't trust it. I however in an operator error bent the spring that assists with releasing the wheel from its lock when the wheel is in the up position. Being made in Australia, you cannot get any parts for it. But otherwise its stout and should last year for years.

 

[kbahus]

Any updates? How has it been working and holding up for you?

 

[kenaero]

Looking at an A-frame now. How is it going for durability?

 

[JPShooter]

tirols,

Were you in Sandpoint recently? I saw one of these in the North 40 parking lot in the expanded mode. Sure stood out!