Got the Off Road Trailer - Now what? Help deciding build priorities

[jd-santaclarita]

Hi all - I've been lurking for a while now and obsessing over getting a nice off road expedition trailer to make our camping trips much easier and nicer all around. I finally took the plunge and got a bear trailersports trailgater used locally. Its in tip top shape and ready to build out. My first order of business is to figure out a RTT and figure out how to mount it. I would love advice on how to mount it in a way where I could open the lid AND how I could raise/lower the RTT so i could keep it low for transport (high desert/high wind driving is a beast) yet raise it high to deploy so i could use a normal RTT with an annex (annex for kids/cots/bikes). We do a lot of mountain bike camping, so I'd need to plan for the rear receiver carrying bikes. I've been looking at so many builds and commercial offerings that its overwhelming and I'm not sure where to start or if there are some simple basics to get started. I dont want to build or weld anything until I know I'm doing it right.

All that to say, if you were building a general purpose camp trailer for basic off road camping (prob dont need fuel cans, but will get it off the beaten path in the high sierras) what would be your priority list to build in? Usually me and my 2 sons. Usually carrying mountain bikes for 2-3 days, but do take a few trips per year up in the 9000'+ sierra nevadas where it can get cold/snow/rain for a week at a time. Love to cook, def need a good kitchen setup (maybe slideout?). I'm open to spending a reasonable amount of $ if it makes sense and has good value/utility. Ease of setup/teardown is important as we do a fair bit of 1 day/overnight trips. Is there a build out there that is something I should try to use as my guide? What are your top 5 or 10 must haves in a camp trailer like this? Thank you so much, cant wait to get things dialed in and get it out on the trails. -JD

 

[Martyinco]

I used linear actuators on my trailer build to lift and lower my RTT, in theory you could do the same. One button lifts the RTT up, add a 5th actuator to lift your lid, or just use some gas struts for the lid.

 

[jd-santaclarita]

Thats awesome, I looked through your build thread, great build! I didn't see too much detail on the actual actuator/rack assembly, that maybe a little out of my wheelhouse. Also, I'm wondering if there is a manual option that wouldn't require power? Like some way to hand crank and then pin each leg in place either with a jack or winch or some other mechanism? I seen the ethos trailer which looks interesting. Any thoughts on something that isnt powered or is running power inevitable in the trailer anyway

 

[Martyinco]

I didn't see too much detail on the actual actuator/rack assembly, that maybe a little out of my wheelhouse. Also, I'm wondering if there is a manual option that wouldn't require power? Like some way to hand crank and then pin each leg in place either with a jack or winch or some other mechanism?

I have been lacking on pictures of the actuators... thats my bad

Gas struts would be a good non power option. Before I had the actuators done I used a jack to raise the rack, that was a huge pain the ***.