“Real” off-road trailers…

[sablack]

Hello all…as with many folks out there I am trying to wade through the pletora of on-line review/opinions of off-road trailers. In my about 4 months of slogging throug the web and this site, I have found most of the reviewed/recommend trailers are “quasi” off road trailers. I have chatted with various owners and dealers…but found limited long-term reliability and usefulness off-road reviews.

That said, I have found some that appear to be in the upper class in durability, but I would really welcome any input on real-life experence on quality/durability. I welcomed any/all opinions and suggestions on these or other options! I have a Toyota Tundra, so no real issues on towing capacity. We are looking for something that is comfortable for 2 and maybe a dog or two. The main “want” is honest off-road ability and sustainability…I don’t want something that a couple years down the road pieces/part come off or fail because they were not intend for real off-road/off the grid camping! It also needs to be a hard side (no RTT for primary sleeping…just “guest” accommodations)

Trailers of interest:

Boreas XT
Hive EX
Mission Overland Summit
Meaner Bean
Bruder EXP-4…friend in Sidney has one and loves it…but don’t think there is a US distributor?

 

[bikelanta]

A few others to consider

• Off Grid Trailers
• Hiker Trailers (the Extreme version)
• Colorado Teardrops

From your list, you appear to want a hard-sided sleeping area. If not a requirement, there's also Turtleback and Patriot to explore.

 

[4000lbsOfGoat]

I've only had my Off Grid Expedition 2.0 for about 9 months now but I've towed it a good 3000 miles total, maybe 300-400 of that on dirt roads of varying degrees of sketchiness. It's been bounced around quite a bit (I dare you to pull a camper down West Powerline Wash Road to Lake Mohave on the NV side ). I've had a few rivets pop on some of the interior panels but all of the major systems\components have been rock solid. Overbuilt steel frame and all aluminum body and interior so I expect a long life from it.

I think it's important to remember that (hopefully) none of us are really pulling our campers "off road", we're pulling them on unimproved (and sometimes unmaintained) roads. So far I would say that my camper is durable enough to easily manage following on any road that my truck can pull it on.

The Bruders are the only trailers that I have seen jumped so maybe they are the trailer you want if you plan to do high-speed runs that include jumps - with your trailer attached. But really, why would you do that?

 

[sablack]

Thanks for the input. As you noted, most of the “off road” trailers are good for unimproved roads/forest roads, but not real off-road environments. I plan to do some deeper/harder off-road traveling/camping, so I really want something designed for those environments. The Bruders were designed for the outback where could be 100s of miles of outback, no roads, lots of rocks/ruts and they need to move out or it would take them forever to get where they are going! Other than some places in Utah/AZ and the like would we even come close to that level of hard-core overlanding...so it probably is overkill of the states!

 

[4000lbsOfGoat]

Even in most of the US southwest, you really aren't free to drive just anywhere - you generally need to stay on established roads except for maybe a few dozen yards to get to a campsite. The desert is fragile and I, for one, am not comfortable driving off the road - Those tracks will stay on the ground for decades and the organisms you killed will take just as long to recover....If that's the way they do it down-under then so be it, but on most US public land you can get yourself a nice fine for driving "off road".

Either way, we aren't really talking about high-speed driving when we're pulling trailers in challenging terrain - even more so if you are really driving cross-country (no road). As long as the trailer has enough ground clearance (and most of these have better ground clearance than most of our trucks) then the trailer isn't going to be the limiting factor. The limiting factor when encountering any obstacle will be whether or not the tow vehicle has the power to pull the trailer through. If the truck will clear the obstacle, the trailer will clear the obstacle.

I try to avoid referring to my trailer as "off-road" and instead just call it "ruggedized"...

 

[blacklbzbeauty]

If your budget allows, Kimberly makes a very nice trailer as well. The US distributor is David Bates in Ohio. I have a friend who owns a Mission Overland trailer that he very much enjoys. You may already be aware that there is a very active Mission Overland trailer thread on this site. Conqueror makes a very nice off road trailer from South Africa but no longer imports into the US. There are occasionally used units for sale around. If you are not set on hard sided then Patriot is hard to beat for true off road capability.

 

[adamalli]

I would add TetonX hybrid to your list of off road capable trailers.

 

[Old Tanker]

I'm not sure I would trust any of the square drops for the real off-road usage you describe. Patriots, Turtlebacks, or XVentures. And Schutt isn't taking orders or quoting prices for their XVentures for at least the next 60 days.

 

[m-l_johnny]

Build your own like they did.

 

[4000lbsOfGoat]

I'm not sure I would trust any of the square drops for the real off-road usage you describe. Patriots, Turtlebacks, or XVentures. And Schutt isn't taking orders or quoting prices for their XVentures for at least the next 60 days.

I really don't understand what we mean here by "real off-road" usage...Seriously, where and when are you ever driving "really" off of any road for any significant amount of time? You may be driving on really lousy roads but you're still on a "road" or "trail", if you want to call it that. Who is driving for any length of time where there is literally no established path?

 

[gendlert]

If your budget allows, Kimberly makes a very nice trailer as well. The US distributor is David Bates in Ohio. I have a friend who owns a Mission Overland trailer that he very much enjoys. You may already be aware that there is a very active Mission Overland trailer thread on this site. Conqueror makes a very nice off road trailer from South Africa but no longer imports into the US. There are occasionally used units for sale around. If you are not set on hard sided then Patriot is hard to beat for true off road capability.

Conqueror was recently purchased and is back in the US. Units are coming into the states this summer/fall. I think a couple of dealerships in the west have placed orders, so you'll see them for sale shortly. I had the pleasure of playing with a 2021 UEV-490 prototype last fall. But I agree with GOAT on the "Where are you really taking it?" comments. I also just want something that's gonna go anywhere my truck goes and not fall apart after 30000 washboard road repetitions.




Same guys that now own Conqueror also have a new brand coming out, Outback Innovationz. Aussie designs with RTT, Forward Fold, and a ~13ft Pop-Top Hardside (https://www.obicamper.com/dweller/) which is kickass; I've seen it in person, and ignore the under-construction website that's in work. I own the FF version, which was the prototype, and it's built tough. I've got a few thousand miles on it, many of those on forest roads and a few "sketchier" sections, and there's nothing that has been worse for the wear other than one loose speaker wire, which just needed to be tightened back in.

We really like the forward fold as opposed to the hard-side camper once it's set up, because you can be in the trailer but also have it be open air, and not feel like it's inside. Happy to send more pics if you're interested.

 

[billiebob]

I'm not sure I would trust any of the square drops for the real off-road usage you describe.

I'd trust any trailer off road where I'd likely be going very slow. Washboard and potholes ON the road are way harder on a trailer.
Off road all you need to worry about is the overhang.

ps, I think HIKER is one of the best buys out there, and they have 3 different sizes, 4 styles from highway thru extreme terrain.
Plus a bunk bed option perfect for a dog.

Hiker Trailer

Custom hiker trailers built for high quality, lightweight, and affordable trailers to help people experience the outdoors in a comfortable and economical way.

www.hikertrailers.com

 

[hscoots]

The new escapod trailers look nice, with hefty price tag as well.

 

[Mickey Bitsko]

I recently watched videos on 'real offroad trailers , they look 'As seen ' in these posts , shown set up in nice flat sites .
Can you drag any of these through Fordyce, the Rubicon? I think i need to look up what the new 'off road ' meaning is..
Pretty much filmed on non maintained fs roads , nice rigs though, im jealous, couldn't afford to insure one.

 

[kwill]

Even in most of the US southwest, you really aren't free to drive just anywhere - you generally need to stay on established roads except for maybe a few dozen yards to get to a campsite. The desert is fragile and I, for one, am not comfortable driving off the road - Those tracks will stay on the ground for decades and the organisms you killed will take just as long to recover....If that's the way they do it down-under then so be it, but on most US public land you can get yourself a nice fine for driving "off road".

Either way, we aren't really talking about high-speed driving when we're pulling trailers in challenging terrain - even more so if you are really driving cross-country (no road). As long as the trailer has enough ground clearance (and most of these have better ground clearance than most of our trucks) then the trailer isn't going to be the limiting factor. The limiting factor when encountering any obstacle will be whether or not the tow vehicle has the power to pull the trailer through. If the truck will clear the obstacle, the trailer will clear the obstacle.

I try to avoid referring to my trailer as "off-road" and instead just call it "ruggedized"...

I agree with this but I've found the limiting factor to be tight turns. It can be really sticky to have to maneuver around a tree or boulder and realize the trailer is going to hang on it.