American Safari JXL ....non responsive

[altaboy]

Tried 2x (year ago, recently) reaching out to these guy about a possible purchase, both by phone and their web portal. They never return the contact request.

Anybody work with them? If so, how did you do it?

 

[Beowulf]

They just did two conversions for EpicFamilyRoadTrip on YouTube.

 

[Beowulf]

That’s the only time I’ve seen someone with their stuff

 

[jscherb]

They're listed as exhibitors at Overland West this weekend. I just arrived in Flagstaff, my Jeep is being used by Overland Outfitters and MORryde in their booths (adjacent booths, my Jeep will be between them). I'll see if I can find American Safari JXL and see what's up with them.

 

[JDaPP]

Had similar experience with email, sent 2 different times over last 5 months with no response.

 

[jscherb]

American Safari has 4 or 5 JXL/s on display this week at Overland West. I shared this thread one my phone with one of the staff members and they said they're swamped. They asked twice what forum this thread was on, sounded like the person wasn't familiar with this forum. They didn't say anything about trying to be more responsive. After that underwhelming response I did not stay in their area long enough to take any detailed photos of the JXLs on display, just took this one photo:

 

[altaboy]

Boy, how do they expect to make $. Terrible business practices

 

[Dan Grec]

Wow, I am shocked to see that photo. The closest Jeep has an AEV rear bumper, AEV tire carrier, larger spare (35s? 37s?) AND the AEV fuel caddy.
From experience I know that is a significant amount of weight.

All that weight is hanging off the now extended rear, which puts it further behind the rear axle than ever before.. AND that whole rear extension is just "bolt on" - there is no welding.

I personally don't love the look & sound of that. I wonder how many tens of thosuands of miles of nasty corrugations they tested it on.

-Dan

 

[jscherb]

Wow, I am shocked to see that photo. The closest Jeep has an AEV rear bumper, AEV tire carrier, larger spare (35s? 37s?) AND the AEV fuel caddy.
From experience I know that is a significant amount of weight.

All that weight is hanging off the now extended rear, which puts it further behind the rear axle than ever before.. AND that whole rear extension is just "bolt on" - there is no welding.

I personally don't love the look & sound of that. I wonder how many tens of thosuands of miles of nasty corrugations they tested it on.

-Dan

I wasn't able to crawl under there to do a complete inspection, but here's a shot of one side of the frame extension. Bolts to the rear frame rails and if you look at the bottom of the photo it appears they use a hitch receiver for additional support. This one photo isn't enough to conclude whether the extension is rugged enough to take trail abuse or not but it's the only photo I was able to get.

But based on this photo it might not be a good idea to idle the engine to keep the heat going when you're sleeping up top - the exhaust hasn't been lengthened and dumps out under the body.

 

[JDaPP]

For what it is worth Epic Family Road Trip has one on a JKU and one on a JLU and they look like they have been holding up so far with rough terrain, Fuel tanks on the back and towing trailers so may be they will provide some insight at some point?

 

[ZONE ZERO]

I had reached out to them after seeing their conversation a few years ago if I remember right it was around 19k but they gave no information about sale or delivery or the materials used .
I cut small companies some slack I’m sure they will get their footing and do what they set out to do. I think under the right set up it’s a sound option if done correctly, but dropping the cash to be a test pig is a bit of a stretch .

 

[BradS]

I had reached out to them after seeing their conversation a few years ago if I remember right it was around 19k but they gave no information about sale or delivery or the materials used .
I cut small companies some slack I’m sure they will get their footing and do what they set out to do. I think under the right set up it’s a sound option if done correctly, but dropping the cash to be a test pig is a bit of a stretch .

Not that I have any real world experience with these things, but I have had my eye on them for quite some time. I have no idea how well they handle the weight or how durable things are.
I believe American Safari JXL bought the molds/rights from a French company called Gazell (https://www.gazell.fr/gazell-jk/) a few years ago. Gazell has been around for quite some time, so there are a few more of these campers around globally.

 

[shays4me]

For what it is worth Epic Family Road Trip has one on a JKU and one on a JLU and they look like they have been holding up so far with rough terrain, Fuel tanks on the back and towing trailers so may be they will provide some insight at some point?

I've been watching that and time will tell as they just got them installed. I'm anxious to see how they hold up as well. There are a few things I like about the product, such as more interior space (who doesn't like that) and things I don't like the rear overhang and the weight so far from the axle as Dan mentioned. Cosidering how heavy my Ursa Minor JKUR is I can imagine one would have to be very careful to avoid totally overloading the build.

 

[Dan Grec]

Cosidering how heavy my Ursa Minor JKUR is I can imagine one would have to be very careful to avoid totally overloading the build.

I feel the same way - more interior space is a blessing and a curse at the same time, because it will inevitably lead to more stuff, more weight.

-Dan

 

[campertramper]

Tried 2x (year ago, recently) reaching out to these guy about a possible purchase, both by phone and their web portal. They never return the contact request.

I also called them about two years ago and never received a response. I ended up reaching out to the manufacturer in Europe (France I believe) and they were willing to sell directly to me. I like their setup a lot!