John E Davies
Adventurer
Moderators, please move this thread, I am sorry I posted it in the cLassifieds, big brain fart. Thanks. JD
This isn't a camping trailer, but I hope this thread can stay here, for entertainment reasons. Feel free to comment.
https://apogeetrailers.com
I wanted a trailer for a few local errands yearly, like getting lumber at the box store or taking tree branches to the dump, and it needed to be compact and out of the way when not in use. I thought an Apapt-X-300 4' x 8' would be just the ticket. I was prepared to have to do some stuff to it, in terms of making it a little more durable and usable, like installing 2" lift blocks. They have been around since 2018, mostly in Canada, with a handful of USA dealers. There are no verifiably impartial reviews! I bought one for 30% off the very inflated MSRP, $3988 out the door.
I looked it over, a basic walk around, kick the tires, it looked fine and the dealer had prepped it, right? I ballasted it with 400 pounds, set the pressure to 30 psi, and towed it home for seven hours. The next day I started inspecting it in detail, and discovered that it had pretty much self destructed, because the suspension upper bolts were severely over torqued at the factory (zip gunned on) and the springs were essentially frozen in place. Maybe I should have checked those at delivery, but I did not have the right sized tools, nor did I think I would have to lie down in the dirt to do that sort of inspection. The trailer was completely invisible behind my LC200 while going straight. It sounded pretty rattly on surface streets, but it seems very composed on the highway. No worries, and I was tired anyway.
DAVIES Apogee Tongue bracket excessive play
DAVIES Apogee entire rear section excessive play
DAVIES Apogee floor and upper brackets excessive play
Eventually I did enough research and determined that:
Apogee went into receivership in July 2023, locked the factory doors, walked away and neglected to tell anybody about it, including their dealers or customers. The phones are still working, but the voice mailboxes are full and you get an apology message in melodious French. Their Facebook page went silent - as a Canadian dealer told me, "It was like they suddenly dropped off the face of the earth.".
So I ended up with a trashed trailer, no warranty and no factory support or parts. I was able to convince my dealer to buy it back for a full refund, less travel expenses and 28 hours of my life lost driving there and back, twice, but it took five weeks and some serious threats. I really liked the concept, it is very cool to see folded up and pushed against the wall. One owner who posted a review to the Apogee page said his ATV looked really cool on top! However:
The previous model , the Optimax, was discontinued due to an embarrassing tendency for the tongue to snap in half, in the CENTER (the safety chains are connected up front). So a couple of owners simply lost their loaded trailers entirely into the weeds or oncoming traffic. A fix would be safety chains going all the way back to the main frame. ... https://www.lowes.ca/product/utility-trailers/optimax-folding-trailer-4-x-8-aluminum-1320855 Next two pics NOT MY TRAILER:
That tongue has been cracked for a long time, overloaded and perhaps towed in winter, so don't do that. Lowes Canada stopped carrying them, as did eTrailer in the USA, neither would comment about the reason. Perhaps the company lawyers spoke up. The multiple hinge point design seems at first glance to be well thought out, but:
It is CRAZY dangerous, especially the bigger trailers, with multiple pinch points with risk of finger amputation or severe head trauma. One dealer noted that people with limited strength or mobility should not operate it.
How to fold our trailer Adapt-X
The four bottom hinges, for the body, appear to be robust, but they use standard 1/2" bolts and apparently no replaceable bushings (I did not verify the existence of bushings).. Once worn with no bushings, a repair becomes a nightmare involving jigs and reamers; I doubt that a local shop could get things back into the original factory alignment. For a new undamaged trailer, drill longer bolts for grease fittings and keep the four zerks flushed out and well lubed. Easy fix.
The four upper connections rely on 1/2" (proprietary) pins with a slip fit, they are a theft risk, and need to be replaced with bolts and nylocks, with high density plastic pads/ washers in the gaps to minimize wear and movement. Easy fix,.
The tailgate has a pair of nice usable, lightly loaded compression latches at the top. It doesn't move around when stored vertically. The center hinges have zerks (dry), the bottom hinges do not have them. The tilting bed connection up front uses an inadequate similar clamp that is WAY too small for the job of holding down the up down motion of a bouncing, loaded trailer body. No easy fix, maybe install a set of HappyJac spring loaded camper tie down turnbuckles.
Advertised as completely rust free - the suspension mounts are raw low carbon angle bolted to aluminum with no visible bedding compound to prevent severe corrosion. Yikes! The axle is lightly galvanized, the hubs are painted. The axle is showing rust signs already.
Welds look OK, build quality is very lacking, and a lack of care by the workers is apparent. Dealers are pretty much clueless, parts and accessories will be limited to stocks on hand, unless the factory comes back to life, maybe in Spring 2024, one dealer said... Should you buy one? Maybe for 40 to 50% off MSRP, delivered to your front door on its shipping pallet, so you can set it up correctly. You could always weld it up solid....
https://www.etrailer.com/tv-review-apogee-adapt-x-300-folding-utility-trailer-at44fr.aspx
I will post a bunch of pics for your viewing pleasure,
John Davies
Spokane WA
This isn't a camping trailer, but I hope this thread can stay here, for entertainment reasons. Feel free to comment.
https://apogeetrailers.com
I wanted a trailer for a few local errands yearly, like getting lumber at the box store or taking tree branches to the dump, and it needed to be compact and out of the way when not in use. I thought an Apapt-X-300 4' x 8' would be just the ticket. I was prepared to have to do some stuff to it, in terms of making it a little more durable and usable, like installing 2" lift blocks. They have been around since 2018, mostly in Canada, with a handful of USA dealers. There are no verifiably impartial reviews! I bought one for 30% off the very inflated MSRP, $3988 out the door.
I looked it over, a basic walk around, kick the tires, it looked fine and the dealer had prepped it, right? I ballasted it with 400 pounds, set the pressure to 30 psi, and towed it home for seven hours. The next day I started inspecting it in detail, and discovered that it had pretty much self destructed, because the suspension upper bolts were severely over torqued at the factory (zip gunned on) and the springs were essentially frozen in place. Maybe I should have checked those at delivery, but I did not have the right sized tools, nor did I think I would have to lie down in the dirt to do that sort of inspection. The trailer was completely invisible behind my LC200 while going straight. It sounded pretty rattly on surface streets, but it seems very composed on the highway. No worries, and I was tired anyway.
DAVIES Apogee Tongue bracket excessive play
DAVIES Apogee entire rear section excessive play
DAVIES Apogee floor and upper brackets excessive play
Eventually I did enough research and determined that:
Apogee went into receivership in July 2023, locked the factory doors, walked away and neglected to tell anybody about it, including their dealers or customers. The phones are still working, but the voice mailboxes are full and you get an apology message in melodious French. Their Facebook page went silent - as a Canadian dealer told me, "It was like they suddenly dropped off the face of the earth.".
So I ended up with a trashed trailer, no warranty and no factory support or parts. I was able to convince my dealer to buy it back for a full refund, less travel expenses and 28 hours of my life lost driving there and back, twice, but it took five weeks and some serious threats. I really liked the concept, it is very cool to see folded up and pushed against the wall. One owner who posted a review to the Apogee page said his ATV looked really cool on top! However:
The previous model , the Optimax, was discontinued due to an embarrassing tendency for the tongue to snap in half, in the CENTER (the safety chains are connected up front). So a couple of owners simply lost their loaded trailers entirely into the weeds or oncoming traffic. A fix would be safety chains going all the way back to the main frame. ... https://www.lowes.ca/product/utility-trailers/optimax-folding-trailer-4-x-8-aluminum-1320855 Next two pics NOT MY TRAILER:
That tongue has been cracked for a long time, overloaded and perhaps towed in winter, so don't do that. Lowes Canada stopped carrying them, as did eTrailer in the USA, neither would comment about the reason. Perhaps the company lawyers spoke up. The multiple hinge point design seems at first glance to be well thought out, but:
It is CRAZY dangerous, especially the bigger trailers, with multiple pinch points with risk of finger amputation or severe head trauma. One dealer noted that people with limited strength or mobility should not operate it.
How to fold our trailer Adapt-X
The four bottom hinges, for the body, appear to be robust, but they use standard 1/2" bolts and apparently no replaceable bushings (I did not verify the existence of bushings).. Once worn with no bushings, a repair becomes a nightmare involving jigs and reamers; I doubt that a local shop could get things back into the original factory alignment. For a new undamaged trailer, drill longer bolts for grease fittings and keep the four zerks flushed out and well lubed. Easy fix.
The four upper connections rely on 1/2" (proprietary) pins with a slip fit, they are a theft risk, and need to be replaced with bolts and nylocks, with high density plastic pads/ washers in the gaps to minimize wear and movement. Easy fix,.
The tailgate has a pair of nice usable, lightly loaded compression latches at the top. It doesn't move around when stored vertically. The center hinges have zerks (dry), the bottom hinges do not have them. The tilting bed connection up front uses an inadequate similar clamp that is WAY too small for the job of holding down the up down motion of a bouncing, loaded trailer body. No easy fix, maybe install a set of HappyJac spring loaded camper tie down turnbuckles.
Advertised as completely rust free - the suspension mounts are raw low carbon angle bolted to aluminum with no visible bedding compound to prevent severe corrosion. Yikes! The axle is lightly galvanized, the hubs are painted. The axle is showing rust signs already.
Welds look OK, build quality is very lacking, and a lack of care by the workers is apparent. Dealers are pretty much clueless, parts and accessories will be limited to stocks on hand, unless the factory comes back to life, maybe in Spring 2024, one dealer said... Should you buy one? Maybe for 40 to 50% off MSRP, delivered to your front door on its shipping pallet, so you can set it up correctly. You could always weld it up solid....
https://www.etrailer.com/tv-review-apogee-adapt-x-300-folding-utility-trailer-at44fr.aspx
I will post a bunch of pics for your viewing pleasure,
John Davies
Spokane WA
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