AT Chaser vs. Horizon / Pros and Cons?

[kb7our]

This is basically what finally convinced me too!

I'm a Horizon guy.
I really like the side storage boxes. I can access things there more easily than having to open the main cargo box, especially when the tent is open.
Besides...the side box kitchen and awning are unbeatable.

HTH...
:sombrero:

I'm glad to hear I'm not alone in the tough decision process to choose between a Chaser or Horizon. Although ~400lbs heavier my reasons pretty much align with DaktariEd. Most of the time I will probably not be on extreme trails with the AT so the extra weight trade off is worth it considering the ease of access to the side boxes. My tow vehicle is an '07 Wrangler Unlimited auto with 4.10 gears and 33's so I am contemplating an upgrade to 4.88s but in the meantime I hope the weight of a "loaded" Horizon won't be overburdening the jeep on trails. I would expect a loaded Horizon with full supplies to approach 2K lbs maybe a little more - any thoughts on this?

 

[spressomon]

I'm glad to hear I'm not alone in the tough decision process to choose between a Chaser or Horizon. Although ~400lbs heavier my reasons pretty much align with DaktariEd. Most of the time I will probably not be on extreme trails with the AT so the extra weight trade off is worth it considering the ease of access to the side boxes. My tow vehicle is an '07 Wrangler Unlimited auto with 4.10 gears and 33's so I am contemplating an upgrade to 4.88s but in the meantime I hope the weight of a "loaded" Horizon won't be overburdening the jeep on trails. I would expect a loaded Horizon with full supplies to approach 2K lbs maybe a little more - any thoughts on this?

You should be just fine on the trails I think...having said that I have never driven Wrangler...but I assume like my buddies Rubicon it has plenty of low end torque(?); my '99 LC100 has no trouble off-road even with a fully/heavily loaded Horizon. You'll notice it, probably like I do, on longer, on steep mountain pass climbs...just have to gear down and rev up!

And yes: The side boxes are very, very convenient!

 

[Bergger]

Okay so the wife and I have decided to sell the pop up and get an AT. :wings: So I am in the same dilema as others, Horizon or Chaser? Here are the pros of each I have come up with.

Horizon: side mounted kitchen with awning (very nice)
ability to get to fridge without opening cargo lid
slightly shorter

Chaser: $3000 cheaper (very nice)
400lbs lighter
slightly narrower

I am undecided. I really like the side kitchen with awning but I also like the attractive price of the chaser. For those with Chasers I have a few questions. How easy/difficult is it to access the fridge when you have the tent set up? Do you have any pics of the trailer opened up with the tent set up? What do you do for your kitchen set up? Does anyone know if AT is close to develping an awning system that can be attached to the Chaser? Any input would be appreciated. Of course it will really come down to what the better half wants to do.

 

[spressomon]

Okay so the wife and I have decided to sell the pop up and get an AT. :wings: So I am in the same dilema as others, Horizon or Chaser? Here are the pros of each I have come up with.

Horizon: side mounted kitchen with awning (very nice)
ability to get to fridge without opening cargo lid
slightly shorter

Chaser: $3000 cheaper (very nice)
400lbs lighter
slightly narrower

I am undecided. I really like the side kitchen with awning but I also like the attractive price of the chaser. For those with Chasers I have a few questions. How easy/difficult is it to access the fridge when you have the tent set up? Do you have any pics of the trailer opened up with the tent set up? What do you do for your kitchen set up? Does anyone know if AT is close to develping an awning system that can be attached to the Chaser? Any input would be appreciated. Of course it will really come down to what the better half wants to do.

Congratulations on your decision to get an AT!!! If you like getting away from the crowds into remote areas you'll wonder, after you've used it only once, how you ever did without it.

 

[Gear]

Bergger wrote -

For those with Chasers I have a few questions. How easy/difficult is it to access the fridge when you have the tent set up? Any input would be appreciated. Of course it will really come down to what the better half wants to do.

Getting to the fridge is no big deal as long as someone is not sleeping in the tent above. If they are you just need them to move length wise to the trailer and slide over the extended part with the ladder. Or just turn the tent into a craftmatic bed. Here is the only problem I see with opening the lid with the tent up. For some reason the ladder usually moves inboard so I just walk around and check it. I guess I could stake out the ladder. This has not been a problem, just more of a heads up.

Do you have any pics of the trailer opened up with the tent set up?

What do you do for your kitchen set up?

I am currently using an Akro-Mils bin for the kitchen. It will hold the Cook Partner Portable Stove that AT sells. In the near future I would like to make a wooden chuck box that would be the same size as the Akro-Mils bin but would have side acess. Three Akro-Mils bins work great as a side table. I just throw a sheet of 3/4 plywood on top.

For a table I use a piece of 3/4" plywood that is wedged in between the fender and two small pegs that stick up on the top of the fender. Just slide the wood in at 45 degrees and lower onto the pegs.

This kitchen can be up and running in a matter of minutes. Oh and I still have access to the fridge that is located in the front right corner. Here is another shot of my organizational madness. You can also see were the wood table goes.

Does anyone know if AT is close to develping an awning system that can be attached to the Chaser?

Well Mario will be able to tell you more about this but if the rumors are correct we should see a prototype at this years Trophy. The design also includes walls to enclose the open trailer. Should be really cool!


Hope this helps.

 

[Bergger]

Thanks for the reply. I went over everything with the wife and right now we are both leaning towards the Chaser. She actually surprised me a little when she said that. We really like the look of it and at this point think the $ savings outweighs the minor advantages, fridge and kitchen, of the Horizon. She is really about minimizing our camping gear and making things less complicated! Now I just need to sell the popup! Hey Gear what size tent do you have on your Chaser? Ours will be for the two of us and our 9 yoa daughter. I am thinking the 1800 but am wondering if that is roomy enough? Do I need to go with the Family size tent? Never having been in a roof top tent I can't picture how much room the 1800 has. Also how comfortable are the mattresses? Is it necessary or possible to lay down some memory foam on top of them and still close it up?

 

[elcoyote]

Well Mario will be able to tell you more about this but if the rumors are correct we should see a prototype at this years Trophy. The design also includes walls to enclose the open trailer. Should be really cool!

Okay, just to appease the rumor gods...yes it is true, we have been busy prototyping. We have adapted the stainless steel Horizon brackets which have proven reliable. They are mounted to the body via some stainless adapter brackets. Because the Chaser is lower, there is a 2 tier adjustment. The 2 tier system allows for 17" of height adjustment. As tested on a Chaser with 32" tires, it went from 62" to 85" of height. More than ample to accommodate to 2 meter (78") walls for the Eezi Awn retractable awing.

The system will be going out for some field testing this weekend and I will post pictures of the full deployment when I return along with performance observations.

 

[Martyn]

A few additional pieces of information that I hope will be helpful.

An 1800 Eezi Awn tent is 72 inches wide and 96 inches long. So it's the same width as a King size bed and 8 feet long. The lid of the chaser is 72 inches long so it's a good fit.

The Eezi Awn family tent in 86 wide long so it would over hang by 14 inches. It would take at a minimum at least 4 cross bars to support the tent and may need a small sub frame if all 14 inches were hanging over the front.

Memory Foam: Spressomon will reconfirm that the foam turns hard in low temperatures and becomes a molded board. If you are looking for more cushion try a thermorest under the mattress.

 

[spressomon]

A few additional pieces of information that I hope will be helpful.

An 1800 Eezi Awn tent is 72 inches wide and 96 inches long. So it's the same width as a King size bed and 8 feet long. The lid of the chaser is 72 inches long so it's a good fit.

The Eezi Awn family tent in 86 wide long so it would over hang by 14 inches. It would take at a minimum at least 4 cross bars to support the tent and may need a small sub frame if all 14 inches were hanging over the front.

Memory Foam: Spressomon will reconfirm that the foam turns hard in low temperatures and becomes a molded board. If you are looking for more cushion try a thermorest under the mattress.

Yes...the memory foam mattress pad we had (Costco) was returned...if I wanted to sleep on a brick hard surface (when temps fall below about 65F)...

We have a nice thick mattress pad we got at Macy's. It is a synthetic down top that doesn't compress as much as down...but makes it more comfortable; and when the better half comes along we have a feather bed we put atop that (she has arthritis in her back). I have also let her use my Exped DAM (Down Filled Air Mattress) backpacking mattress which she likes too...). The only problem with the feather bed is it is too thick to be contained in the RTT when folded. Which is just one of the reasons why I just traded my RTT for a Maggiolina...everything (mattress pad, feather bed, pillows, linens, comforter or sleeping bags) stays in the Maggiolina ready to roll.

 

[spressomon]

Okay, just to appease the rumor gods...yes it is true, we have been busy prototyping. We have adapted the stainless steel Horizon brackets which have proven reliable. They are mounted to the body via some stainless adapter brackets. Because the Chaser is lower, there is a 2 tier adjustment. The 2 tier system allows for 17" of height adjustment. As tested on a Chaser with 32" tires, it went from 62" to 85" of height. More than ample to accommodate to 2 meter (78") walls for the Eezi Awn retractable awing.

The system will be going out for some field testing this weekend and I will post pictures of the full deployment when I return along with performance observations.

I see you have graduated to covering most of the vertical front panels with bed liner material: Good move!

 

[elcoyote]

I see you have graduated to covering most of the vertical front panels with bed liner material: Good move!

Yes as an option. The picture is actually Chaser #1 that went to the Arctic & back. It had several areas on the face where the powder coating had been blasted away by ice debris from Scott's rear tires!

Here is another picture of the awning on the Chaser with the tent mounted for a bit more perspective.

 

[flywgn]

Mario, I like the addition of the calculator on the water tank. I don't believe that was an option when we bought Harry. In reality, though, a GPS would be more practical.

Allen R

 

[Bergger]

Thanks again for all the info. I really like that awning option and the linex on the front of the trailer. I'll have to run those options by my team mate. I'm thinking the 1800 should be large enough for the family. It seems to be a perfect fit for the Chaser. As far as the memory foam we've used it in the popup down to 40 degrees and its very comfortable. Not sure about lower temps. Now I just gotta get off my butt and get the popup ready to sell!!

 

[Andrew Walcker]

M&M-

Man, the AT elves have been busy! The awning attachment looks great and way to adapt an existing bracket for another platform. Tell us more about the Eezi-Awn awning, maybe a couple of pics of it unfurled...:26_34_3:

 

[adventureduo]

Yes as an option. The picture is actually Chaser #1 that went to the Arctic & back. It had several areas on the face where the powder coating had been blasted away by ice debris from Scott's rear tires!

Here is another picture of the awning on the Chaser with the tent mounted for a bit more perspective.

Lookin' good.. You guys are no longer using the Fiama awnings?

Also, quick question on the Chaser... do you need to run trailer brakes on that unit?