Camper with 2 small kids

[chatt100]

My kids are finally getting to the age where we can take them camping. Have done a couple of tent trips but man did I underestimate the amount of extra work camping with kids is. Trying to get a camper for comfort and to hopefully make it a little easier to get into the woods.

I am not really sure what I should be looking for though. Want something that has modest off road capabilities (fire roads and maybe some easy off road trails). My kids are 2 and 4, they would probably sleep with us right now but at some point could do a roof top tent. I am 6'3" and want something I can lay down in stretched out.

It'll be pulled by my 97 FZJ80 so can't go too big

 

[XJLI]

I'm planning on getting myself a small camper in a couple years. First kid is only 9 months, but we're planning on another eventually. IMO, if I'm towing it it better have a shower and a toilet. I don't want to drag some overpriced cargo trailer with a RTT on it through the woods... you can leave a small RV somewhere as "basecamp" and do day hikes or an overnight with gear on your back.

I want to pick up a Casita, InTech, or Escape or similar and put a small lift and bigger tires on it so I'd be ok bringing it down a fire road to a dispersed campsite.

 

[chatt100]

I'm planning on getting myself a small camper in a couple years. First kid is only 9 months, but we're planning on another eventually. IMO, if I'm towing it it better have a shower and a toilet. I don't want to drag some overpriced cargo trailer with a RTT on it through the woods... you can leave a small RV somewhere as "basecamp" and do day hikes or an overnight with gear on your back.

I want to pick up a Casita, InTech, or Escape or similar and put a small lift and bigger tires on it so I'd be ok bringing it down a fire road to a dispersed campsite.

A shower and a toilet would be nice bonus (and make the wife much happier) but with the limited towing capacity (5000lb) of the land cruiser I think that's going to limit options. I'm open to suggestions though, Ill check out the list you mentioned

 

[XJLI]

A shower and a toilet would be nice bonus (and make the wife much happier) but with the limited towing capacity (5000lb) of the land cruiser I think that's going to limit options. I'm open to suggestions though, Ill check out the list you mentioned

Both Casita and Escape have models under 5000lbs with showers. Happy searching!

 

[alldownhill]

My recommendation would be to *not* invest too heavily in something that seems perfect for 2 little kids. They get older so fast and the needs/wants change. For comfort now, if you are towing, just get a cheap travel trailer and get out.

 

[ace944gs]

My recommendation would be to *not* invest too heavily in something that seems perfect for 2 little kids. They get older so fast and the needs/wants change. For comfort now, if you are towing, just get a cheap travel trailer and get out.

This is what we're doing. Ages 6 and 3.5, things change monthly in terms of interest, attitude, time constraints, etc... keep it simple and comfortable for quick get aways. My wife and I also agreed to rent when we want to do something that requires a different set up ...vs committing ourselves financially and logistically to something that may end up being a compromise that no one likes or doesn't work for our family in X short years anymore.

Good luck, and have fun- kids don't know the difference in what's available anyway so don't stress

 

[alia176]

I used to pull a Kamparoo with the 80 for years, until our daughter became a pre-teen. At one time we had two 80s, his and hers. Hers was on a 2" lift with 285 tires and it did a great job of pulling that 2500# camper. That style of a camper allows you to haul all sorts of play toys on the top and the center of gravity is super low. I now have an Adrenaline Rush camper which is pretty much the same thing with some upgrades. I still have an 80 series on steroids but picked up a V8 4runner for tow duty.

Having a low COG makes me feel better with dragging these campers wherever I feel like w/o flopping or tipping over. Up-righting a trailer is monumentally challenging on the trail because they're not meant to recovered that way w//o damaging them in the process. Couple of weeks ago, I almost rented a peddle boat for the teenagers to play in a high mountain lake with cold water but went with a SUP instead. The rack is so huge on these things, just about anything fits up top.

Parents with two kids in this style of campers often use the Disc O bed that are meant to be used as bunk beds and can be torn down and setup quickly. A search will show more pics.

One of the coolest things with certain trailers is that you can pull over under a tree and serve up lunch in the middle of a drive. Having instant access to a sink and a pull out kitchen drawer is oh so nice. The last pic below shows this.

Hopefully I've given you some things to think about and feel free to PM me with additional questions. Good luck with your hunt.

 

[EPO]

I'm planning on getting myself a small camper in a couple years. First kid is only 9 months, but we're planning on another eventually. IMO, if I'm towing it it better have a shower and a toilet. I don't want to drag some overpriced cargo trailer with a RTT on it through the woods... you can leave a small RV somewhere as "basecamp" and do day hikes or an overnight with gear on your back.

I want to pick up a Casita, InTech, or Escape or similar and put a small lift and bigger tires on it so I'd be ok bringing it down a fire road to a dispersed campsite.

How do add a lift to one of these trailers? Yourself or someone do it for you? I would think that the RV centers wouldn't care to do that on a product they don't sell. I've thought about a lift also on one of these but haven't pursued it. Thanks.

 

[chatt100]

I used to pull a Kamparoo with the 80 for years, until our daughter became a pre-teen. At one time we had two 80s, his and hers. Hers was on a 2" lift with 285 tires and it did a great job of pulling that 2500# camper. That style of a camper allows you to haul all sorts of play toys on the top and the center of gravity is super low. I now have an Adrenaline Rush camper which is pretty much the same thing with some upgrades. I still have an 80 series on steroids but picked up a V8 4runner for tow duty.

Having a low COG makes me feel better with dragging these campers wherever I feel like w/o flopping or tipping over. Up-righting a trailer is monumentally challenging on the trail because they're not meant to recovered that way w//o damaging them in the process. Couple of weeks ago, I almost rented a peddle boat for the teenagers to play in a high mountain lake with cold water but went with a SUP instead. The rack is so huge on these things, just about anything fits up top.

Parents with two kids in this style of campers often use the Disc O bed that are meant to be used as bunk beds and can be torn down and setup quickly. A search will show more pics.

One of the coolest things with certain trailers is that you can pull over under a tree and serve up lunch in the middle of a drive. Having instant access to a sink and a pull out kitchen drawer is oh so nice. The last pic below shows this.

Hopefully I've given you some things to think about and feel free to PM me with additional questions. Good luck with your hunt.

View attachment 683191 View attachment 683192

View attachment 683193 View attachment 683194

I used to pull a Kamparoo with the 80 for years, until our daughter became a pre-teen. At one time we had two 80s, his and hers. Hers was on a 2" lift with 285 tires and it did a great job of pulling that 2500# camper. That style of a camper allows you to haul all sorts of play toys on the top and the center of gravity is super low. I now have an Adrenaline Rush camper which is pretty much the same thing with some upgrades. I still have an 80 series on steroids but picked up a V8 4runner for tow duty.

Having a low COG makes me feel better with dragging these campers wherever I feel like w/o flopping or tipping over. Up-righting a trailer is monumentally challenging on the trail because they're not meant to recovered that way w//o damaging them in the process. Couple of weeks ago, I almost rented a peddle boat for the teenagers to play in a high mountain lake with cold water but went with a SUP instead. The rack is so huge on these things, just about anything fits up top.

Parents with two kids in this style of campers often use the Disc O bed that are meant to be used as bunk beds and can be torn down and setup quickly. A search will show more pics.

One of the coolest things with certain trailers is that you can pull over under a tree and serve up lunch in the middle of a drive. Having instant access to a sink and a pull out kitchen drawer is oh so nice. The last pic below shows this.

Hopefully I've given you some things to think about and feel free to PM me with additional questions. Good luck with your hunt.

View attachment 683191 View attachment 683192

View attachment 683193 View attachment 683194

Love your set up and beautiful 80! How was it pulling a camper on the interstate/highway with the 80? I'm currently running 35's. While its a new engine and currently fine on the highway I could see it being a pain pulling anything especially on longer trips. Maybe an excuse to re-gear or even better put in a wits end turbo!

While it would be a bonus to have the niceties (bathroom/shower), my wife and I don't think it's necessary. I like the idea of being able to access more places than a larger camper allows.

Definitely gave me a few things to look at/think about. I especially like the disc o bed idea for the kids.

 

[XJLI]

How do add a lift to one of these trailers? Yourself or someone do it for you? I would think that the RV centers wouldn't care to do that on a product they don't sell. I've thought about a lift also on one of these but haven't pursued it. Thanks.

Depends on the type of axle. Something like this:

Dexter #10 axle lift kit

www.perfectcasita.com

Escape and InTech both offer "lifted" versions of their axles/suspension from the factory.

 

[Jonnyo]

i use to camp with a teardrop trailer and it was amazing, versatile, offroad capable etc. and i got kids! i started camping with them every they were 1. i have 3 kids and to be honest, the first couple year with all 3 was a lot about teaching them to be good camper body and it wasnt as much fun. now they are 4 5 7 and it s amazing and so much fun., i go on my own most of the time so it gives my wife a break.

my point is, i need a lot more luxury for camping vs what i needed when i was lone. Shower is absolutly essential with the, .they get so dirty daily and it s needed. I found that i would purchase somethign simple thinking it would be ok just to realise that with kids..you need a bit of extra luxury to make it work. we now camp in a convertered 2ft van and it s working well but as they growth....i would not mind a bit more space!!

 

[alia176]

Love your set up and beautiful 80! How was it pulling a camper on the interstate/highway with the 80? I'm currently running 35's. While its a new engine and currently fine on the highway I could see it being a pain pulling anything especially on longer trips. Maybe an excuse to re-gear or even better put in a wits end turbo!

While it would be a bonus to have the niceties (bathroom/shower), my wife and I don't think it's necessary. I like the idea of being able to access more places than a larger camper allows.

Definitely gave me a few things to look at/think about. I especially like the disc o bed idea for the kids.

I was towing the camper with my 80 using 315 and 4.56 gear ratio but it really didn't like it a whole bunch in the mountains. As you know high elevation makes you lose power and you combine that with a bloated 80, you can imagine how much it struggled with elevation towing. My 80 is also part-time so it has a decent amount of power for towing the trailer around. It now has a turbo, so I can pull the trailer with authority but my 80 checks in at 7100 lbs.

All trailers have pros and cons, you just have to pick what's important to you. In my case I wanted to buy a trailer so that my partner can tow it without apprehension on long drives as I like to share my drives as much as possible. This gives my lower back a chance to relax and I can catch a nap or two here and there.

Being able to see out the back is a really nice bonus, additionally, having the trailer track width match that of the tow vehicle is another nice attribute. A trailer can significantly suck up the power of the tow rig by simply being much wider and higher than the tow rig so that was an important attribute of mine when I selected this camper.

Lastly, I wanted to be able to change clothes and stand up inside a trailer like a homo sapien. If the weather turns to crap, we can cook and exist inside until it passes.

One of the downside of this style of trailer is that you have a lot of canvas to deal with, which is annoying during high wind events. But, with a nine foot peak inside, it's a whole lot of volume.

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

 

[amccabe]

We have been using an Aliner Family Expedition and that checks all the boxes thus far. We have a 14month old and 2 dogs. Have been camping with him since he was ~5 months.Has outdoor shower and toilet. Definitely taken it down some forest roads here in AZ for dispersed camping with the stock setup (up to lockett meadow). I just recently had a new dexter torsion axle installed with a 45 degree drop angle and now I run KO2s as well. Dry weight around 2200 lbs.