Intro along with Morris Mule review

[georgiadrifter]

Total newb here at EP but here goes.

Retired, bouncing between Atlanta and Western North Carolina. I bought a Morris Mule trailer a couple of months ago. After 2,000-plus miles I figure I know enough for a comprehensive review. I'll get into detail in subsequent posts.

Anyhow....purchased it from Morris Burt at his shop in Anniston Alabama. Morris is a lifelong metal worker with a background established in the steel mills of Alabama. He gave me s tour of his shop and it was impressive to see. He's fabricated jigs for each piece of the frame to insure consistency. The trailers are much more beefy when seeing them in person. Morris is no part-time welder building a trailer here and there. You can see his attention to detail. He and his employees built 82 "mules" last year.

I purchased the Trail Model with 15-inch wheels and Goodyear Wrangler P235-75R15 tires. I had him add the adjustable rack to accommodate two kayaks. Drive out price was $4K even.

Pics to follow....

 

[georgiadrifter]

....and a few mods:

Wallyworld water jugs with fabricated mounts along with a Harbor Freight tongue box:

 

[EMrider]

I've researched trailers extensively and the Morris Mule fits my needs best.

Thanks for the info and pics of yours.

Only problem is geography. No dealers on the west coast and I have neither the interest nor the ability to assemble a pallet of parts.

May have to drive to CO to pick one up..............

R

 

[georgiadrifter]

Get in touch with Morris and see what assembly entails. He has a special way to crate the trailer and minimize assembly.

Also....he told me he is looking for reputable dealers to market his trailer.

 

[EMrider]

Get in touch with Morris and see what assembly entails. He has a special way to crate the trailer and minimize assembly.

Also....he told me he is looking for reputable dealers to market his trailer.

Already spoke with him, thanks.

The trailer arrives on a pallet and weights about 800 pounds.

I'm looking into having a fully assembled trailer shipped from CO. Cost seems to be similar.

R

 

[Trailpsycho]

How does the rack raise up with the tent installed? I would like to fabricate a similar rack for my 416. Some folks use actuators, jacks, gas struts. I was curious what he provides, advocates or recommends... if he does. Hard to tell if there are any accessories to assist from your photos, so I figured I would ask.

Nice trailer. Great price!

Enjoy!

 

[georgiadrifter]

Good question.

The rack has extensions that will raise the rack. You can then open the "lids" to form tables.

There is no way to raise a rooftop tent once it's mounted. Perhaps you could modify the system? So....you choose between the high rack or low rack. I like the rack in the low position simply because the rooftop tent or kayaks are out of the wind (lower profile). I have a lot of interstate miles to get to my destination.

I hope this answers your question.

 

[georgiadrifter]

...added some Zarges:

 

[duckhunter]

Thanks for the review. I've been talking with Morris over the last couple days and I am heavily leaning toward a purchase.

One of my concerns was support for a Roof Top Tent. The site shows the rack system with the L shaped upright guards on either end of the crossbar. That seems like it would get in the way of the tent. But in your pics I see that those L shaped guards are removed? Was that a customization or does it come this way standard?

 

[joelbert]

There was an old thread here where I had asked some questions around the L guards and posted their response at the time.

page 3
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/119310-Morris-Mule-Trailers?highlight=morris+mule

If you still have questions, you might contact them though just to validate information.

 

[duckhunter]

I reached out to Morris and he provided me with this response which I believe clears up the question about the L shaped guards.

We make a set with removable ears which can help with roof top tents. They run an additional $98 and can be run in the regular position , upside down or not at all.

 

[georgiadrifter]

I see he answered your question. I had already typed the below response:

I had Morris add the "L-shaped" extensions that move out to 60-plus inches to allow for two kayaks. This addition cost an extra $100. I'm guessing the are in a fixed position otherwise. My tent is only 48-inches wide so it fits between the uprights anyway.

 

[mythinline]

I will order a Morris trail grade this week (many thanks to GeorgiaDrifter for your posts. Here's my question. I am ordering the trailer with brakes, and my 4Runner has two connectors built in. Which set of connectors do I want him to use during the build?

 

[georgiadrifter]

Mythinline,

I forgot to mention....when I picked up my trailer, the wiring harness (on the trailer) would not reach the factory plug on my 2014 4Runner. The plug on my 4Runner is back up under the vehicle somewhat.

You may want to remind Morris of this. He commented that he had not had that issue before. We used at 12-inch jumper. It works fine but adds one more unnecessary connection.

Please post some pics when you pick it up.

 

[davis31052]

I saw one of these trailers at the Ga National Fair last week equipped with a hard shell RTT similar to a maggiolina. Morris Mule makes a really nice trailer.

I spoke with the rep a pretty good bit and was curious as to how many prospective buyers he had had. I believe he stated three potential sales. I thought this was really sad.

Seems most folks around my area want either a $10 throw away Walmart tent or a $30k coachman TT to go camping in. Both of which sit unused except for Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day.