Lifetime trailer @ costco

[JAvendan]

R

I just booing one of the new models from Costco. It was the floor model so I got it for $1400.
Anthony

nice they had a floor model for you to see!

joel

 

[RubiconGeoff]

Did you do anything to beef up the tube when adding the fold away hitch? I ask because I recently broke mine right at the front of the trailer box.

Wow, you did?!?! What happened? What were the circumstances? Had the tongue been damaged there at some point before? Did it bottom-out on a rock or something to cause it to break?

 

[Bill Beers]

Wow, you did?!?! What happened? What were the circumstances? Had the tongue been damaged there at some point before? Did it bottom-out on a rock or something to cause it to break?

Hey Geoff, I was on a long-weekend camping trip through the Ochoco National Forest the June, (still need to do a write up on it!)

Almost all of our time in the Ochoco was off-pavement, including some pretty rough roads, but our speeds were pretty low, and the trailer wasn't, (at least I think,) overloaded.

Here is the gps track of Saturday, 6/17: https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msi...0&ll=44.383993,-119.737501&spn=0.04208,0.1054

We were trying to make it up to Spanish Peak, but hit snow before we could get to the top:



We stopped for lunch, then headed back down. About half-way down, we suddenly heard a scraping noise behind us, like we were dragging something through the gravel. As it turns out, we were:





Luckily, one of the guys on the trip had a small floor jack, so we were able to jack the tube back into position, well, almost anyway.



We used the trailer's wing support braces to make a splint for the break:



The following day, we headed home, roughly 40-ish miles of gravel, and about 200 or so back to PDX, (with a side trip to the Painted Hills!)

I finally got around to repairing it last week, (since we have another trip slated for next week.)

Old tube and new tube, pre-paint:







Original wall thickness was .095". New tube is .188":



And all painted up:



It's all back together now. I had the tent out of it this weekend and used the trailer to haul a dining room set to my Mom's house! I probably could have patched the original tube, or added some kind of plate to the top to spread the load out a pit. GVW on that trailer is 2K. I estimate I was at about 1300-1400, (800 for the trailer, ~320 for fuel/water, 50 lbs of firewood, 50 lb cooler, propane tank, etc.) And that was when we left Thursday night. I'm glad I didn't have a heavy quad on it or something!

I think the failure mode was ultimately due to fatigue. After a hundred or so miles of rough roads w/a loaded trailer, the material simply couldn't handle it. I think if I stuck to the pavement, it wouldn't have been a problem, since both the frequency and the amplitude of road loads would be much, much lower. The 3/16" wall tube should eliminate that problem. I hope it doesn't chase it somewhere else!

 

[RubiconGeoff]

Wow, I'm really surprised to see that. I know it's thin-wall tube, but it's large in size. I guess for those of us who are a little rougher on our trailers than Average Joe, it's advised to replace or gusset the tongue to prevent this from happening.

 

[Taco Gunner]

I emailed the company about ANY future plans to reintroduce the original Lifetime Trailer; there is none.

 

[JAvendan]

^^^^

boooooooooooo.

joel

 

[wingysataday]

What are the part numbers for the old set-up? What were the old style ones called?

 

[zonzin]

.... I see that you can put a 15 x 7 inch rim on it. However I found a deal for 15x8's, will those fit?

Thanks!
Anthony

Sorry for getting back so late. Yeah,, they should fit. You will need spacers though depending on wheel offset.



.

 

[zonzin]

Did you do anything to beef up the tube when adding the fold away hitch? I ask because I recently broke mine right at the front of the trailer box.

Thanks!

Nope,, just did due diligence on the welds and so far so good. Been all over the country with it pretty loaded up. Working good.



.

 

[zonzin]

Did lifetime send you the new .188 tube or did you fab that up yourself?

 

[GDSQDCR]

Sorry for getting back so late. Yeah,, they should fit. You will need spacers though depending on wheel offset.



.

I ended up putting spacers on it and am running 205's. The trailer is going under the knife soon (read when I order parts) and I am installing a #3500 axle under it. When I do that, I will get the axle a bit wider so I do not need to run spacers.

Thanks!
Anthony

 

[TheThom]

^^He posted his ad in 5 threads. Why not just list it in the for sale section instead of hijacking 5 threads

 

[TeCKis300]

Ruined the Lifetime Trailer
Well, I had an order completed before being told this trailer is out of stock and is being replaced by another model.

New model:
much lighter tent body
single beds with loading track/benches that act as extensions.
no mattresses provided (hope the size is somewhat standard)!
smaller wings held up by struts similar to jumping jack
wings can only be folded out (for tent deployment) or fixed vertically (utility style). cannot be folded down to make a ATV/mountain bike/camp bin platform!!!!

it is as if they did market research to find all the best and most popular features and then got rid of them.

apparently it may be a little cheaper, but I would never buy a trailer that has metal frames sticking 5' into the wind and has no access from side. and think about the storage.

what appealed about the discontinued model was the bed to trailer weight ratio and the compactness of the enclosure once folded up.

there are a few pictures on the lifetime site: sahara tent trailer.

i hope they revive the old model soon. what they should do is offer the old model with two axle and wheel size options.

Now that my youngest is one, I was planning to finally pick up one of these only to be incredibly disappointed with the discontinuation of the old model. Your post sums up my thoughts well. Incredibly unfortunate that lifetime took many step backwards!!! I would have been happy with the lighter tent material even on the old architecture if they needs to meet a lower price point!

The biggest draw back in my mind is the added width of the new setup (79" vs 72"). That makes it even wider than my full size 100-series land cruiser, which makes it is a liability on the trail.

I'm posting feedback to them in hopes they will bring back the old style.

 

[Sardog1]

Two weeks ago I received a Costco flyer in the mail and saw the Lifetime trailer for $1999. Sale is on till 6/1/14.
http://www.costco.com/Lifetime®-Camping-Tent-Trailer.product.100003491.html

 

[raglandjeff]

Did you ever buy any of the accessory pieces from JJ? If so, did they fit?