Little Guy

[Spencurai]

I read this entire thread and then went out and bought a little guy. Most of the issues Hilldweller is dealing with are issues with a custom build. There were also a couple issues that were basically failure of Hilldweller to do his research. I did my research, compared the normal little guy to the rough rider and realized that I could do a better job, for less money, and make it lighter so I bought the road version with the intent of making it an offroad version with my own modifications. I saw the stats on the site and knew the rough rider was WAYYYYY heavier than it needed to be. Then I went to the dealer and put a regular 5-wide next to a 5-wide rough rider then I crawled all over and under both of them.

After my research I found...

I knew having a pump sink was silly as I have 5-gallon jugs with spigots on them which saved me HUNDREDS of dollars at a price of almost no convenience.

I knew I could buy a coleman stove for a hell of a lot cheaper than the one offered by the factory also knowing it would be a lot lighter and easier to clean.

I knew the skid plating and ruggedizing were too heavy and overkill so I decided to do it myself saving thousands of dollars and hundreds of pounds. I will be using UHMWPE skid plating instead of steel or aluminum.

I knew the factory charging system and battery were fine for my needs (running the fan) so they will remain stock until I see a need to upgrade them MYSELF in order to save tons of money and make sure it is done to MY specifications.

I have been on two trips since I bought my trailer last month and the trailer towed beautifully behind my 2011 FJ Cruiser. On the way to and from Moab I was holding 75mph quite easily.

The lesson I have learned from this thread is that everyone else has had a great experience with Little guy except for Hilldweller mostly because of the HUGE list of custom specs and a sales guy that bit off a little more than he could chew. Little guy will make it right I'm sure. I was not at all dissuaded from purchasing a little guy from reading this thread. They are good at what they know how to do and they are still learning the custom build game for customers that are VERY specific about their needs.

 

[JPK]

Glad you are happy with your trailer. But I have to say that there are just no excuses for some of the ****'s Little Guy built into Hilldweller's trailer.

A couple really raw examples where Little Guy just fell flat on their face, F'dU and where blaming the customer just can't fly include stabilizers that need to have the feet removed to clear when retracted and that - on an offraod trailer!!! - don't reach the ground on a minor incline.

The entire list is pretty similar imo, with maybe a couple of examples of Little Guy not knowing what the hell they were doing, and Hilldweller, the customer, not holding himself out as trailer experts, didn't either, like the wheels needing spacers, iirc without re-reading the whole thread.

You saved yourself some $'s, good for you. Hilldweller, his wife, maybe both of them, were in no position to be rebuilding a trailer.

BTW, I don't get why you have such disdain for someone who wants running water - maybe for their wife?

I am having a custom tear drop built, and its taking some time, really too long, but then the builder won't hack something together like Little Guy did. When I was shopping for a truly capable off road tear drop the Little Guys were full of answers, but way too many of their answers were full of baloney. That was what turned me off, and that was before they assembled the Hilldweller debacle.

JPK

 

[bucketosudz]

Wow, That was an incredible first post! Did Little Guy pay for the review?

I am pretty certain that it was Chris and Little Guy trailers that "screwed the pooch" on this not Hilldweller's "Lack of Research". Little Guy agreed to build a custom trailer and botched it from the get go.

I don't personally have a "dog in the fight" but your post seemed a bit "trollish" to me.

I read this entire thread and then went out and bought a little guy. Most of the issues Hilldweller is dealing with are issues with a custom build. There were also a couple issues that were basically failure of Hilldweller to do his research. I did my research, compared the normal little guy to the rough rider and realized that I could do a better job, for less money, and make it lighter so I bought the road version with the intent of making it an offroad version with my own modifications. I saw the stats on the site and knew the rough rider was WAYYYYY heavier than it needed to be. Then I went to the dealer and put a regular 5-wide next to a 5-wide rough rider then I crawled all over and under both of them.

After my research I found...

I knew having a pump sink was silly as I have 5-gallon jugs with spigots on them which saved me HUNDREDS of dollars at a price of almost no convenience.

I knew I could buy a coleman stove for a hell of a lot cheaper than the one offered by the factory also knowing it would be a lot lighter and easier to clean.

I knew the skid plating and ruggedizing were too heavy and overkill so I decided to do it myself saving thousands of dollars and hundreds of pounds. I will be using UHMWPE skid plating instead of steel or aluminum.

I knew the factory charging system and battery were fine for my needs (running the fan) so they will remain stock until I see a need to upgrade them MYSELF in order to save tons of money and make sure it is done to MY specifications.

I have been on two trips since I bought my trailer last month and the trailer towed beautifully behind my 2011 FJ Cruiser. On the way to and from Moab I was holding 75mph quite easily.

The lesson I have learned from this thread is that everyone else has had a great experience with Little guy except for Hilldweller mostly because of the HUGE list of custom specs and a sales guy that bit off a little more than he could chew. Little guy will make it right I'm sure. I was not at all dissuaded from purchasing a little guy from reading this thread. They are good at what they know how to do and they are still learning the custom build game for customers that are VERY specific about their needs.

 

[Hilldweller]

Trolls are as trolls post, my Momma used'ta tell me...

I just wanted a turn-key trailer to get out and enjoy the world; my body has been through hell in the past 4 years and I have to take it easy most of the time. They thought they could build it. Some of the mistakes were honest misunderstandings; most of them were blatant sloppy BS.
Sorry, Chris, but they were. No excuse F.U.'d nonsense; those are the ones that leave me smoldering.

Little Guy should be very embarrassed about this build. Very.

 

[Martyn]

Bill, I'm very glad this is being resolved for you.

And yes, beware of first posters who have a bone to chew or a flag to fly.

 

[bunduguy]

Bill, I'm very glad this is being resolved for you.

And yes, beware of first posters who have a bone to chew or a flag to fly.

Thought the same thing! Whoa there big fella; earn some credit first. I'm glad this is a forum where people can have their own opinions and be contrary, but buy us dinner and a show first.

I have no first-hand knowledge of Little Guy, let's be clear. All I know is what Bill showed me when we camped out; as someone new to the trailer side of things, I would have been embarrassed to send a trailer out like that, if it strayed so far from the list of needs. I can, however, attest to the fact that Bill very much knows his stuff, and while his expectations are high, I think they are in keeping with the high pricetag of his trailer! It is a good looking TD, but in the end, it's all about the user experience, and Bill found it lacking. Since he's the guy writing the check, that's all that matters.

 

[WMac]

Bill,

I'm happy to see this moving forward in a positive way.

I have to tell you my friend, We should come up with some kind of an Expo award for your grace, patience, and professional demeanior.
I hope that you you hold him accountable, give him a deadline so he dosent ruin the summer for you.
and make sure that its correct before you except it back.

Your a great person, and a testimony to us all.

All the best.

 

[Bigjerm]

If the build was to complex or whatever was said then the builder(s) should have backed out and told Bill that they could not do it. Its better to turn someone away upfront than it is to put out a bad product with their name on it!

As others have said, Bill your composure is beyond me... I would have been doing the usual kicking and screaming by now. Usually that approach doesnt get you much but it would make me feel good.

 

[Hilldweller]

Thanks, everyone.

Lots of people got to see it up-close at the SE Overland Rally & Workshop over the weekend.

 

[Hilldweller]

Daniel picked it up on Saturday and it's back at the factory. They haven't been in touch since though...

I heard from another guy on a Jeep forum that he's got a custom Little Guy also and is having issues. I invited him to join here.

 

[The Swiss]

I knew ... saved me HUNDREDS of dollars ...

I knew ... for a hell of a lot cheaper ...

I knew ... saving thousands of dollars ...

I knew ... in order to save tons of money ...

[SARCASM] Well, if I make the math and ad up the hundreds, the hell of a lot, the thousands and the tons, I guess you must have gotten your trailer for free ...

Good thing you know that much, not like that Hilldweller dude ... eepwall:[/SARCASM]

Bill, good that they picked it up. Hope they communicate to you on how their re-work is progressing. Keep us posted!

 

[Hilldweller]

Thanks, Michael.
And I see you changed your tag line; nice.

 

[The Swiss]

Thanks, Michael.
And I see you changed your tag line; nice.

After you posted it, I joked about it in the other thread and the mods actually did put it up as my new tag line. :wings: Kinda cool , pampering my ego :elkgrin:

 

[flight risk]

Hello... I am the guy from another site that has the "same" basic set up as hilldweller, and yes it has some problems! My name is Les and I have a camping problem!

1st- I must apologize for not reading through the entire post so if I say something that has already been addressed,well...sorry! I am here to post my experiences with my little guy trailer, so it may take several posts. I will not bash the company because I do believe in american manufacturing and I hope all will be resolved with a little diplomacy- so they have a chance to repair the problems before I scream and holler- FAIR?

But, I can say a few things that can be taken lightly.
1) they do not appear to have processes in place to make two vessels the same.
2) they do not have data supporting the build (ie... build sheet, schematics, prints, scope of work etc...)
3) Their compassion for the customer diminishes after the sale- trust me... (Hill, I know exactly what you mean when you spoke about Chris brainstorming like a twin brother)

I will end this short but will be back (as much as I can) to answer any questions any one may.

On an end note- I had mine custom built also (6x10 Silver Shadow- extended trailer, cooler platfor (for long trips),AC (for the souther trips), 33" tires etc...) and have had the best time of my life so far.... We just completed a "week long" trek through the western carolina's- GOOD TIMES!

So all in all- I love this bug!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry for the first post...but!!!! :ylsmoke::ylsmoke::ylsmoke: thanks for listening.

 

[someday]

flightrisk - if you don't mind me asking, do you have a link where you have posted your experiences with your trailer?