Looking for a small RV worthy of mild off-road travel

[Markal]

I posted this on an RV forum and figure I'l probably get a very different set of suggestions here, so let's see. We currently use a "square drop" trailer from Hiker Trailer (pictured below and I've posted it before in this forum). We want something a little bigger. Here are my criteria:

1) large enough for me to stand up, I'm 6'0"
2) large enough to have a separate bed and an area on the floor for our dog (probably eventually two dogs) to sleep
3) on board water storage with a decent pump and sink
4) propane heat
5) hardsided (not interested in any pop-ups that have soft material sides), hardsided A-frames would be ok I think
6) decent off-road capability (not rock crawling or anything, but rough roads, rocky, rutted etc.)
7) indoor kitchen would be nice but I think we're OK with an outside kitchen
8) indoor toilet would be great, we can live without an indoor shower but would certainly take one
8) less than $25k, used would be fine
9) probably no more than about 3,000 pounds and definitely less than 20 feet in total length (I want to be as nimble as possible)

Any suggestions?

The only two I've found in my research so far are 1)Sunlite Trailer Sunray 149 and 2) A-liner Ranger.

Our current trailer

 

[crazysccrmd]

A Lance 1475 is a well built (for production trailers) model that will compromise on the rougher off-road for more comfort. Still durable enough for forest service type roads at reasonable speeds.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

There are a few models in the Winnebago Micro Minnie line that'll fit your requirements. Small sizes in length, only 7ft wide, reasonably light, decent appliances/features, models with plenty of clearance.

For what it's worth, an extra few feet of length (over and above your 20ft requirement) won't make any difference whatsoever for the use case you've described. Get a trailer that will be comfortable to sleep in, to use during the day, etc. Don't compromise on essential comforts for a few feet of length.

 

[Tex68w]

I'd say that our Casita meets those requirements less the added space for the dogs unless you ditch the side dinette table and use that for their bed or at least the footwell space. You could find a 3-7 year old Casita in the $20-25K range. Like @eatSleepWoof said, you'll be hard pressed to find all of that under 20' unless you make some concessions. I can think of multiple trailers that meet almost all of those needs but not every single one for that size and price. Quality and durability should take precedence as well when considering this purchase, lots of crappy built stick and staple trailers that look the part but are junk underneath and those weaknesses will show in short order if used on unimproved roads.

 

[Obsessed2findARuggedHybid]

I posted this on an RV forum and figure I'l probably get a very different set of suggestions here, so let's see. We currently use a "square drop" trailer from Hiker Trailer (pictured below and I've posted it before in this forum). We want something a little bigger. Here are my criteria:

1) large enough for me to stand up, I'm 6'0"

Most standups are a minimum of 76". I am 6' 2" and 76" seems plenty tall. Some wet baths in standups loose a few inches which is still fine. Mine does not.

2) large enough to have a separate bed and an area on the floor for our dog (probably eventually two dogs) to sleep.

Since you want a trailer less then 20 feet your floor space is going to be limited to 12 -14 foot box. If you want a queen size bed and room for dogs maybe a happy jack type queen east to west. This way your dogs can sleep under you and still leave room for standing up to enter wet bath and small kitchen.

3) on board water storage with a decent pump and sink.

No problem with this. Propex propane heaters have small foot print. My trailer has one and a small sink with two burner dometic cooktop mostly for percolator coffee. Mostly cook outside

4) propane heat
5) hardsided (not interested in any pop-ups that have soft material sides), hardsided A-frames would be ok I think

Gotcha

6) decent off-road capability (not rock crawling or anything, but rough roads, rocky, rutted etc.)

Timbrens would be perfect. Mine are 3500HD


7) indoor kitchen would be nice but I think we're OK with an outside kitchen.

See above

8) indoor toilet would be great, we can live without an indoor shower but would certainly take one

Wet Bath with shower and dometic cassette toilet is what I have.

8) less than $25k, used would be fine.

Unless you I you can find something used like an Intech ORV 25k new is going to push you into the mass produced rigs. Winnebago would be a good choice


9) probably no more than about 3,000 pounds and definitely less than 20 feet in total length (I want to be as nimble as possible)

If you mean 3,000 dry ( 4,500 gwr) there are options. If you are pulling with a jeep at 3,500 gwr then your option are limited to very few to get what your looking for.

A scaled down version of my Trail Marker would work. But who knows when they will start taking orders again.

Any suggestions?

The only two I've found in my research so far are 1)Sunlite Trailer Sunray 149 and 2) A-liner Ranger.

The Sunlite is pretty low budget built.

A Liners seam okay but lever really looked at them.

Our current trailer
View attachment 845476

See coments above on each requirement:

 

[Obsessed2findARuggedHybid]

Just noticed your truck. What's it's towing capacity?

 

[Markal]

There are a few models in the Winnebago Micro Minnie line that'll fit your requirements. Small sizes in length, only 7ft wide, reasonably light, decent appliances/features, models with plenty of clearance.

For what it's worth, an extra few feet of length (over and above your 20ft requirement) won't make any difference whatsoever for the use case you've described. Get a trailer that will be comfortable to sleep in, to use during the day, etc. Don't compromise on essential comforts for a few feet of length.

I'll look into those models some more. Part of the our size constraint is about towing and being able to navigate rougher roads, but also about how we use it. We notice that most people with larger trailers spend most of their time inside the trailer, rather than outside. We don't want to be tempted to do that.

 

[Markal]

Just noticed your truck. What's it's towing capacity?

7,500 pounds

 

[Markal]

I'd say that our Casita meets those requirements less the added space for the dogs unless you ditch the side dinette table and use that for their bed or at least the footwell space. You could find a 3-7 year old Casita in the $20-25K range. Like @eatSleepWoof said, you'll be hard pressed to find all of that under 20' unless you make some concessions. I can think of multiple trailers that meet almost all of those needs but not every single one for that size and price. Quality and durability should take precedence as well when considering this purchase, lots of crappy built stick and staple trailers that look the part but are junk underneath and those weaknesses will show in short order if used on unimproved roads.

What am I looking for to determine if a trailer is made well enough to handle some mild off-raoding? I see those small Sunrays out on Colorado's 4x4 roads somewhat regularly. But the price does seem too good to be true.

 

[Ozarker]

COACHMAN FREEDOM EXPRESS,
You can find them without bump-outs in dinette versions. 18/22'.

 

[Tex68w]

What am I looking for to determine if a trailer is made well enough to handle some mild off-raoding? I see those small Sunrays out on Colorado's 4x4 roads somewhat regularly. But the price does seem too good to be true.

We never intend to take our Casita on true off-road trails, fire roads, forest roads, general dirt and gravel, sure. We chose a FGRV for a multitude of reasons but one of those was due to their durability in construction and structure. No wood, screws or staples to rattle apart over corrugations and prolonged poor road conditions and with a simple axle lift it has very good clearance and room for larger off-road oriented tires.

There are literally sixteen different ways to skin this cat and none of them are particularly wrong, you just have to narrow down your search based on which attributes are the most important to you. We realized after owning multiple small off-road specific trailers that we prefer to setup basecamp in a RV that provides more comforts than what a tear drop or pop style trailer could give us. In reality very few people take their off-road trailers down 3 rated trails, most wax poetic about the possibilities of doing so but in actuality they will never come close.

Stick to your budget and your desires/wishes/demands and find what works best within those parameters and then adapt your travel to that specific trailers capabilities.

 

[Obsessed2findARuggedHybid]

What am I looking for to determine if a trailer is made well enough to handle some mild off-raoding? I see those small Sunrays out on Colorado's 4x4 roads somewhat regularly. But the price does seem too good to be true.

I have never walked through a Sunray but watched a few YouTube videos and boy they seemed like a very cheap build.

 

[Sid Post]

How do the Winnebago "Minnie" trailers hold up to this type of use? Are they constructed well to hold up over the long term with use on rougher rural roads, forestry service roads, and similar? In particular corrugated roads that test your dental work and heavily patched and pothole-filled secondary roads.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

How do the Winnebago "Minnie" trailers hold up to this type of use? Are they constructed well to hold up over the long term with use on rougher rural roads, forestry service roads, and similar? In particular corrugated roads that test your dental work and heavily patched and pothole-filled secondary roads.

They're no premium "overland" trailer, that's for sure. That said, with reasonable use I think they will hold up just fine. If you want to take ruts at 40kph, you'll have things breaking. If you don't air down, you'll have things vibrating apart. If you moderate your speed, air down appropriately, and be reasonable in what you do, I think they'll be just fine. Some screws will inevitably back out, some waterline fittings will inevitably loosen up and start leaking. Some caulking/silicone will come loose in between panels. All that will be unavoidable, and it'll happen on paved roads, too. What these trailers are is good value for the DIY-capable person, especially if you find a good deal on one.

 

[eddy_c]

Antishanty might be worth looking at. They are over your price, but there is a very nice one in the classifieds right now with lots of extras from the builder.

2021 Antishanty Pro - $41,000 (Portland, OR)

2021 Antishanty Pro hard-sided, pop up overland trailer. Ultralight for easy towing. Four-season ready, with hard sided, R-5 insulated panels. Waterproof. Aircraft grade aluminum construction for durability. No wood to rot or mold. 9 feet of headroom, with two queen beds for comfortably sleeping...

expeditionportal.com