My New American Built Adrenalin Rush - Preview and Review

[Tucson T4R]

Hi Jonathan, it looks like an outstanding trailer. The basic design looks similar to my old Kimberley Kamper and very well built. I enjoyed many years of great travels and camping with that trailer. I expect you and your girls will have a similar experience with your new Adrenalin trailer. Good move on the builder's part to have imported the Ausie canvas. They seem to have it well figured out. My canvas withstood years of abuse and was still as good as new when I sold it.

Did you say you are bringing this to the OEXPO next week? I would love to see it in person.

 

[STREGA]

Adrenalin will be displaying 2 or 3 trailers at the Expo from what I heard.

 

[Tucson T4R]

Adrenalin will be displaying 2 or 3 trailers at the Expo from what I heard.

Sweet, it will be the invasion of the Ausies. looking forward to it. Thanks.

 

[jonharis]

Adrenalin will be displaying 2 or 3 trailers at the Expo from what I heard.

Correct, They will have 2-3 trailers displayed, Mine will be the third if they decide to take it. One will be fully closed, one fully set up and one used for demos to show the ease and speed of setup and stowing. I may be headed to the Expo on Friday evening through Monday. Just trying to figure out baby sitting and work.

Update: they will have 2 expo trailers available for sale on the 18th for an introductory sale
Price of $16,000. Call Ric today if you have serious interest.

 

[Airmonger]

The more I look at this the more I like it. The price is looking better too once I read that both annexes are included. Its spendy to make a comfortable trailer that is ALSO offroad capable. Is there storage under the bed?

 

[Honu]

Awesome trailer
Glad to see some new trailers hitting the US like this and love the extra canvas rooms etc....

Part of the reason we sold our trailer was the ladder and the family being half up and half down etc...

Again great camper congrats for sure

 

[jonharis]

Is there storage under the bed?

Yes, about 4x5x1 feet worth.

Several people have asked for interior shots so here you go.

Main section, both under bed and above bed areas are accessible through the back door. Above the bed has extra storage because the canvas only occupies about the first 1.5 feet on each side. There is room left for bags or chairs or whatever. There are 2 small cubbies on each side too. This is where I plan on mounting electronics and storing spare parts.

One complete room. The camper comes with 2. They can be installed one on each side or both on one side.

View of both rooms

Outside again, one complete room and one open room.

After setting the whole thing up once in Montrose I think the camper can be set up as configured above in about 1 hour. It is 1 minute for the basic opening of the main compartment, 15 minutes per side and another 30 to set up all of the stuff like tables, chairs, cots etc.

 

[Titanpat57]

THAT is spectacular!:wings:

Thanks for the pix...really helps to clarify

 

[BroncoHauler]

I spent a fair amount of time talking to Renee about this trailer at the Expo. It's a very promising and interesting trailer, but my one consideration I need to think about is the lack of a place to store and power a fridge. It's a shame to have a stove and sink built in on a slide-out, but then have to place a fridge on a table nearby to have a full kitchen setup in one location.

Was this a concern for you, and if so, how have you worked around it?


thanks,
Herb

 

[jonharis]

Thanks Herb
It really was not a concern for me and personally I would much prefer to have my refrigerator in my truck (which I do).

I tend to back the truck up to the kitchen area if possible so that I have easy access to the fridge and another prep area, the tailgate to the truck. Personally, when I go out for the day, the whole family goes with me so it makes sense that the fridge goes with me. I understand the some people want a fridge to leave at camp is they split up their group and explained what models would fit in the front compartment. It could be made with a slide-out as well. You are looking at adding 150-200lbs to the total weight of the trailer and then starting to look into the need to add larger (60W+) solar panels for multi-day (A 15W is in my near future and will suit my needs). The primary concern for me was low weight, high off-road performance and interior volume. I think this is a very good mix of the three. All in All a fridge is a very easily added device but it would not be in the ideal location for constant access. I'm sure it would be possible to flip the kitchen around so that you work from the front?

Sorry if this pic is a re-post but it is the best one I have showing how I set up. I'll take more next time I go camping. As a note, I have a large piece of cutting board that will replace the carpet on my tailgate shortly to create a huge work space.

 

[BroncoHauler]

.... I'm sure it would be possible to flip the kitchen around so that you work from the front? ...

Thanks for the response Jonathan. Your though above already crossed my mind. Fitting a fridge/slider to the storage box would be an interesting idea. Maybe a shore power connection/inverter for keeping things charged and cooled when at home or at improved campsites.

As much as I'd likie to believe I'd always be camping in unimproved areas, reality is that I'll be camping in campgrounds as well, so I need to figure out what configuration will work best for me, including the kitchen setup and any attached tents/awnings. It seems to me that there might be a challenge to setup various campers attached tents/awnings when a camper is parked on an asphalt parking spot.


Herb

 

[jonharis]

Well I've been out for quite sometime but was able to get out for a long weekend last weekend. Me and My 100 series and Adrenalin, A friend in his 80 and a home-built that was originally owned by the venerable Bill Burke and a third friend in his V10 Sportsmobile. We traveled the flat tops area of the White Rive National Forest in Colorado on some roads that have probably seen few if any trailers. All vehicles and trailers performed beyond my expectations and my love for my Adrenalin increased even more. Here are a few pics, I'll be posting a set up video very soon that has been requested by several people.

 

[Ace Brown]

If you towed the Adrenalin into Adams Lake that would be a real proof-test. Where all did you go?

Ace

 

[Roktoys84]

I just came across this thread and think I've found the replacement for my Kamparoo. I really like that stove and sink setup. And those extra rooms look great. My Kamparoo is a great setup with a few additions but it's not really built for offroad duty.

 

[jonharis]

If you towed the Adrenalin into Adams Lake that would be a real proof-test. Where all did you go?

Ace

Ace, Sorry to leave you hanging for so long. As you know it's been a busy couple weeks! Our route took us up the easy gravel Coffee Pot Road. We then worked our way across the Flat Tops via Trails 601 and 640 and finally to Adams Lake via 601.2C. The Second Day we traversed 601 and 602 to the Transfer Trail and into Glennwood. If any of you know the aforementioned trails you'll understand how capable the camper is.

Sorry for the low resolution of these images. I'll try to replace them with high res if I can get them.

I just came across this thread and think I've found the replacement for my Kamparoo. I really like that stove and sink setup. And those extra rooms look great. My Kamparoo is a great setup with a few additions but it's not really built for offroad duty.

View attachment 112501

You will love it if you do end up with one. My Cousin has a 2005 SWB Rubicon and he towed mine and said it was plenty light and towed great behind his truck which is very limited in towing capacity IIRC.

Took the Adrenalin to the FJ Summit this week. Camped on FS land out of town up a steep, washed out road. The light weight (~950 lbs empty and ~1,400 lbs with all of our crap) of the camper really helped make the drive up to camp very easy. It rained HARD one night and we stayed completly dry in the camper and under the awning. A little rain fell on the kitchen partially due to there not being much overhang from the Awning. I would like to see the option to add some additional side awnings in the event that I didn't want to set up the walls. The memory foam bed has proven to be too hard for our tastes, we remedied that by adding a 2" memory foam topper from BB&B which fit great and made it super comfortable. The campers jockey wheel has been damaged from going over extreme approach/departure angles. I recommended that it be replaced with a removable wheel that could be stowed in the front compartment. Again, another easy fix. The other minor complaint I have is the lack of exterior power availability. I wanted to hook up some lights to the outside of the camper but the only one outlet in on the inside near the bed. More power connectivity out of the box would be really nice. Other than those very minor complaints I Can say enough about the performance of the camper.