These are about the neatest off-road towables I've seen. South African design. I'll include a link to the website.
http://www.jurgenssafari.co.za/oryx.htm
http://www.jurgenssafari.co.za/oryx.htm
Off Road Trailers on Steriods
- Thread starter BruceNP
- Start date
Tucson T4R
Expedition Leader
Very cool. Just a sanity caution.....I spent years drooling over SA and Aus offroad trailers. There are several fantatsic set ups out there. The challenge is finding a legal way to import them to the US and deal with the spare parts and power conversion challenges.
In the end, all I did was to almost drown in my own drool. :REExeSwimmingHL:
I ended up finding a US imported Kimberley kamper which I love. There are few other US available options and the boys at AT are about to bring out a new clamshell offroad camping trailer that is sure to be sweet.
If your still going to surf those SA and AUS websites, better put on your floaties. :drool:
In the end, all I did was to almost drown in my own drool. :REExeSwimmingHL:
I ended up finding a US imported Kimberley kamper which I love. There are few other US available options and the boys at AT are about to bring out a new clamshell offroad camping trailer that is sure to be sweet.
If your still going to surf those SA and AUS websites, better put on your floaties. :drool:
lowenbrau
Explorer
Tucson T4R said:
I agree completely but I think there is a strong movement away from class c motor homes and back toward smaller lighter units and "car camping" Some trailer manufacturer or entrepreneur is looking at these posts and realizing that there is pent up demand in North America for these types of units. It wasn't long ago that many of us were treading drool waiting for the first of the roof top tents to shop up on this side of the ocean. Now thankfully there are many options available here. Soon, hopefully, there will be some made here.
SinCityFJC
Adventurer
Very nice, I also like Track Trailers Tvan tracktrailer.com
I'm interested in what AT is doing in a clamshell trailer, I need something off-road worthy with out having to climb a ladder to get in/out of bed.
I'm interested in what AT is doing in a clamshell trailer, I need something off-road worthy with out having to climb a ladder to get in/out of bed.
SinCityFJC
Adventurer
archtimb said:The clamshell, I believe, will be a step in unit.
Picture grabbed from the AT Movie Night thread:
While, not currently for me, this may fit your requirements. You can bet it will be very off-road capable!
Mitch
Thanks Mitch
Interested in the new clamshell & will see if that will work for my needs
Brian
Martyn
Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
The clam shell trailer, affectionately named ATroo by some of you, is on track for release this summer. We will keep you posted as we reach design and proto type milestones.
We very much like the hard shell designs ourselves and have worked a few designs over the years, they are stuffed into our ideas file.
You'd think the solution would be easy, why not just import a line of these hard shells? But the practicality of it is more complex, not from an importing point of view we know all about that and have all the right clearances with the DOT and NHTSA. But from a design and mechanical point of view. Here are some of the issues;
Typical South African or Australian tire size 29 - 31 inches - Typical US tire size 33 - 37 inches, how do we squeeze in the bigger tire ?
Typical South African and Australian terrain, wide open flat - Typical US terrain narrow, twisty, rocky. How do we deal with a trailer that's possibly wider than the vehicle and has less ground clearance.
If you add the difference in terrain to the size of the typical US tow vehicle, 6 cylinder Jeep of Toyota, with the gross weight of the typical South African or Australian trailer you have a towing capability issue.
AT went down the importing road from 2000 -2003 and we had to deal with all of the above issues then, at a time when people were running smaller tires and gas was less expensive.
We also had to deal with a fluctuating currency, erratic delivery times, shipping delays and surcharges, and QC issues. Hence our decision to make a capable off-road trailer in the USA.
"lowenbrau" brings up the question of pent up demand, and I think the fact that some of the larger trailer companies are now making ruggedized versions of their trailers would back this up.
What I think is missing in the US market, that is very apparent in the Australian and South African markets, is an understanding of what it takes to make an Off-Road trailer. Here in the US we seem to think if we spring over a pop-up we have an off road trailer. In OZ and SA there is a more complete understanding of the stresses and strains the trailer is put under, and the engineering and manufacturing processes that the trailer needs to withstand them. I think this is reflected in our amazement at the price South African’s and Australian’s pay for off-trailers in their home markets.
As a manufacturer I can tell you a well built Off-Road trailer is not inexpensive to make, and I'm sure you as consumers think long and hard before you buy one.
I think it is the disconnect between the two, the expense of building the trailer and it's perceived value, that may be contributing more than anything to the lack of variety in the market here in the US. At least that's part of the issue from our viewpoint as manufacturers.
We very much like the hard shell designs ourselves and have worked a few designs over the years, they are stuffed into our ideas file.
You'd think the solution would be easy, why not just import a line of these hard shells? But the practicality of it is more complex, not from an importing point of view we know all about that and have all the right clearances with the DOT and NHTSA. But from a design and mechanical point of view. Here are some of the issues;
Typical South African or Australian tire size 29 - 31 inches - Typical US tire size 33 - 37 inches, how do we squeeze in the bigger tire ?
Typical South African and Australian terrain, wide open flat - Typical US terrain narrow, twisty, rocky. How do we deal with a trailer that's possibly wider than the vehicle and has less ground clearance.
If you add the difference in terrain to the size of the typical US tow vehicle, 6 cylinder Jeep of Toyota, with the gross weight of the typical South African or Australian trailer you have a towing capability issue.
AT went down the importing road from 2000 -2003 and we had to deal with all of the above issues then, at a time when people were running smaller tires and gas was less expensive.
We also had to deal with a fluctuating currency, erratic delivery times, shipping delays and surcharges, and QC issues. Hence our decision to make a capable off-road trailer in the USA.
"lowenbrau" brings up the question of pent up demand, and I think the fact that some of the larger trailer companies are now making ruggedized versions of their trailers would back this up.
What I think is missing in the US market, that is very apparent in the Australian and South African markets, is an understanding of what it takes to make an Off-Road trailer. Here in the US we seem to think if we spring over a pop-up we have an off road trailer. In OZ and SA there is a more complete understanding of the stresses and strains the trailer is put under, and the engineering and manufacturing processes that the trailer needs to withstand them. I think this is reflected in our amazement at the price South African’s and Australian’s pay for off-trailers in their home markets.
As a manufacturer I can tell you a well built Off-Road trailer is not inexpensive to make, and I'm sure you as consumers think long and hard before you buy one.
I think it is the disconnect between the two, the expense of building the trailer and it's perceived value, that may be contributing more than anything to the lack of variety in the market here in the US. At least that's part of the issue from our viewpoint as manufacturers.
lowenbrau
Explorer
Well said Martyn
I think you are right on the money with your comments. While the Aussies and S Africans are doing super cool things, their products are not always ideal for our use here. On top of that, importing them and the associated costs of distribution makes it uneconomical to do so. Roof top tents are way easier to deal with and still wind up costing us 3x what they cost to buy in Africa. What we need is some made in North America solutions. Perhaps that means designed in North America and built in Taiwan in large quantities. I'll leave that for the businessmen to decide.
I think you are right on the money with your comments. While the Aussies and S Africans are doing super cool things, their products are not always ideal for our use here. On top of that, importing them and the associated costs of distribution makes it uneconomical to do so. Roof top tents are way easier to deal with and still wind up costing us 3x what they cost to buy in Africa. What we need is some made in North America solutions. Perhaps that means designed in North America and built in Taiwan in large quantities. I'll leave that for the businessmen to decide.
