Smittybilt Scout Trailer Reviews?
- Thread starter Tkhawk
- Start date
Russell Coight
New member
Hi thardin68
Yes I am running 37’s .. in Australia we are legally obligated to have guards and mudflaps that cover the wheels. We have a lot of dirt/gravel roads so the loose stones regularly become projectiles for following g vehicles. ( some of our highways are gravel )
Regarding the fenders : I raised mine by approx 2 inches ( was an easy process just removed them then measured up two inches from each of the the existing holes and re-drilled. ) you could get away without doing this .. I had only slight running without .but it does look aesthetically better and does allow the trailer to flex fully.
The outer wheel coverage was addressed by adding ... wait for it
plastic garden edging (approx 4 inches wide) tech screwed into the existing fenders.
thardin68
Active member
Perfect! Thanks for the response. Will plan to move the fenders up, I figured I would have to so thanks for the confirmation.
Great idea on the plastic edging. I'll have to check it out!
Thanks for the response
McDowra
Observer
mep1811
Gentleman Adventurer
thanks Did you use your regular offset Toyota wheels?
cmorrow
New member
Hey folks, I am interested in picking up a Scout. I am glad to have found this thread, but I really can't read all 113 pages. It looks to be an excellent value as long as you can get past the Smittybilt name.
From what I have seen one of its disadvantages looks like tongue weight/balance. Is anyone willing to give me a quick run on the other major weaknesses of this trailer and the potential remedies/fixes/solutions?
Have there been many people experiencing factory/manufacturing defects?
From what I have seen one of its disadvantages looks like tongue weight/balance. Is anyone willing to give me a quick run on the other major weaknesses of this trailer and the potential remedies/fixes/solutions?
Have there been many people experiencing factory/manufacturing defects?
Made a few upgrades this week for my trip next week fishing in Reno. I just have to finish up the battery set up tomorrow and ill be set for the trip. Its gonna be a bare bones battery set up just to get me going and ill upgrade once I get back. I got the retro kit installed. That passenger side was a B.
I agree with jojackc. It is worth the time to read over all the pages. A lot of posts will not be relevant to you so you can go though it relatively fast by just reading 15 to 20 pages at a time. I would recommend to keep notes or an index of the pages you are interested in and sort them by future projects (example electrical, water and rear spare tire holder). This will save you time when you want to go back to reference them.
The only potential weakness I saw was the strength of the tongue. SB remedied that with reinforcement brackets (see page 107 for pic and instructions on page 109). There was a recent post (page 104) that showed a new Scout at a show with a new tongue configuration. So it may not be an issue for you if you are buying a new one. I would still be very conscious of the tongue weight. Some good posts on the subject in pages 46 and 55
One more advice as I mentioned in page 88 "don’t look at it as necessary a finished product but a starting point. It is capable enough as it is but it can be a great project to customize".
In case anybody is also there, we will be at Death Valley next week for spring break!
Good luck
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That's an awesome setup! Threw me off a bit with the California plate lol
thardin68
Active member
While some may provide feedback on specific things, I would say not taking the time to read a single thread, would be a mistake. JMHO
Tongue weight is an issue with this trailer, but one easily dealt with by planning for it and loading properly. Loading the tongue box with batteries and carrying water forward of the axle would be some of the items I would avoid. If a trailer spare is in your plans, you may want to consider a rear swing set-up to re distribute the weight.
I received the trailer just before heading abroad and have had a bunch of time to plan and make purchases. I was very pleased with the quality for the price point. My long term experience with Smittybilt has been great. I use my head and make purchases that I feel make sense to go with the more aggressive pricing. For instance, rock sliders, fender armor, etc. Their stuff has been great. Any lost hardware in shipping has been promptly dealt with. Trailer - 90% of what you get is solid and with the typical additions and upgrades I am very satisfied with the end result and pricepoint. I weld and am not afraid to weld up some reinforcements / modifications where needed (I have a newer trailer and dont appear to have the tongue issue. They sent me reinforcements because I requested them, not because I needed them). I'm going to weld them up and weld any additional gusseting / reinforcement where I see fit based on my modifications. I am also upgrading my tongue jack to an ARK 750 model. I dont trust the provided unit and want the ability to winch trailer on the tongue jack.
Would I buy a Smittybilt winch or important safety item for my overlanding vehicle while taking my family on a trip where my life might depend on it....No. I will upgrade a few things on the Trailer and will be very comfortable with the end result.
If you are one who wants to buy "turn key", load it up and head out I would not recommend this for any serious adventure. As a "solid platform" with a few minor kinks that any hands-on type person should be able to handle, absolutely. If you are going to get your feelings hurt when someone bashes Smittybilt, you may want to consider something else.
I'm debating the Scout trailer over a used Hiker Off-Road trailer. Different beasts, I know. But, there is about a $5k delta between the two. I know the Hiker is truly capable of some serious off-road terrain. Most of my overlanding is on forest service roads. But, I do head out to Big Bend, CO, NM, and UT and plan on taking my trailer over rockier terrain. When you say it is not recommended for any serious adventure, what would be your metric for that? I do plan on a UT trip that will take in a full loop of the White Rim Trail (Canyonlands) and several other off-road trails in the area (Chicken Corners, etc.). Would the Smittybilt not be up to the task? I do find it odd that the Hike Off-Road weighs a few hundred lbs less than the Smittybilt. I guess more weight doesn't equal more strength in this case?
ebrabaek
Adventurer
Beside the tongue issue which I fixed myself on mine, I think the Smitty can go pretty much anywhere any other trailer can go. Chinese steel in general is softer than US. I might be wrong on that as a blanket statement, but that is my experience from welding both. When I added the gusset on mine, I was having a hard time for the weld to stick as compared to the US steel gusset being welded on. Got it eventually, but it was a different steel for sure. This have also been my experience with other applications.
The same outer diameter 2 inch square tubing was also thinner than the OEM on the scout. I suspect that the steel is just thicker on the Smitty than other trailers. That being said I think it is build to take quite the abuse. I would like to get rid of the OEM spacers to move the wheels inward about 2 inches each side.
XJOverlander
Member
Did you grind off the galvanized undercoat before welding? My buddy was welding on his and called me freaking out because nothing would stick , he though it was some kind of aluminum. I was like did you grind off the galvanized undercoating ? He called me a bad word and hung up on me.