Smittybilt Scout Trailer Reviews?

[Pau Hana]

This week my Scout was finished being built so I went out and picked it up this-morning. I have a 2021 JLU Rubicon that's stock, other than a winch on the front. Here's a few take-aways....

I went to pick it up with no hitch because I was going to buy one there. They had a multi-level drop hitch that I ended up buying there because I needed something. After hooking it up, the trailer was tilted a bit low and it was a bit close to the spare. I ran to harbor freight and bought a 12" extension so we could flip the multi-level drop hitch around. Apparently, this drop-hitch could only fit one way, as it was angled and prevented me from inserting it upside down into the receiver.

At that point we were going to make it work with the extension, but with that 12" extension, the chains were too short. It may had worked, but I was uncomfortable with the length of the chains. I ended up taking my Jeep spare off, throwing it in the Jeep and just using the regular multi-level hitch to just get it home. Now that I'm home with it, that's one area that I need to work on.

Weight-wise, yes, it's heavy like everybody says. I took a 300lb max dial type bathroom scale and put the tongue on it. It weighed around 310lbs just by itself. I took the spare tire out and then it was about 250lbs. It did make the Jeep sink a little in the back, but I would say that it's nothing outrageously noticeable.

I've never towed anything in my life, and to my surprise, it was easy to tow with the JLUR. Yeah you felt it back there a little but for the most part, it was fine. I didn't take it on the highway though, just up to about 45 to 50mph.

Upon pickup, 4wp did have a "Manufacturers Certificate of Origin", which looks very similar to a title. Supposedly, I take this into the Secretary of State and then I can get plates for it. I thought the local SoS office would have trailer plates but it looks like I need to go elsewhere on a different day for this.

I know there's a lot of veteran owners here, but if anybody has any questions, please post them!

My "Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin" and the trailers VIN numbers didn't match up. Found that out the first time I tried to register it a few years back. So checkum before you go. It was easy enough to get the correct papers from Smittybilt, just took 2 or 3 days.

Funny thing is when I went back to register it the DMV worker didn't know how to classify the trailer. There are a bunch of 4 letter acronyms they can choose from depending if it is farm equipment, horse trailer, agriculture, tank, etc. The letters on my trailer are "CARN". When I looked it up I found out that my Scout had been registered as "Carnival Equipment" ? ?. I couldn't stop laughing, it's perfect!

 

[emtmark]

My "Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin" and the trailers VIN numbers didn't match up. Found that out the first time I tried to register it a few years back. So checkum before you go. It was easy enough to get the correct papers from Smittybilt, just took 2 or 3 days.

Funny thing is when I went back to register it the DMV worker didn't know how to classify the trailer. There are a bunch of 4 letter acronyms they can choose from depending if it is farm equipment, horse trailer, agriculture, tank, etc. The letters on my trailer are "CARN". When I looked it up I found out that my Scout had been registered as "Carnival Equipment" . I couldn't stop laughing, it's perfect!

What state!!! Hahahahahaha


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[dkpnw]

LOVING our Scout. A few cheap easy mods. We also took a chance on the newer Ark off-road hitch. Not much information was available, but it was a great value (only need to buy one part). So far we love it, super easy to hook up and use. [mention]ajPNW [/mention] .

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[Catalanbull]

LOVING our Scout. A few cheap easy mods. We also took a chance on the newer Ark off-road hitch. Not much information was available, but it was a great value (only need to buy one part). So far we love it, super easy to hook up and use. [mention]ajPNW [/mention] .

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Amazing! What is that attachment to the scepter can?

 

[dkpnw]

Amazing! What is that attachment to the scepter can?

Super cheap and effective little rechargeable guy from Amazon! Flow rate is just right to allow either pot filling (slightly slow but sufficient) or dish rinsing! Here’s the link:

Myvision Water Bottle Dispenser 5 ...i_i_0Q4F8HCH47Y1124VG3K9?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1


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[fd6axc4]

In the new version of the Scout, there's a square pipe that runs down the middle from the tongue to the box. I was wondering what everybody torqued that bolt to. It's an M16 bolt so you would think it would get 165ft/lbs. But there's about a 1/8" gap and spot welds on the box. I'm thinking if I tighten it, it will pop the spot weld and bend the bracket.

Not sure if it's designed to do that or if there's something else I'm missing.

 

[squid14]

Does anyone have a good system for lifting the tent by yourself? I need to be able to raise the tent at the campground and then lower it for storage. Does anyone know if Habitat Offroad is still in business?

 

[Garrett77]

I use a car scissor jack and a 2x4 to span between the rails on my tent. Little lube on the posts and works good enough. You can get a scissor jack at Harbor freight. Same one that comes with your car.

 

[emtmark]

I use a car scissor jack and a 2x4 to span between the rails on my tent. Little lube on the posts and works good enough. You can get a scissor jack at Harbor freight. Same one that comes with your car.

I do this as well as a 3/4” plywood square about 2x2’ to spread the load and not scratch up the box


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[squid14]

Thanks for the suggestions for lifting the tent!! I will give that a go this weekend.

 

[Pau Hana]

Does anyone have a good system for lifting the tent by yourself? I need to be able to raise the tent at the campground and then lower it for storage. Does anyone know if Habitat Offroad is still in business?

I placed an order from Habitat last year so they should be. Their website is still up.

I have the strut kit. It works perfectly to raise and lower my Autana 3. No problem at all doing it by myself. At least for my tent weight the struts PSI's are matched perfectly. All I have to do is remove the pins, go to a corner and give the tent a wiggle and it raises right up almost automatically. Same with lowering, gentle downward pressure and a wiggle and she's stowed away.

Highly recommended. The only thing I ran into was clearance issues with removing the cotter pins that secure the tent rack. The struts are located close to the rack tubing when installed. I had to use needle nose pliers to remove the cotter pins when raising and lowering. I added about 4" of paracord to the cotter pins and they pull right out.

 

[T-Rey1]

I placed an order from Habitat last year so they should be. Their website is still up.

I have the strut kit. It works perfectly to raise and lower my Autana 3. No problem at all doing it by myself. At least for my tent weight the struts PSI's are matched perfectly. All I have to do is remove the pins, go to a corner and give the tent a wiggle and it raises right up almost automatically. Same with lowering, gentle downward pressure and a wiggle and she's stowed away.

Highly recommended. The only thing I ran into was clearance issues with removing the cotter pins that secure the tent rack. The struts are located close to the rack tubing when installed. I had to use needle nose pliers to remove the cotter pins when raising and lowering. I added about 4" of paracord to the cotter pins and they pull right out.

I saw them post today about jack holders in stock.

 

[Gasterp09]

Can confirm that habitat is still in business. Got the Strut kit last month and the jack holder came last week.

 

[AlphaBacon]

LOVING our Scout. A few cheap easy mods. We also took a chance on the newer Ark off-road hitch. Not much information was available, but it was a great value (only need to buy one part). So far we love it, super easy to hook up and use. [mention]ajPNW [/mention] .

I'm really digging your kitchen. I have a cutting board like yours (but smaller) that has magnets mounted on the bottom that stick to the fender to keep it in place. Is that the method you used? I intend to go with something larger like the one you posted.

Does that stove stow in the drawer or is it too big?

What is the spice rack with paper towels and how do you have it mounted on the side of the trailer? Same question about the spices on the inside of the door.

I'm playing around with mounting things with magnets so I don't have to put too many holes in this thing, just seeing if maybe you had the same idea. Thanks!

 

[dkpnw]

Thanks and yes! We absolutely had the same idea... set up a quick, easy, efficient, effective kitchen without putting holes into the new trailer!

For the kitchen counter, we just drilled two holes in the board and attached it with carriage bolts, washers and wingnuts to the two tie down points on the side of the trailer. The board itself was 3/4 "birch" plywood, just jigsawed it, sanded the edges, and saturated it with cutting board oil (mineral oil). Too soft to be a true cutting board but much lighter/cheaper. It gets stowed in the main compartment between the two slide-outs. Here's closeups:







As for the stove, we absolutely love our Eureka Ignite Plus, because it's large enough to fit 2 12" pans side by side. Amazingly, it fit in the compartment! We just removed the locking handle on the slide-out. Btw it's on sale until tomorrow at REI:
Eureka Ignite Plus 2-Burner Stove

And then the paper towel holder and spice racks... my partner found these and they're absolutely perfect. She found them on Amazon, and they've proven to have nice strong magnets. There are a couple different versions to suit your needs, so maybe look around on Amazon for similar items. We stow some of them on the inside of the door of the main compartment.
Magnetic paper towel holder and spice racks

Also she found a set of small magnetic hooks on Amazon that have been invaluable for hanging up various items when we camp. Something like these:
Magnetic hooks 22 lbs

Btw, the two stacking Sterilite drawers in the kitchen compartment have been perfect for us. Still leaves a bit of room on the sides and in front of it to stow awkward items. Highly recommended! We store all our cups, bowls and plates in there, plus a great set of nesting mixing bowls and miscellaneous kitchen items. We store our cutlery in a tray above the drawers. I believe these are the ones, but would have to double check the size:
Sterilite stacking drawer

Best of luck in building your setup! Let us know if you have any more questions. We've been extremely happy with keeping it low-tech, simple and inexpensive.