Smittybilt Scout Trailer Reviews?

[JandDGreens]

Unless you have a gang of strongarms with you, then I think it is meant to be adjusted before you lower the RTT on it. In my case each corner will yield just over 50 pounds, and each corner have to be lifted simultainlesly.

I am planning on getting a Smitty Built RTT for my trailer as well some day. The plan is to mount it using some Yakima roof rake rails (I would use 3 rails) and make it so that if I want to transfer it from my trailer to my rig it would just be a matter of lifting it from the trailer to my XJ. I was thinking of using a ATV winch mounted to the ceiling of my garage to do the heavy lifting. The only thing is I am not sure if I have the clearance to get into the garage. My XJ has a 4.5 inch lift and I have had a friends XJ clear the door and his is one with 6.5 inches and a roof rack. (but the tent is pretty tall).

 

[XJOverlander]

I am planning on getting a Smitty Built RTT for my trailer as well some day. The plan is to mount it using some Yakima roof rake rails (I would use 3 rails) and make it so that if I want to transfer it from my trailer to my rig it would just be a matter of lifting it from the trailer to my XJ. I was thinking of using a ATV winch mounted to the ceiling of my garage to do the heavy lifting. The only thing is I am not sure if I have the clearance to get into the garage. My XJ has a 4.5 inch lift and I have had a friends XJ clear the door and his is one with 6.5 inches and a roof rack. (but the tent is pretty tall).

You should look for a hoist motor, they have some cheap ones at harbor freight. They are designed to hold a load, while an atv winch is not.(different braking system)

The new smittybilt tent is 15" over all including the ladder, my older one from a few years ago is 16.5". I have the tent on the flat defender rack and im about 8"+ lift. definitely a chore to get it up there before i got a second tent. Since i couldn't fit in the garage, i made some ramps to slide it up to the roof rack. They had a pivoting leg on the ground side that would drop down once i lifted the tent horizontal. Then just slide it onto the rack.

 

[YYCRod]

They recommend not to raise it or lower it with the tent attached. However, it is possible if they are attached to the tent good and straight. I dislike that they are two individual bars and are not connected to increase rigidity. The front of my tent, CVT Mt. Rainier,was starting to sag. I suspect it was from a combination of the long overhang I have towards the front and the fact that the rack is not very rigid. I added some tubing and angle linking the front and rear bars together and extended it forward to support the front of the tent. The angle also was utilized to make a "drawer" for my folding table. Here you can see the the front sagging down.
View attachment 427291

What is the floor material of the CVT? If it is like my old tent (Tepui) it is likely a sandwiched aluminum foam. I was experiencing a similar sag issue with that tent. My new tent has a honeycomb aluminum floor and is significantly more rigid. No further issue with sag.

 

[15midnight]

you have 17.75" from the rear of the tongue box to the trailer body. Tongue box should fit in between the eyebolts.

tongue weight was about 320 last time i checked mine.

Thanks for the quick answer. I need about 20 inches to fit a dirt bike in that gap looks like i am going to have to rethink my options

 

[Tkhawk]

What is the floor material of the CVT? If it is like my old tent (Tepui) it is likely a sandwiched aluminum foam. I was experiencing a similar sag issue with that tent. My new tent has a honeycomb aluminum floor and is significantly more rigid. No further issue with sag.

I'm pretty sure that's what it is. On the inside the floor sags some between 1" wide runners on probably about 18" centers. I'm at least the 3rd owner so I have no clue how old it is.

 

[Silverback07]

My CVT Summit series is some pretty thick aluminum (appearance is like diamond plate), but I still built out the front of my rack to help support it... just in case. Also did the table slide out, but its at the back.

 

[YYCRod]

I think the diamond plate is covering the thin aluminum used in the foam core sandwich type floor. My old tent had the same, and it did bend as well. My new tent is an entirely different type of material... supposed to be much stiffer. So far it's holding up and bend-free.

 

[Silverback07]

Maybe... mine is the summit series (just purchased new this year) and so far no bending at all. Its "supposed" to be a more heavy duty platform than the standard series tents. Time will tell. Either way I added support for it.

 

[ebrabaek]

12 gallon Valterra ABS water tank is now in place. Fabbed a Carbon Fiber bracket to hold it in place. Next it is the pump and water heater.




In case you have interest:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/High-Desert-Carbon-Works-437413126297979/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1573711919334755

 

[waynem]

In hindsight.
Would I have done anything different?? I don't think so.

Fantastic work.. makes me want to buy a welder.... I haven't pulled the trigger on the trailer yet but definitely considering it. Did you give any thought to doing some sort of reinforcement to the rear door and hinges and mounting the spare directly on the door ?

 

[Silverback07]

I thought about contacting SB and seeing if I could purchase a couple extra hinges for the rear door and add them. But its not the stoutest piece and adding to it is probably a bad idea.

 

[ebrabaek]

Fantastic work.. makes me want to buy a welder.... I haven't pulled the trigger on the trailer yet but definitely considering it. Did you give any thought to doing some sort of reinforcement to the rear door and hinges and mounting the spare directly on the door ?

Thanks...
When I looked at the design of the rear door, and hinges, I was considering it. But with the box being a unibody design ( no frame) I simply did not think it could withstand the torque of hanging the wheel and tire.
There is quite the weight + arm, and IMHO it would warp the box and door badly. That was verified after I received the spare tire swing arm carrier from smitty. That thing was beefy and made from 1/4 to 1/8 inch steel. Those kind of moments ( weight x arm) are best mounted directly on a frame. One of my considerations was to cut a square hole in each of the rear sides and weld a pair of vertical 2x2 square pipe straight to the frame. Then box the rear door with 1 x 1 square , and much bigger hinges, but when I saw the smitty kit, I thought that was perfect. They liked the idea as well, and I suggested to them to take their kit for the jeep, and mod it a little and sell it as an add on for their trailer. It is not just for the release of the cargo space up front, but even bigger is the aft moment to counter the extremely high tounge weight. The trailer is in bad need of this IMHO.

 

[ABBRAKADABBRA]

ebra,

IMHO, your last sentence nailed it perfectly. So far, I have only the RTT, generator, Yeti ice chest, minimal galley with 20lb propane up front, and some supporting camping gear, i.e. awning etc. Removed the spare tire 1st thing. I have yet to add water (rotopax or otherwise), group 27 battery in the tool box, and the usual assortment of conveniences one would need on an extended weekend. Tongue weight came in at 282 lbs. My JKU rubicon is rated for 350 lbs. I don't particularly
care to push the weight and balance envelope to the extremes. Thanx for listening.

 

[Wynn]

I thought about contacting SB and seeing if I could purchase a couple extra hinges for the rear door and add them. But its not the stoutest piece and adding to it is probably a bad idea.

Any luck? I was thinking the same thing. It would be nice to mount items on the inside of the door but it can barely handle the weight now.

 

[Silverback07]

Any luck? I was thinking the same thing. It would be nice to mount items on the inside of the door but it can barely handle the weight now.

I never contacted them. I did however mount a few lightweight items inside the door on a small bracket I made. A shovel and an ax. Not enough weight to cause any damage and it opens and closes fine. But a call to SB should be on my New Years Resolution list just cause, it would be nice to have a little more stability in that rear door when opened wide.