Tent trailers which is the toughest?

W

wingysataday

Adventurer
I have been searching like a madman for a great tent trailer. I will be taking a 8-10' box standard tent trailer and modding it for expo ie 3500# axle longer springs or coilovers, armor, roof rack, fuel tank brackets etc.
Jayco, rockwood, viking, dutchman...
1) Anyone able to vouch on toughness for these?
2) Any ideas on quality? is there such thing as the "lexus" or "bmw" of tent trailers?
3) Which has the best overall resale value?
I have sifted through several pages of info on this site but viewed info mostly on the colorado. Blessings.
 
reece146

reece146

Automotive Artist
To my knowledge there are no tent trailers in North America being built to a standard any higher than the normal consumer grade trailer. To be clear, they leave a lot to be desired for heavy duty usage. In fact, they leave a lot to be desired for consumer grade product given the price of them. We have a Starcraft 11RT and it is the same as a road version with a somewhat heavier frame. I've looked at the Jayco and they appear to be the same. I haven't seen an Evolution in person but expect they are similar quality.

If I had my time over again I'd buy a normal tent trailer (used) for $2k - $4k and ruggedize it myself.

2¢
 
JIMBO

JIMBO

Expedition Leader
:sombrero: Heh Heh, YUP, the most rugged/floats/doesn't rust/light/towable-ANYWHERE-----TENTRAX, but

It's only for cargo carry and sleeping, which is fine for me, but not for others !

Good luck

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO
 
TheThom

TheThom

Adventurer
I'm in the midst of a Starcraft rebuild. I think rebuilding will yield the most durable result.

If you buy, I think an old Coleman would be preferred. One key designe difference b/t the Coleman and Starcraft is that the lift arms of the coleman are tied directly into the frame. This prevents them from "punching through" the floor.

You should look around popupportal. Lots of good pop up info. There are a lot of folks there who view it as an entry level RV, but there are quite a few crossovers from this site (myself included).

Again, I think getting and old one and modifying it would be the economical way to go.
 
A

Aspen Trails Trailers

Supporting Sponsor
On a slightly different note, take a look at the the Chalet. It has a pretty good frame, needs a little help, but I think the upper frame is now made of aluminum. I have had two of them, early models, wood upper and they held up quite well. Not a rock crawling trailer, but handled a lot of trails that some would call serious. The real advantage to them is that they are hard walled and all snap together, making it a tighter upper box. No canavas smell, and even the small ones seem quite roomey inside. I sold mine to Wikid and he is upgrading for full off road use. they use space well. I really liked mine and never had any problems with it. Would not take it on the Rubicon, but lessor trails could be done. Makes a great base camp. Stay away from the Aliner, same idea, just not made as well, tongue problems I have heard.

Bob

www.aspenXtrails.com

Home of the strongest, most trailworthy
Off Road Tear Drop made.
 
W

Woods

Explorer
It was touted as built for offroad, but it doesn't get the best reviews - Fleetwood Evolution Series. Here's a thread: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/67560-Fleetwood-Coleman-Evolution-Series-Tent-Trailers

Since, it sounds like you want to do this "right". I've got an idea that I'd like to see come to fruition. I'd like to see someone take the top (pop up part) of a PUP trailer and mount it on an M101 or better yet M1102. This would be a serious undertaking, but would be sweet if done right.
 
TheThom

TheThom

Adventurer
Woods said:
Since, it sounds like you want to do this "right". I've got an idea that I'd like to see come to fruition. I'd like to see someone take the top (pop up part) of a PUP trailer and mount it on an M101 or better yet M1102. This would be a serious undertaking, but would be sweet if done right.
Click to expand...

The difficult part is that the box has to be big enough to accomadate the beds when collapsed. That's why you don't really see too many of them with two beds and a box any shorter than 8 feet.
 
W

Woods

Explorer
Yeah, I'm sure the hard part is finding a top that would fit. What are the pop up dims on your starcraft?

Anybody checked out the Jayco Baja? I trust the Jayco brand more than I trust Fleetwood LINK

TheThom said:
The difficult part is that the box has to be big enough to accomadate the beds when collapsed. That's why you don't really see too many of them with two beds and a box any shorter than 8 feet.
Click to expand...
 
O

OGL

Observer
This is as close as I've come to a "build thread" but it's got the basic info.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/83012-Very-short-shocks-Pop-up-camper-conversion

I started with a 1985 Starcraft 17. It's the 8' box. Considering it's nearly 30 years old and not built for off road it has held up great. We just returned from a 6000 mile trip. Mostly highway miles obviously, but quite a few back country roads and one trip in and out of Tuweep. More than a few people we encountered along the way expressed real surprise that we made it with this rig.

On mine, even though the interior is mostly particle board, it is screwed together. No staples. The only issue I had in Tuweep (besides one cracked French press) 2 screws sawed their way out during the trip in. I replaced them and they held. 2 different screws popped on the way out. I haven't found their homes yet. But that's it!

The only other problem I had was not caused by off roading, but ugly wavy concrete on I80 and I355 within 20 miles of my house. The excessive bouncing caused some flex and the clasps securing the roof shifted.

This winter I'll be working on the interior focusing on usability and strength.

edit: Pop up Portal is great! I've got tons of help there. But the majority of those folks rarely see anything but paved roads and campgrounds with slabs and hookups.
 
W

Woods

Explorer
Not a tent trailer, but I think most would agree that a kimberly karavan is the lexus or bmw of offroad trailers.
 
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