TetonX Hybrid
- Thread starter jgatliff
- Start date
The original doors that they used were standard teardrop doors which are generally 26" wide and 36" tall.
The new (Arctic Tern) doors are 27" wide and 43" high (24 1/4" x 40 3/8" opening).
I have no problem getting in or out as long as I'm paying attention - we have grab handles above the door on both the inside and the outside which are very helpful.
If I'm carrying something with both hands as I back out iI sometimes hit the small of my back on the door frame (especially carrying a bike where I'm trying to fit both the bike and my body through the opening at the same time and have to pay attention to the handlebars and the pedals and the wheel and the seat and forget about me).
The new (Arctic Tern) doors are 27" wide and 43" high (24 1/4" x 40 3/8" opening).
I have no problem getting in or out as long as I'm paying attention - we have grab handles above the door on both the inside and the outside which are very helpful.
If I'm carrying something with both hands as I back out iI sometimes hit the small of my back on the door frame (especially carrying a bike where I'm trying to fit both the bike and my body through the opening at the same time and have to pay attention to the handlebars and the pedals and the wheel and the seat and forget about me).
Hilldweller
SE Expedition Society
It's the height of the awning that gets me. I'm normal height (6'5") and have to duck. Jason is shorter and just gets by under it.
Hmmm... that's 5" taller than me...
I've got the 2" lift version of the Timbren suspension (which is apparently 3" higher with the Hybrid weight) and don't often hit the awning. The flip side is that the counter, sink, stove, fridge, ... are also higher.
A lot depends on the slope where you're set up if it's sloped down on the door side, the counters and awning are higher and if it slopes up on the door side, the counters and awning are higher. For our heights (6 ft and 5 ft 9 in), the lift turned out to be a happy medium although we primarily got the lift for better off-road clearance.
This site slopes down
The passenger side wheel is on a 2-3" leveling block above
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RubiconGeoff
Adventurer
I've been waffling for a while on getting an Opus OP2 as an upgrade from my highly modified Lifetime Tent Trailer, and I'm glad I did because the TetonX Hybrid seems like a fantastic alternative that would suit our needs quite well. I appreciate the detailed information that you all have provided in this thread - there's way more info here than anywhere else on the Internet, including TetonX's own website. I have an email in to TetonX, but I have a feeling that I'll be putting down a deposit to get my name on the waiting list.
RoninWanderer
Definitely lost.... ?
We had out down a deposit, sight unseen, and were finally able to visit their shop and see one recently. I was very impressed with the trailer and the company! They are able to accommodate all my requests and are a pleasure to work with. We are even more excited to get our new “summer home”. It’s a long wait and the deposit is refundable, might as well just go for it IMHO.
RoninWanderer
Definitely lost.... ?
6’5” is not normal height! ?
I like the 2" lift for the ground clearance but it may make the kitchen too high for my NORMAL height of 5'6". 
I haven't seen the Hybrid model in person but thanks to the folks here who posted their experience, pictures and videos (thanks for the sharing!), I was comfortable enough to put a deposit recently.
I really like the Hybrid model as it fits in a regular garage while still allowing standing inside, sleeping 4/sitting?/dining inside without opening the top if necessary and elevated bed from the floor. I don't think there is any camper that provides all these features as long as I know.
The Mission Overland Summit seems the closest but narrower and lower ceiling inside (I like their front storage box though that opens side way with slide out. It seems larger than the TetonX box and the top can be used to carry firewood or some random stuffs. The slide-out tray could be a good place to keep a grill. I wish Teton X offers a similar storage).
The upcoming Boreas XT-12 has bath/toilet inside but too tall to fit in a normal garage. XT-12 has much cheaper 12v and 110v AC options though. Perhaps TetonX can consider similar cheaper AC options as $6000 AC seems too expensive. With AC, and some other main options such as kitchen, heating and solar options, it easily hits $45K.
I heard that Kyle and Lindsay have been working on a composite model for some time and Lindsay said we may see it in a month or two.
It seems there could be some changes in the composite model.
They are considering a new location for the water tank possibly with 30 Gallon tank. I think it will benefit the weight distribution if it moves closer to the wheel/axle. It may be moved to under the frame though this creates a concern with cold weather. I hope they figure out to keep both water tank and Lithium batteries inside to avoid outside temp while optimizing the weight distribution.
I am wondering what people want to see in the new composite one.
I haven't seen the Hybrid model in person but thanks to the folks here who posted their experience, pictures and videos (thanks for the sharing!), I was comfortable enough to put a deposit recently.
I really like the Hybrid model as it fits in a regular garage while still allowing standing inside, sleeping 4/sitting?/dining inside without opening the top if necessary and elevated bed from the floor. I don't think there is any camper that provides all these features as long as I know.
The Mission Overland Summit seems the closest but narrower and lower ceiling inside (I like their front storage box though that opens side way with slide out. It seems larger than the TetonX box and the top can be used to carry firewood or some random stuffs. The slide-out tray could be a good place to keep a grill. I wish Teton X offers a similar storage).
The upcoming Boreas XT-12 has bath/toilet inside but too tall to fit in a normal garage. XT-12 has much cheaper 12v and 110v AC options though. Perhaps TetonX can consider similar cheaper AC options as $6000 AC seems too expensive. With AC, and some other main options such as kitchen, heating and solar options, it easily hits $45K.
I heard that Kyle and Lindsay have been working on a composite model for some time and Lindsay said we may see it in a month or two.
It seems there could be some changes in the composite model.
They are considering a new location for the water tank possibly with 30 Gallon tank. I think it will benefit the weight distribution if it moves closer to the wheel/axle. It may be moved to under the frame though this creates a concern with cold weather. I hope they figure out to keep both water tank and Lithium batteries inside to avoid outside temp while optimizing the weight distribution.
I am wondering what people want to see in the new composite one.
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RoninWanderer
Definitely lost.... ?
I like the 2" lift for the ground clearance but it may make the kitchen too high for my NORMAL height of 5'6".
I haven't seen the Hybrid model in person but thanks to the folks here who posted their experience, pictures and videos (thanks for the sharing!), I was comfortable enough to put a deposit recently.
I really like the Hybrid model as it fits in a regular garage while still allowing standing inside, sleeping 4/sitting?/dining inside without opening the top if necessary and elevated bed from the floor. I don't think there is any camper that provides all these features as long as I know.
The Mission Overland Summit seems the closest but narrower and lower ceiling inside (I like their front storage box though that opens side way with slide out. It seems larger than the TetonX box and the top can be used to carry firewood or some random stuffs. The slide-out tray could be a good place to keep a grill. I wish Teton X offers a similar storage).
The upcoming Boreas XT-12 has bath/toilet inside but too tall to fit in a normal garage. XT-12 has much cheaper 12v and 110v AC options though. Perhaps TetonX can consider similar cheaper AC options as $6000 AC seems too expensive. With AC, and some other main options such as kitchen, heating and solar options, it easily hits $45K.
I heard that Kyle and Lindsay have been working on a composite model for some time and Lindsay said we may see it in a month or two.
It seems there could be some changes in the composite model.
They are considering a new location for the water tank possibly with 30 Gallon tank. I think it will benefit the weight distribution if it moves closer to the wheel/axle. It may be moved to under the frame though this creates a concern with cold weather. I hope they figure out to keep both water tank and Lithium batteries inside to avoid outside temp while optimizing the weight distribution.
I am wondering what people want to see in the new composite one.
Congrats on putting your deposit down! We had concerns about the ground clearance and total height issues, but that's an easy solution with adjustable suspension. I too looked at the Mission Overland Summit, it seems quite nice, but there were too many issues with the ergonomics of the design. The TetonX Hybrid has a layout that works well for how we camp and cook. After a few years of long trips, we have a good system down and we know what we like in a camper and what layouts work best for us.
As I heard, the Boreas XT-12 is on pause and development will not be proceeding for a while due to covid-related issues in the industry. But I don't have any special insight there, just rumors.
It is not my place to discuss much about the composite, but I was lucky enough to lift one of the panels and it was quite light. I am very excited about where they are headed with that! I am confident we will get our 2 lithium batteries in-house with the 30 gallon water tank, but they have a lot of modeling to do first as it's a lot to package in a relatively tiny space.
I look forward to posting pics when we gets ours later this year! We will spend about 3 months next summer on the road running the Pacific Crest Overland Route from the border at Mexico to the border at Canada, so we should get a good feel for the design and build quality.
As for what I want to see in the new composite body, let's just say that TetonX seems confident they can meet my requests, but time will tell on how well things land out.
RubiconGeoff
Adventurer
I've also put my deposit down. I'm looking forward to what changes are made with the new composite design, but certainly having a larger water tank as well as internal batteries is a worthy improvement. I'm hoping the future air suspension works out too, as there are plenty of times I will need maximum ground clearance for the trails I plan to drag mine on, plus maximal wheel travel for rough roads, and height/leveling adjustment once setting up camp.
What are you all towing or plan to tow this with? I see a Jeep Wrangler on the website. The website says that the Hybrid will be 2800 lbs with all of the options. I believe the Wrangler has a tow rating of 3500 lbs. Add maybe 200-400 lbs and the Hybrid would be 3000-3400 lbs which seems quite close to the Wrangler tow rating particularly in light of hills/mountains and altitude. Thoughts?
RubiconGeoff
Adventurer
As far as I can tell that seems to be within the JKU's conservative 3500lbs tow rating, right? Perhaps with stock gearing and a heat-generating automatic transmission there might be more to worry about, but with a manual transmission and 5.13 gears I have no reason to be concerned.
RoninWanderer
Definitely lost.... ?
We will be touring Utah for the month of April and plan on stopping by the shop again on our way back to Las Vegas near the end of the month. I'll post up any updates I get while I'm there.
I've seen a lot of Wranglers towing trailers like this, within this weight range. I was told to stay at or below 50% of my tow rating for off road use, but I don't know much about the topic. Our Tacoma has a tow rating of 6500 lbs and my hitch is integrated into my steel rear bumper, so it's quite strong. We should be below 50% for sure. But seeing all the Wranglers towing on the trail, tells me that 50% thing is probably BS someone fed me that got caught in my brain lol! Good gearing will go a long way! We are at 4.88 on our Taco, very curious to see how it handles with the trailer.
I've seen a lot of Wranglers towing trailers like this, within this weight range. I was told to stay at or below 50% of my tow rating for off road use, but I don't know much about the topic. Our Tacoma has a tow rating of 6500 lbs and my hitch is integrated into my steel rear bumper, so it's quite strong. We should be below 50% for sure. But seeing all the Wranglers towing on the trail, tells me that 50% thing is probably BS someone fed me that got caught in my brain lol! Good gearing will go a long way! We are at 4.88 on our Taco, very curious to see how it handles with the trailer.
The Taco should be just fine. Typically at altitude we are told to lower the expected tow rating by 10% and since the west is full of altitude, I'm going to pay attention to that. Maybe a little leeway but a 3500 lb. towing rating would have me concerned for what we do with a trailer weighing 3000-3400 lbs. and as RW mentioned, for off road use. Not sure it's 50% but it's something. Plus have to factor in payload.