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Old 01-05-2013, 10:29 AM   #1
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The ultimate Sportsmobile trailer

The wife and 2 kids and I have outgrown my GTRV. We're camping on a ski trip now! Tired of their complaints and I refuse to sell my beloved GTRV. So we reached a compromise:
Buy a towable trailer behind!
Wants: shower, toilet (tired of my Porta potty and pee bottle I guess)
Generator and sleeping for 2-4.

Anyone tow a trailer, shoot me some ideas.

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Old 01-05-2013, 12:55 PM   #2
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Re: The ultimate Sportsmobile trailer

Arctic Fox.

It's really the only one to consider for regular snow-camping. It's also designed for off-highway use so it wan't shake itself apart like nearly any other trailer out there.

It's also one of the few TTs with an optional built-in generator.

http://www.northwoodmfg.com/index.ph...=traveltrailer

FWIW - I used to take my mom's Jayco Qwest to the mountains. It was not good for that use. It was comfortable, but not well insulated to furnace ran non-stop, and the water would freeze so I carried a catalytic heater to set underneath for cold weather. And it had many structural problems, which Jayco stopped fixing under warranty because "it was not designed for off-road travel" (Their words, which off course weren't anywhere in the warranty documents). I go pretty good at fixing that thing. Even had the water tank rip out the sub-floor one one trip down the Barlow Trail on Mt. Hood.

I later special ordered a Weekend Warrior. Much better insulation, and I could use the water in old weather. I ordered it with a 6" lift so it could actually make it on much rougher trails than anyone would even expect. But I also ordered it extra long so I could fit 4-sleds in the garage (18'). Unfortunately they did not upgrade the frame accordingly and the A-frame broke off (it had some persuasion, but it would have happened anyways.... cracks were already forming). Luckily my insurance covered it, and about a month later WW had to recall all their trailers built due to frame problems, then a couple weeks late they shut their doors and left their customers high-and-dry.
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Old 01-05-2013, 12:56 PM   #3
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Re: The ultimate Sportsmobile trailer

Some possibilities, but I wouldn't take one on anything more than a easy fire road.

http://www.scamptrailers.com/


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Old 01-05-2013, 12:59 PM   #4
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Re: The ultimate Sportsmobile trailer

Also may want to look at Northwood's other lines. The SnowRiver is a newer lineup, and even though it is their "light" lineup, they still claim an off-road chassis.

Nash is their original brand. Also very durable, just a little more spartan than Arctic Fox but still off-road ready. Main difference is the wood body framing. But a well-built wood frame will easily outlast a cheaply built Aluminum frame.
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Old 01-05-2013, 07:43 PM   #5
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Re: The ultimate Sportsmobile trailer

Yep, I agree with carringb... Nash or Arctic Fox. I've done a LOT of research and they seemed to be made the best and have the best customer ratings not to mention a loyal customer following. They even have an owner's group forum...hmmm... sounds familiar.

I hear you about room! My GTRV was fine with 2 of us but add 2 kids and 2 dogs and it's way too small. We usually end up having to leave some toys at home (mountain bikes, kayak/canoe or wind surfing gear) which makes dad grumpy. Also, camping in fair weather is okay but not fun if it rains or snows and we all end up jammed in the van. So we needed more room but did not want to give up the van. It's our "backpack" when we're travelling light. It was time for a trailer.

We started off with a Fun Finder 160...
http://www.cruiserrv.com/fun-finder-x/x ... tions.html
We like it but it was poorly built. Brand new we had a roof leak and the shower leaked. Probably shouldn't have gotten rid of it but we ended up living on a lake for a few years and weren't using it.

Next was a Starcraft 34RT offroad tent trailer.
http://www.starcraftrv.com/pdfs/prod_br ... me_103.pdf
I loved it, the wife didn't. She prefers enclosed. Actually, after setting it up, down, up, down, rain, dry, up, down, prep, pack, up, down.... PITA... so do I. It's also a little tough to get a good night sleep in wind and bear country and not as practical for 3/4 season camping.

After a couple of years without a trailer we were starting to get the itch to get out on epic adventures again, in comfort, with all our toys... and especially now the kids aren't toddlers any more. For us, we don't necessarily go camping... we camp. By that I mean that we don't go out for the sake of just camping. We go out to bike, hike, surf, sail, ski...etc. and we want to be clean warm and comfortable after doing so.

So just before Xmas, , we picked up our new Nash 25C.
http://www.northwoodmfg.com/index.php?p ... &make=nash
It's a well built unit made to take off the beaten path and is considered a 4 season unit (high "R" values, heated/enclosed tanks, double pane windows, etc.). In this same line Nash also makes several nicely equipped units that might work for you. I went a little bigger but they have smaller units that might suit you... I really like the 17K.

So far, the unit is great. Even though it's parked in my backyard we've slept in it since we've got it. It gets down to 0C (32F) at night and we've been really cozy. I wouldn't hestitate hauling it up to the ski hill although I would probably dry camp until I got more confident winter camping with water in the tanks.
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Old 01-05-2013, 08:15 PM   #6
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Re: The ultimate Sportsmobile trailer

Forgot to mention... added 185W solar panel and use two 6V batteries. The unit comes with a pre-wired generator cabinet but the optional generator is close to $2K. When I add the generator I'll get a portable unit that I can use for other applications.
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Old 01-06-2013, 10:04 PM   #7
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Re: The ultimate Sportsmobile trailer

Thanks a bunch gang! We are going to keep our eyes out for these trailers and give ourselves time to find exactly what we want, probably a good used one. This weekend I moved an apartments worth of furniture and pulled a uhaul trailer behind my GTRV over two mtn passes and ski camped for 2 days at white pass, lots of trailers there. Hardly noticed I was pulling anything! We have ruled out pop tops for sure.
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Old 01-11-2013, 06:11 PM   #8
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Re: The ultimate Sportsmobile trailer

This is my kind of trailer! Tested in the outback of OZ!
http://uev.com.au/commander
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Old 01-11-2013, 06:34 PM   #9
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Re: The ultimate Sportsmobile trailer

Quote:
Originally Posted by 4x4kayaker
This is my kind of trailer! Tested in the outback of OZ!
http://uev.com.au/commander
If you can hold off until late Spring, early Summer, attend the next Overland Expo, but bring lots of money. There's all kinds of super cool trailers, including a US distributor of trailers very similar to the ones you posted (Kimberly Karavans I think).


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Old 01-11-2013, 07:29 PM   #10
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Re: The ultimate Sportsmobile trailer

Quote:
Originally Posted by 4x4kayaker
This is my kind of trailer! Tested in the outback of OZ!
http://uev.com.au/commander
Those are neat trailers. Not sure they are really well suited for snow camping however.
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