Tent Trailers - thoughts, impressions

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CobraNutt

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Had an offer to mill the wheel spacers for me last night, so I got those taken care of!!

I had to have these milled so they would fit over the axle hub since the Liberty wheels wouldn't. Even after these spacers were on, I still had to do some minor work on the wheels to get them to fit over the dust cap! Ugh...

Before...
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After...
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Tada!! Matching wheels! :D
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I'll post more pics when I open up the tent...maybe later today or tomorrow. It's pretty spacious inside. :) Lots of room for two...enough room for four...and a dog of you put the table up. Lol!
 
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profdlp

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I like everything about that! :cheers:

(Except that it's not mine...) :bawl:
 

CobraNutt

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Went out to my work today to show the new rig to a couple of the guys there and decided to do a quick setup and takedown in the parking lot. 10 minutes to set up...about 15 minutes to takedown. This was the first time doing it by myself and there are a couple things I need to remember for next time. lol! Anywho...here's what it looks like all set up behind my liberty.

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Can't wait to get it out on the trails! :)
 

Dave

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Awesome trailer/camper.


Dave
 

CobraNutt

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Planning on dragging the trailer out west along the Pony Express Trail (PET) this coming weekend or possibly the San Rafael Swell (SRS)...haven't decided yet. Either way, it will be the inaugural trip with the trailer! I'll be installing my new Max Coupler tomorrow and then start loading up supplies for the trip. I'll post a full report when I get back. Can't wait! :)

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Cherrie

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I'm looking for something. I saw the Costco on sale. Not what I want but quick and cheap to get.
 
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CobraNutt

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I'm looking for something. I sew the Costco on sale. Not what I want but quick and cheap to get.
Cheap is the correct word for the Costco trailer...in every regard. It might be fine for light use around paved roads and maintained campgrounds, but no way would it handle any more than that. I climbed around both the Costco trailer as well as the comparable Jumping Jack trailer at one of the Outdoor Expo's a couple months ago...no comparison really. The Costco trailer is very cheaply made, which is why it's $2k less. These types of trailers aren't inexpensive, and aren't for everyone, but for me, this thing is built right, and is exactly what I wanted for pulling behind my Libby. I could have probably built my own trailer with a roof top tent for less $$, but I don't have the time and resources right now. It might be worth taking a look at for you!

Sent from my own little galaxy...
 

Cherrie

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Yes I have a lot of ideas. But money and time is what I don't have. Might try borrowing my friends old old little camper. I'm just frustrated and anxious.
 

CobraNutt

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Yes I have a lot of ideas. But money and time is what I don't have. Might try borrowing my friends old old little camper. I'm just frustrated and anxious.
I know the feeling! I Would have preferred to build my own trailer, but time and resources are a premium...well...money is too...but I managed to save up a few $$'s over the last year so I could do this. I hate spending money, especially on something that is more expensive than what I could build it for, but sometimes it's worth it for the convenience of being able to be on the road a lot sooner. Oh...and the tent rocks!! Roomy and EASY to set up! :)

On another note...I made an investment this week and installed it on the trailer today... My new Max Coupler arrived this afternoon so I had to put it on!
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What a huge difference! The trailer pulls so much quieter! I need to take care of the hitch extension...it rattles a bit inside the hitch tube, but this took out so much of the other connection rattles...AND the articulating coupler will be awesome for the trails. I don't plan on taking the Libby and trailer on too many crazy trails, but I know I CAN without worrying about the ball hitch binding or popping off! I love it! Not cheap!!! But totally worth it!
 

Cherrie

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I've seen a lot of hook ups - never that one. It looks Sweet. Is that a grease zerk?
Now ,Stop making my imagination work over time Please.;).
 

CobraNutt

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I've seen a lot of hook ups - never that one. It looks Sweet. Is that a grease zerk?
Now ,Stop making my imagination work over time Please.;).
Yes, that is a grease zerk. :) That's for the rotational part of the coupler. Mine is the HD unit,
but this will give you an idea of how it works.
Oh...and pay no attention to the cool trailer attached to it... :Good or Bad:
[YT]wj7orvdtrZg[/YT]
 

Cherrie

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Thanks
I need to go to library to view- I have just cell service. Small picture low speed= hard to follow.
 

CobraNutt

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I took the new Jumping Jack X4 on its inaugural run this past weekend, and I couldn’t think of a better test road than the PET (Pony Express Trail)! I added a new Max Coupler for my rig as well, and I wanted to see how it towed compared to a ball. I can tell you that it's much much quieter and the articulation is really nice to have! The extension that have to use to clear the spare tire of the Liberty is still really noisy though...gotta work on that...

This was initially going to be a full weekend with a trip out to the Simpson Springs area one night, and Keg Mountain area or elsewhere the next, but I found out at the last minute that I needed to be home Saturday night, so the trip was rather short and sweet. I was hoping to run across DAA or maybe even Tonkaman, but that will have to wait for another trip.

I got loaded up and finally on the road late Friday afternoon.

At this point, I was still planning to be out in the desert until Sunday, so I had everything packed up and ready to roll, including my two Scepter cans of fuel. Unfortunately, I have yet to build holders for them to mount on the trailer, so I cinched the lids up tight and tossed them in the back of the Liberty next to my 5-gallon water jug. I wrapped towels around the lids of the Scepters just in case, but they went the entire trip without leaking a drop.

I took the easy paved route west on I-80 and topped off my fuel in Delle, then backtracked to the Skull Valley Road and headed south to the PET.

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Just before I was out of range, my phone rang and I was alerted of the need to be back on Saturday for some last minute work stuff. Ugh...Go figure. Oh well…off I went anyway. I noticed that Simpson Springs was pretty full of weekend warriors, as I had expected, so I thought I’d check out the area where we camped on the Quarterly ExpUT “West Desert Wanderings” run. Crazy…two vehicles were already there, too! So…I continued North up Indian Spring Rd which was pretty rocky and quite a bit more rough than the rest of the roads we had been on to this point…that's when I noticed some rattling that I hadn’t heard earlier. It was driving me a little crazy, so I stopped and checked things out. I had my first casualty…a trailer fender.

It appears the PET was just rough enough at 50 mph to pop a few of the welds in the aluminum, and the rocky road I was on just made the poor thing call out to me for some attention!
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Not to worry though. This is an early pre-production model, and I’ve been told the fenders have been updated to eliminate this issue, so I'll get them taken care of sometime this week. I waited until the next day to pull them both off and simply hauled them back on top of the trailer on my way home...

A mile or so beyond the first campsite, I came upon a nice clearing that was pretty flat and had a decent view, so I set up there for the night. (39.9811, -112.7688)

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The tent goes up in about 10 minutes and provides lots of room inside. It really does make camp setup a breeze! I think I’m going to really enjoy it!
After I got a nice little fire going, it was time to grab a pic or two. The sunset came on quickly, and didn’t disappoint…

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I was hoping to get some long exposure sky shots, but the cloud cover prevented that along with the very bright moon that poked through when the clouds moved aside. The sky simply wasn't cooperative...this time. :cool:

My only other issue was that the 3” foam mattresses on each side of the tent just aren’t enough for my old rickety back. So...since no one was with me to use the other side, I swiped the other mattress and doubled them up and got a good night’s sleep! :D

Morning came and I wandered around the area a bit and just took in the views and enjoyed some quiet time...in between the few small groups of Quads and OHV's that I crossed paths with.

Not a whole lot to see in the area...unless you look around a little. Even the littlest plants and flowers can make for some decent pictures! ;)

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Even the native Junipers can be pretty cool...I think...
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...and of course, the sage brush...lots and lots of sage brush...
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Oh...and if anyone needs a pair of slightly worn-out sock, I know where you can get some...
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After wandering about a bit, I came back to camp, made some late lunch, and decided a nap was in order. The tent kept the sun out pretty well, and is ventilated enough to allow a nice breeze through...when there was one... :) I napped and read a book for a bit...just enjoying the peace and quiet. Then late afternoon came around, and it was time to break camp and head back to civilization... :(

As you can see, it's called a desert region for a reason...IT'S DRY! There was very little breeze to blow the dust to the side, so trying to follow someone on the roads would have been a trick unless you let them get a mile or more ahead of you!
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On my way back out toward I-80 on Skull Valley Road, I ran across this poor little guy again. I say "again" because I saw him on my out there the day before, in the same area, doing the same thing...anxiously pacing the fence-line. It appears that he got separated and lost his herd. Poor little dude...
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Just a couple last shots along Skull Valley Road that I thought would be kinda nice to capture...you decide...
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Anyway, other than the fender issue, the trailer performed perfectly! I have a couple little modifications I want to explore to make things a bit nicer on the trailer, but not much. It pulls great, and travels well even on the worst roads. I need to tighten up a little play in the hitch pieces I have on the Jeep, but other than that, it passed my inaugural test and I hereby certify it as Expedition Ready! :) I'm looking forward to many more trips this year![

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Cherrie

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Well the guy interested in buying my chipper didn't know anything about them. So I don't have the money for anything yet.
I did travel around 500 miles round trip to look at a motorcycle- price didn't reflect the value. So I passed.
If I sell everything I wouldn't buy the costco I'd up grade.
 

uss2defiant

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CobraNutt:

How's your jumping jack holding up? Got those broken welds taken care off?
How's the warranty/support from them?
 

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