Overlanding questions—basic set up, help me learn from your mistakes

AMS417

AMS417

"The Ayatollah of rock and rolla"
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My wife wants a trailer to help us have a more comfortable time camping. I like camping less than she does so it will be a compromise. I am 6'3" and 300lbs on a good day. Not fit, but not just fat, I still get around. I know a little about a lot and can probably build something better suited for me than I can buy based on what I am seeing. A RTT is probably out of the question, due to weight (mine and the RTT). I want to stay under 1500lbs loaded. My Jeep is slow enough already with a hard top and steel bumpers. That eliminates about anything I can sleep inside of as a "camper". Leaving us with a trailer set up to support a ground tent. This might not even get off the ground but I am looking at some options and opinions.

Some questions I have:

I have a Body Armor rear bumper with hitch insert. It is not tow rated per the manual I have from 2005 when it was installed, and I assume that is because it is sold as an "offroad" only part. It is heavy steel (3/16 I think) and has frame tie ins on the side. I don't think I will have any issues pulling 1000 - 1500lbs if I keep the tongue weight low, say under 150lbs. I need input here. What do you think?

I will upgrade my brakes, or add brakes to the trailer. I have 33's and stock brakes now. What would I need to be safe?

Here are some thoughts on what I want in the trailer.We would not be remote camping more than 1-2 nights at a time.

Water tank and pump 12-20 gals.

Portable toilet, had one on a boat a while back. Not to bad to use and maintain.

12v system to run water pump, lights and accessories.

Dometic or similar cooler. Have many normal coolers too. Maybe dometic is not needed.

Inverter / charger for battery.

2000w quite generator, probably a Honda or knock off to run AC and charge battery as needed. Solar is cool, but not practical for high demand AC.

Portable AC (I already have it and use it for tent camping, its humid here, and I don't like to be hot when I sleep)

Propane hot water shower, onboard propane system.

Storage tote for kitchen items would double as a basin, no sink needed.

I want a really nice tent, with underlayment for camping on rocks.

Separate air mattresses. The weight different between me and the wife makes it rough.

Storage space for awning or something to provide shade and sitting area, camp chair and misc.

Cook stove and grill.

Removable tables to attach to the trailer. I will build and design so they fit inside when stored.


Looking at small light trailers like these:

1597107494677.png


Or this one:

1597107534361.png


Give me some feedback. What am I missing? What am I assuming that is going to bit me in the ass? I want small and light. Not seriously off road capable, but the ability to ford a small creek and handle some abuse would be good. Not going rock crawling with this trailer. I can modify and increase ride height pretty easily. Just need a light weight base to build out. Looking at spending $5-6k all in. More if needed.
 
pagrey said:
With frame tie-ins I'd trust my body armor bumper to 3500 without a second thought. You might look into those old Coleman pop ups, they don't look cool but they fill allot of squares.
Click to expand...

I did, too heavy. There are some light (800-900lbs) pop ups. They seem rare and are priced in the stratosphere. Like a Quicksilver was one I looked at.
 
Wow those are priced out of this world. Maybe look at a regular trailer supplier. My 5x10 cost $1100. Weighs 700#. Has a 3500# axle and a Y shaped hitch.

Those trailers look pretty light weight too. And 1000# capacity for $2799, Wow !!

I really don't like how the tailgate structure hangs low, just waiting to hook on a rock or log or ....
 
pagrey said:
I hear you, your list of wants and the size trailers you are looking at just seem a little mismatched.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it’ll be a tight fit. Tongue mount carrier for the gen and gas can. Everything else has to fit inside the trailer.
 
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AMS417 said:
I will upgrade my brakes, or add brakes to the trailer. I have 33's and stock brakes now. What would I need to be safe?
Click to expand...
Check your state law. CA requires brakes at 1500#, Alaska at 5500#. I tow 2000# all year without trailer brakes in the mountains behind my TJR, stock brakes, without any issues for 10 years, towing 10K miles a year. I think the need, desire is pretty personal after meeting your state laws.
 
What kind of terrain do you expect to encounter?

Do you run back seats?

Do you have some storage either on your tailgate or bumper?

I've been playing around with a trailer I've got and I'm thinking of building a very simple box on it that I can climb into and sleep with no real setup. Kind of a teardrop design, but something that can be put together pretty quickly and cheap (just boxy, but I don't plan to travel very far with this thing), remove-able and insulated for a simple window unit. Of course I've had issues powering window units with 2kw inverter generators. They work, but you can't run them on an eco type mode, so you have to run them much similar to a conventional generator, so I'm probably going to bring along a 3kw inverter generator, which should have no trouble keeping AC and the batteries happy and handle a host of other duties like ice maker, pump for some reason, etc.

For the simple shell I plan to add a cheap uni-strut rack system so I can carry more gear or kayaks or whatever.

This whole setup is essentially like pulling around an 8ft truck bed in size. My wife and I tend to stay in my truck bed when we go out because of the convenience of being able to setup sleeping arrangements at home and just focus on having fun when we're out.

If you do really like tent camping you can get by a bit smaller, but that trailer has about 11' x 5' utility bed and it maneuvers pretty well and this thing is a converted trailer from either a boat or jet skis so besides being setup kind of high in the middle, it's not really setup for anything I'm using it for. It does have a high hitch mount that keeps it from nose diving though. It will go places a quad cab truck and full sized bed can't go, but it won't go everywhere a Jeep can go. I'm just saying this as an example, you could find something a bit smaller and maybe adapt it. Sometimes that may just mean you need to give something a lift. Plywood is cheap and you can wrap it waterproof it fairly easy and cheap. Doors and windows are the achilles hill if you go for nicer setups. Personally I'm just gonna make the back lift up with some piano hinge and some liftgate shocks. And that can give me a bit of shade and working area behind the sleeping part.
 
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DieselJeep said:
What kind of terrain do you expect to encounter?

Do you run back seats?

Do you have some storage either on your tailgate or bumper?

I've been playing around with a trailer I've got and I'm thinking of building a very simple box on it that I can climb into and sleep with no real setup. Kind of a teardrop design, but something that can be put together pretty quickly and cheap (just boxy, but I don't plan to travel very far with this thing), remove-able and insulated for a simple window unit. Of course I've had issues powering window units with 2kw inverter generators. They work, but you can't run them on an eco type mode, so you have to run them much similar to a conventional generator, so I'm probably going to bring along a 3kw inverter generator, which should have no trouble keeping AC and the batteries happy and handle a host of other duties like ice maker, pump for some reason, etc.

For the simple shell I plan to add a cheap uni-strut rack system so I can carry more gear or kayaks or whatever.

This whole setup is essentially like pulling around an 8ft truck bed in size. My wife and I tend to stay in my truck bed when we go out because of the convenience of being able to setup sleeping arrangements at home and just focus on having fun when we're out.

If you do really like tent camping you can get by a bit smaller, but that trailer has about 11' x 5' utility bed and it maneuvers pretty well and this thing is a converted trailer from either a boat or jet skis so besides being setup kind of high in the middle, it's not really setup for anything I'm using it for. It does have a high hitch mount that keeps it from nose diving though. It will go places a quad cab truck and full sized bed can't go, but it won't go everywhere a Jeep can go. I'm just saying this as an example, you could find something a bit smaller and maybe adapt it. Sometimes that may just mean you need to give something a lift. Plywood is cheap and you can wrap it waterproof it fairly easy and cheap. Doors and windows are the achilles hill if you go for nicer setups. Personally I'm just gonna make the back lift up with some piano hinge and some liftgate shocks. And that can give me a bit of shade and working area behind the sleeping part.
Click to expand...

What kind of terrain do you expect to encounter?

Mostly gravel bars, dirt road, nothing to nasty, but want some ground clearance.

Do you run back seats?

I do not. I do carry a tool bag, a Viair kit, recovery gear, etc. Still room for a cooler and a couple carry on size bags without overloading the back of the jeep.

Do you have some storage either on your tailgate or bumper?

No but I would want a tongue rack and/or a receiver on the back of the trailer for a hitch rack.

I do not like to tent camp, mainly due to wind, rain, insulation, set up / tear down time, and long term durability.

My wife found these:

https://www.hikertrailers.com/
The mid-level offroad camper in 5x9 might work well. Its 1100lbs and leaves me room for gear, water, etc without getting overweight. Price is in line with what I assumed I could build a trailer for. Lead time is 7 months to custom build. Lots of options, but the price goes up fast.
 
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Those look really cool. I have to admit I don't know my favorite camping method and I can't really tell you the best method for you. In my experiences I don't mind setup, but I hate breaking everything down. However, the more you break your camp down the more it seems like a non-issue.

I'm kinda in your shoes, looking for a simple camp setup, but mainly because it's easier for the family to get out. I worry about the sizing. And I do think something like a teardrop is probably the easiest setup, but there do seem to be some really low profile RTTs that require minimal effort. Personally I'm not set on the ideal size compromise between getting around comfortably off-road and sleeping comfortably.

I suggest renting something if you can and take all your gear out and see if you need that gear or not or if you need more and then rent it again and try to stay more than a couple nights, even if it's in your yard, but preferably on some trails you want to try.

In any case let us know and post pics. Love this stuff. I think it would be awesome btw if you would rent something that's more like a gear hauler with maybe a RTT, tear drop, and maybe just a basic utility trailer for a good comparison.
 
I am getting into Overlanding as well, just thought I would share my setup that I pull with my LJ. I have a 1967 M416 military trailer that I have restored. They can be quite pricy to buy restored $2000-$5000 depending on what mods somebody had on it. But the old military trailers have a huge following and there are a ton of people Overlanding with them. The process was fun to restore the trailer but that depends on if you want to restore something/have time to do a project like that. My photos don’t want to upload here for some reason so here is a similar setup that people do on these trailers
6A799AB3-A115-44FC-99AC-2A7763C978F6.jpeg
 
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DieselJeep said:
That's awesome. Just wondering, what's the weight?
Click to expand...
The empty weight is 500#. This military model in particular is rated for 500# off road and 750# on road. They were incredibly overbuilt for their purpose though and you could easily tow 1000# with one of these. The amount of camping gear you need to reach that weight though doesn't even sound like camping at that point. If you have a rooftop tent, freezer fridge, and a bunch of other fun stuff then its 500 empty + about 400-500 so you're looking at around 900-1000#. The variable in that equation is how much stuff you bring.
 
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Thanks! I like the set up, but it is pretty heavy. I got a pretty good deal on the tent, it is huge, little bit bigger than a king size mattress, but it weighs 225#. I have 16 gallons of water (travel with it empty and only put water in at the last available spot), I cut a tailgate into it and there is a slide out that has a cooking area/kitchen set up. The jerry can houses an on demand water heater.
 
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