Offroad Travel Trailers in the US?
My favorite type of camping is in the middle of nowhere, away from everyone else. This often means travel over hundreds of miles off road. I'm not talking a dirt road you could take a prius on, but a ...
Forum Discussion
themoreweexplore wrote:BillyW wrote:
Seems like an Oliver with a little suspension work might be suitable?
Olivers look to be absolutely fantastic trailers. I've been dying to see one in person.
Olivers are definitely a cut above. We camp with a friend who went to the Oliver when his Casita got totaled. He purchased a used, pre-shutdown production 18' that I would love to have myself. Oliver does have a page that you can contact them to get put in touch with an owner near you willing to show their trailer off if they can work it out. These are NOT for the light of wallet though worth it.
We used a StarCraft 2004 11RT pop-up for 7 years and found it to be ok for rough roads. Interior was not hardened at all, and required a lot of re-work and maintenance (I think ANY production RV trailer will have that issue.) Off road meant big tires, high clearance and a "cool off road look". It was like most trailers, built to carry 3,500 lbs on a 3,500 lb suspension. There was a huge tongue frame and a beefed up (compared to normal pop-ups)frame under the box but standard Dexter 3,500lb axles, brakes & springs. They added shocks and the axles were flipped - that was it. Do have to say never had any problems with the suspension. Definitely not a full time sort of rig either.
I have very limited experience in modifying TT's for rough (not off) road travel. I replaced the 11RT with a Eclipse Milan 18CK (chosen for price not quality!) 4k dry, about 5.5k with essential stuff. I immediately flipped the 2 3.5k axles and added shocks, went on a very short rough road trip and bent the axles. Replaced them with 3" axle tubes with 3.5k spindles (to keep same brakes/hubs/wheels) and later added Dexter EX-flex equalizer. Have not have any problems since.
Were I to try converting/raising any current production trailer, I would definitely consider engineering and adding a suspension sub-frame with 5k suspension/axles/brakes etc. One axle for up to 3.5k lbs and 2 axles for up to 7k. Just way too many bent axles and suspension failures on very new trailers these days.
Good luck with your search, keep us posted and I love your website & blog! Give Fender a treat for me.
