profdant139 wrote:
gmw, thanks for the kind words -- but really, our Fun Finder is not built for serious off-roading. We do take it on rocky dirt roads, but very slowly -- it can take us an hour to go from the pavement to our remote campsites. We have plenty of clearance, but the frame is not terribly beefy.
So if you want to go for long distances on very rough roads at more than 10 or 15 mph, you will need something stouter than a Fun Finder. I wonder if the Casita frame is up to the task? Casitas are built like tanks -- literally, like water tanks! Very strong units -- bomb-proof.
Robert Ryan from Australia sometimes shows us the amazing "caravans" they drive Down Under -- far superior to anything commercially available in the US.
Hi Dan,
In fairness though to the whole idea of taking any of these trailers on rough roads, "going slowly" are the words of the day. Even watching the videos of the off road caravans in Australasia, we see they pick their way along carefully.
I've looked under some of the FG campers, like Casita, etc, and from what I have seen, the frames are pretty light duty. I suspect they are designing those with such a light frame, because as you noted, the FG bodies are essentially two bathtub tanks joined in a seam in the middle. I think they are counting on the body structure to have adequate strength on it's own, to keep it's shape. I really have not seen much written about how well they may work on rough roads.
My opinion is that when taking my Funfinder on rougher roads, it's best to:
...go slowly....and
... remove the weight distribution bars to allow as much "easy flex" as I can get at the ball. My thinking is, it lets the trailer be the trailer, and the truck be the truck so they are not feeding forces into one another as I cross rough sections. So far, so good.
I'd be willing to bet you have used your trailers in more rugged situations than 95% of the folks that own travel trailers.....so I still think it's safe to say, you are getting your money worth out of this little trailer.
geo
ps. I will admit also that when picking my way along rough sections in just my truck ( 4WD ), with no trailer, I go very slowly. Much easier on the truck compared to slamming along at 15 mph