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Trailer Supported Adventuring

26K views 44 replies 10 participants last post by  StealthHitches 
#1 ·
Do you enjoy back-country adventures, an active outdoor lifestyle, off-pavement exploring or boondocking?

Are you looking for the perfect, budget friendly way to transport everything needed for your next adventure?

If you answered yes, the soon to be released family of Dinoot Trailers will definitely interest you.



We take a different approach than most to equipping folks for Trailer Supported Adventuring. At the heart of it is a modular collection of Lego™ like fiberglass components configurable to meet a wide range of needs. By putting in a little sweat equity, we will offer a budget friendly, "have it your way" approach to building your perfect trailer.

Our planned family of trailers is designed to work great as both Gear Haulers and Tent Topped Camping Trailers.





For additional details visit Dinoot Trailers
 
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#6 ·
LosAngelesLGT, yes it will be easy to make the hardsided camper multi-purpose. For security, I also have hard covers in the works for the tub kits. You can sign up on the web-site for email updates, to get the latest info like when pricing is available.

jb_3.6r, keep your wife happy with the 33' TT and build a Compact for those over night trips fishing or ?? with the guys.

Below is a concept sketch for a Tire Toter trailer, would be perfect for track days, auto-crosses or rally-crosses

 
#10 ·
Jeep® Camper Trailer | Jeep
This is actually built by Living Lite RV - and sold By JEEP.

There are lots of these being built now days.


Multi use trailers found here... And being multi use is why I bought one.
http://popuptimes.com/?p=136
This one is built by Life time Products which makes lots of stuff they also make the highly respected Jumping Jack trailer.
Tent Trailers - From Trailer to Tent in 5 Minutes!

Life Time Tent trailer
SubaruOutback.org Member Galleries - campingrigsmall

Where you find quality in these small trailers is in the tent material and the trailer structure.
 
#11 ·
SubieSailor, If you aren't up to a DIY project or looking for a little big trailer these options could work nicely.

The LivinLite 6.0 is basically the same trailer for 1000's less without the Jeep logo.

The LifeTime trailer is a good option if you need sleeping space a for families or if you want to haul an ATV around. The one downside I see is needing to unpack before you can setup your tent. With a Tent Topped Dinoot, you could pull into camp late and be ready for bed in a few minutes with out unpacking.
 
#12 ·
Smaller tow vehicles + families translates to a small trailer which can haul various toys and gear that do not fit in the car. The current tent trailer concepts fail this. I don't own a ATV probably never will. I haul boats on my trailer and other gear that would otherwise cramp the space in the car. All comes down to how you pack.

When we pack our life time trailer everything is packed in such a way that the only time involved is unlashing the gear bags from the trailer and tossing the boat on the boat dolly.

If the time from car to sleeping is important nothing beats the Teardrop which is far superior regarding all weather - packed gear and towing weights than any type of tent trailer.

Individual needs determines what works best not to mention price. I have yet to see anything that competes in the $2000 price that provides a high quality product like the Lifetime tent trailer. All the quick silver trailers are nice and come with a sizable price tag and still have very limited gear hauling ability.
 
#13 ·
Wife and I have noticed a growing trend at campgrounds. Years ago families would show up in big full size trucks vans suburbans etc. Lots of space and capacity to carry camping crap + kids stuff etc. In more recent years we saw lots of families showing up with multiple smaller cars to haul people and gear. In just the past couple of years we see huge number of Uhaul trailers and large utility trailers being towed by smaller more fuel efficient vehicles with trailers packed with gear, bikes, kayaks, kids wagons, tables, full sized bbq's etc. Last August we counted 5 Uhaul trailers on our one small loop in the camp ground. Our utility trailer transformed into a tent drew lots of attention as a result.

I think the tent trailer idea is going to face an evolution in what people want. Tent trailers for a long time were viewed as cheap light versions of the full on hard sided RV. Now days with all the cool gear options available, people see value in sleeping off the ground and having the ability to haul all there gear. Cabinets, sinks, showers, toilets in the tent trailer are of little interest especially at the price point being charged. Lol

These utility multi use camping riggs no doubt are gaining lots of interest. $4 gas only amplifies it that much more.
 
#14 ·
SubieSailor, yes driving a smaller vehicle and being able to add a “pickup bed” for hauling only when needed is a great way to go. I agree, manufacturers of standard tent trailers do not factor in the gear / toys that go with an active outdoor lifestyle.

I agree, there are various options available, folks need to weigh the trade-offs based on the criteria that is important to them and purchase what best fits their needs. In my solutions, I build in as much flexibility as possible so folks can tailor their builds based on their needs. Keep in mind, my focus is DIY sport utility / off the beaten path / camping trailers, where the $2000 price point is easy to achieve with quality components by putting in a little sweat equity.

I have been seeing the same thing, a growing number of smaller vehicles with a U-haul trailer at campgrounds. That is the primary problem with tent trailers manufactures today, thinking of them as an RV. When you look at tent trailers from the perceptive of being a piece of camping / outdoor gear, then factor in the multi-purpose aspect, you get a very different product. Change is coming …
 
#16 ·
schaney I've built a Rutan Veri EZE which was more glass work and parts forming and fabrication than I ever want to see for the rest of my life LOL. The up side was 200mph on 100hp with a full fighter canopy hot rod plane.

I've been involve in building and selling high end racing sailboats in more recent years where man hours ie labor to build is watch by the minute for each piece of the puzzle. I'm not sure how a fiberglass bin small utility trailer can compete with a fast build soft metal trailer regarding man hours vs cost not to mention durability and tie down points for off road use. The man hours needed to lay up and properly cure the glass box alone would out number the hours needed for basic assembly and welding of your classic soft metal trailer.

Also in the competitive sailboat world high grade aluminum has nearly identical weight and strength to high tech composite construction using high grade epoxy resin with an infusion process during layup to get the best possible coverage and saturation of the glass. The cheaper Polyester resins done via hand lay up are dramatically less durable and when you track man hours and raw materials costs the difference in build cost is marginal but the end product is dramatically less durable etc.

I think your idea is great but I think you would have far far more options and a lower build cost if you built your box out of aluminum faster build time fewer man hours and far easier to customize regarding hard points for tie downs etc.
 
#17 ·
Subiesailor, There are some parallels, but not sure high end racing sailboats and compact camping trailers is an apples-to-apples comparison when looking at design criteria and building methods.

From my experience with both aluminum and fiberglass compact camping trailers, aluminum trailer boxes are at least twice the cost to manufacturer. Here is an aluminum version of our Explorer Box we have available.



 
#20 ·
HawkWagon, Not hostile at all, good question. Most "standard" trailer axles come with a 5 on 4.5 bolt pattern. For hub matching a Subaru (and many other vehicles) an aluminum adapter is used. If you bump up to a 3.5K axle then there are 5 on 4.5/4.75/5/5.5 & 6 on 5.5 hubs available. The artistic rendering was only because I havn't had time to build one for my Outback Sport .
 
#24 ·
Dinoot Trailers have hit a major milestone! Tub kits will be ready to start shipping late in the week of May 21. With the current sale price and coupons available on HF bolt-together frame kits, pricing is just under your original goal. Visit the web-site for pricing details.

Here are a few shoots of Dinoot #1 behind my Outback Sport



 
#27 ·
I am doing a market study on our Camper Wagons. We want to build a smaller version of our camp trailer for the smaller suv market (Subarur, Rav4, Escape, etc.)
What do you think?

Camperwagon


Thanks
For sure a growing trend as people move from full size rigs to smaller cars and still like to do summer trips and camping etc with added gear where space to pack that gear is needed. Bingo small light trailer easily towed makes for a good gear hauling option for the few times a year you need it etc.

Your website looks great - but is too slow! Yes I'm on cable with a fast connection.
Just a tip go less fancy and faster that will help with people sticking around on your site checking out your products.

Real pictures vs mockups also lend a level of real vs vapor ware etc.

What I find interesting is that all of these little utility ie gear trailer ideas shoot for the ultra rugged look. When I would put money on it that more people who just want the ability to get their camping gear to the camp ground the most economical way possible would be interested in a more road focused nice highway hauler rig that has a very nice price point. Evidence would be all the cheap ultility trailers in the camp grounds and even small Uhaul trailers being used in the camp grounds.

As a side note those roof top tent kits are not cheap as cool as they are - they add a steep price to the trailer.

Also I'm building a Harbor Freight cheapie light weight camping gear rig with a canoe rack which will have a loaded weight around 700lbs max for a sports sedan. Dad a baby boomer loves camping - but also really likes his high powered luxury sedan which will easily tow his camping kit in this format. He happens to be a demographic that has money to spend on slick trailers in this case we have some super cool ideas for his little gear trailer which will provide easy multi functional use for his camping kit. His tent preference is a nice high quality tent with cots. He's been packing back country a long time and a tent is a luxury cots are heaven.
 
#30 ·
Got Kayaks?

There are a number of kayak / canoe trailers out there; SportsRig, Yakima Rack and Roll or Dooit to name a few. IMHO the drawbacks with these is that they are basically a rolling frame with racks for a premium price.

For about the same price, you can build a Dinoot trailer with racks for hauling kayaks, a canoe, kite boards, a wind surfer, etc. The difference is you also have a nice fiberglass trailer tub which provides substantial additional storage space.





 
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