Light weight soft road toy hauler pick up and test run.

DesertJK

Adventurer
We are taking off to pick up our new VRV toy hauler on Thursday. I will be updating this thread with pictures as we go.
Here are some threads about my trailer from this forum and JK Owners:

http://www.jkowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31731

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42545

I will put up some pictures of my 2008 Jeep Rubicon Unlimited later today.
I just picked up the Jeep from the dealer where I took it in for a leaking water pump and very loud throw out bearing at 24,000 miles. I am taking a break right now before changing the oil, fixing a bad wire to my driving lights, and rotating my tires.
Last night I installed all my Garmin software in an old Dell D510 that I use in my shop (was my main laptop 5 years ago) I found a free download of Garmin N-route that lets use my 60 CSX as a receiver for my laptop. I also went out and got a Verizon Mobile Hotspot thing. It is pretty cool, I can use up to 5 wireless devices with it at a time and have good download speed anywhere I have service. I hope the car charger I ordered for the Dell shows up before we need to leave. If not, I do have 2 extended life batteries that give me about 5 hours of use. We have always wanted access to Google Earth while on the road, and we have always wanted a big screen GPS for the passenger to plan routes with, I think we may have nailed it. If it works out on this trip, I will get a Ram laptop mount for it, or a net book with a mount.

We are driving pretty much straight through from Bend Oregon to Wakarusa Indiana. We will pick up the trailer on Tuesday the 5th and then have some fun on the way home. I have a loosely planned route that will take us North into South Dakota, past Rushmore (wife has never seen it) and across the top of Wyoming. There is a few things we want to see around Southern Idaho, but other than that, our plans are flexible.

The area around Oacoma South Dakota looks interesting, any advice on exploring the Missouri river in that area? How is Lake Oahe?

The main purpose of this trip is to pick up our trailer and work the bugs out of it. We will return home and then start out on another trip as soon as we dial the trailer in. I am assuming there will be issues, there always is.

More later with picks of my Jeep.
 

Every Miles A Memory

Expedition Leader
I've seen one of the pop-ups here at our campground...it was pulled by a Suby wagon.

We had one of the campers pull through long enough that I was able to look around inside. They're made pretty spartan, but nice craftsmanship all the way around

Cant wait to hear your review and the see tons of photos!

Sort of the perfect toyhauler that can also keep you sleeping indoors and out of the elements and have a real bathroom to boot!
 

DesertJK

Adventurer
Update, we got it home. 5000 miles round trip, 11 days.

We have the trailer home now. I will be working on it for the next week or so before we take off in it again. I was pretty comfortable considering it was not really set up yet. We had a couple of problems, but nothing major. Just little annoyances that would have normally been taken care of by the dealers preparation of the trailer, but since it was factory direct pickup, we took care of them on the road.

934663576_SntDb-L.jpg


Several hundred miles of gravel and two track. Topping off with ethanol free fuel from Wyoming. The Jeep loves pure gasoline.

934663408_WeLJS-L.jpg


Camp in Wyoming.

934661880_NaJU8-L.jpg


I slept very well on this bed. The tent is also very insulated and hold A/C and heat in well.

934662069_pjAAM-L.jpg


Kitchen unit and door to privacy room with porta pottie. The privacy room is actually in the front compartments.

934662500_f5NZP-L.jpg


Somewhere by Bighorn.

934662715_htkYT-L.jpg


Worked as intended on this type of road.

934662368_rzHb5-L.jpg


Welded aluminum frame. Dog approved.

934661490_a7xDN-L.jpg


The little 3.8 is a gutless POS of an engine as far as usable power. Coupled with the 6 speed manual it can be kept in the torque on hills and into the wind, but I need to stay on it and not loose RPM or momentum.
At least it is an engine know for it ability to last for years of abuse. It really goes ok for what it is. We never felt we had any lack of power on dirt roads or even on twisting mountain 10% grades. The only time we struggled was on some open highways with 75 MPH speed limits and high winds. It is very stable in a wind, but slow. I felt better when I caught up to a chevy pulling a 5th wheel who couldn't do more than 45 on a slight up hill.
We are considering the Ripp Supercharger, but the AEV Hemi kit would make this set up rock.
 

GeoTracker90

Adventurer
As far as price goes what ball park is this trailer in? Also what is the weight of the trailer? With all of the aluminum I would guess that it isn't too heavy for its size. Looks like a nice little unit.

Mike
 

Accrete

Explorer
your VRV looks great. I've been doing some research (thinking of selling what we currently have) and arrived at the CampLite or VRV units (both by Livin'Lite). I've been emailing Scott T on interior ideas. He seems real open to working with the customer within design limits. Overall the trailers look built to stand the test of time and the prices are right in line with what one would hope for in a high quality rig.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,530
Messages
2,875,579
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top