Off-Road trailer with full kitchen system

[lenin sifontes]

When I started this thread I didn't want to compare trailers and maybe the trailer or some of the parts are fabricated in China like everything else in every trailer that I have seen, but the suspension is definitely manufactured here in the USA. I have a M416 trailer and the suspension in this off-Road trailer is definitely the same as the M416. The shocks and leaf springs are the same, the brackets are jeep brackets and the axle itself was at least a 3500 lbs axle with electric brakes. Even though the kitchen is a little big for me, it still has plenty of storage inside the main box plus the available storage space on the side boxes and corners. IMO and base on what I saw the overall quality of the trailer was definitely good and the bottom line is, if the price is right I will buy it regardless of the country of origin. Come on almost everything is fabricated in China or if it's manufactured here in the USA they are still using components made in China.

 

[bunduguy]

When I started this thread I didn't want to compare trailers and maybe the trailer or some of the parts are fabricated in China like everything else in every trailer that I have seen, but the suspension is definitely manufactured here in the USA. I have a M416 trailer and the suspension in this off-Road trailer is definitely the same as the M416. The shocks and leaf springs are the same, the brackets are jeep brackets and the axle itself was at least a 3500 lbs axle with electric brakes. Even though the kitchen is a little big for me, it still has plenty of storage inside the main box plus the available storage space on the side boxes and corners. IMO and base on what I saw the overall quality of the trailer was definitely good and the bottom line is, if the price is right I will buy it regardless of the country of origin. Come on almost everything is fabricated in China or if it's manufactured here in the USA they are still using components made in China.

That's great news. If it's a quality item and you like it; and most importantly if the price is right for you, then that's great news.
I've always liked the look of the ease of setup.

 

[bob]

I have seen trailers like this in Utah. A company that does mountian bike tours uses it as a chuck wagon. It was made for that. They had a second for food. They fed anywhere from 5 to 20 people with it.

There are other people that make trailers. I made a trailer that looked like an AT nearly 20 years ago. It is not a unique one of a kind design. People seem to like the look. No big deal. And just because it looks like an AT does not mean it is made poorly or lack of quality parts.

I have no idea who made this trailer, but he one I saw with the same idea, had a stainless box and slide out. It was not low end by any means.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I have seen trailers like this in Utah. A company that does mountian bike tours uses it as a chuck wagon. It was made for that. They had a second for food. They fed anywhere from 5 to 20 people with it...

In the Moab area? Towed behind Suburbans and passenger vans by one of the bike shuttle companies? I've seen them along a section of the Kokopelli Trail, I had to double take because I was almost certain it was a pair of custom AT's purpose built but they had a enough different things about them that struck me as odd. Gent said they were built several years back by a metal fab company that builds their giant cargo racks and bike racks for all their tour operations. It was a nice trailer no doubt but not design quality we are seeing from our 4x4 inspired trailers. I did not see the inside of these trailers as they were but I can only assume they were used for chuck wagon type deals.

 

[bob]

I have seen them at Thunder Mountain, Rainbow Rim and Navajo Lake. Go there every summer. But yes those are the ones I am sure.

 

[elcoyote]

A rising tide raises all ships. A flattering design no doubt however I am not a big fan of having my fridge out in the elements, simply not a nice way to treat an expensive appliance.

I love these "Bettertrailer" guys on Alibaba. They actually lifted a picture of one of our trailers that we built in 2005.

http://bettertrailer.en.alibaba.com/product/224471865-200681472/popular_style_camping_trailerBT_CP3.html

It also looks like (if you believe the authenticity of the pictures) they are building boat loads of Kamparoo knock offs too. I'm sure that is making the folks in OZ happy.

For what it's worth, the parts used on AT trailers are predominantly made in the USA with the exception of tents that come from South Africa. Our goal is to source as much as possible locally as it feeds our local economy. That is important to us.

 

[bob]

I totally agree on sourcing the trailer from the US. Unfortunately some of the things I am using in my new trailer, the electronics (TV DVD Stereo, Micro Wave) are almost all made out of the country. I am having problems finding a roof rack that is made in the states. I have talked to two suppliers but both are out of the country, Mexico and Austrailia. I may just set up a jig and make my own. The rest as far as I know is all made here.

It is quite obvious that the last picture is one of your trailers, but again copying is flatery I guess.

 

[EdwardBernal]

I don't understand why the original question cant be answered, but instead we have to read about how great AT trailers are and how wonderful the world is now that we have AT trailers. GEEEZZ, the guy just wants to know who makes it, if you don't know just say so and move on with your life.

I gotta agree with Christian - I've been on ExPo a relatively short time but WOW, AT sure gets alot of love here. No doubt its a quality trailer
but its priced accordingly. BTW, just in case you haven't heard there's this auto builder in Germany called Mercedes-Benz...i saw one the other
day looks like a nice, well built car. I'm gonna check one out one of these days...

 

[bob]

This forum is provided by Martyn and Mario. They build a high quality off road trailer. One of the first to offer this to the general public. They have many happy customers that frequent this site. Their comments are testimony to the quality and dedication that AT brings to the table. Product loyalty is a good thing.

What others need to understand is that there are quality alternatives. Whether it is made in the US or abroad.

 

[mvbeggs]

I gotta agree with Christian - I've been on ExPo a relatively short time but WOW, AT sure gets alot of love here. No doubt its a quality trailer
but its priced accordingly. BTW, just in case you haven't heard there's this auto builder in Germany called Mercedes-Benz...i saw one the other
day looks like a nice, well built car. I'm gonna check one out one of these days...

I see from your sig that you own an Outlander Sherpa II trailer. Feel free to show the Sherpa as much "love" as you want here. It's all good my friend.

This forum is provided by Martyn and Mario. They build a high quality off road trailer. One of the first to offer this to the general public. They have many happy customers that frequent this site.... Their comments are testimony to the quality and dedication that AT brings to the table...

What others need to understand is that there are quality alternatives. Whether it is made in the US or abroad.

I think Bob's point regarding AT's customer satisfaction is the main reason why AT trailers get quite a bit of positive press. (Full Disclosure: I am also a satisfied AT Chaser customer)

The attention given AT can also have a flip side. There are other threads on the Portal in which customers feel their expectations have not been met by AT. In those instances, AT isn't being shown much love. Most folks here seem to be pretty vocal and tend to call it as they see it... which, in my opinion, is the way it should be.

Carry on! :1888fbbd:

 

[DNTL740]

The point to my response was, that for some reason when somebody shows a picture of Expedition related equipment on this forum, there are quite a few people on this forum that instead of responding in relation to the equipment shown, they go off on a tangent and start saying how GREAT the equipment is, that the forum sponsors provide. In this case it was AT. AT has a wonderful product, well tested and proven. Some people on this forum cant afford a Rolls, so they might be looking for a different, less expensive alternative.

It would have been nice to have seen the response go something like this, Looks like a nice trailer, but you might want to check out the quality of the build. I am not saying that the forum sponsors don't provide great equipment, Am saying that some of us have to shop elsewhere for a more affordable alternative.

Just my .02.

 

[bunduguy]

The point to my response was, that for some reason when somebody shows a picture of Expedition related equipment on this forum, there are quite a few people on this forum that instead of responding in relation to the equipment shown, they go off on a tangent and start saying how GREAT the equipment is, that the forum sponsors provide. In this case it was AT. AT has a wonderful product, well tested and proven. Some people on this forum cant afford a Rolls, so they might be looking for a different, less expensive alternative.

It would have been nice to have seen the response go something like this, Looks like a nice trailer, but you might want to check out the quality of the build. I am not saying that the forum sponsors don't provide great equipment, Am saying that some of us have to shop elsewhere for a more affordable alternative.

Just my .02.

Cristian,
Good point. And I apologize if I steered the thread in a particular direction. Certainly not my intention; blame my enthusiasm.
It does raise some interesting points though, in that the trailer market in the US is not a one horse race. And the love being doled out certainly seems a little disproportionate. There are several other trailers out there, Bob's, Campa, Outlander and my own Jurgens line, et al, that do not get the coverage or recognition they deserve. This is due, I'm sure to a number of reasons; in my case, we're new in the US, despite being a 60yr old company in South Africa. AT gets a lot of love on here because the guys get around a lot, they've been on the US market longer than others, and they've gotten a lot of good press in the magazines we all get. I'm sure that as the rest of us get more exposure, that the love will be spread around little, and people will see that there is no single standard or benchmark.
The fact that people are seeing new trailers out there and asking about them, is a good thing. I think there is plenty of space in the US for us all.
As far as our own trailers, the Jurgens line, on the XT140, almost every single part except the axle ( from Germany) is made in our factory in South Africa from South African steel.

Interesting course this thread took -way off what the OP asked, but interesting nevertheless.

 

[Dave Bennett]

I've been on ExPo a relatively short time but WOW, AT sure gets alot of love here.

I've been on here a long time, and so has AT. Since the very beginning in fact.

They sponsor this forum, and that in turn helps all here, vendors and consumers. "A rising tide raises all ships" is very true.

But they're not the only ones who get "love" here on this site, there is room here for all. I for one am all about supporting the smaller enterprises within this segment.

That being said, I'd guess that if instead of buying the real deal I chose to buy a cheap Chinese copy of a Campa, a Horizon, or a Jurgens, or a SoCal Teardrop or an Eezi-Awn etc etc my level of customer service, and long term satisfaction, would be far less.

Buyer beware of cheap imitations flooding the market.

 

[Dirtytires]

I do not know who makes the trailer.:wings:

 

[lenin sifontes]

I have seen a couple of ATs and they are a great trailer with a good reputation, but it's not worth $16,000-$18,000 to me specially since I can't afford to spent twice as much as what my truck is worth. However, that doesn't mean that I can't try to have something similar for a fraction of the price and that is why I got a M416 trailer as a platform for my Off-road trailer. I am not even half way done building my M416 trailer and I have countless hours left to finish. I don't have that much time anymore to work on it, so that is why I am looking for different and yet affordable alternatives where I can buy something that is trail ready.

I heard from an owner of one of these trailers in another forum that he got his for under $10,000 fully equipped and that the quality of the trailer is good and he hasn't had any issues with the trailer. I am going to call them tomorrow and see if I can go on Saturday to check them out.