Caravan/Camping Trailer to pull with LC200 (1 Viewer)

[xd40cal]

As i'm progressing through my LC200 build, I have a tremendous desire to have it not be just my DD as well as primary vehicle to explore the mountains but now I am wanting to get rid of my 3/4 ton truck, toy hauler, and SXS to reinvest in a caravan style trailer. I've received a ton of great help and suggestions on this forum thus far. What are you all pulling or suggesting?

Important Factors to Consider:

I live in the USA (AUS has so many killer options!!!)
Wife demands a toilet (non-negotiable)
We are expecting our first (and last) child, will have him/her out early and frequently
We have 3 dogs
We explore many types of terrain and boon dock more than we are at an RV park/campground. The most common terrain types are dirt/fire roads heading into mountains and some rocky terrain (not planning on pulling this thing on any hard core crawling type of trails)
Want to pull with just the LC200 - willing to add any upgrades to make it pull safely but don't want to compromise the DD comfort aspect or when we are out on day trips in the mountains fly fishing etc.
We spend 7-10 days out at most and 2-3 at minimum
We frequently have another couple with us that stays in a tent or tent trailer but we socialize inside/play card games/drink too much inside when the weather is not favorable
Would love to stay under $55K - lightly used is preferred (2018 or newer)

Current Build (in progress)
2016 LC200
285/65r18 Ridge Grapplers
Method NV305 Machined (18x9, +25mm offset)
ARB Twin Air Compressor (slee mount, under hood)
Switch Pros 9100 (slee mount, sunglass holder mount for switchpad mounted underneath compressor)
OME BP51 (not yet purchased, in the works, have 82" of clearance in my attached garage, trying to keep it there rather than put into my detached shop)
Roof Rack TBD
Bumpers TBD
Lights TBD
Slee Sliders TBD

 

[MTKID]

A Kimberley may be hard to find but I would toss that brand into your search. There are a couple people that have posted about theirs on here and they looked like a very well built camper, which I feel is rare here in the U.S. Maybe the majority of brands are ok for highways & short dirt roads to a campsite, but for where some of us would want to take a camper it seems durability is lacking despite the names and graphics insinuating “off-road” use.

 

[Sandroad]

Regarding the dogs…….I assume you know this from your toy hauler experience, but you won’t have A/C unless you are at a campsite with at least 30A hookup or are able to transport and use at least a 3kW generator. Neither is a very reliable or safe way to leave dogs for a few hours. Closed campers heat up fast when the power goes off (and it can).

I tow a Camplite brand camper. They are not made anymore, but if you can find a used one with the off-road package, it might work for you. They are all aluminum so no rot or rust. And they have toilets!

 

[xd40cal]

Regarding the dogs…….I assume you know this from your toy hauler experience, but you won’t have A/C unless you are at a campsite with at least 30A hookup or are able to transport and use at least a 3kW generator. Neither is a very reliable or safe way to leave dogs for a few hours. Closed campers heat up fast when the power goes off (and it can).

I tow a Camplite brand camper. They are not made anymore, but if you can find a used one with the off-road package, it might work for you. They are all aluminum so no rot or rust. And they have toilets!

Thanks for the note - definitely am with you on leaving the dogs - We only leave them if we are hooked up to power and the AC can run. If we are boon docking, they're with us 24/7.

I will look into the Camplite!!! Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[CharlieS]

Lots of people here tow trailers with their 200s, including campers ranging from teardrops to massive airstreams.

Definitely add a brake controller, I prefer the Redarc.

I’d think that figuring out the general size and needs of your future camper would be a good first step. Then understanding your must have features and amenities.

Like for us we minimally need room for 4 adult sized people, and don’t need indoor cooking, TVs or stereos (for example).

My idea of an ideal camper and others ideas of one seem to be very different. We’ve used everything from gigantic campers to tents and recently settled on a smaller unit.

Our small camper that is kind of a glorified teardrop. The inside is little more than sleeping space, where the cushions fold up to make some minimal foul weather shelter. It has a rooftop tent for additional sleeping space and an outside kitchen with a 270 degree awning.

The outdoor kitchen and 270 awning are some of our favorite features. Lack of a toilet is my wife’s least favorite omission.

As suggested above, take a good look at anything advertised as off-road from the mainline RV vendors. Ours, like many others, is basically a regular camper with some knobby tires, decals and a rooftop tent. For what little we take it on rough roads it’ll be fine, but you aren’t going to do real off-roading with it attached and expect it to last like a properly built off-road trailer.

I wouldn’t leave dogs inside any RV (in hot weather).

We have an AC unit but haven’t ever run it. We don’t camp where there are hookups and don’t have a generator. A 12v fan would be more useful to us.

 

[TeCKis300]

Those are some difficult requirements to meet for a total package and I struggle to come up with something that could meet them.

Some of the desires are somewhat diametric. A real off-road capable trailer (rocky terrain?) is going to lean towards smaller off-road teardrop (<15'). Yet indoor bathroom, and it sounds like you want indoor living space enough for 3 + 3 dogs, with enough water capacity for extended boondocking dictates something bigger than 20'+.

Something in Black Series lineup may be something to start shaping ideas with? These are pricey and probably won't meet your cost targets?

 

[CharlieS]

We had a rockwood roo for a while. It was one of those hard sided hybrid campers, so it had a hard shell, but the beds were tipouts like a popup camper has. Ours actually had three of those so each kid had their own private area, and we had a nice big platform at the front. It had a bathroom and kitchen, with a dinette. Not a bad setup for a small family. I don’t know how off-road capable it would be though. We mostly camped in state and National forest campgrounds.

 

[Cruisin911]

I have 3 kids and 2 dogs. We run everywhere up in Colorado's back country with our Turtleback Expedition. I have found that with altitude, we don't need any A/C. Dogs are with us on all our adventures away from the camper. May be an option. Look to be a few of them available (or most RVs for that matter) now that places are opening back up and some people would rather not camp.

 

[Fisher23]

The Airstream BaseCamp 20x may work for you.

Most of the other more offroadable trailers Like Bruder will by over 55k.

 

[speed docl]

I recommend an OPUS 4. Its a true off-road trailer and perfect for the LC200. Only drawback is no toilet inside but we have learned many was to work around this. Also my rig is a very similar build to what you are doing. Happy camping!

 

[Fisher23]

I recommend an OPUS 4. Its a true off-road trailer and perfect for the LC200. Only drawback is no toilet inside but we have learned many was to work around this. Also my rig is a very similar build to what you are doing. Happy camping!

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Does the OPUS have a/c and/or Heat?

 

[xd40cal]

I went and checked out an Opus OP 15 today. Was really impressed with it and was ready to buy. We got the deal sheet ready and the salesman Came back and said it sold earlier in the day. Frustrating but I think that’s what I am going to roll with. Unfortunately, they are really tough to come across.

 

[Dan Higgins]

We had a rockwood roo for a while. It was one of those hard sided hybrid campers, so it had a hard shell, but the beds were tipouts like a popup camper has. Ours actually had three of those so each kid had their own private area, and we had a nice big platform at the front. It had a bathroom and kitchen, with a dinette. Not a bad setup for a small family. I don’t know how off-road capable it would be though. We mostly camped in state and National forest campgrounds.

Our first trailer was a Roo as well. Great floorspace. After a year of camping my wife was not keen on the "tent-like" experience of the beds. Especially if we wanted to camp in bear country. So we moved to the full hard side with its associated increase in weight per square foot of floorspace. But it was a good first year trailer for us. We learned a LOT.

 

[blatant]

Should sticky the master towing / camper thread, or noobs should actually search.

 

[TeCKis300]

should sticky the master towing / camper thread, or noobs should actually search.

I think this thread is a fair one to warrant its own. Travel trailers and campers are really varied, and even different floor plans of similar trailers are enough to make a difference to potential owners. Having shopped for my own and helping a few buddies shop for them, there's really a dizzying array. And how one thinks they might use it often completely differs from reality.

I give credit to the OP for listing his priorities and requirements. Sure it was a pretty wide net that was cast, but that's where you start. And having others chime in with what might work with the 200 can be gold.

Unlike tires that we've had years and years to sus out, yet we still have the same never-ending 285/65r18 will it fit discussion.

 

[GordJ]

If I was going to get a new camping trailer I would be looking at ones like this Sonic Lite SL169VMK Travel Trailer | Venture RV - https://www.venture-rv.com/products/sonic-lite-travel-trailers/SL169VMK.html . Because we’re a long way past kids we don’t need a second bed but I’ve looked at this one too. Rockwood Geo Pro G20BHS | Forest River RV - Manufacturer of Travel Trailers - Fifth Wheels - Tent Campers - Motorhomes - https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/travel-trailers/rockwood-geo-pro/G20BHS/5139 . I really believe in slides to make life more livable for the “family” and I don’t need a true off-road trailer because I don’t do the crawl thing.
My little 16.5 has been following behind 4 different vehicles and I still can't put it out of it's misery.

 

[Fisher23]

The other trailer I saw was a Casita with some custom modifications, and I think that would be in that price range. This company mods them.

 

[xd40cal]

Should sticky the master towing / camper thread, or noobs should actually search.

ina

Should sticky the master towing / camper thread, or noobs should actually search.

Sometimes going through 25+ pages of outdated forum opinions doesn’t provide recent experience and product releases. Sorry to have ruffled your feathers... one thing is for sure, there’s always someone who posts that negative energy on every thread so thanks for being that person.

sincerely,
Noob aka FNG

 

[speed docl]

Does the OPUS have a/c and/or Heat?

Yes it has a dometic propane heater in it. It really keeps the inside toasty

 

[speed docl]

I went and checked out an Opus OP 15 today. Was really impressed with it and was ready to buy. We got the deal sheet ready and the salesman Came back and said it sold earlier in the day. Frustrating but I think that’s what I am going to roll with. Unfortunately, they are really tough to come across.

Yes they are really hard to come by and most of them are already spoken for. I'm picking up an Opus 15 I ordered 6 months ago end of this month. Love the Opus 4 but like the OP wifey wants a bathroom