My wife and I decided to take a few days off and go to Colorado for our anniversary and I know she's not a big fan of tents and neither am I. Thinking about camp trailers and being an "off-road" guy I thought about those cool teardrop trailers, did a little research and found out that Off The Grid Rentals has the SoCal "Krawler" for rent, in Mesa! Made the reservation a couple of weeks out. By the way, Off The Grid Rentals was very easy to work with and the price was more than reasonable, about $95 per night including an ARB fridge.
Picked up the trailer on Friday afternoon from Sierra Expeditions in Mesa. Will, the guy who helped me out, was very professional and showed me around the whole trailer, all the little hidden surprises and how to operate it. I was already very impressed and couldn't wait to get going on Saturday morning. By the way, he drives a very tricked-out white
80...
Loading the trailer was easy as we didn't utilize the roof rack just threw a few light things in the sleeping compartment (sleeping bags, etc). I strapped a 5-gal gas can in the front basket and still had room for 2 full-frame camping chairs, a lantern, firewood, and 2 extra small propane tanks (the green Coleman ones).
The trailer tows very well. My DC Tacoma 4x4 has the 4.0 V6/auto and while I knew it was there, no problems. Of course acceleration and braking were different, and gas mileage was affected but that's a given. I was able to navigate through downtown Flagstaff's city streets easily. The trailer is only SLIGHTLY wider than my truck. It has electric brakes that apparently sense the brake circuit with the brake lights but also are inertia brakes as well. Bottom line is I never had any problems getting the trailer to stop and I never felt as if it was "pushing" the truck.
First campsite: Set the trailer jacks (2 on either back corner) is no big deal. They are held in by a pin similar to your receiver hitch and it slides out, the jack is repositioned and cranked down. While we did this each time it was more for stability then levelling, we never bothered to level the trailer for sleeping didn't seem to be a big deal. Setting up to cook is about 3 minutes. Open the rear hatch. Slide out the cooker and open the wind stoppers on each side. Connect the outboard propane tank with the hose stowed behind the cooker. Open both valves, light... and you're literally cooking with gas. The sink was easy, too. It's stowed under the mattress in a cubby, lift one of the access panels and the sink comes out, it attaches on the passenger-side of the trailer near the rear hatch. Connect the hose from the tank (it has a kitchen-type sprayer) and attach the drain to the sink. Turn on the electric pump and the water is pressurized and has a surprising amount of pressure. The onboard tank, by the way, has a 30-gallon capacity. The ARB fridge is mounted sideways on a sliding drawer, I set it for 29 degrees and the highest I ever saw was going through Monument Valley and it got to 32 degrees. If you rent this trailer spend the few extra bucks and go for the ARB...
On the second day we drove from Durango to Montrose on Hwy 550... and if you've ever done that you know that's a crazy road, especially the last few miles south of Ouray. Never had any towing issues on this road either. Probably the hardest part about this trailer is two-fold, it's very short so backing up is more difficult than longer trailers (I've pulled car haulers and other trailers about that size and I found them easier to back up). Also the front "landing gear" jack (it has a small tire) was difficult to get down without raising up the truck first with my Hi-Lift before I could get the jack down.
We had an opportunity to use the shade canopy and it was nice to have the protection as it rained heavily that night. The canopy is heavy-grade waterproof vinyl (I don't know who makes it) but the frame pivots out from the roof rack and holds the canopy without any poles on the corners, kind of a canteleiver. We had never opened the canopy prior and it took us about 5 minutes to deploy it.
If you rent or buy one of these, be prepared for the rock star treatment. EVERY gas station, campground, stopping point, etc we had more than one person (and in Ouray, a group of over 10 people) ask about it. I had the galley hatch and one of the sleeping compartment doors open along Hwy 550 in Ouray and people were poking around asking questions... Which was fun as we really enjoyed showing it off.
The SoCal Krawler is very well set up from OTG Rentals. It has the 2 front storage compartments, one holding the 12V battery and charger, 110V inverter, 2 110V outlets, wheel chocks, tire repair kit, hitch lock, and extra bungee cords. They also included an extension cord to connect to outside power, which has a weatherproof connector, and a 12V power outlet.
The sleeping comparment has a very comfortable mattress, 2 reading/map lights, and overhead LED light that can be switched from white to red (for preserving your nighttime vision), switches controlling the 2 sets of outside lights (one set under the trailer and another on the body), a switch to check the onboard battery voltage, which also turns on/off the 2 USB charger ports and the 12V outlet (unfortunately the battery voltage gauge is a very bright blue which WILL disturb your sleep and we had to cover the gauge with some tape). Also there's a fifth switch to control the stereo that has a aux port/CD/AM/FM plus speakers that are mounted in the galley facing aft. There is 1 center drawer and 2 compartment doors that fold down on each side, each quite large above your feet, and the passenger-side compartment has 4 110 outlets.
Open the hatch for the galley and there's the 2-burner propane stove, a sliding drawer underneath that had a knife, 2 fire starter wand things, cooling utensils, a cutting board, can opener, etc. The rental also included the full propane tank, full water tank, various things like 2 frying pans, paper plates and plastic eating utensils, and whatever else the previous renter left behind.
This trailer also has the roof rack and awning, plus if you want they will add a roof top tent for additional sleeping (extra charge for the tent plus attaching/removing the tent).
Bottom line if you want a nice, easy to tow and use, comfortable camp trailer you can't really go wrong with the SoCal Krawler and OTG Rentals/Sierra Expeditions. Just be prepared for the "hey, cool trailer!" treatment. We are now considering buying one. We liked it that much.
I didn't take many pics of the trailer, but they are all over the internet and facebook...
First night at Mesa Verde
Crowd forming in Ouray
Canopy deployed in Cascade, CO
And a nice '40 my wife took for me in Silverton (shame about the bezel, though).
Picked up the trailer on Friday afternoon from Sierra Expeditions in Mesa. Will, the guy who helped me out, was very professional and showed me around the whole trailer, all the little hidden surprises and how to operate it. I was already very impressed and couldn't wait to get going on Saturday morning. By the way, he drives a very tricked-out white
80...Loading the trailer was easy as we didn't utilize the roof rack just threw a few light things in the sleeping compartment (sleeping bags, etc). I strapped a 5-gal gas can in the front basket and still had room for 2 full-frame camping chairs, a lantern, firewood, and 2 extra small propane tanks (the green Coleman ones).
The trailer tows very well. My DC Tacoma 4x4 has the 4.0 V6/auto and while I knew it was there, no problems. Of course acceleration and braking were different, and gas mileage was affected but that's a given. I was able to navigate through downtown Flagstaff's city streets easily. The trailer is only SLIGHTLY wider than my truck. It has electric brakes that apparently sense the brake circuit with the brake lights but also are inertia brakes as well. Bottom line is I never had any problems getting the trailer to stop and I never felt as if it was "pushing" the truck.
First campsite: Set the trailer jacks (2 on either back corner) is no big deal. They are held in by a pin similar to your receiver hitch and it slides out, the jack is repositioned and cranked down. While we did this each time it was more for stability then levelling, we never bothered to level the trailer for sleeping didn't seem to be a big deal. Setting up to cook is about 3 minutes. Open the rear hatch. Slide out the cooker and open the wind stoppers on each side. Connect the outboard propane tank with the hose stowed behind the cooker. Open both valves, light... and you're literally cooking with gas. The sink was easy, too. It's stowed under the mattress in a cubby, lift one of the access panels and the sink comes out, it attaches on the passenger-side of the trailer near the rear hatch. Connect the hose from the tank (it has a kitchen-type sprayer) and attach the drain to the sink. Turn on the electric pump and the water is pressurized and has a surprising amount of pressure. The onboard tank, by the way, has a 30-gallon capacity. The ARB fridge is mounted sideways on a sliding drawer, I set it for 29 degrees and the highest I ever saw was going through Monument Valley and it got to 32 degrees. If you rent this trailer spend the few extra bucks and go for the ARB...
On the second day we drove from Durango to Montrose on Hwy 550... and if you've ever done that you know that's a crazy road, especially the last few miles south of Ouray. Never had any towing issues on this road either. Probably the hardest part about this trailer is two-fold, it's very short so backing up is more difficult than longer trailers (I've pulled car haulers and other trailers about that size and I found them easier to back up). Also the front "landing gear" jack (it has a small tire) was difficult to get down without raising up the truck first with my Hi-Lift before I could get the jack down.
We had an opportunity to use the shade canopy and it was nice to have the protection as it rained heavily that night. The canopy is heavy-grade waterproof vinyl (I don't know who makes it) but the frame pivots out from the roof rack and holds the canopy without any poles on the corners, kind of a canteleiver. We had never opened the canopy prior and it took us about 5 minutes to deploy it.
If you rent or buy one of these, be prepared for the rock star treatment. EVERY gas station, campground, stopping point, etc we had more than one person (and in Ouray, a group of over 10 people) ask about it. I had the galley hatch and one of the sleeping compartment doors open along Hwy 550 in Ouray and people were poking around asking questions... Which was fun as we really enjoyed showing it off.
The SoCal Krawler is very well set up from OTG Rentals. It has the 2 front storage compartments, one holding the 12V battery and charger, 110V inverter, 2 110V outlets, wheel chocks, tire repair kit, hitch lock, and extra bungee cords. They also included an extension cord to connect to outside power, which has a weatherproof connector, and a 12V power outlet.
The sleeping comparment has a very comfortable mattress, 2 reading/map lights, and overhead LED light that can be switched from white to red (for preserving your nighttime vision), switches controlling the 2 sets of outside lights (one set under the trailer and another on the body), a switch to check the onboard battery voltage, which also turns on/off the 2 USB charger ports and the 12V outlet (unfortunately the battery voltage gauge is a very bright blue which WILL disturb your sleep and we had to cover the gauge with some tape). Also there's a fifth switch to control the stereo that has a aux port/CD/AM/FM plus speakers that are mounted in the galley facing aft. There is 1 center drawer and 2 compartment doors that fold down on each side, each quite large above your feet, and the passenger-side compartment has 4 110 outlets.
Open the hatch for the galley and there's the 2-burner propane stove, a sliding drawer underneath that had a knife, 2 fire starter wand things, cooling utensils, a cutting board, can opener, etc. The rental also included the full propane tank, full water tank, various things like 2 frying pans, paper plates and plastic eating utensils, and whatever else the previous renter left behind.
This trailer also has the roof rack and awning, plus if you want they will add a roof top tent for additional sleeping (extra charge for the tent plus attaching/removing the tent).
Bottom line if you want a nice, easy to tow and use, comfortable camp trailer you can't really go wrong with the SoCal Krawler and OTG Rentals/Sierra Expeditions. Just be prepared for the "hey, cool trailer!" treatment. We are now considering buying one. We liked it that much.
I didn't take many pics of the trailer, but they are all over the internet and facebook...
First night at Mesa Verde
Crowd forming in Ouray
Canopy deployed in Cascade, CO
And a nice '40 my wife took for me in Silverton (shame about the bezel, though).
