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- #401
I’m pot committed. Best I can do is tell others not to get one.
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Which bar do you have and where on your truck is it mounted? I wonder if these are just bad luck or something common with that particular size bar and/or where it’s mounted.
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- #403
ADAPT 40"
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- #405
We were pushing all sorts of limits with my extended hitch basket, and needed space quick.
I’d been stalking used Turtleback trailers for over a year, but the market never softened enough to pull the trigger.
I randomly stopped by Sasquatch trailers when we were in Silverton in November, and the all-aluminum is sweeet, but I’m way to cheap to drop $40k!
Which brings us to the Taxa Woolly Bear. Being headquartered in Houston, I’d seen it a few times in person. And a used one popped up for 17k with a bunch of extras that I didn’t need. At a 14k offer, my plan was to sell of their RTT, fridge, and a bunch of other stuff.
Long story short. Taxa got me into a new unit for less than I would have netted on the used one. Maybe I got lucky, or maybe I’m an amazing negotiator, but it was a no brainer.
It’s not exactly what I wanted, but it checks all the boxes and it’s all we need. My biggest concern is the all-steel construction and rust.
First order of business was to murder it out.
Instead of spending a week taking it apart, we just tapped it off and I let the kids go to town with some textured paint. It turned out surprisingly well!
I’d been stalking used Turtleback trailers for over a year, but the market never softened enough to pull the trigger.
I randomly stopped by Sasquatch trailers when we were in Silverton in November, and the all-aluminum is sweeet, but I’m way to cheap to drop $40k!
Which brings us to the Taxa Woolly Bear. Being headquartered in Houston, I’d seen it a few times in person. And a used one popped up for 17k with a bunch of extras that I didn’t need. At a 14k offer, my plan was to sell of their RTT, fridge, and a bunch of other stuff.
Long story short. Taxa got me into a new unit for less than I would have netted on the used one. Maybe I got lucky, or maybe I’m an amazing negotiator, but it was a no brainer.
It’s not exactly what I wanted, but it checks all the boxes and it’s all we need. My biggest concern is the all-steel construction and rust.
First order of business was to murder it out.
Instead of spending a week taking it apart, we just tapped it off and I let the kids go to town with some textured paint. It turned out surprisingly well!
How long before you put 35s under the new trailer?
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- #408
This may be hard to believe, but I’m getting the same or slightly better mpg with the trailer.
Shedding all that weight and having the RTT slightly lower than the rack might be the main reasons.
RTT = 155lbs
Dometic = 45lbs
Misc gear = 15lbs
Hitch basket (60lbs), 18” extension (20lbs), cargo (150-200lbs) = ~280lbs + some torque math for having all that weight extended by 18”
= 500lbs minus current tongue weight (
)- Thread starter
- #409
The steel construction and suspension are my only current Cons.
It currently has a Dexter torsion axle, but their upgraded model has axle-less Timbrens; however, you can’t get the timbrens with 5x150.
Ideally, I figure out how to get 5x150 on there and then buy another set of BBS to have matching tires/wheels all around!
I've been eyeing Taxa trailers for a while. I'll be very curious to hear your impressions!
aluminum spacer/adapters?
I have really enjoyed your build thread. As a new LX owner (2nd time around) and fellow Houstonian your build is of high interest!
1world1love
SILVER Star
Awesome! It is a nice size - very compact. I wonder if you swap for the Timbrens and use adapters if you would be able to fit 35s.
How is the clearance at the hitch? Are you going to consider welding up an extension? Seems like you might benefit with a little more length, but it is hard to tell by the pics.
I can't wait to hear how it works out. Are you field testing anytime soon?
Woohoo. Looking good!
I wouldn't get too caught up on the axles. Been around off-road camping trailers for several years now, watching both high end axle-less and lower end leaf straight axle trailers. The reality is that trailers have plenty of ground clearance even with a straight axle on smaller tires, without pumpkins and stuff. The big tired fancy suspensions aren't necessarily better because between 2 tires and the hitch, they are a tripod that doesn't need to articulate the way a car needs to.
Run low or appropriate tire pressure which is key to let the tires soak up bumps and provide stability, but also avoiding bumping off a rock and flipping. Too much trailer suspension can be a liability to flipping believe or not. Smaller tires and low un-sprung weight is better for handling. It also helps tremendously with usability and trailer ergonomics. My buddies with high end trailers and 35s, make everything so high up like cabinets, fridge, kitchen. Looks great, but usability is poor.
I've been dabbling building a second off-road trailer after building one for a buddy. If I were to build one today, I would probably just go straight axle for simplicity and durability. Watching social media, seems like many high axleless trailers are breaking axle stubs... perhaps too much weight, too much tire, too much tire pressure?
Liking the configuration of your Taxa Wooly Bear. Seems like a great balance of just the right size to support a family. Combined with that awesome tent.
If built one for a buddy that's similar in layout and has been huge to improving his camping. Easy to use and movable by hand.
It's built for a smaller car but had to try it on before I handed it over.
I wouldn't get too caught up on the axles. Been around off-road camping trailers for several years now, watching both high end axle-less and lower end leaf straight axle trailers. The reality is that trailers have plenty of ground clearance even with a straight axle on smaller tires, without pumpkins and stuff. The big tired fancy suspensions aren't necessarily better because between 2 tires and the hitch, they are a tripod that doesn't need to articulate the way a car needs to.
Run low or appropriate tire pressure which is key to let the tires soak up bumps and provide stability, but also avoiding bumping off a rock and flipping. Too much trailer suspension can be a liability to flipping believe or not. Smaller tires and low un-sprung weight is better for handling. It also helps tremendously with usability and trailer ergonomics. My buddies with high end trailers and 35s, make everything so high up like cabinets, fridge, kitchen. Looks great, but usability is poor.
I've been dabbling building a second off-road trailer after building one for a buddy. If I were to build one today, I would probably just go straight axle for simplicity and durability. Watching social media, seems like many high axleless trailers are breaking axle stubs... perhaps too much weight, too much tire, too much tire pressure?
Liking the configuration of your Taxa Wooly Bear. Seems like a great balance of just the right size to support a family. Combined with that awesome tent.
If built one for a buddy that's similar in layout and has been huge to improving his camping. Easy to use and movable by hand.
It's built for a smaller car but had to try it on before I handed it over.
1world1love
SILVER Star
I think that you are correct that axleless suspensions and larger tires lead to more rollovers, but I wonder if part of the problem is not that there is too much weight, but rather too little for those setups. I often see Timbrens rated at ~3500# on trailers that are 2k fully loaded. That seems like a recipe for excessive bounce and general instability.
Having said that, to me there are two main benefits to running the same tire/wheel combo on a trailer
- Having the same track for both the vehicle and trailer can make maneuvering easier in many situations. A trailer that has a much narrower (or wider) track than the tow vehicle can be difficult to manage in some cases.
- The tires are interchangeable. You could, in theory, add the trailer into regular rotation with the vehicle tires (not sure if that is a good idea or not), but more importantly, you can carry a single spare for both. If you needed to in a pinch you could even park the trailer and use those tires as spares. Its easier to drive out and come back for the trailer than walk out and come back for both.
In any case, I do think that your points are valid and you really need to have a suspension suitable for the weight.
@radman - congrats on the trailer purchase - looks awesome!
Apologies if you have spoken to it already but curious how the third row seat works for your family. What age kiddo do you put back there? I ditched mine for ARB boxes but am contemplating putting one back and stacking my boxes so I can load up my two kids along with my buddy and his two for some adventures.
Apologies if you have spoken to it already but curious how the third row seat works for your family. What age kiddo do you put back there? I ditched mine for ARB boxes but am contemplating putting one back and stacking my boxes so I can load up my two kids along with my buddy and his two for some adventures.
- Thread starter
- #417
The Wife had a 2018 Yukon XL Denali with 35k miles it, and the AC crapped out. Instead of paying $2k to fix it, I traded that pos in for a 2018 LX. She has 26k miles on it, and the only planned mod is to ditch the 21” wheels for some matching black BBS PROs.
$67k - $46k trade-in = not bad. Sucks to lose the cargo space, but glad to be in a much more reliable car.
$67k - $46k trade-in = not bad. Sucks to lose the cargo space, but glad to be in a much more reliable car.
32cls6speedmt
SILVER Star
Congratulations
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- #420
A sawzall and metal blade make easy removal. And I used the same blade to cut the tip off the resonator. Some random muffler shop in Campbell charged me $40 to weld the tip back on with a 90 piece of pipe.
My rig has 99,700 miles on it, and the platinum warranty ends at 100k.
I had a list of 10 things to fix, and I pulled off the skids/swing outs in order to help out the techs.
I got a new Lexus battery, new radiator, new slow close mechanism on the tailgate, got the valley plate leak resealed, and there was an oil leak at the timing chain cover. All that was covered, but oddly they didn’t replace my belt tensioner while they were in there even though I had a video (it wasn’t squeaky while they had it).
Also, check out the manhandling they did to my new radiator. Sucks that techs are so careless….
