Wife-Approved Trailer with Shower/Toilet/Bed AND Off-road Capable? (1 Viewer)

[suprarx7nut]

Comfort and convenience can be a bit of a trap. Too much of either beyond what is considered tolerable by a given person begins to erode or detract from the experience itself. It's that "tolerable" piece that differs among individuals. Those thoughts of "well, if I could just have this and maybe a little of that" start to creep in and before you know it, you're rolling into camp in a Van Halen tour bus! Having my wife and 2 kids aboard for most trips over the years, I fell into the trap about 10 years ago and bought a RV thinking that's the only way they would enjoy the outdoors/off road experience. Stressing about the size of that RV, the maintenance, black water tank, etc. I sold it pretty quickly and carefully/thoughtfully built up my gear that would all fit in/on the 80.

The shower and toilet seem to always be the "thing". The PETT toilet with shower tent has proven to work pretty well for us in every situation except winter camping, which we don't do...hotel is easy and cheap enough in winter. Try this one time before committing to an expensive trailer with wet bath and you'll have the answers you seek. Invest about $150 in a PETT toilet, shower tent, and solar shower gravity bag. Take your wife dispersed camping in a truly breathtaking and isolated spot. When it comes time to shower, have her put on a pair of shorts and bikini top. Warm up a large pot of water, add some really high quality fancy soap that she didn't know you bought, and have some small soft towels ready. Take some time and wash her feet, her legs, her arms, her hands, her neck, her back, then have her dip her hair in the pot and wash that. She can finish the rest with the solar shower in the tent.

If this is not tolerable, camping may not be in her blood and the novelty of a trailer will likely be short lived.

This is all really good advice. Thank you. For a minute there I thought I was reading a guide to woo a woman. I think you're on the right track.

 

[ewillis]

This is all really good advice. Thank you. For a minute there I thought I was reading a guide to woo a woman. I think you're on the right track.

All about the experience not the "things"....couple bottles high quality wine and a nice filet mignon and you're golden my friend.

 

[gnob]

I always thought not having plumbing is what constitutes "camping"

 

[suprarx7nut]

I always thought not having plumbing is what constitutes "camping"

Oh we're definitely in "glamping" territory here. The goal isn't to say we roughed it. The goal is to have some family adventures far away from cities where I can get my wheeling fix in (mom llikes driving as well), little one can wander to collect pinecones and mom can enjoy some nice smores by a campfire without feeling too disgusting by the time we leave our glamp spot.

 

[spressomon]

I'm trailer-dumb and all my google-fu is failing me. I'm sure you all already have this figured out, so I appreciate the insight.

Wants:
Shower
Toilet
Bed
Off-road ability for mild-moderate trails

My wife likes parts of wheeling/camping, but lack of shower and toilet are becoming deal breakers as we add kid(s) to the mix. It seems a simple trailer with a shower, toilet and bed should exist. I can't seem to find much aside from the $25k+ 17 ft options (Jayco SLX) and that just seems like overkill.

Am I missing a segment? Are there no simple off-road trailers with onboard showers? Are we doomed to the KOA with a lame trailer or some luxury yacht that's going to replace my daughter's college fund?

Thanks!

Here you go! Super rare Escape 13B! FOR SALE: 2009 Escape 13B trailer in Portland, Oregon

 

[TrekboxX]

We went through somewhat similar issues. Once the little ones arrive the wives can become less “game”. The other side of the coin for us was my reluctance to be the one who did all the packing, unpacking, etc. Lastly, I like to leave camp before first light to hit the river for some fly fishing. Having a trailer allows the fam to keep all the niceties while the truck is away.

We looked at most options and settled on an Opus OP4. For us it gives the best compromise of RV-like space, amenities without feeling like you’re in a mobile home, and off road ability.

There are many pros and some cons to this solution, but I can say this- so far it’s a hit. It comes with an interior cassette toilet which we ditched on day 1. The clean waste type toilet is preferred by both of us. Having had a regular travel trailer in the past I had no intention of ever dealing with black water tanks ever again. The shower is external but that adds to the camping experience.

The Opus doesn’t have some of the build quality of some other options, but it pulls VERY well and will go anywhere you want it to. In my opinion it’s a much better solution than either a regular travel trailer that are complete garbage for running anything but pavement, and the very nice but expensive trailers that are essentially boxes with rooftop tents. The opus is great when the weather turns bad- there’s plenty of room to watch a movie, play games, etc for the whole family.

 

[suprarx7nut]

Awesome feedback @TrekboxX . Thank you. I'm liking that sort of option more and more. The indoor toilet and shower are just so limiting and few options seem ready for what I'd call "real" off-roading. I think a real nice RTT or the opus kind of pop up coupled with a spacious annex and outdoor shower might be sellable to my wife - especially if it saves $10k that can stay in our dream house fund or something.

 

[TrekboxX]

Awesome feedback @TrekboxX . Thank you. I'm liking that sort of option more and more. The indoor toilet and shower are just so limiting and few options seem ready for what I'd call "real" off-roading. I think a real nice RTT or the opus kind of pop up coupled with a spacious annex and outdoor shower might be sellable to my wife - especially if it saves $10k that can stay in our dream house fund or something.

No sweat. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. I'll give you the real skinny on the trailer.

 

[White Stripe]

I have a starcraft offroad pop up camper. It has a shower and toilet inside with a 35 gallon water tank. It's fairly capable offroad.

 

[scrapdaddy]

Here's my setup, hot water shower with a place to do your business, etc. It runs right off the 55.

 

[Drake2]

Here's my setup, hot water shower with a place to do your business, etc. It runs right off the 55.

View attachment 2432838

 

[scrapdaddy]

You should of seen my wife's face when I made an old man's attempt to make a dash to the tent.

 

[e9999]

Mmm.... Are Ron and Dan one and the same? Or is there some bizarre replication osmosis going on when fooling around with old trucks?

 

[80t0ylc]

Here's my setup, hot water shower with a place to do your business, etc. It runs right off the 55.

View attachment 2432838

Those "phonebooth" style stand alones are great, until you get good stiff wind conditions. At least that's been my experience. If you've got the room to hang one of these on your camping rig or trailer and stake the bottom corners, they work much better.

This one ^ is made by Kinsmen and was sold with the trailer. The one I have now on my squaredrop trailer is made by 23Zero, but I can't find it on their website. Here's a pic of it packed up, on my trailer:

 

[ntsqd]

Kestrel Vehicle Shower tent in Full-Privacy Black

Closed Dimensions: 42” L x 5” W x 5” H Overall Open Dimension: 42” L x 39” W x 89 H Open Enclosure Only Dimensions: 36” L x 36” W x 67” H, adjustable up to 14” from the support arms, supported with four 1” web straps and four fiberglass ridge poles Mounting: Side or […]

23zero.com

 

[80t0ylc]

Kestrel Vehicle Shower tent in Full-Privacy Black

Closed Dimensions: 42” L x 5” W x 5” H Overall Open Dimension: 42” L x 39” W x 89 H Open Enclosure Only Dimensions: 36” L x 36” W x 67” H, adjustable up to 14” from the support arms, supported with four 1” web straps and four fiberglass ridge poles Mounting: Side or […]

23zero.com

Thanks! The 23Zero shower came with my trailer, so I wasn't familiar with the Peregrine name. When I searched on their site for "shower", this was the result: "Peregrine 270 Awning setup 23Zero Breezeway Roof top tent". So, I thought it was bogus and gave up my search. In addition to the link you provided, there's a YouTube video that covers install to use and explanation of features:

 

[ntsqd]

Yeah, they don't make it easy to find, but I've an interest in both of those above. Prefer the Kinsman, if they only had one!

 

[cruiserpilot]

I’ve seen these. I’ve also seen really tiny StarCraft trailers. Have you any knowledge of
something smaller?

 

[80t0ylc]

Yeah, they don't make it easy to find, but I've an interest in both of those above. Prefer the Kinsmen, if they only had one!

Having owned both, I have to give the nod to 23Zero. I was surprised when viewing the Kinsmen website that the shower still appeared to be in development and they're still taking contact requests if interested. I got in 2 years ago right after announcement and got a introductory deal that saved me about 10%. I paid $370 including shipping in Nov. 2018. The Kinsmen is built stronger than the 23Zero, but it's smaller, which results in less room - I'm talking 36" square vs. 42" - makes a big difference. The 23Zero has more features such as the shampoo & soap pocket and the " Zippered panel in rear to allow access to vehicle shower unit". I'm also thinking that Kinsmen is a victim of the economy, probably rated as a "non-essential" small business.