Aluminum Camper Forum

Other Brands of Aluminum Camper => Other Brands of Aluminum Camper => Topic started by: Merlin on January 13, 2021, 02:20:25 PM

Title: Off Road Camper
Post by: Merlin on January 13, 2021, 02:20:25 PM
I'm looking for a small (very small) off road camper that's lightweight, good ground clearance, and is hardside. We will be keeping our Camplite, but have some campsites in mind here in Michigan that are not accessible with a 16TBS. It can't have any tent aspect because of bear. Any thoughts or experiences are welcome!
Title: Re: Off Road Camper
Post by: Pinstriper on January 13, 2021, 10:18:34 PM
What's your budget, and are you looking to buy turnkey, or start with a shell and customize ?
Title: Re: Off Road Camper
Post by: Chappy133 on January 14, 2021, 12:32:34 AM
Merlin Tuttle at InTech has some nice options https://www.intechrv.com/
Title: Re: Off Road Camper
Post by: Pinstriper on January 14, 2021, 12:06:05 PM
https://www.weeroll.com/
Title: Re: Off Road Camper
Post by: Merlin on January 14, 2021, 08:51:40 PM
Quote from: Pinstriper on January 14, 2021, 12:06:05 PM
https://www.weeroll.com/

These are my favorites. Bummer the lead time is half a year (180 days) to get one made. Decent price range and great mod opportunities.
Title: Re: Off Road Camper
Post by: Merlin on January 14, 2021, 09:23:19 PM
Quote from: Chappy133 on January 14, 2021, 12:32:34 AM
Merlin Tuttle at InTech has some nice options https://www.intechrv.com/

I had not looked carefully at the Intech Luna. Some local dealers have one or two in stock. Time for a field trip!
Title: Re: Off Road Camper
Post by: Merlin on January 14, 2021, 09:26:02 PM
Quote from: Pinstriper on January 13, 2021, 10:18:34 PM
What's your budget, and are you looking to buy turnkey, or start with a shell and customize ?

Both the Intech and the Weeroll fit budget and uses. The Intech might be my wife's preference and the Weeroll (with some fun mods) might be mine. After we look around a bit, maybe we'll have to do "rock/paper/scissors".
Title: Re: Off Road Camper
Post by: Pinstriper on January 15, 2021, 12:46:40 AM
The teardrop I bought and have modified for ground clearance and offroad (not to say overlanding) is specifically for when she is not invited. That makes things easier.
Title: Re: Off Road Camper
Post by: Merlin on January 17, 2021, 08:19:21 PM
We "toured" a GeoPro 12SRK this weekend. The towing frame is steel, but the upper framing is all aluminum and the sides and top are an Azdel/foam/fiberglas laminate. It's small, but has possibilities for our off-road camping.

https://forestriverinc.com/ImageHandler.ashx?ImageID=140779
Title: Re: Off Road Camper
Post by: bcsnave on January 17, 2021, 09:55:18 PM
Nice, I had three tear drops. This looks like a great option for "Flying Solo"
Title: Re: Off Road Camper
Post by: DavidM on January 25, 2021, 05:27:33 PM
Merlin:

I picked up our new motorhome today (PDI went fine and it drove nice on the way home) and saw several Freesolo campers at the dealer that seem to fit your criteria. They are rugged, high clearance trailers with room to sleep 2 inside (and an A/C to boot), some have cassette toilets and all have an outside kitchen with propane stove, DC fridge, sink, etc.

Steel frame, aluminum sides and roof like the CL.

Here are a couple of pics. The MSRP for the one pictured is about $13K.

David

Title: Re: Off Road Camper
Post by: Merlin on January 25, 2021, 08:55:12 PM
Thanks for the Freesolo pics. Very intriguing. I had not seen these before and it turns out there is a dealer with units in stock just an hour away. Field trip time!

Post some pics of your new motorhome! There's some Al in it somewhere, so we get to see the whole thing  8)
Title: Re: Off Road Camper
Post by: Merlin on February 06, 2021, 11:08:15 PM
Just to circle back on my original post. I've found myself spoiled by the quality of the Camplite we have and I just couldn't bring myself to buy any of the small campers (in my price range) because they had so much wood and steel. To be sure, some were nicer than others and some we liked a lot, but small all aluminum/Azdel campers built for off-road use are very spendy. At least one was a decent possibility but had 4-5 month wait time. We are going to re-think our camping and plan on setting up a base camp with our Camplite and making day trips out to off-road type areas here in Michigan. We are staying in-state this year, unless safe travel is possible this fall. Thanks to all for ideas.
Title: Re: Off Road Camper
Post by: Pinstriper on February 09, 2021, 03:21:35 PM
Here is what I done with my solo this weekend.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210209/a742980d73fa6e34032c378344477cf8.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210209/ff174a0e27f6c96cca283fd4dc1b8d5f.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210209/d21cba7b63cb3ece33c4c9f93be4212e.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210209/f539267b6edf18e8eb3e03379c8b52f1.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210209/75e9461f5f8ea78853e8763acb8b668d.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210209/7a55afb928640f12095c74149c863b9f.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210209/3691ed59f8e66bceec50487d89f47567.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210209/10dcf75b1497ba57fafab01fa114ea4f.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210209/1628b6c9f1a1747e6a0e19428e31190c.jpg)


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Title: Re: Off Road Camper
Post by: Merlin on February 09, 2021, 05:56:47 PM
Nice, it was worth getting Tapatalk working!
Title: Re: Off Road Camper
Post by: Pinstriper on February 10, 2021, 11:57:39 AM
BTW, in 15F, my 12v electric blanket inside the sleeping bag was more than enough heat to keep me not only comfortable but gloriously toasty warm and snuggly.

Of course, the blanket draws 3.5 amps, so I upgraded the house battery from 35ah to 125ah.

No more propane heater in the TD. For more than 3 nights I will bring a small 800w generator and/or use a 40w solar panel to keep the battery up.

Title: Re: Off Road Camper
Post by: Chappy133 on February 14, 2021, 08:43:05 PM
Which 12 volt blanket did you get?  Too many options on Amazon.
Title: Re: Off Road Camper
Post by: Pinstriper on February 14, 2021, 10:03:24 PM
Quote from: Chappy133 on February 14, 2021, 08:43:05 PM
Which 12 volt blanket did you get?  Too many options on Amazon.

I actually got it at Walmart. I did initially get one from Amazon, but I didnt want a timer. The Walmart one had hi/low settings and no timer.


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