Pathfinder III
Nice! My wife and I bought a used Dominator and just took it on it’s maiden voyage. We had a blast figuring out how things work!! We loved the annex!!!We’re really excited about taking some more trips later this year!!
Black series overland trailers
- Thread starter Steven Dale Buckeridge
- Start date
Advocate I
Pulled the Patron from Denver to Sonoita, AZ for a music camping weekend (no 4wheeling) - had people stopping by all weekend to check it out. (yes I didn't have the crossbars installed on the annex when I took this).
The Rebels mileage was nothing to write about (wind both directions - of course!). Only issue was that we stopped in Raton, NM at a hotel on the way home and someone(s) stole our big easy up (the green 20x10 in the pic) from the "boat rack" - they didn't take the propane firepit or the solar panel bag strapped on the rack though...
The Rebels mileage was nothing to write about (wind both directions - of course!). Only issue was that we stopped in Raton, NM at a hotel on the way home and someone(s) stole our big easy up (the green 20x10 in the pic) from the "boat rack" - they didn't take the propane firepit or the solar panel bag strapped on the rack though...
Pathfinder I
I forgot this thread existed. I have done quite a bit of modofications to the HQ19. booth seating, all outlets on the inverter, drawers, etc. below are a few pics. If anyone wantsto know anything about the processes can always DM.
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Those of you with Dominator or Patron models.....how do you find the setup ? All those poles look kind of intimidating ! Does it become pretty automatic after you've done it a few times ? How about if you're on the road doing a road trip and you're just doing one night at each stop ? Is it reasonable to set it up and tear it down for one night or does it make more sense to be setting it up for at least a weekend ?
We currently have an old ( 1996 or something ) Palomino pop up. I call it the "pavement princess", it's really not fit to take even on a gravel road ( eg getting dust into the tubes for the Goshen lift system it has ). We like the form factor of a tent trailer and the dominator or patron would certainly give us the off-road ability we'd like, but it almost looks like it would take longer to set up than the old pop up !
We currently have an old ( 1996 or something ) Palomino pop up. I call it the "pavement princess", it's really not fit to take even on a gravel road ( eg getting dust into the tubes for the Goshen lift system it has ). We like the form factor of a tent trailer and the dominator or patron would certainly give us the off-road ability we'd like, but it almost looks like it would take longer to set up than the old pop up !
I have the Patron (it's for sale in San Bernardino, CA with many upgrades, I am upgrading to a larger BS) and the night-to-night can be daunting for 1 person. If you have 2 people, which is typical for a Patron owner, it's not bad at all. There are only 7 poles, that I stored on the siding bed for simplicity. The awning room/add-a-room was too much and too big to travel with so I added an 8' awning on my truck so I can park at a 90 deg. angle or disconnect and park next to it if I was using it as a base camp and get fantastic coverage for the fridge slide, door, and kitchen area.
7 poles is not bad actually. Our pop up has 6 ! ( 2 for each slide out to brace it down to the side of the trailer once they are extended ) and 2 "shepherd hook" poles to help hold the roof tight on the slide outs.
Agree about the awning / vestibule room - that thing looks a whole lot of work, if I set that up, I'd want to be staying at least a week.
We are a family of 4, need to figure out whether Dominator or Patron makes more sense. Am I right that they've stopped making or importing either of those here ? I don't see anything newer than 2020 advertised ( not that I'd be buying a new one anyway )
I do have a 23Zero RTT on my truck which sleeps 2, so a smaller trailer may work for us
I need to find a Patron or Dominator somewhere within driving distance I can take a look at ( I'm in Oregon )
I looked at both with the same concern and came away with the Patron simply because I wanted the dining room area for the odd case of bad weather or If I was up earlier and needed inside table space while my kid/dog was asleep in the other queen. One thing I didn't account for is that once you have it, your buddies will consider your Patron as "BaseCamp" for the guy's trips to remote locations. I have slept 4 full grown adult men, in the winter and bad weather and we were comfortable.
My favorite part of the Patron is that it's only a few hundred pounds heavier than the Dominator and it's the same footprint for storing it. It fits in my garage perfectly so it's cheap for storage. Either way, you'll be happy I think. Things I've learned from mine are that, it's far more capable than your tow vehicle, the diesel heater is a godsend for winter camping, and the kitchen is amazing. The MUST for upgrades is the axle bearings and brakes. I invested about $1k into Dexter parts and it was well worth it.
Advocate I
We only setup the annex if we were out more than two nights. We recently sold our Patron and bought a toy hauler (w/bathroom for the wife!) but we had it down to where she did the main area and I did the annex and we would normally be done within 45 minutes with beer/water breaks and not being in a hurry - doing it fast (in the rain) is about 30 minutes.
Influencer II
- 1,183
- First Name
- Warren
- Last Name
- Sharp
- Member #
-
28010
- Service Branch
- Retired Army
Join the club we just traded NOBO 19.2 for HQ 19. upgrading batteries to 820ah lithuim and renorgy solar system of 1200 watts
Pathfinder I
Influencer II
- 1,777
- First Name
- Derek
- Last Name
- Riehl
- Member #
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28397
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- KN6NUI
Influencer II
- 1,183
- First Name
- Warren
- Last Name
- Sharp
- Member #
-
28010
- Service Branch
- Retired Army
updated the solar controller to Renogy 100amp and replaced AGM batteries with 2 410 ah Lithium batteries. tight fit and a pain but going to be worth
it
it
Influencer II
- 1,183
- First Name
- Warren
- Last Name
- Sharp
- Member #
-
28010
- Service Branch
- Retired Army
So solar panels arrived today. I also installed the new Renogy inverter and wires everything to run off inverter and batteries
Influencer II
- 1,183
- First Name
- Warren
- Last Name
- Sharp
- Member #
-
28010
- Service Branch
- Retired Army
I am not sure if any other black series owners are having problems with drawers popping open during travel but we installed some baby locks to prevent. just helpful tip to try
Pathfinder I
You must have a 22 or 23. I have a 21, so there are latches on all of the cabinets and drawers to prevent that.
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Influencer II
- 1,183
- First Name
- Warren
- Last Name
- Sharp
- Member #
-
28010
- Service Branch
- Retired Army
Influencer II
- 1,183
- First Name
- Warren
- Last Name
- Sharp
- Member #
-
28010
- Service Branch
- Retired Army
Influencer II
- 1,183
- First Name
- Warren
- Last Name
- Sharp
- Member #
-
28010
- Service Branch
- Retired Army
Advocate II
- 1,902
- First Name
- Mike
- Last Name
- Stern
- Member #
-
24021
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- KB7THL
- Service Branch
- USN Corpsman Veteran
Out of curiosity, as I'm always planning for future changes/upgrades - Why the trade from NOBO 19.2 to HQ 19?
Influencer II
- 1,183
- First Name
- Warren
- Last Name
- Sharp
- Member #
-
28010
- Service Branch
- Retired Army
The black series has a more solid frame and box. and a lot more luxury. such as the washer. The fresh tank of 64 gallons plus 16 drinking makes the black tank the only limiting factor. I have done a few mods already and the solid frame and box is evident. All trailers have issues but the Black series handles offroad trails better. we had problems with doors coming open and breaking hinges and wooden frame for cabinets. When you crawl under compared to NOBO you can also see differences in frame
