Build vs. Buy - An Overland Trailer Debate

[RatAssassin]

I have heard that Bushwacker makes cheap trailers. However, they have some quality control issues.

Thankfully, there's guys like DIY Outdoors channel on YT.
Brian gives you the good , the bad and the ugly on the Bushwacker, and then goes about making it better. He put some serious miles on his and gives an honest review of things........but then gives you options to make it better.
The price point on the Bushwacker is not all that bad. Right around $10k.

 

[grubworm]

interesting question with so many different variables and so many different people with so many different skills and perceptions....pretty much ANY answer can be correct

i tend to go down the middle where it is cheaper to buy things already made for the most part. i can buy a book case at a furniture store for X amount of money. the materials for me to make it will cost double, not to mention my time and tools i need, etc... the one i make will be stronger and all that, but cost a lot more, so i go with buying something already made and then trick it out and beef it up where i see it needs it. i end up with a good product that is cheaper than me building and better than just buying it and leaving it stock.

i bought a mini camp trailer and did some inexpensive mods and ended up with a very decent set up that didnt require a lot of time to build and ended up being better than stock. works for the way i like to do things....kind of like buying a cheap walmart pizza and then going home and adding some good stuff to it. cheaper than take out and better than stock.

 

[PCO6]

I currently have 4 trailers and each one is different in type and the way they were, or are being built.

I have a heavy duty utility trailer that I built from scratch. I acquired a good strong frame for less than the cost of building one and made it the foundation for my expedition trailer. I bought a teardrop trailer because my wife couldn't wait for me to build one to go camping in and then made some major modifications to it with more to come. I'm currently restomodding a 1980s fiberglass camper that will have a home made frame under it along with some major body mods and a completely new interior.

Each one made sense to me when I started and still do. They've kept me busy in my retirement.

 

[samba]

I currently have 4 trailers and each one is different in type and the way they were, or are being built.

I have a heavy duty utility trailer that I built from scratch. I acquired a good strong frame for less than the cost of building one and made it the foundation for my expedition trailer. I bought a teardrop trailer because my wife couldn't wait for me to build one to go camping in and then made some major modifications to it with more to come. I'm currently restomodding a 1980s fiberglass camper that will have a home made frame under it along with some major body mods and a completely new interior.

Each one made sense to me when I started and still do. They've kept me busy in my retirement.

Awesome man... very cool.

 

[samba]

Thankfully, there's guys like DIY Outdoors channel on YT.
Brian gives you the good , the bad and the ugly on the Bushwacker, and then goes about making it better. He put some serious miles on his and gives an honest review of things........but then gives you options to make it better.
The price point on the Bushwacker is not all that bad. Right around $10k.

Yea, thats where i saw the trailer first, and then i came across then as well. I like that channel.

However, just randomly googling offroad trailers - this page looked interesting .
gearjunkie off road trailer

Hypothetically, for any trip shorter than a week, i personally would prefer not to carry a trailer, however having the luxury of a trailer on a crosscountry overland trip would be amazing.

 

[KonzaLander]

Building, or rather retrofitting an existing trailer, took way more time and energy than I anticipated. You can follow my journey here: Project 'Yeller' Trailer Build

All in all, I have about $2,500 into my trailer (from original purchase price to getting tires) not including the cost of the RTT since I already had that. For what I wanted out of a trailer, I do not think I could have built it any cheaper nor could I have bought one close and modified it for cheaper. I learned a lot from doing the build myself. I don't know if I would be as comfortable dragging a trailer somebody else built down the trails...much like how I wouldn't trust my vehicle if a shop built or worked on it.

 

[RatAssassin]

Yea, thats where i saw the trailer first, and then i came across then as well. I like that channel.

However, just randomly googling offroad trailers - this page looked interesting .
gearjunkie off road trailer

Hypothetically, for any trip shorter than a week, i personally would prefer not to carry a trailer, however having the luxury of a trailer on a crosscountry overland trip would be amazing.

I have a TC coming at the end of the month. I'm stopping in tomorrow to see my build coming along.
I'm a DIY type of guy and have built a lot of stuff. Home stuff, canoes, prams, expedition kayaks, etc.

But Getting close to turning the business over to my kid, I wanted to just get one built. I don't have the time or the space during this life transition.....so I had one custom made. The tight knit community of TC owners is really cool too.

The Bushwacker is the first I looked at. I could see right away it was going to take some mods to get it where I needed it to be.