Darkside's Hiker Trailer 5x9 Offroad Build

[Darkside Overland]

Finally picked up our 5x9 Offroad from Hiker at the Overland Expo east on October 1st. It was a demo at the show for Wes Henry, the owner of the Indiana arm of Hiker Trailers. Below is a photo from when we just picked it up to head home. This thread will track the build and some fun along the way.

 

[old_man]

Looks like you are going to have a ton of fun.

 

[Steve]

Yay, another Hiker in the group! I think this makes five of us here. I look forward to your exploits and upgrades.

 

[Darkside Overland]

Thanks, folks, nice to finally have it. So, electrics where first, I added four 100 watt flexible solar panels, that were attached with 3M VHB 1" tape around all the edges, and then across the middle vertically and horizontally. Those four panels went into a 60 amp Zamp charge controller to charge two 200 amp 6-volt batteries setup in series. That outputs to a 12v switch panel from ApolloIntech and a 1000 watt Zamp sine wave inverter.

 

[trfkcop]

Nice trailer!

 

[Beee]

Great looking Hiker Trailer and rig. I have only had our Hiker Trailer for a few months and it is getting a fair amount of use. It’s so nice to have it all ready to go and just pack a cooler and clothes and go. Look forward to watching your build thread.


Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk

 

[Darkside Overland]

Next up was the Alu-Cab awning ;) I did not want to add any height above the roof rack and I also wanted to reduce any wind/rain/etc from entering the gap that would exist if the awning was above the rack. I fabbed up my own box section to use the existing crossbars and allow a solid connection point for the awning to the trailer. (More photos on that later). Here is how the awning looks attached.

 

[Darkside Overland]

We attended the first Roof Top Tent rally at the James River state park in Virginia. It was a great weekend and it was the first trip with the Hiker. A few minor changes are in order and some lighting updates. Otherwise, it was a great time and I would recommend it for anyone.

 

[Darkside Overland]

Added 2 Rigid led reverse lights, while I was working with that circuit, I also wired up a Garmin BC-30 camera that is connected to the reverse light circuit. The camera quality is not the best, but it beats guessing.

 

[trfkcop]

Nice job! Trailer looks great...

 

[TerryD]

Great looking trailer!

 

[Gravel Travel Canada]

Congrats, looks like a nice setup.

Sent from my STH100-1 using OB Talk mobile app

 

[Darkside Overland]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments. Did some more work this weekend, rotopax, led lights and some door organizers.

 

[Darkside Overland]

Last weekend we added some extra fuel storage, matching wheels and tires to the 4Runner and a folding shelf for the rear door. Ready for a trip to Bedford, VA to attend the Blue Ridge overland gear flea market.

 

[TerryD]

Last weekend we added some extra fuel storage, matching wheels and tires to the 4Runner and a folding shelf for the rear door. Ready for a trip to Bedford, VA to attend the Blue Ridge overland gear flea market.

Are you going to have your trailer there? I'd love to check it out in person!

 

[Darkside Overland]

Are you going to have your trailer there? I'd love to check it out in person!

Hi Terry, yep, camping to the south at Smith Mountain, and then to the flea market on Saturday. I am bringing patches ;)

 

[Keith McAlister]

My wife is going to love this thread. She saw the Hiker trailers at Expo East and was hooked. And I can see where she has good reason too be.

Thanks for posting this and everyone's contributions.

 

[Corey Carrico]

Nice work, you have given me some ideas for our Hiker. What brand of lights do you have on the side by the window? I have been using cheap solar stick on led lights and they keep failing so I need a better solution. Thanks

 

[Keith McAlister]

Darkside Overland,

One question in regards to the swingout rear door. If you had a choice, would you still go with the swing out rear galley door or would you go with the swing up? I see the way you attahed the awning lessens the space impact, nice call, but just curious on your thoughts now?

The more I look at the Hiker trailers, the more sold I am becoming.

 

[Steve]

would you still go with the swing out rear galley door or would you go with the swing up?

I'm not @Darkside Overland but I too went with the side swing door on my Hiker 5X8 Deluxe. I'm only 5'8", but the upswing door would require me to duck when getting close to the trailer. The side swing door is also substantially larger. The side swing door is a $100 option.