Our family of four love our Hiker! It's a 5x8 off road with RTT and has served us very well on both weekend and week long trips the last couple years.
Hiker Trailer - anyone have experience with them? (Now Buildout)
- Thread starter First State Overland
- Start date
Enthusiast III
Hello All Just FYI as a Dealer and Designer for Hiker I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm relocating to Lake Havasu City Az to push more sales of these trailers. Look me up or make an appointment to see them if your on the Left Coast! LD
Advocate III
First State Overland, Met you at Overland Expo East and your rig looks great. Thanks for all the great information and I have begun to do some modification on our Hiker Trailer. We picked ours up this past April from Wes and the gang in IN and have stayed in it almost 30 nights since then. We have a short 3 day trip planned for next weekend around SC. I have a goal of staying in every SC State Park in the Hiker Trailer. There are 37 of them.
Newbie here...
First State Overland shows a 60:40 split mattress in his 5x8 Hiker - it looks great. Can anybody offer the name/model of this mattress? Is it custom made?
I am about to place an order for a similar Hiker... any Hiker 5x8 owners out there that can tell me the interior dimensions for a unit with the “close off rear galley” option?
A special thanks to First State Overland for posting his materials list on youtube - VERY much appreciated.
Cheers!
Vincenzo in Reno
First State Overland shows a 60:40 split mattress in his 5x8 Hiker - it looks great. Can anybody offer the name/model of this mattress? Is it custom made?
I am about to place an order for a similar Hiker... any Hiker 5x8 owners out there that can tell me the interior dimensions for a unit with the “close off rear galley” option?
A special thanks to First State Overland for posting his materials list on youtube - VERY much appreciated.
Cheers!
Vincenzo in Reno
Traveler III
Vincenzo,
First of all, welcome to the Overland Bound community. You'll find a wealth of information, and a lot of helpful, friendly members.
I have a new Hiker 5X8 Deluxe that we picked up from Wes in Indianapolis in September. Upon the suggestion of Wes and a bunch of folks on the private Hiker Owners Group on Facebook, I bough the 6" Milliard queen folding mattress. It is slightly undersize at 58" X 75" long. I do not have the closed off rally. Mine is open below the middle shelf. The mattress extends beyond where the "wall" would be, but probably by less than two inches.
Amazon link: http://amzn.to/2Fgrb7o
If you are getting screen doors, you will need to trim a couple inches off of a 58" mattress, as they intrude into the interior just a bit. Some folks trim the 58" just to make it easier to tuck in sheets even without screens.
Chad's 60/40 setup is a 5" Milliard, I think. It consists of a single (25X75) and a twin (31X75) for a width of 56" with his screen doors.
Amazon Links: http://amzn.to/2FjyaMQ and http://amzn.to/2Fl8fnW
If it is just you, some people put in a twin XL and a night stand, or raise the bed for storage underneath.
Be prepared for an 11 month lead time!!
Influencer I
Sorry for chiming in here but I believe his mattresses are made by Magshion. We had one in a full size and sold it when we bought the queen mattress. I actually liked that one better than the Milliard one we have now.
Anyway, you want to buy both a 23" wide and the 36" wide. Both are 70" long and 5" thick.
Thanks Dana - those look great. They seem a bit short though. A bit of 5” foam at the footwell should fix that .
Thanks again,
Vincenzo
Thanks again,
Vincenzo
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Hello all,
I'm about to pull the trigger on a Hiker 5x9 off road. I have the proposal in front of me. Couple of questions for Hiker owners, why would you get a 5x8 over a 5x9? Is there any real drawback to the 5x9 (other than extra$$). Also, how do you guys like the swing away tire carrier? Is it the way to go. I'm excited, just want to get it right!!
I'm about to pull the trigger on a Hiker 5x9 off road. I have the proposal in front of me. Couple of questions for Hiker owners, why would you get a 5x8 over a 5x9? Is there any real drawback to the 5x9 (other than extra$$). Also, how do you guys like the swing away tire carrier? Is it the way to go. I'm excited, just want to get it right!!
Traveler III
Mine is a Deluxe Road model, but that was the reason for me. It was hard enough convincing my wife, who hasn't camped with me for 25 years, to move up to the 5X8 from the 4X8 I was first discussing. Another $1000 for a foot longer was a non-starter.
Once you place an order, you can join the Hiker Trailer Owners' Facebook Group, and find all sorts of examples of what people have done. After joining, I changed quite a few of the options on my trailer. That's permitted within reason if done soon after ordering.
You'll love it!
At 6'5", I do fit in the 5x8 sleeping cabin. If I upgrade, I'm going 5x9 just to have the extra space for "stuff" and the end of the bed. In fact, I think I'd to a 5x9 on a 5x8 frame, or 5x10 on a 5x9 frame. (That may only be an offroad model option now.) This is what the oversized on a smaller frame looks like:
Now, Hiker will probably kill me for showing you that, but it utilizes the normal empty grate space up front for extra cabin, but then your tongue weight goes up too. But best of both worlds, larger cabin on same small frame.
The tire carrier is great. I got one of the first ones and they've made several improvements that I wish I had. (pin locks, being one). I would have had mine open with the same side as the door now having used it for a few years. The idea behind opposite openings was for a kitchen table attachment making the back a big kitchen, but I'd rather have it out of the way and leave the walk way for space under my awning.
Is that a BLACK roof?!?!?!? Or am I seeing things? That has got to cook that trailer and that solar panel (that I think I see) in the summer. I want to know how much you bribed Hiker to let you do a black roof? I was told they wouldn't do them anymore due to warping. You must have friends in high places, hahah!
Traveler III
@First State Overland The photos on the first few pages are not showing, so I can't see how you attached your flexible solar panel. You mention Eternalbond; is that a double-sided tape, or did you put half on the panel and half on the roof? What width did you use. I don't want my panel blowing off!
Thanks!
Thanks!
Yeah, apparently whatever site I used to host back in the day went ka-put.
I used Eternabond which is a single sided roof tape. You need a heat gun to remove it, so plan twice, apply once. That link is the exact thing I ordered and have used on all three of my panels now. If you don't want to tape them, Wes / Rob use Dicor sealant for a more finished and permanent install. But seeing as I keep moving mine around, I'll stick to the Eternabond.
Traveler III
i bought mine used so not sure on how she got a black roof, but its not that hot in there. our A/C keeps it nice and cool, as for warping it is a 2015 model and has not warped yet ( knock on wood,crossing fingers lol)
Enthusiast I
Hi, just watched you video on the trailer. We are just starting to look into them. A few questions. We are interested in the 5x9 due to husband's height 6feet. How is the room on the inside? Want to be sure he can stretch out. Also, can't decide between mid range or off road. How is the height of trailer on yours outside. I think the mid range would require him to stoop under the awning. Just wanted to narrow down things before we actually talk to them since there are so many choices.Guess I should update my own thread huh? I forgot I posted this! I did go with the Hiker and I picked it up this past weekend. Time to start adding all the mods. I ordered the rear tire carrier, under floor storage, climate control, 21 gal water tank with skid and dual screen door options. Went with black on black diamond plate and had my local graphic shop create a logo that matches the wrap on the JK. Lots of project work for the next couple of months!
Equipment that is sitting in my garage waiting to be installed:
- Full solar kit, MPPT controller, two 6v 225 amp hour VMAX AGM batteries, inverter charger switch
- Shower with on demand heater
- Alu-cab awning with sidewalls
- 24" Smart TV
- Fold out, wall mounting laptop table
- misc camping accessories, 60/40 split fold out mattresses to accommodate 1 or 2 people.
I'm 6'5" with a 5x8. The inside cabin sleeping area is 6'5" but I don't sleep straight legged. Doing it over again, I'd do a 5x9 just for extra space to toss things like shoes or bags. But I've never been uncomfortable in mine. I do like that the 5x8 is less weight and shorter which helps for maneuvering, tight camp spots, and towing. It has evolved considerably since that video. I purposely set the awnings high enough so I (at 6'5") wouldn't have to lean over at all. It's one of the best decisions I made. It does leave a gap between the trailer and awning, but I can easily live with that for the ability to not hit my head or walk hunched over in camp.
Oh, and I also just posted it for sale 2 days ago.
https://firststateoverland.com/2017-hiker-trailer?fbclid=IwAR0hFZH7K6NjmukAfhwboeKbg05wFan6u9GfHMIoX6rBwNmpHmGO7uUV_eE
Oh, and I also just posted it for sale 2 days ago.
https://firststateoverland.com/2017-hiker-trailer?fbclid=IwAR0hFZH7K6NjmukAfhwboeKbg05wFan6u9GfHMIoX6rBwNmpHmGO7uUV_eE
