Hiker Trailer - anyone have experience with them? (Now Buildout)

[Lead Dog]

We've been looking for a good quality overlanding trailer at a decent price point, finding that most of your popular teardrops and utility trailers start at 15K and can just to 25-30K easily, which is kind of ridiculous. It is totally understandable why people build their own. However we don't have the time to build.

Looking at Hiker Trailers, they seem to be the lowest cost option, dollar for dollar. (they make an offroad model now) Does anyone have any experience with them in the field? Our upcoming Northeast Expedition is going to put them through some pretty good miles in some pretty rough country and I don't want to end up with the "get what you pay for" curse.

Hey That 1st Picture is in front of my House! LOL!

 

[First State Overland]

Time for another update:

Let's start with solar. The 100W flexible panel was mounted and lines where run using Eternabond (in white) - this stuff is amazing. Word of advice - plan carefully as once it sets, you're not getting it off of there. The two solar cables run under the Eternabond back to the side rear pass through and into my MPPT solar controller.

I also added a remote display / controller that runs inside the sleeping cabin so I could monitor the system without going outside.

With the solar done, I finished off the rest of the power systems. Behind the wooden box there are 2 6 volt VMAX, 255 amp hour AGM solar tank batteries wired at 12v. They are supplying direct power to a Xantrex ProWatt 2000 watt continuous (3000 spike) inverter with a remote switch. The inverter is powering a heavy duty power strip that runs my TV, coffee maker, and mobile office equipment like laptops and phones (charging them). The shore power comes in through a NCCO pass through plug and immediately Ys off to a VMAX 20 amp charger that is permanently wired to the batteries and the other goes to a direct pass through to bypass the inverter if on shore power. All of this is fused and runs off of a master kill switch should I want to store the trailer for a long period of time. The system is strong enough to run my Climate Right 5000 Heat / AC unit off of the battery and the 20 amp charger will replace the used power faster than I'm pulling it. I would like to stress that I do not recommend this setup for normal deep cycle batteries as they are not meant to be used as pass throughs. This arrangement would rapidly decrease their life span. The solar batteries are the same as you'd use for your house if it were running off-grid and are designed for this.

It's done now, but there's some clean up to do in this pic with wire hiding and covering so please ignore the mess... Also added some light strips around the center shelf behind the shelf lip so you can't see them and they are hidden on all sides when looking at the back of the trailer. .

One of the switches on that panel runs to the water pump which I have installed to the right with quieting hoses and accumulator. The pressurized line then runs to a quick disconnect spray port pass through.

This weekend's project is to mount the on demand water heater and shower in the pelican case that is mounted on the side via quick disconnects.

Moving inside, the 60/40 convertable mattress is in, along with privacy curtains, and the 24" Samsung Smart TV is mounted on a swing out arm and powered through the inverter.

I intend to sleep with my head toward the front, (facing the TV) so I wanted a softer light than the LED light ring around the fantastic fan put out. (The fan and light are great, it's just really bright.) So I added a dimable touch light, that is flexible for reading or just low light in the cabin. (Ignore the toilet box, it's next on my build list.) Also added the black cup holders on each side by the doors.

Should be able to wrap up everything this weekend provided I can source the water heater connection parts.

 

[First State Overland]

Added a secondary utility box in front behind the steel "battery" box that I'm using for storage. The large PVC box houses my Climate Right unit. In order to get it to open correctly, I reverse installed it so that the latch is hidden (which is a bonus) and it opens toward the trailer so the airflow lines from the Climate right can hook up and come right out of the top if I wanted. I think the plan is to pull the unit out and sit it on top of the box for use just for airflow and ability to use the remote through the front window. Also installing reversed allows the battery box to open with it as well. The larger box is bolted through the front mesh and secured.

Here you can see the space around the unit inside the box.

And then a shot of both opening at once.

 

[Steve]

Chad,

I just found your walk around video of your trailer. That is VERY nice!

I've put off doing anything with Hiker, because I've been working with Tennessee Trailer on a custom kayak/off road trailer since early February. This morning I got an email letting me know that they are too busy to do any more custom work, and passed me off to a retailer. What a waste of three months!!

I'll be contacting Hiker in Indiana soon. Thanks for the updates.
Steve

 

[Lead Dog]

I'd definitely recommend them as far as price point. They're fairly utilitarian in comparison to other trailers this style, so are more geared towards the DIY type. Two different times, we looked at practically every other manufacturer that made an offroad teardrop style trailer (Moby1, Oregon Trailers, SoCal, Voyager, TC, AT, etc) and while most of those have a higher end, better finished cabinetry and several of those have better suspension designs (independent , air bags, etc), the Hiker trailers are considerably less money. Like 10k less. We first bought a non-offroad model without shocks and or a multi-axis coupler that we were able to take a lot of places but decided to sell that last year and have them build a bigger 5x9 offroad. We added a lot of modifications including a full electrical system with battery and panel and the total price was around 14k. They do offer a basic galley cabinetry package but as I mentioned, it isn't very high end so we opted to have a local cabinet shop build it out for us to our exact specs. We haven't had that done yet but they quoted us less than $700. Every other trailer manufacturer was going to be at least 25k for all of the options we wanted so it was kind of a no brainer for our budget at least. The company is small, and the owner Rob is a talker but they're pretty easy to work with and make a solid trailer.

So Dana Now after owning one do you still think the suspension is sub par to the rest? It's design is well proven and capable to get you into the back country very well. Buy using a tried and proven design with upgrades of long Soft Ride Springs and shocks along with high end Urethane Bushings we can get a great ride that will get you home every time. The problem I {Lead Dog} have with the Independent choices out there is the fact that there not bullet proof, if they fail your not going to get the trailer out without replacement parts or new hub assembles. Fact a Straight axle can be tied together buy a simple strap and High Lift Handle. if a spring breaks you can do the same with a simple McGuiver repair! Not so much on the independent! Thats why even the aussy Versions include a hub Assembly on the trailers as ajust in case. We believe in a K.I.S.S. system, K eep I t S imple S tupid with parts standard in the industry you can buy over the counter almost everywhere! Now available on the Heavier Trailers or for the Guy that want's adjustability there is a Air Bag 3 link Suspension available. But still keep in mind we are here to build a simple Hard Working Affordable trailer for the DIY guy that doesn't have a Huge Budget that can handle some add-ons himself! LD

 

[First State Overland]

Chad,

I just found your walk around video of your trailer. That is VERY nice!

I've put off doing anything with Hiker, because I've been working with Tennessee Trailer on a custom kayak/off road trailer since early February. This morning I got an email letting me know that they are too busy to do any more custom work, and passed me off to a retailer. What a waste of three months!!

I'll be contacting Hiker in Indiana soon. Thanks for the updates.
Steve

Glad the video helps, Steve! Tell Wes we said hello. The other nice part is there's a very helpful Facebook page for Hiker Owners that the two owners and Randy, from Lead Dog (post above) are part of. Any questions or concerns get answered almost immediately. I know Wes and his team are extremely busy cranking out Hikers so there may be a bit of a wait, but if you can handle getting in line, they'll build exactly what you want. If you ever have any other questions feel free to shoot me a PM.

Cheers!

 

[First State Overland]

So Dana Now after owning one do you still think the suspension is sub par to the rest? It's design is well proven and capable to get you into the back country very well. Buy using a tried and proven design with upgrades of long Soft Ride Springs and shocks along with high end Urethane Bushings we can get a great ride that will get you home every time. The problem I {Lead Dog} have with the Independent choices out there is the fact that there not bullet proof, if they fail your not going to get the trailer out without replacement parts or new hub assembles. Fact a Straight axle can be tied together buy a simple strap and High Lift Handle. if a spring breaks you can do the same with a simple McGuiver repair! Not so much on the independent! Thats why even the aussy Versions include a hub Assembly on the trailers as ajust in case. We believe in a K.I.S.S. system, K eep I t S imple S tupid with parts standard in the industry you can buy over the counter almost everywhere! Now available on the Heavier Trailers or for the Guy that want's adjustability there is a Air Bag 3 link Suspension available. But still keep in mind we are here to build a simple Hard Working Affordable trailer for the DIY guy that doesn't have a Huge Budget that can handle some add-ons himself! LD

Can't speak for Dana, but I've purposely put this trailer through it's paces as we build it out just to see how it handles off road and I have no complaints. And as you know, we've got this thing loaded down pretty good. (Yes, I still owe you a pic of the suspension, I know!)

 

[Steve]

The other nice part is there's a very helpful Facebook page for Hiker Owners that the two owners and Randy, from Lead Dog (post above) are part of.

Yep, I know about this one, and tried joining to learn more, see what modifications people are doing, and ask questions. You know; potential customer stuff. Nope, owners or on-order only. I just sent off a way too long email to Wes. :)

And there's a lot of response to my rant on my Facebook page (linked in my sig.) Folks seem to miss the part where I don't want to spend Big Bucks on a basic trailer rarely used on anything worse than a forest road.

Thanks again,
Steve

 

[Lead Dog]

Hello Steve I just looked for your Rant but didn't see it. Have you looked into our Med Range line? Sounds like it may be more up your alley! LD

 

[Steve]

Hello Steve I just looked for your Rant but didn't see it. Have you looked into our Med Range line? Sounds like it may be more up your alley! LD

Ah! That was you Randy. I see that you found my post on Facebook. I thought it was some random person suggesting a Hiker. :)

As I said on Facebook, I just wrote Wes a way too long email asking a ton of questions. There is *very* little information on the Hiker Mid-Grade trailer. The web site is seriously lacking in details. There's no price, what sizes it comes in, what the differences are between it, the Deluxe, and the Extreme, etc. There isn't even a listing of any 5X9 models like @Dana Ramos has. I look forward to hearing back from Wes.

Thanks!
Steve

 

[First State Overland]

And since I'm here, I might as well post some updates to the trailer. Added a SAFH2O water purification system today. This will pull water from any source, filter it and sterilize it to fill the 21 gallon tank. It's powered from the solar bank so we pretty much have water indefinitely so long as a body of water can be found. It's built to also pull out so that we can fill jerry cans or water bottles too. It'll purify 180 gallons an hour.

Also added a wireless rearview camera. The monitor can be moved wherever there is 12v power (cigarette plug), so when towing the monitor is in the tow vehicle and when camping, it's in the trailer and acts as a security camera. This setup is nice because it lets you have a rear view camera no matter what vehicle is towing it! (Obviously the monitor isn't mounted there, it's just sitting in the photo so I can set the angle of the camera. Best $150 I've spent!

 

[Dana Ramos]

Can't speak for Dana, but I've purposely put this trailer through it's paces as we build it out just to see how it handles off road and I have no complaints. And as you know, we've got this thing loaded down pretty good. (Yes, I still owe you a pic of the suspension, I know!)

So Dana Now after owning one do you still think the suspension is sub par to the rest? It's design is well proven and capable to get you into the back country very well. Buy using a tried and proven design with upgrades of long Soft Ride Springs and shocks along with high end Urethane Bushings we can get a great ride that will get you home every time. The problem I {Lead Dog} have with the Independent choices out there is the fact that there not bullet proof, if they fail your not going to get the trailer out without replacement parts or new hub assembles. Fact a Straight axle can be tied together buy a simple strap and High Lift Handle. if a spring breaks you can do the same with a simple McGuiver repair! Not so much on the independent! Thats why even the aussy Versions include a hub Assembly on the trailers as ajust in case. We believe in a K.I.S.S. system, K eep I t S imple S tupid with parts standard in the industry you can buy over the counter almost everywhere! Now available on the Heavier Trailers or for the Guy that want's adjustability there is a Air Bag 3 link Suspension available. But still keep in mind we are here to build a simple Hard Working Affordable trailer for the DIY guy that doesn't have a Huge Budget that can handle some add-ons himself! LD

No complaints here Randy. We've been dragging it all over the woods here in northwest Wyoming over the last few weeks. Most of the forest roads and trails are pretty trashed from winter and spring but the trailer has towed great, rides smooth and quiet, and has held up awesome!

 

[First State Overland]

Added a second 100W solar panel. Now pulling in 200W, hitting 19-20v. In full size now in the spring I'm hitting 10+ amps. This summer I expect 15-20amps of charge which will reduce the charge time in half for my battery bank. Side note: I was planning on putting the CVT RTT on the Hiker but after some thoughts about logistics I'm not going that way. So that opened up the roof for the second panel and more sustainability.

 

[redman333]

Whats everyone doing for kitchens on these trailers. I like them but I really want a complete kitchen in my trailer setup and havnt seen one yet.

 

[First State Overland]

Whats everyone doing for kitchens on these trailers. I like them but I really want a complete kitchen in my trailer setup and havnt seen one yet.

Most people I've seen (on the owners FB group) use an addon counter that hooks to the side, like this. Personally, my kitchen is in the back of my tow vehicle, so I use my for storage, power and plumbing.

 

[OuterLimits]

Most people I've seen (on the owners FB group) use an addon on counter that hooks to the side, like this. Personally, my kitchen is in the back of my tow vehicle, so I use my for storage, power and pluming.

Great looking trailer! Nice all-around setup!

 

[sully3]

Added a secondary utility box in front behind the steel "battery" box that I'm using for storage. The large PVC box houses my Climate Right unit. In order to get it to open correctly, I reverse installed it so that the latch is hidden (which is a bonus) and it opens toward the trailer so the airflow lines from the Climate right can hook up and come right out of the top if I wanted. I think the plan is to pull the unit out and sit it on top of the box for use just for airflow and ability to use the remote through the front window. Also installing reversed allows the battery box to open with it as well. The larger box is bolted through the front mesh and secured.

Here you can see the space around the unit inside the box.

And then a shot of both opening at once.

Do you leave the heat/air in that box when using it? I have a hiker trailer also but mine is just on the rack!!



Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk

 

[First State Overland]

Do you leave the heat/air in that box when using it? I have a hiker trailer also but mine is just on the rack!!



Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk

I've been pulling it out and setting it on top. I 'could' probably use it in there if I extended the ducts/hoses to be longer. I'd have to think about proper airflow. Right now there's a thick foam pad under that Climate Right so it doesn't bounce around on the road. The second thing is that if it were to rain, with the top open it would collect water, so I'd have to drill drain holes or disconnect the unit and close the lid. So for those reasons, I choose to pull it out each time I feel like I'm going to use it when setting up camp. Fortunately I'm tall so I can reach over and into the box without too much trouble but it is a bit awkward. My initial thought was just to mount the unit permanently on the rack and be done, but after researching more, the Climate units seem to be a bit fragile with their internal components, so I'm taking precautions with the protective box and shock foam.

 

[Gravel Travel Canada]

Have you had the chance to drive enough miles to figure out the hit to your mpg?

Sent from my STH100-1 using OB Talk mobile app

 

[First State Overland]

Have you had the chance to drive enough miles to figure out the hit to your mpg?

Sent from my STH100-1 using OB Talk mobile app

Oh yes. It depends on speed. And keep in mind that my tow vehicle is shaped like a brick to begin with and the trailer is now loaded down with batteries and water. I loose about 2 mpg if I don't push it and max out at 65mph. If I push 70-75 I lose about 4 mpg. I'm also running 4.10 gears so the mileage already takes a hit. I anticipate the Northeast Expedition we're leaving on next month to cost me about $2,000 in gas.