My 2017 Taxa Outdoors Woolly Bear and our shenanigans

[While in the Wild]

I thought it was beyond time I start my own thread for my trailer instead of piggy backing on Bueller’s so here goes.

I was getting tired of playing jeep packing Tetris every time I wanted to go camping and wanted a way to be able to setup basecamp without tying my vehicle down like I had in the past:

A friend sent me a link to the Tiger Moth, which I was considering as it had potential to add A/C so my wife would maybe enjoy camping more in Summer but it wasn’t really my style but while I was at the site I fell in love with the Woolly Bear and after discussing with her it was obvious it would be a mistake to buy the Tiger Moth as ultimately it would lead to arguments/resentment so in June just before a trip to Davis Mountains State Park, I walked in to the dealership and drove away the same day:

It must be unusual for same day sale/pickup of RV’s as it seemed very awkward for the dealership to accommodate my request but ultimately I prevailed and we took it on its maiden voyage.

The first time setting it up:

I’ll add replies to this post with details of mods, our trips and any insight or lessons learned so stay tuned while I catch up.


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[While in the Wild]

I can dig out the photos if needed but my first mod was to run 10ga wire from the battery box on the tongue under the chassis into the drawer at the back in order to fit a Dometic CFX-40US fridge as Taxa had mainly envisioned the drawer being used for a cooler (their R&D in this space could use some work) and I also hooked up a mains power outlet so I could run the fridge from mains power. In hindsight though I would choose to locate that outlet elsewhere as it hinders getting things out of the cargo area.


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[While in the Wild]

I started out with shake down runs to local State Parks, this was Martin Dies Jr State Park:

Doggo approved:

Getting him in & or can be a pain but he is starting to catch on, I just lift him most of the way with his harness and he scrambles in, sometimes he will jump down and others I have to break his fall by holding his harness. Not sure what I will do once I raise the RTT up.

Next was Lake Livingston for some gorgeous sunsets:

Then Palmetto:

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[While in the Wild]

Then we did our first real off-road trip to Ouachita National Forest, we had no neighbors for miles and had a nice dispersed spot by a Creek:

It was by an arterial Forest service road though so there was a decent number of vehicles passing by each day, nothing too annoying though.

I setup a ground tent as well so my wife could have the RTT to herself while I slept with the dogs in the RTT as we wouldn’t all fit up there, hopefully once I raise the RTT up I can get the annex for it and keep the dogs down there.

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[While in the Wild]

Next up was a quick trip to Double Lake Recreation Area in Sam Houston National Forest, I rotated the trailer just for fun and to make for a better view (it is so light it is easy to maneuver by hand):

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[While in the Wild]

Next up I decided while my wife was in France on a girls trip that I would head to the woods again with the dogs for an extended weekend. This time I opted to camp off of a spur of a forest service road to try to get well away from anyone, which worked to some extent but still had at least one vehicle drive by each day.

I caved just before this trip and after Hurricane Harvey here in Houston and finally invested in a generator:

It came in really handy as there was too much shade to get adequate solar to keep the fridge running the whole time so I could use the generator to charge the trailer battery.

It was a really gorgeous spot:

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[While in the Wild]

I forgot to mention that on the trip to Palmetto State Park I discovered a nail in one of the trailer tires that led me down the garden path of learning all about how shitty trailer tires are and the tires that were on there were not rated for the speeds I had been doing while towing it, oops. Took me a long time to decide to go with LT tires on it instead of trailer tires and since that trip it has been rocking BFG AT KO2’s that have been great so far. They only just fit but eventually I will work out a way to lift the trailer to match the tow vehicle so we can share spares.


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[While in the Wild]

The last trip I did with it was a quick overnight to the beach with our younger dog as the Astros had been taking up a lot of my time and the doggo was being neglected a little.

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[Bueller]

Great write up.
Can you post some close up pics of the KO2’s on the trailer?


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[While in the Wild]

Great write up.
Can you post some close up pics of the KO2’s on the trailer?


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Sorry this took a while, needed to organize the garage so I could get a clear pic:

They tuck in nicely but if I jump up & down on the fender I can make them hit the fender but I would really have to hit a large obstacle at speed to make that happen for it to be a concern. I could probably do that with the stock tires too but I never tried.

 

[While in the Wild]

Took it out to a private site at Four Sisters Ranch over NYE that I booked on Hipcamp:

We were getting a wintry mix so I had to setup the tarp:

Just used a 4 pole setup, using the grommets on the RTT to kind of integrate them and a tie down on the side for a drain, not my best shelter setup but it worked for the conditions. I sure wish Taxa would give us more details on the adjustable rack they used at that show so I could put a traditional awning on it.

I towed it the first time with the JK but forgot to get a pic of it hooked up, it worked out to be perfectly level with a 2” drop hitch and towed fairly well, could definitely tell it was back there but it was never scary or concerning.

 

[Voltan]

Just used a 4 pole setup, using the grommets on the RTT to kind of integrate them and a tie down on the side for a drain, not my best shelter setup but it worked for the conditions. I sure wish Taxa would give us more details on the adjustable rack they used at that show so I could put a traditional awning on it.

I towed it the first time with the JK but forgot to get a pic of it hooked up, it worked out to be perfectly level with a 2” drop hitch and towed fairly well, could definitely tell it was back there but it was never scary or concerning.

I was able to get a small amount of information from Taxa regarding the Thule Xsporter but unfortunately I don't have much.

They apparently do require a spacer to mount the Thule unit on the deck. Yet they did share that Taxa is also looking at developing their own version of the rack with a late 2018 as a best scenario for it, so an awning can be at a more appropriate height. I've asked if they can speculate on whether the rack, if it comes to market, would be able to be added to older or previously purchased Woolly Bear trailers but I have not heard back on that.

Thank you to you and Bueller for your threads, they've had me seriously considering this trailer.

 

[While in the Wild]

They apparently do require a spacer to mount the Thule unit on the deck. Yet they did share that Taxa is also looking at developing their own version of the rack with a late 2018 as a best scenario for it, so an awning can be at a more appropriate height. I've asked if they can speculate on whether the rack, if it comes to market, would be able to be added to older or previously purchased Woolly Bear trailers but I have not heard back on that.

Thanks for that info, I wish Taxa would reach out to its community more as I think we could really help each other out. They would occasionally pop into their forums but when I checked the other day the forums were completely hacked again so whoever runs their website isn't doing a very good job and they very rarely interact on social media, they promised details on that rack when everyone was asking about it on Instagram but have been quiet since. I may just finally take it to a local fabricator to look into an adjustable height rack that can be adjusted by one person, most likely with something like a scissor jack.

 

[Bueller]

You've had a pretty busy camping season!
Tires look good. I've taken note of the size for when I need new ones.
I just picked up a tongue box, hoping to see if it fits this weekend so that I can start expanding my electrical system with ore lights, USB chargers in the tent etc.

 

[While in the Wild]

I just picked up a tongue box, hoping to see if it fits this weekend so that I can start expanding my electrical system with ore lights, USB chargers in the tent etc.

Am very curious how that goes, I want to add an inverter and charger to my system hopefully via tongue box but am just not sure how without fabrication.

 

[While in the Wild]

This new Rhino Rack Batwing awning has caught my attention, I'm really hoping it includes those sexy height adjusting brackets as that would be close to perfect for the Woolly Bear, if not it gives me inspiration for custom brackets to be fabricated:

 

[Bueller]

This new Rhino Rack Batwing awning has caught my attention, I'm really hoping it includes those sexy height adjusting brackets as that would be close to perfect for the Woolly Bear, if not it gives me inspiration for custom brackets to be fabricated:

That does look very interesting!!


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[While in the Wild]

Crossed over well & truly into the realm of glamping with the purchase of this RCA 19” dual power (12v DC/110v AC) TV. I had inadvertently booked a camping trip with my wife for this last weekend but had forgot how much she was looking forward to watching the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony so seeing how we should get OTA TV signal at the park we were booked into I picked his up from Wally World and some rabbit ears so she could get her fix. Turned out the weather forecast took a turn for the worse though so we didn’t get a chance to try it.

I also picked up a lightning to hdmi cable to stream saved movies from my phone, I obviously won’t use it all the time but it will be good for those rainy days and expand my plans to offer remote glamping to clients.




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[iLuddite]

Glad to know I am not the only one debating between the Wooly and the Moth.

 

[While in the Wild]

Glad to know I am not the only one debating between the Wooly and the Moth.

In hindsight I’m 100% happy with my decision to go with the WB, it just suits my style of camping a lot better than the Tiger Moth would.


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