Off road trailer camper or off road van

[phlfly]

Let discuss about "overland" for family, what is better off road camper like Patriot or Off road van like made by Sportmobile ?

I know off road capability is different as your primary vehicle is better for off road, like it's Toyota Tundra TDR Pro or my Jeep vs Mercedes Van lifted.

But van has more space for family, pop roof , air conditioning if need it, even heater, kitchen inside not outside like on trailer. You can even use as daily driver as those short base MB van almost same size as large truck like Dodge 2500.
But my point view an overland is more exploration than heavy off road, like Bear pass in CO.
Now days, Patriot is also offer bad/tray on truck and ¾ Canopy. It's nice addition to trailer so family four can sleep easy with two tents.
Price is similar.
A good truck like Toyota Tundra TRD used about 40,000 to 50,000, plus bed/tray 12,000, plus Canopy (don't know a price) and trailer X1 ~ 45,000, plus many addition for truck, like Solar panels, battery management system ....

Mercedes custom made (brand new) for off road with pop roof ~ 125,000, including both Al bumpers, big storage box on rear , Solar panels, Air conditioning, kitchen inside, water tank.....much more.

So what is your take on this ?

 

[grubworm]

I looked at Sportmaster, Sprinter, etc and the cost was too much for how I'd use it. Not saying its bad or wrong, just not practical for me. I bought a brand new Tundra TSS and a brand new Forest River NoBo 10.6 for right at $55K. Brand new truck and camper for $70K less than what a Sportmaster is going for. My Tundra is a daily driver and I use it a lot for pulling trailers and hauling stuff and I couldn't do that with a camper van. The wife and I take the truck by itself for quick trips tenting out of the back and on longer trips, we have the camper. With the camper, I can then use the truck to haul other stuff. I do wood turning, so some trips I load the truck with logs that I pick up in the area and I couldn't do that with a camper van. Plus I like having a base camp that I can leave set up while I drive to some other places to sightsee, shop, or whatever. With a camper van, I'd have to break down camp if I needed to drive somewhere. Pain in the ass, so the truck/camper is perfect for us. And a lot cheaper.

 

[phlfly]

Nice set up. I was asking because looking to do Labrador - Newfoundland , Baja later, then Mexico - Belize , Yukon - Alaska and many places in USA .
My background is we did all around country in tow weeks , Newfoundland and many other . I got Jeep to do local and beaxh but realized I want to more as my wife too. Kids 14 and 11 it's now or never with them . So looked Van , different companies but it looks Sportsmobile is really good with options , don't want shower inside just outside as well party.
Then found Patriot product but most impressive is Canopy part. Trailer is lot options . Biggest problem is kitchen for me
It's pain in butt unpack and pack against and long trips cooler vs fridge

 

[SubeeBen]

If the van is in your budget I would definitely go with the badass mobile. Sorry for the language but that van is absolutely awesome. I currently have a pretty built 2017 Jeep jku, but it Is also my daily driver. If I had the budget for a vacation specific vehicle I would totally go the van way 4x4 of course. Good luck.

 

[grubworm]

yeah, thats a tough call. if i was traveling like you, i would lean more to the sportmaster. going all over and going into other counteries, id rather have everything in one vehicle and NOT tow a camper around. i think safety and security would be better with the van rather than a towed camper. i saw a few videos of people going to belize and south america in sprinter and sportsmaster vans and it looked like the way to go for that kind of traveling.

 

[phlfly]

this is what I was thinking as well. Even leaving trailer in RV park in Baja is risk even if I will use chain wheels when go to get some produce. Also as many people told me lock everything, anything hang outside can be stolen in quick manner. Only thing is good about truck and trailer I can use truck on short runs near me. Van is big but still nice advantage.

 

[CSG]

I prefer a van.

 

[smritte]

I built a trailer some years ago. I was exploring in my TJ and needed a solid platform to stay in. The Jeep is gone and now I have my Cruiser. If I base camp for a week, it's nice to have all the gear with the trailer. Lately my trips have been becoming more mobile. I now pretty much just sleep in the back of my Cruiser and the poor trailer stays home.

I think part of my issue here is, my trailer has an RTT. Most of my trips end up being windy and I've been designing a hard sided trailer for that reason. Setting up a "room" to change in (I hate changing in a tent laying down) take's a bit of time for set up and tear down. I would still have the "changing cloths issue" with a small hard side but, I'll sleep better if it's windy.
I keep looking at my trailer and asking myself if I should build a new one and if I did, how many of my trips would I actually use it on.

If a camper van works for you and your looking at being mobile, I would go with that. If your looking to base camp, you cant beat a trailer. As was posted above, the camper van is more secure.

That's my experience with sort of both.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[hidesertwheelin]

I built a trailer some years ago. I was exploring in my TJ and needed a solid platform to stay in. The Jeep is gone and now I have my Cruiser. If I base camp for a week, it's nice to have all the gear with the trailer. Lately my trips have been becoming more mobile. I now pretty much just sleep in the back of my Cruiser and the poor trailer stays home.

I think part of my issue here is, my trailer has an RTT. Most of my trips end up being windy and I've been designing a hard sided trailer for that reason. Setting up a "room" to change in (I hate changing in a tent laying down) take's a bit of time for set up and tear down. I would still have the "changing cloths issue" with a small hard side but, I'll sleep better if it's windy.
I keep looking at my trailer and asking myself if I should build a new one and if I did, how many of my trips would I actually use it on.

If a camper van works for you and your looking at being mobile, I would go with that. If your looking to base camp, you cant beat a trailer. As was posted above, the camper van is more secure.

That's my experience with sort of both.

Good luck with your decision.

I'm pretty much at the same point. I'm looking at square drop trailers for ease. I am changing most of my gear over to stuff the goes up and comes down fast. I don't seem to have the opportunity to go out as much as I used to, so I'd rather spend the time I do have enjoying myself and not setting up or breaking down camp.

 

[1Louder]

International travel I would say van. I would not want to travel through any major cities/traffic with a trailer. But it really depends on what you are doing. A trailer will have no issue with most of the popular overlanding routes in the US. Of course neither will a 4WD van.

All things are not equal though because the cost difference between a outfitted van vs trailer is huge. If money was no object I would own both. Each has pros and cons. A Tundra with its bed removed and a 4-Wheel Camper with side door would be nice too. None are discrete and with the boom in popularity of driving from AK to Tierra del Fuego everyone pretty much knows who you are regardless. So you just have to plan accordingly with where you are going to stay along a lengthy route. I haven't done it yet. Plenty of others have, blog about it, and you can learn better from them.

 

[Motoboss]

I like this....

 

[phlfly]

Van is nice but to me it's more like can life meaning more permanent place and long. One downside of the van unless it's 150k Sports mobile it can't go where truck with trailer can .

 

[grubworm]

Van is nice but to me it's more like can life meaning more permanent place and long. One downside of the van unless it's 150k Sports mobile it can't go where truck with trailer can .

Like 1Louder said, it depends on where you are and what you're doing. I've lived all over and for the most part, if you get east of New Mexico, there really isn't much offroad you can do, even Texas as big as it is, is pretty much all private property, so a van like that is cool for roads and park use and not spending $200 a night in a motel. I have my rig set up for very remote boondocking going over moderate rough terrain and I rarely get to go that route unless I have a lot of time and can factor in two days of driving out west and two days back. Sure, there a few exceptions, but the further east you go, the less there is off of paved roads, so a van like that is idea. The US is very well developed and there really isn't any real "overlanding" available to the average person. Like the threads on here fussing about what "overlanding" is. Lets face it, the United States doesn't really have any unchartered territory for us to "conquer" anymore. It's nice to picture ourselves as Louis and Clark going out exploring, but anytime I find something that I think is remote, it is usually already littered with trash from those who went before me. Most of the good stuff is paved and made for easy access. I just got back from North Arkansas and the Buffalo River. It was gorgeous and had a LOT of hiking and kayaking and every nice scenic area was paved or at least a decent maintained dirt road, so my lift and 4X4 went totally unused again. A nice 2WD van would have gone everywhere I went with ease.

 

[Billiebob]

I like the trailer route so the tow vehicle is a practical daily driver. The van is great if you have a second vehicle.

When actually camping tho I like to drop the trailer and not have to break camp to go buy beer or toilet paper.
With a van I'd want an e-bike for errands.

If I had $125K.... I'd be loading my Jeep and TearDrop into a trailer and head for Australia.
Or start driving for Patagonia.

 

[Motoboss]

I like the van idea as the Wifey and I are "travel camper's" We like to travel, stop and rest or sleep where we are then move on. That being said our new 4x4 truck will be used to pull a trailer, like the Castia where we can do the same type of traveling but just extended a day or more.

 

[472HemiGTX]

My trailer is really convenient and doubles as a storage place for gear in the winter. I have taken it into some pretty rough spots behind both my pickup and Jeep. As mentioned above, the ability to drop the trailer and go exploring/or on a beer run is nice.

I built this based on a basic used Backpacker trailer that I bought off Craiglist. It now has:
Flipped axle for more ground clearance
Roof rack & dual ARB awnings
Full galley with sink, running water (cold only), stove and BBQ
Solar hot water tank
Solar panel, LED lighting and is wired to plug into 110V
12V ceramic heater and roof vent fan
Queen size memory foam mattress that folds up into a couch
Side box and tongue basket for propane tank, spare tire and gray water jug

Total investment about $5500 and a winters worth of work.

It is going to get taller, wider tires and electric brakes in the spring.

 

[grubworm]

My trailer is really convenient and doubles as a storage place for gear in the winter. I have taken it into some pretty rough spots behind both my pickup and Jeep. As mentioned above, the ability to drop the trailer and go exploring/or on a beer run is nice.

I built this based on a basic used Backpacker trailer that I bought off Craiglist. It now has:
Flipped axle for more ground clearance
Roof rack & dual ARB awnings
Full galley with sink, running water (cold only), stove and BBQ
Solar hot water tank
Solar panel, LED lighting and is wired to plug into 110V
12V ceramic heater and roof vent fan
Queen size memory foam mattress that folds up into a couch
Side box and tongue basket for propane tank, spare tire and gray water jug

Total investment about $5500 and a winters worth of work.

It is going to get taller, wider tires and electric brakes in the spring.

View attachment 129833

THAT is impressive! I paid a lot more for a Forest River NoBo and got a lot less. That's a sweet set up. What kind of 12v heater did you get? I got a small ceramic one, but could only find 110v...useless when i'm offgrid.

 

[472HemiGTX]

THAT is impressive! I paid a lot more for a Forest River NoBo and got a lot less. That's a sweet set up. What kind of 12v heater did you get? I got a small ceramic one, but could only find 110v...useless when i'm offgrid.

Thanks
I use a Schumacher 1224 heater. About $35 at Camping World or online. I built a little bracket so that the heater can be quickly taken down and stored during the summer and when travelling. Works good to take the chill off in the small cabin.

 

[Motoboss]

My trailer is really convenient and doubles as a storage place for gear in the winter. I have taken it into some pretty rough spots behind both my pickup and Jeep. As mentioned above, the ability to drop the trailer and go exploring/or on a beer run is nice.

I built this based on a basic used Backpacker trailer that I bought off Craiglist. It now has:
Flipped axle for more ground clearance
Roof rack & dual ARB awnings
Full galley with sink, running water (cold only), stove and BBQ
Solar hot water tank
Solar panel, LED lighting and is wired to plug into 110V
12V ceramic heater and roof vent fan
Queen size memory foam mattress that folds up into a couch
Side box and tongue basket for propane tank, spare tire and gray water jug

Total investment about $5500 and a winters worth of work.

It is going to get taller, wider tires and electric brakes in the spring.

View attachment 129833

Nice build. What size is the trailer? Looks to ba a 5x8, just guessing.

 

[Billiebob]

My trailer is really convenient and doubles as a storage place for gear in the winter. I have taken it into some pretty rough spots behind both my pickup and Jeep. As mentioned above, the ability to drop the trailer and go exploring/or on a beer run is nice.

I built this based on a basic used Backpacker trailer that I bought off Craiglist. It now has:
Flipped axle for more ground clearance
Roof rack & dual ARB awnings
Full galley with sink, running water (cold only), stove and BBQ
Solar hot water tank
Solar panel, LED lighting and is wired to plug into 110V
12V ceramic heater and roof vent fan
Queen size memory foam mattress that folds up into a couch
Side box and tongue basket for propane tank, spare tire and gray water jug

Total investment about $5500 and a winters worth of work.

It is going to get taller, wider tires and electric brakes in the spring.

View attachment 129833

My kinda guy, be great camping on the same beach talking... ?? Nice build.

Same but different. Slightly lower budget.