Rockwood Geo Pro Campers

[mrfritz44]

Sorry to be a broken record, but my search for offroad trailer capability in the US continues. Does anyone have practical experience with Rockwood Geo Pros, particularly the 19 foot models? They seem to have almost everything an Australian caravan has, except the heavy duty chassis. It seems to be the closest thing to an offroad luxury caravan thats available in the US anyways.

Fred

 

[trikebubble]

We previously had an 18' Rockwood Mini-Lite. This Geo Pro seems to be marketed as an ultralight trailer that can be towed by mid-size vehicles. IMO, in the regular RV world that translates to cheap light materials that in no way (again based on our experiences with our Mini-Lite) will hold up to long term off-road use and abuse. I really liked our Mini-Lite due to the light weight, which made it great to tow behind our Xterra. But there is no way I'd have towed that thing over hundreds or thousands of miles of forestry or logging roads, never mind anything remotely worse. All the interior cabinets and doors were made from cheap pressed board and warped over time. The hot water heater attachment points simply pulled out of the floor one day (and we hadn't even used it offroad). The fridge and stove and furnace worked just fine, but I wouldn't bet they'd last being towed off-road. And theses types of trailers are far from being a tight fitting unit...so after a day of driving down a forestry road the inside will be covered in dust.

It really depends on what you are are wanting a trailer to do for you, where you want to take it, and how long you want it to last.

 

[Mark G]

I Googled "off road trailers" and found this article: https://gearjunkie.com/affordable-off-road-trailers-teardrops

 

[TGK]

If you go to the Expedition Portal Forums under "Expedition Trailers", you will find extensive discussions about trailers that are suitable for taking off pavement. This includes actual 4 wheeling with a trailer as well as more rugged conventional trailers that can stand up to miles of washboard and moderate dirt roads as found on NFS and BLM land in the west. This is a topic I've been exploring for several months with my focus being on the "rugged conventional" trailers. Meaning, something one can stand up in with basic accommodations similar to what can be found in a FWC or ATC. Unfortunately, as far as "rugged" conventional trailers are concerned, the consensus seems to be that, with very few exceptions, there isn't anything built in the USA. However, it appears that there are quite a few options for someone looking for small trailers that have the potential to be towed on pretty gnarly roads without self destructing. These usually are designed as gear haulers, with outside kitchen set ups, maybe a pop up or out tent, etc. So far, the only one I've found that is remotely interesting is from Trailmarker Outdoors in upstate New York. More basic than a conventional trailer, but has potential and they build them to order. Unfortunately, a long way from the west coast.