For us, finding a great place to hang out for a few days, and exploring the surrounding area is the best way to enjoy our outdoor time. That's why we jumped on the opportunity to invest in a small off-road capable trailer with a nice large family sized tent for our camping fun!
Our new-to-us awesome camping (maybe overland?) trailer started life as a 1966 Swiss Military Trailer, basically an old M100. While it had plenty of use before we grabbed it, it is as solid as can be.
The stock wheels and tires and stock leaf springs and shocks mean that we don't have to worry about carnage on the trail as long as we keep her maintained. We added larger fenders for future wheel/tires upgrades, as well as a receiver hitch to haul bikes or anything else we need.
We bought the trailer earlier this year from a local single man, who took meticulous care of the trailer for the 5 years he owned it. He also added a (no longer available) Free Spirit Recreation BaseCamp tent, which really is the centerpiece.
This tent sets up quickly into a nice large footprint with a full+ size mattress over the trailer. The floor area is large enough to accommodate two adult-sized cots along with a small ladder and other items. It also includes a large awning/additional room that will double the covered floor space, but we haven't decided to set that up just yet.
While we've only had a few nights in this tent so far, it's clearly a winner for exploring in the great outdoors. Our Propex based tent heater even kept us warm down in the low 30's during a recent mountain trip. I also love that the tent has double doors and a total of 5 windows for plenty of ventilation in the warmer months.
The previous owner also installed two rear leveling/support jack mounts, which means this little trailer can be setup perfectly level and stable in just a couple of minutes. The stabilizers also support the rear of the trailer when rolling the slide all the way out. Since the tent is permanently installed to the trailer (there is no lid), the interior is accessed via a heavy duty 800lb slide out platform. This thing is solid!
The slide perfectly handles all of the necessary gear for a great outdoor adventure:
- The Kitchen Box
- A 5 gallon water cube (for a total of 10gal on the trailer fully loaded)
- 4 camp chairs
- Foldable grilling/camp table
- Camp Cots to increase sleeping capacity to 5 total
- Toilet privacy shelter and camp toilet
- Just enough room for a soft bag with sleeping bags as well as a dry food box.
The Kitchen Box
This setup was a DIY build kit that came with everything needed for a perfect kitchen box. While it's a little on the heavy side, it's quite durable, stands tall enough for easy cooking, and features adjustable legs.
We can store more than enough gear in the box for multiple days in the woods. While our current stove is just a small single burner, there's plenty of room for a larger dual burner such as the Camp Chef Explorer Stainless Series
We also have Sea To Summit pots, bowls, and cups in a zippered pouch.
The GSI Outdoors deluxe camp utensil set keeps our cooking tools organized and handy.
Related Articles
We keep all of our LED camp lights in a repurposed Red Ox bag
Our Kelty "kitchen sink" is over 10 years old but still works perfectly.
And of course our camp kitchen would not be complete without the AeroPress kit for perfect campsite coffee
The few major upgrades eve added to the trailer since we've had it are meant to increase both the utility and capacity. The larger fenders can eventually be extended for additional size storage, but for now will accommodate taller tires when it's time to upgrade. The rear receiver hitch is a must for our family, since we haul at least two bikes on every adventure. Finally, time tongue box up front holds the ArkPak 12v battery setup as well as a first aid kit and a couple of small hand tools.
As you can see the entire setup packs down into a very manageable size. It fits perfectly either in a garage or under a deck, which is where ours usually lives.
The entire basecamp trailer, fully loaded with water, Weighs in at just a tad over 1300lb. That is a great weight for just about any Toyota adventure vehicle. Our AlpineExpress Tundra barely notices the weight even at highway speeds.
Between this publication at OffRoadTrailerInfo.com we've been covering different types of campers and RVs for over 10 years. What is great about the market today is there is a good fit for every type of adventurer. Whether you're a journey is the destination type, a basecamp type, or an RV with cable hookup type, you can certainly find a great towable to get you out exploring.
For our family, a highly capable yet comfortable old-school tent trailer is a perfect fit.
[flickr set=72157719903293569]
To get your copy of the
Spring 2021 Issue:
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to get up-to-date industry news, events, and of course, amazing adventures, stories, and photos!
