Help me find a Grassroots alternative to this,v. mini camper

$3300 unit in question- http://www.letsgoaero.com/TreeHaus_Camper_7_Torsion_p/tlk871.htm

Background- I love camping. I want to be able to go a weekend to remote places with a bunch of bikes/kayaks/canoes (not those canoes)/ other outdoorsy stuff and camp. With a small SUV, I am limited in options. Pop-up campers are too much $$, and to be honest, too big for my liking. I went to a camping show and fell in love with the linked unit, but not its price tag.

It checks all boxes for me- It gets me/us sleeping off the ground. It can carry bikes/gear/kayaks/etc. It's compact and light enough to tow.

It's pretty much perfect. I just can't seem to find a reasonably priced alternative to it. I could make my own, but the tent component would be $$$, and I'm honestly not sure how to do it aside from custom. The whole not having a workshop thing at the moment is also a problem. Does anyone have any other similarly oriented options for my needs that would be more, ummm, challenge budget friendly?

Seems to me that if you bought a carefully selected tent, you could build the trailer part off a HF utility trailer base without too much trouble. Of course, that would mean DIY fabrication but that's often the alternative to paying someone else for their time, money and skill.

Have you looked at adding one of those roof rack tent units to a standard utility trailer? Greg has one he keeps suspended in the garage. He parks the j60 under it, bolts it on and goes. Can't recall the brand, but it's a quality unit. I would think adapting it to a trailer would be fairly straightforward.

Edit: must be a good idea if Keith suggested it first.

+2 on Keith's comment.

I suppose a GRM alternative with less fabrication would be an enclosed utility trailer; the smallest one you can find with a side door. Add some windows for additional venting and you're good to go.

Looks like theirs is a Cascadia "CVT". Bolts on with U bolts, so sounds like those could attach to the utility trailer rails readily.

Didn't Tom Suddard build a trailer like that?

I'm just curios, what makes that anything better than just a Tent and a Cot?

I use a 4 person tent with this cot (www.rei.com/product/881182/rei-kingdom-cot) when I'm car camping and it works great. I'm off the ground and I still have the trailer hitch and roof rails if I want to have additional storage.

If you really want to recreate that, It just looks like this (http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200329599_200329599?cm_mmc=Google-pla--Trailers%20%2B%20Towing--Trailers-_-125905&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=125905&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=125905&gclid=CP7D8qey0MQCFRCqaQodcngA3Q) with a platform to pitch a tent on and maybe some fold down legs for additional stability.

I know the feeling. When Mopar announced they would be selling a Jeep camper, I was intrigued. That is until I saw the price :(

The camper starts at $9,995!

I looked around for a bit and found a decent teardop camper that was the perfect size to tow behind my Wrangler. I paid $2200 which was a bit more than I wanted.

[EDIT] I'd link a pic but Picasaweb is blocked at work and Google+ blows goats on phones.

Asked and answered:

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/my-changzhou-nanxiashu-camping-trailer/58466/page1/

Though I will say that I can no longer recommend that method. Here's what it looks like now, after the steel on the trailer failed and the tongue fell off:

Whoa. Any thoughts on why that happened, other than cheap Chinese Steel?

On the plus side, it is easier to use as a hammer now

Too bad you're in NH. Feel like taking a cross-country road trip?

I found out I liked building this more than I liked camping.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/yet-another-camping-trailer-build/68685/page1/

Yours for $600.

Tom's is pretty much what I want, only with a 5x8 trailer that I can half-build enclosed for dry storage and leave half open for toy storage... Basically a tubed out utility trailer, obviously not from Harbor Freight.

Off to scour craigslist for junky boat trailers.

Or used axles so you can build one from scratch. That's where the original axle from my MG ended up.

Do a google search for Cox campers.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/yet-another-camping-trailer-build/68685/page1/

I still like this take for simplicity... add some steel framing on the front and rear rails and you could make it so you could strap down a canoe/kayak or something

Any particular reason it needs to be a trailer? Why not just a platform tent and a tailgate rack for the bike?

donalson wrote: http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/yet-another-camping-trailer-build/68685/page1/ I still like this take for simplicity... add some steel framing on the front and rear rails and you could make it so you could strap down a canoe/kayak or something

Yup, and you can't beat the price! hahahahah

A camping trailer sits around and does nothing while not being used for camping. A van or a truck can be used in a multitude of way while not used for camping. I'd spring for the cheap van/truck. Heck, even an older Caravan would be easy to fix, cheap, and provide enough room for sleeping.

In reply to PHeller:

While this is true, there are some advantages to a trailer: cheaper registration, cheaper (no?) insurance, doesn't add another engine to take care of, isn't another vehicle requiring yearly inspections (if your state has these), etc.

I've been having this debate for some time now. Currently using a '08 Caravan.

In reply to Swank Force One:

Can't tailgate rack an ATV/Dirtbike, and kayaks would be problematic as well...

I have lots of toys. A utilitarian trailer that can tow D) all of the above would be ideal, but I've definitely given thought to just rack mounting the tent to my X3 and using a cheap utility trailer for everything else. That would work, and is currently the leading option. $100 in roof rack rails, a tent, and I'm at least in business. Find trailer as time, budget, and deals allow.

In reply to PHeller:

I guess I'm not looking at a camping trailer more so than just a utility trailer with a platform tent mounted to it. In a dream world, I'd find a nice-ish 5x8 utility trailer, mount a pickup truck utility rack to it, mount a platform tent to that, and shazam- I have a trailer I can do dump runs with, go atving/dirtbiking/camping/etc with, and helping other friends move crap...

I don't want another vehicle. I already have too many, haha. Inspections, registration, beater maintenance... No thanks.

Course, then there's this: http://baltimore.craigslist.org/cto/4929678868.html

I'd deliver that Bronco up to NH in a heartbeat.

'

SUV or Truck Tent?

Ian F wrote: In reply to PHeller: While this is true, there are some advantages to a trailer: cheaper registration, cheaper (no?) insurance, doesn't add another engine to take care of, isn't another vehicle requiring yearly inspections (if your state has these), etc. I've been having this debate for some time now. Currently using a '08 Caravan.

The other big benefit or a tent, trailer, or tent mounted trailer is that you don't need to break camp to use your vehicle.