Anyone know anything about these? I was first attracted by the great price but honestly the configuration is really cool. Understand that it is a Chinese trailer but this is my first one and would like to ease into it a bit and am not going to South Africa with it. There was the identical trailer at the Overland Rally in Washington a few weeks ago with some equally macho name (can't remember) but the vendor was never there to talk about it when I cruised by a few times. I know they have not yet hit the port so no one really has one but thought I would throw it out there.
Tuffstuff Trailer???
- Thread starter Fuelfish
- Start date
rnArmy
Adventurer
Links and/or pictures are always helpful when you're asking if anyone has heard about a specific product (how else are we going to know what you're asking about?). So I googled it for you. Is this what you're talking about(?):
https://tuffstuffoverland.com/product-category/overland-trailers/
https://tuffstuffoverland.com/produ...ition-trailer-ranger-rooftop-tent-and-awning/ (check out the link and the specs)
Isn't cheap by any means. Looks like it includes a lot (a lot! And I mean "a lot"!) of cool features on a relatively small package (that's a good thing). I particularly like the under-tent storage drawer, and the built-in water tank. And being wired for electric. Compared to what you get with the cheaper priced Smittybilt trailer, it might be worth it (especially if it is put together well and not done "cheap"). Looks well thought out, and someone has done their homework.
I like how the canopy swings down for travel.
With a "Tare weight1654 lbs." (I'm figuring that means empty?) it is 154 lbs over the max towing capacity of my four cylinder Jeep TJ, so it isn't a light-weight trailer. So once I filled the 17gallon water tank, and added my fridge (if I had a fridge) and everything else, I would be way over my Jeep's towing capacity (of course not everyone drives a four cylinder TJ; I'm sure most other vehicles would have no problem towing this thing).
No provision for a matching spare (that's a big deal for me - you should always have a matching spare for your trailer - especially if the trailer's bolt pattern (or tire size) doesn't match your tow vehicle's tire size/rim bolt pattern). Bolt pattern is a "6-stud Land Cruiser pattern rims". I guess you could get adapters if you're running some other bolt pattern.
I think the screen out front looks goofy, but I get the idea of what they're trying to do.
I can't afford it, but it would probably be perfect for lots of folks out there.
https://tuffstuffoverland.com/product-category/overland-trailers/
https://tuffstuffoverland.com/produ...ition-trailer-ranger-rooftop-tent-and-awning/ (check out the link and the specs)
Isn't cheap by any means. Looks like it includes a lot (a lot! And I mean "a lot"!) of cool features on a relatively small package (that's a good thing). I particularly like the under-tent storage drawer, and the built-in water tank. And being wired for electric. Compared to what you get with the cheaper priced Smittybilt trailer, it might be worth it (especially if it is put together well and not done "cheap"). Looks well thought out, and someone has done their homework.
I like how the canopy swings down for travel.
With a "Tare weight1654 lbs." (I'm figuring that means empty?) it is 154 lbs over the max towing capacity of my four cylinder Jeep TJ, so it isn't a light-weight trailer. So once I filled the 17gallon water tank, and added my fridge (if I had a fridge) and everything else, I would be way over my Jeep's towing capacity (of course not everyone drives a four cylinder TJ; I'm sure most other vehicles would have no problem towing this thing).
No provision for a matching spare (that's a big deal for me - you should always have a matching spare for your trailer - especially if the trailer's bolt pattern (or tire size) doesn't match your tow vehicle's tire size/rim bolt pattern). Bolt pattern is a "6-stud Land Cruiser pattern rims". I guess you could get adapters if you're running some other bolt pattern.
I think the screen out front looks goofy, but I get the idea of what they're trying to do.
I can't afford it, but it would probably be perfect for lots of folks out there.
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Spare is underneath..
rnArmy
Adventurer
Good catch. I can see it in some of the photos, but it wasn't on the line drawing. Another plus for the trailer then.
All good comments. I have heard that some of the Chinese builds have low grade stainless hardware that all needs to be replaced. I am in a total dilemma between this thing which seems to have a ton of features or going with the At overland habitats on my full size gmc. Good problems to have.
Trailer seems cool because all your stuff is packed and self contained and you are ready to rolll plus you can unhook your “home” and have your car to do whatever. But the Habitat seems so cool and self contained.
Thoughts?
Trailer seems cool because all your stuff is packed and self contained and you are ready to rolll plus you can unhook your “home” and have your car to do whatever. But the Habitat seems so cool and self contained.
Thoughts?
I got tired of waiting for the Smittybilt trailer I had on order....so I canceled that order and got one of these. Picked it up in Santa Ana over the weekend. I'm planning on doing a review thread on it, but so far its looking good. We towed it home without issues (550 miles).
Some small issues, but most of them are me just being uber picky.
All the electrical works fine, including the solar controller. Got the 100W panels from Harbor Freight. All 4 panels fit in the top storage area above the battery.
Fit and finish is pretty good. I havent found anything upsetting yet.
Here are a few pics...
For scale, I am towing it with an FJ Cruiser.
It has pretty much the same same track as the FJ. I can tell it is there up hills, but flat and level is fine.
It does have a ton of storage, and the slides are decently heavy duty. I sat on the fully extended rear drawer and it doesnt seem to mind (200lbs).
The built in lighting is nice. And all the wiring in the box is protected behind panels (removable) or run through the tubing.
Some quick notes:
It comes with 5on5 hubs.
It comes with a basic lug wrench.
If you get the trailer/tent combo (no annex), you get the folding awning mount. If you already have a tent with awning (like me), you get the riser bars and fixed awning mount.
The only drawer/door that doesnt lock is the under tent storage drawer.
Ill do a full review thread as soon as I can.
NV
Some small issues, but most of them are me just being uber picky.
All the electrical works fine, including the solar controller. Got the 100W panels from Harbor Freight. All 4 panels fit in the top storage area above the battery.
Fit and finish is pretty good. I havent found anything upsetting yet.
Here are a few pics...
For scale, I am towing it with an FJ Cruiser.
It has pretty much the same same track as the FJ. I can tell it is there up hills, but flat and level is fine.
It does have a ton of storage, and the slides are decently heavy duty. I sat on the fully extended rear drawer and it doesnt seem to mind (200lbs).
The built in lighting is nice. And all the wiring in the box is protected behind panels (removable) or run through the tubing.
Some quick notes:
It comes with 5on5 hubs.
It comes with a basic lug wrench.
If you get the trailer/tent combo (no annex), you get the folding awning mount. If you already have a tent with awning (like me), you get the riser bars and fixed awning mount.
The only drawer/door that doesnt lock is the under tent storage drawer.
Ill do a full review thread as soon as I can.
NV
I purchased the Crux 1610 and it's basically the same unit. As stated earlier Tuff Stuff and Crux spec their trailers slightly differently apparently, but I'm guessing build quality should be comparable. So far, I'm happy with the basic quality of the trailer but the quality of the electrical system leaves a little to be desired. The wiring, while functional was not neat by any means. Some of this I attribute to some aftermarket work the dealership did, but some was factory build quality. When I 1st got it home, I powered the fridge up (Dometic CF50) to see how long it would run. It made it until sometime Tuesday before shutting down due to low voltage (12.5V). I plugged the charger into AC power, but I would not charge indicating the batteries had a full charge. With the quality of the charger, I decided to pull the inverter as well and check it out. There were screws and spacers that hold the main circuit board to the case that were stripped and the board was loose. After some contemplation, I decided to delete the AC power from the trailer to save the space and hassle of dragging the trailer 90 miles away for warranty work.
I replaced the charger with a NOCO Gen2 20A dual battery charger/maintainer and added a shore power port while I was at it. I am in the process of cleaning up the wiring harness, and once that's accomplished I don't see any other issues.
It's worth noting a few differences between the 2 trailers. The TS appears to be close in spec to the original Crux 1600. The 1610 added dual 100amp batteries and deleted some of the drawers in the side compartments.
Also, Crux goes to market through a dealer network. I was able to haggle the price down to the published price of the TS with the Dometic fridge tossed in on top of the deal. This price included the full RTT/Annex combo with a shower room and a 90watt Zamp solar panel with controller.
On the down side, the annex is ********** to erect, and you loose the drawer on top of the trailer. I'm pretty sure the tent/annex combo is going to get ditched for a Tepui or 20Zero RTT and a 270 deg awning as soon as the checking account recovers from the trailer purchase. The ability to easily setup the trailer in 10-15min vs about an hour of hard labor will fit my mission profile much better.
Peace!
I replaced the charger with a NOCO Gen2 20A dual battery charger/maintainer and added a shore power port while I was at it. I am in the process of cleaning up the wiring harness, and once that's accomplished I don't see any other issues.
It's worth noting a few differences between the 2 trailers. The TS appears to be close in spec to the original Crux 1600. The 1610 added dual 100amp batteries and deleted some of the drawers in the side compartments.
Also, Crux goes to market through a dealer network. I was able to haggle the price down to the published price of the TS with the Dometic fridge tossed in on top of the deal. This price included the full RTT/Annex combo with a shower room and a 90watt Zamp solar panel with controller.
On the down side, the annex is ********** to erect, and you loose the drawer on top of the trailer. I'm pretty sure the tent/annex combo is going to get ditched for a Tepui or 20Zero RTT and a 270 deg awning as soon as the checking account recovers from the trailer purchase. The ability to easily setup the trailer in 10-15min vs about an hour of hard labor will fit my mission profile much better.
Peace!
I purchased the Base Camp trailer a few weeks ago in Southern CA, and towed it home to Salt Lake City. Over the last few weeks I have been getting it ready for the camping season: built a water heater in a pelican case that I can quickly connect / disconnect as needed, Tepui RTT, awning, solar panel, etc. With any luck I will get it registered this week.
I have noticed a couple of small things that needed attention that I have addressed. The right wheel had about -2 deg. camber, while the left was about -.5 deg. I adjusted the right side and was able to get it to about -1 deg. Not perfect - but good enough for now. I may try to see if I can get another 1/2 degree out of it. Also, the hitch adapter that bolts to the hitch kept coming loose. I realized it was because the 2 side pieces were too far apart which allows the adapter to move about 1/4" in either direction. After a while that slight move from side to side loosens the nut. I bent the side pieces down to eliminate any play. We'll see if it stays tight or if I will have to resort to welding the pieces together.
I will get some pictures of the quick connect T I made for the water heater as well some of the other mods I have done - in case anyone else has purchased one of these. I thought we could use this thread as a bit of a users thread.
Overall, I really like this trailer, and if it ever stops raining / snowing here I might actually get a chance to use it.
I have noticed a couple of small things that needed attention that I have addressed. The right wheel had about -2 deg. camber, while the left was about -.5 deg. I adjusted the right side and was able to get it to about -1 deg. Not perfect - but good enough for now. I may try to see if I can get another 1/2 degree out of it. Also, the hitch adapter that bolts to the hitch kept coming loose. I realized it was because the 2 side pieces were too far apart which allows the adapter to move about 1/4" in either direction. After a while that slight move from side to side loosens the nut. I bent the side pieces down to eliminate any play. We'll see if it stays tight or if I will have to resort to welding the pieces together.
I will get some pictures of the quick connect T I made for the water heater as well some of the other mods I have done - in case anyone else has purchased one of these. I thought we could use this thread as a bit of a users thread.
Overall, I really like this trailer, and if it ever stops raining / snowing here I might actually get a chance to use it.
A few pictures of my water heater set up. The 1550 Pelican case fits perfectly behind my cooler on the slide out so I can leave it in the trailer when I don't need it. I added a couple of hooks so it simply sits over the front edge of the box.
My goal was to design it so that it can be deployed in less than 2 minutes using quick connect fittings. For the water supply I added a T filling on the sink connection and 1/4" hydraulic fittings. For a supply line, I am using a 15' coiled hose that wraps up nicely and stores in the front box next to the propane tank. I used a hose thread to 1/4 NPT fittings on both sides of the hose that then connect to the male hydraulic fittings. On the heater side, I used a 1/2" street elbow, with a 1/2 to 1/4 NPT adapter that allows me to connect a female hydraulic fitting.
I did a similar thing with the propane with an elbow and 1/2 to 1/4 NPT fitting. The heater came with a 3/8 Flare Fitting already attached that I removed. This was not easy - make sure you use a wrench on the 1/2 stub that stick out or you will twist off the pipe and ruin the heater. They used some very aggressive pipe compound so I ended up heating the fitting to allow it to come loose.
I used a male connector for propane (and a female for water) to make sure they don't get mixed up. And I opted to connect the fittings in the front so that I didn't have to cut holes in the case and to make sure the lid is open when the water heater is connected. I mounted the heater on the left side of the case so the faucet nestles firmly into the right side. I may add an aluminum heat deflector to the top of the case if it gets too hot - but many people have said that it is not an issue.
The T fitting was a bit problematic since the hydraulic water fittings the trailer comes with is not a standard NPT thread. I ended up having to use a die to modify a 1/4 NPT to the correct metric size.
My goal was to design it so that it can be deployed in less than 2 minutes using quick connect fittings. For the water supply I added a T filling on the sink connection and 1/4" hydraulic fittings. For a supply line, I am using a 15' coiled hose that wraps up nicely and stores in the front box next to the propane tank. I used a hose thread to 1/4 NPT fittings on both sides of the hose that then connect to the male hydraulic fittings. On the heater side, I used a 1/2" street elbow, with a 1/2 to 1/4 NPT adapter that allows me to connect a female hydraulic fitting.
I did a similar thing with the propane with an elbow and 1/2 to 1/4 NPT fitting. The heater came with a 3/8 Flare Fitting already attached that I removed. This was not easy - make sure you use a wrench on the 1/2 stub that stick out or you will twist off the pipe and ruin the heater. They used some very aggressive pipe compound so I ended up heating the fitting to allow it to come loose.
I used a male connector for propane (and a female for water) to make sure they don't get mixed up. And I opted to connect the fittings in the front so that I didn't have to cut holes in the case and to make sure the lid is open when the water heater is connected. I mounted the heater on the left side of the case so the faucet nestles firmly into the right side. I may add an aluminum heat deflector to the top of the case if it gets too hot - but many people have said that it is not an issue.
The T fitting was a bit problematic since the hydraulic water fittings the trailer comes with is not a standard NPT thread. I ended up having to use a die to modify a 1/4 NPT to the correct metric size.
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I found a 5 panel 120 W solar panel that fits nicely in the compartment above the battery. I looked at the Harbor Freight version, but for $30 more I got a higher capacity panel that is much smaller and lighter. I added a smaller Anderson connector and made a pigtail to allow me to connect it to the trailer. (I have a portable battery that I can use the solar panel to charge as well.) And I added a battery charger into the battery compartment so I can charge the battery in my garage.
What brand is it? Have you measured the output?
I am thinking off adding a portable panel to my trailer as well.
I had 2 jerry cans for the front that also fits a hose for fill up. I am using velcro straps to keep everything in place. I added and RV filler spout to the hose to make it easer to fill the tank. To make it easy to get the water from the jerry cans to the tank, I have an inexpensive battery powered water pump made for 5 gallon water bottles that works well. Simple and effective. And I swapped out the jockey wheel for one that is a little beefier. It really makes it easy to move the trailer around. In case anyone is considering this wheel - it bolts right on - no modifications required. 5 minute swap.
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