I’m a big fan of off-road trailers, and as someone that previously owned and lived in a coach (all-in-one vehicle+habitat), I can attest to the added freedom that is afforded by parking your camper and venturing further down the trail with an unladen truck. While the benefits of a trailer and truck combo may seem fairly straightforward, narrowing down your choices is more challenging due to the overwhelming number of options on the market. While I haven’t tested them all myself, I have noticed that many of the most popular off-road trailers happen to be manufactured in Australia, including Patriot Campers.
The X1 is the most popular camper in Patriot’s lineup, and they call it the ultimate family camper trailer. It’s very manageable on 4×4 tracks, with its 40-degree departure angle and articulating hitch. Additionally, it’s short enough to fit in most garages and can be maneuvered by hand when it’s disconnected from your tow vehicle (maybe when unloaded). Intrigued? Here’s your chance to snag one with a handful of upgrades and begin your off-road trailering adventures.
Expedition Portal forum user @Tsavo_Touring is preparing for an extended adventure abroad, and instead of garaging their Patriot X1 trailer for the next five years, they are looking to pass it on to a new owner.
From Tsavo_Touring:
We’re not experts on the differences between model years, but we are aware that Patriot changes things from one model year to the next. For example, 2018 (our year) was the first to offer the RedArc TVMS, an Australian-made tent, a different ladder, and a redesigned kids’ room. It’s also important to note that the GT package included things that in 2021 are now options—like the air suspension. So, we thought it would be beneficial to compare ours to a new X1 using the PDF Brochure on Exploration Outfitter’s website. Which should clarify any discrepancies in configuration between the 2021 X1 and our 2018 X1GT. In other words, if you want to best approximate our ’18 with a 2021, here’s how you’d order it:
- Add Tech Pack (air suspension, TVMS, and inverter)
- Add Lifestyle Pack (kids’ room, awning sails, etc.)
- Color Upgrade (graphite)
- BBQ swingaway
- Land Cruiser bolt pattern change
- Utility slide-out (RH)
- Diesel hot water and tent heat
- Fusion Stereo active Bluetooth speaker
We bought our X1GT knowing that we would use it (not abuse it, though) as intended. Ours has traversed numerous backcountry discovery routes, spent weeks in remote parts of Death Valley, easily completed the standard bucket list routes (like the Mojave Trail), and followed our trucks through some of Moab and Sedona’s more mild trails. You can tell that it’s not a brand-new trailer, but it’s “turnkey” and can be taken into the backcountry tomorrow.
Here’s how you can tell it’s not brand new. The tent’s canvas proudly refuses to let go of every last bit of red dust from its time in Utah and Arizona. It’s not bad by any means, but the canvas is not factory fresh. If you look in the stitched seams, you’ll find traces of Sedona-colored dirt. There’s also just a little bit of the silt from the dry lakebed in the Alvord Desert in some of the hard-to-reach cracks and crevices. We’ve cleaned it a few times but don’t want to get too aggressive and compromise the waterproofing of the canvas.
Its graphite and black powder coat still look great, but on closer inspection, there are a few surface scratches caused by branches and brush. On the rear corner (curbside), there are some chips in the powder coat from the awning pole. But, the good news is that the trailer body is aluminum, so you don’t need to worry about rust. The following image shows the damage to the rear corner.
Our black tent cover is without a zipper. It’s technically broken, but at this point, we would run it without a zipper even if we had everything replaced. There are a few Patriots out there that have also gone zipper-free, and the downsides are pretty minimal—a little dust will get under the cover in very dusty environments, but that’s about it. We’ve had it out on the interstate in a downpour with no water ingress whatsoever.
Specifications
Water capacity: 150 liters (39.6 gallons)
Batteries: 120 (x2) amp-hour AGM
Battery management: RedArc TVMS/Manager 30
Wheels (+bolt pattern): Fuel Vector 17” 5×150 (Land Cruiser/Tundra)
Tires: Qty 3 Falken Wildpeak LT285/70R17
Heat: Webasto Hydronic, Hot Water/Tent Heat
Refrigerator: ARB 63-quart fridge/freezer
Located in Boise, Idaho, this 2018 Patriot X1GT off-road trailer is listed for $36,950. Check out the full trailer specs or contact @tsavo_touring on Instagram or via the original Expedition Portal forum post here.
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