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RTT vs "Adventure" trailer

Yallaen

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I’m on the fence on a critical decision. I have been looking at several YouTube channels that talk about overlanding and Jeeps. “The Story til Now”, “Ozark Outdoor Adventures”, and a couple others. I don’t mind tent camping. I like to camp in the spring and fall, summer can be too hot and humid. But then you’re talking about an RV trailer to get A/C…and I’m not thinking I want that.

I’m more interested in the RTT system. Here are my thoughts concerning this, and I’m looking for Real World Experience (RWE) on either point.
There are 2 ways to go with a RTT: rack on vehicle, or rack/trailer being towed behind the vehicle. I have a Gladiator, so I’m looking at either a half-rack, or some type of “adventure” type trailer.

It seems, to me, that setting up camp with a RTT ON the vehicle could be problematic if you are trying to use said vehicle to go wheeling, exploring, running to the store…because you have to pack up the tent EVERYTIME you drive somewhere. That…can be a PITA. Adventure trailer…you put the RTT on it…and you can leave it and drive off, then come back later.

Just looking for various perspectives.
Norm Muelleman
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Benbean66

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This was my solution to that very same question... Absolutely love it.

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Levi.Butler

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You've got a point on the having to pack up every time you want to move... BUT... having the trailer on the back of an already long vehicle while you're trying to wheel is also a burden.

I think the question that really needs to be asked is whether or not you are interested in camping in places that would not be possible to get your trailer to.

For example, the Story Til Now guys camp in places all the time where you aren't getting that trailer / get themselves into situations on the way to camping where that adventure trailer would make an already hairy situation even worse.
 

gonzoy5

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I think it depends on your exploring area. I'm out East, in Florida. We don't have vast areas to just setup and camp in the wild. Mostly everything is designated. If we go out of state, there's more options, but I'm driving 7+ hours just to get to the mountains, so I'm less keen on a trailer. When we camp, we usually have a base camp and do day explorations, packing up the tent isn't ideal to me either. I know the hard shell are much faster, but it's a pricepoint I'm not interested in considering the options.

We're a family of three and ended with a Gazelle T4 Overland (I wanted the included footprint and upgraded stakes) and I'm very happy with the decision. Since I'm not exactly dealing with frozen or rocky terrain in the Southeast, setup is easy. Drop tent somewhere flat (it really is 2 minutes) and setup bedding and I'm done. The up and down time really is as fast as advertised. Plus ability to stand in the tent is always nice. Thing is very sturdy against wind and rain too, have been pleasantly surprised at that aspect in real world weather. The rest of my "Overland" setup is very complete but far from fancy. Everything goes Plano boxes that fit in the bed or on the rack over the bed. Sleeping box, Kitchen Box, Utility Box, food box. Then fridge, and other supplies. I have the KB Voodoo crossbars and everything sits below the roofline and fuel economy doesn't suffer. The Gazelle mounts to the rack as well. This is one thing I'm still working on as I'd like to be able to strap it a little better for security purposes. I have an idea with carriage bolts and locking knobs, but still work in progress. If you need more space the T4 plus and even the T8 have a surprisingly similar packed footprint so can mount the same. If you go small with T3 it actually fits in the bed. I have nothing to do with Gazelle btw, just racked my brain on this decision so wanted to share my thoughts.

Here's a view of everything loaded before our recent trip. Hope this info helps your decision!
Jeep Gladiator RTT vs "Adventure" trailer 1621608673356
 

gouacats

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I have a trailer and RTT. I swap the RTT between the trailer and the Gladiator depending on the situation. If I have a base camp or if it's more than 2 of us, I'll generally take the trailer. If it's just me or we're moving around daily, then I prefer the RTT on the back of the truck.
 

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Levi.Butler

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I have a trailer and RTT. I swap the RTT between the trailer and the Gladiator depending on the situation. If I have a base camp or if it's more than 2 of us, I'll generally take the trailer. If it's just me or we're moving around daily, then I prefer the RTT on the back of the truck.
This is definitely the ideal situation... but if he is being forced into one situation or the other, he needs to decide which situation he will most likely encounter.
 

Jaydebe

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IMO, if you are looking to set up a "base" and go out; yes, the RTT sucks.
We have one an our idea was to travel to ride mountain bikes. But, we often found ourselves having to pack up to run to a different trail, store, etc.

It became a PIA. If I could do it again, it would at the very least be a trailer based RTT that can be dropped for adventuring.

Also something to consider: We travelled for 14mo via van and there are places that allow overnight parking (Not tent camping). On those long travel days; with a trailer; you can climb in a go to sleep without issue; with an RTT you have to find a hotel or maybe drive 20-50mls out of the way to find a spot overnight camp.
 
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Yallaen

Yallaen

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Good responses, and good discussions. Keep this going. I'm leaning towards still getting the adventure trailer, but I like the thought of swapping between the trailer and bed itself.
 

Free2roam

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I still fail to see why a RTT is an ideal sleeping situation. What does sleeping 6-7ft or more get you when you have to get up and pee in the middle of the night. Or significant other or kids. Don't get me wrong the set up time on a RTT is optimal vs ground tent. I'm going the route of a trailer. I'm currently working with a sheet metal company to build my trailer. I'm hoping I can get all my needs fitting into a 10 ft overall length trailer.
Kitchen, solar and batteries, 30 gallons of water, refrigerator/freezer, propane, and RTT plus storage for gear. Trailer will be sitting on 35's and be approximately the same height of tow vehicle. I believe it was a YouTube channel Trail Recon that actually took a Turtleback trailer on the Rubicon. The guy when he had his Gladiator towed it all over.
 

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NHyde

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I still fail to see why a RTT is an ideal sleeping situation. What does sleeping 6-7ft or more get you when you have to get up and pee in the middle of the night. Or significant other or kids. Don't get me wrong the set up time on a RTT is optimal vs ground tent. I'm going the route of a trailer. I'm currently working with a sheet metal company to build my trailer. I'm hoping I can get all my needs fitting into a 10 ft overall length trailer.
Kitchen, solar and batteries, 30 gallons of water, refrigerator/freezer, propane, and RTT plus storage for gear. Trailer will be sitting on 35's and be approximately the same height of tow vehicle. I believe it was a YouTube channel Trail Recon that actually took a Turtleback trailer on the Rubicon. The guy when he had his Gladiator towed it all over.
So I am confused, in the first part of your post you're saying you don't understand why people want a RTT but the second half says youre getting a RTT on your trailer?
 

Scrambler84

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i had my RTT on an rebuilt M416 trailer for years was fun to drop it off and go with my JK but I always had to come back for it. With the Gladiator and the RTT on it I can go from spot to spot and not come back much easier. All depends on whether you are using the trailer as a base camp or not. Was nice at an Off road park but not for overlanding
 

NHyde

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Good responses, and good discussions. Keep this going. I'm leaning towards still getting the adventure trailer, but I like the thought of swapping between the trailer and bed itself.
Honestly, start with it attached to your vehicle, see how much it impacts your mobility. If it impacts it enough to be annoying, get a trailer.

We were in a similar situation, we had our RTT (soft-shell) and at times, we would want to go wheeling or whatever and didn't because we would have to collapse everything, pack everything up, etc etc. To combat this, we went a slightly different route.

We bought a teardrop that houses all of our gear, kitchen, packs, etc and we are buying a hard-shell RTT which will make take down and setup much quicker. We have a family of 4 (5th on the way) so a large hard-shell RTT works well along with a tear drop. We can toss our gear into the tear drop, collapse the hard-shell and be on our way in 5 minutes.
 

Jcsii

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I don't see a downside to starting with it on your truck and getting a trailer later if you decide you need it. It really does depend on your trails.

I ended up with a diamondback cover for security, seemed better than just a rack while traveling and staying in a hotel. The tent on the back does kill your rear visibility though. Its light enough I don't feel it when off road, but I am lower than a full height rack (I wanted a profile lower than the roof). This does limit my ability to mount all the flashy "overlanding" gear.

I can break camp with the tent on the truck pretty quickly UNLESS I set up the full kitchen, privacy/shower shelter, awning, etc. At bed height, much easier to close up.. but limits your annex options.

My next trip to MOAB I will not take the trailer since all campsites will be one night only.

My last trip to NM we base camped so I took the trailer. (the AC is NICE but LOUD in those little campers)

Leaving a fully decked out trailer at some sites would make me a little uncomfortable....but the intech locks up pretty tight.



Jeep Gladiator RTT vs "Adventure" trailer Untitled
 

NHyde

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I don't see a downside to starting with it on your truck and getting a trailer later if you decide you need it. It really does depend on your trails.

I ended up with a diamondback cover for security, seemed better than just a rack while traveling and staying in a hotel. The tent on the back does kill your rear visibility though. Its light enough I don't feel it when off road, but I am lower than a full height rack (I wanted a profile lower than the roof). This does limit my ability to mount all the flashy "overlanding" gear.

I can break camp with the tent on the truck pretty quickly UNLESS I set up the full kitchen, privacy/shower shelter, awning, etc. At bed height, much easier to close up.. but limits your annex options.

My next trip to MOAB I will not take the trailer since all campsites will be one night only.

My last trip to NM we base camped so I took the trailer. (the AC is NICE but LOUD in those little campers)

Leaving a fully decked out trailer at some sites would make me a little uncomfortable....but the intech locks up pretty tight.



Jeep Gladiator RTT vs "Adventure" trailer Untitled
Love the Flyer - I was going between the Flyer Pursue and the Luna Rover - we ended up w/ the Luna Rover due to our kids - the TV / sitting area in the Luna just suited our family better.
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