Hiker Trailer - anyone have experience with them? (Now Buildout)

[First State Overland]

We've been looking for a good quality overlanding trailer at a decent price point, finding that most of your popular teardrops and utility trailers start at 15K and can just to 25-30K easily, which is kind of ridiculous. It is totally understandable why people build their own. However we don't have the time to build.

Looking at Hiker Trailers, they seem to be the lowest cost option, dollar for dollar. (they make an offroad model now) Does anyone have any experience with them in the field? Our upcoming Northeast Expedition is going to put them through some pretty good miles in some pretty rough country and I don't want to end up with the "get what you pay for" curse.

 

[Scott]

I follow them on Facebook and they look like solid builds. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase.

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[Dana Ramos]

I'd definitely recommend them as far as price point. They're fairly utilitarian in comparison to other trailers this style, so are more geared towards the DIY type. Two different times, we looked at practically every other manufacturer that made an offroad teardrop style trailer (Moby1, Oregon Trailers, SoCal, Voyager, TC, AT, etc) and while most of those have a higher end, better finished cabinetry and several of those have better suspension designs (independent , air bags, etc), the Hiker trailers are considerably less money. Like 10k less. We first bought a non-offroad model without shocks and or a multi-axis coupler that we were able to take a lot of places but decided to sell that last year and have them build a bigger 5x9 offroad. We added a lot of modifications including a full electrical system with battery and panel and the total price was around 14k. They do offer a basic galley cabinetry package but as I mentioned, it isn't very high end so we opted to have a local cabinet shop build it out for us to our exact specs. We haven't had that done yet but they quoted us less than $700. Every other trailer manufacturer was going to be at least 25k for all of the options we wanted so it was kind of a no brainer for our budget at least. The company is small, and the owner Rob is a talker but they're pretty easy to work with and make a solid trailer.

 

[Wawa Skittletits]

Sub'd because I've been looking at them as well. The value is hard to ignore and I'm quite alright with some diy.

 

[First State Overland]

Just as an update from our side, we did decide to go with Hiker and an off road extreme 5x8 build. It will be color matched with our Jeep along with running the same rims and tires. It should be pretty slick. Our build will have the onboard water tank, climate right, electrical, dual screen doors and rear swing out tire carrier with some other bells and whistles to be added by us. The build is in progress, and they've been great to work with and we're looking at about 2-3 more weeks before build complete. This is the trailer that we chose to take on our Northeast Expedition up through the back country of New England and northeast Canada so we'll be running it pretty hard. We plan on doing a series of videos for a walk around and the upgrades we do to it. It'll get lots of screen time this summer from the trip. I'll post here once we pick it up.

 

[Wawa Skittletits]

Just as an update from our side, we did decide to go with Hiker and an off road extreme 5x8 build. It will be color matched with our Jeep along with running the same rims and tires. It should be pretty slick. Our build will have the onboard water tank, climate right, electrical, dual screen doors and rear swing out tire carrier with some other bells and whistles to be added by us. The build is in progress, and they've been great to work with and we're looking at about 2-3 more weeks before build complete. This is the trailer that we chose to take on our Northeast Expedition up through the back country of New England and northeast Canada so we'll be running it pretty hard. We plan on doing a series of videos for a walk around and the upgrades we do to it. It'll get lots of screen time this summer from the trip. I'll post here once we pick it up.

Looking forward to seeing it and hearing your thoughts. Happen to know the approximate weight of your build?

 

[First State Overland]

Looking forward to seeing it and hearing your thoughts. Happen to know the approximate weight of your build?

Not sure about the weight yet but I do have concerns about the weight distribution. When full the 21 gallon water tank is almost 175lbs itself, then toss in some heavy VMAX solar tank batteries at 100lbs each and your gear and we'll be rolling heavy. I specifically ordered the electric brakes just because of that.

 

[redman333]

I'm excited to hear your experiences with hiker and your trip. I've found myself in the same situation as you. Wanting a trailer that can handle tough wheeling as well as not break the bank.


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[Dana Ramos]

Just as an update from our side, we did decide to go with Hiker and an off road extreme 5x8 build. It will be color matched with our Jeep along with running the same rims and tires. It should be pretty slick. Our build will have the onboard water tank, climate right, electrical, dual screen doors and rear swing out tire carrier with some other bells and whistles to be added by us. The build is in progress, and they've been great to work with and we're looking at about 2-3 more weeks before build complete. This is the trailer that we chose to take on our Northeast Expedition up through the back country of New England and northeast Canada so we'll be running it pretty hard. We plan on doing a series of videos for a walk around and the upgrades we do to it. It'll get lots of screen time this summer from the trip. I'll post here once we pick it up.

Right on!

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[Kevin Koone]

Looking forward to seeing this!!!

 

[SeguineJ]

Keep it updated! Build thread, whatever. Highly interested in it!

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[DallasRunnin]

New to the forum, but I own a Hiker 5x8 Off-Road and traveled the NE, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Rockies, Canadian Rockies, BC and the PNW for 5 months last year with it. Had some hiccups with the axel early on, but Rob, Wesley and Randy at Hiker helped resolve the issue. (They neglected to remove the alignment wedge which caused the axel to kickback and rub on the fender support, but once removed ran without a problem.) Couldn't ask for a more affordable, customizable and capable trailer. Last I knew they working on a airbag option which would be pretty sweet.

I'm sure you'll really enjoy it, my wife and I love ours.

 

[redman333]

New to the forum, but I own a Hiker 5x8 Off-Road and traveled the NE, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Rockies, Canadian Rockies, BC and the PNW for 5 months last year with it. Had some hiccups with the axel early on, but Rob, Wesley and Randy at Hiker helped resolve the issue. (They neglected to remove the alignment wedge which caused the axel to kickback and rub on the fender support, but once removed ran without a problem.) Couldn't ask for a more affordable, customizable and capable trailer. Last I knew they working on a airbag option which would be pretty sweet.

I'm sure you'll really enjoy it, my wife and I love ours.

View attachment 18252

Have you done anything to yours? Do you not sleep inside it since you have the rtt


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[First State Overland]

Guess I should update my own thread huh? I forgot I posted this! I did go with the Hiker and I picked it up this past weekend. Time to start adding all the mods. I ordered the rear tire carrier, under floor storage, climate control, 21 gal water tank with skid and dual screen door options. Went with black on black diamond plate and had my local graphic shop create a logo that matches the wrap on the JK. Lots of project work for the next couple of months!

Equipment that is sitting in my garage waiting to be installed:

• Full solar kit, MPPT controller, two 6v 225 amp hour VMAX AGM batteries, inverter charger switch
• Shower with on demand heater
• Alu-cab awning with sidewalls
• 24" Smart TV
• Fold out, wall mounting laptop table
• misc camping accessories, 60/40 split fold out mattresses to accommodate 1 or 2 people.

 

[DallasRunnin]

Have you done anything to yours? Do you not sleep inside it since you have the rtt


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The only modifications I made is wiring to the back where I plug in a Goalzero Yeti Generator, a fan and light, the rotopax's you see on the back half and I also have more mounted on the front, a road shower, 11lb propane tank mount, CVT Awning and underfloor storage.

Yeah, we slept inside and in the RTT. It just depends on the circumstances and if we had anyone else traveling with us.

 

[DallasRunnin]

First State Overland, what hitch did you go with? Curious to know how that water tank does, they didn't have that option when I ordered mine hence the rotopax.

Where and when is the inaugural trip?

 

[First State Overland]

First State Overland, what hitch did you go with? Curious to know how that water tank does, they didn't have that option when I ordered mine hence the rotopax.

Where and when is the inaugural trip?

I'm running the Lock and Roll hitch and it's working great so far. I love the peace of mind of knowing it can't come out of there. Wes and crew plumbed the fill (inlet) port for the fill and breather for me, but I'll be running the outlet and pump/filter system. I'm a little concerned about cold weather camping and that tank not being insulated. I'm going to either have to run it dry in the winter or find some way to heat it with RV heat tape or something. I do have concerns also about the weight of 21 gallons in addition to my overbuilt battery bank. That's a lot of weight behind the axle. It's going to be trial and error as I build this out.

I'd love to take it out a few times before our large trip in June - a 4100 mile trip through New England into northeast Canada. If I can go crazy to get the build done, I'll have it out every weekend I can before that trip. I want to generate a walk around video for it once the process is complete as well.

 

[DallasRunnin]

Yeah, I went with the lock and roll too, great system! No problems after 20+k miles on and off road.

I had 12 gallons of water behind the axel along with a good deal of weight from cooking equipment, pantry items and propane tank ect,... approximately 200lbs with the addition of half the 100lb RTT and awning, no real issues for me.

Can't wait to see your walk around after you get it completed.

 

[Dana Ramos]

Guess I should update my own thread huh? I forgot I posted this! I did go with the Hiker and I picked it up this past weekend. Time to start adding all the mods. I ordered the rear tire carrier, under floor storage, climate control, 21 gal water tank with skid and dual screen door options. Went with black on black diamond plate and had my local graphic shop create a logo that matches the wrap on the JK. Lots of project work for the next couple of months!

Equipment that is sitting in my garage waiting to be installed:

• Full solar kit, MPPT controller, two 6v 225 amp hour VMAX AGM batteries, inverter charger switch
• Shower with on demand heater
• Alu-cab awning with sidewalls
• 24" Smart TV
• Fold out, wall mounting laptop table
• misc camping accessories, 60/40 split fold out mattresses to accommodate 1 or 2 people.

Dang, you guys got a TV in yours? Fancy!

The black walls looks sick. Wish we'd have gone with that color now. Stoked to see more pics of your setup.

 

[First State Overland]

Started the electrical systems but a friend came over and we switched to installing the Alu-cab Shadow awning. If you've never installed one of these, let me just say, I don't know why they didn't pre-drill holes the length of the frame, but they didn't. So you either have to drill to match up to the Hiker roof bars or get creative. Not wanting to compromise the integrity of the awning frame, we got creative. The first step was installing a pair of Bomber Products Awn Locks which fit the Hiker bars perfect. This is a very long, very heavy awning because there are no structural supports when open. Because the holes didn't line up, we cut and mounted some square conduit rails from Home Depot. We double stacked them around the support brackets and then reverse mounted the awning to the conduit bars wherever there was a hole. That was the main problem was the the holes didn't line up and I wasn't comfortable with only two mounting points for this awning.

Because the awning was to be mounted flush with the braces, I had to notch the pivot point because the nuts stuck out of the back. I coated the cross bar end with foam tape so there would be no catching the awning fabric when opening and closing.

The result is a supper strong support system that I can pull myself up on and it will take whatever the awning throws at it. I will get some pics of it opened soon. We had a storm coming in the east coast and raced to get this done. I'm also stoked that at 6'5" I'm finally going to have an awning that I can stand under without having to hunch over. This opens just under 7 ft high.