Opus OP4 --- our two weeks and a new found respect for our Defender 110

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The Roach ...

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Frisco, TX, USA
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Steve
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I don't really know if you would consider a trailer as 'gear' but in this case. a honest review needs to be done due to the lack of info in the American marketplace.

For the record, we rented our OPUS op4 from Rvshare... so this is as unbiased as one can get. Our money, our time, our experiences with the Opus and it's equipment.

The particular OP4 we rented was a late 2019 model, in very good shape overall from a great owner... I can't say anything but nice things about the owner or our experience with RVshare to date. The 0p4 however is a different story. We rented the op4 because we were considering purchasing one and we wanted a field test prior to making the commitment and I am glad we did.

Our plans were to leave Dallas and take 14 days touring the western United States overlanding the south and north rims of the Grand Canyon then moving up to the Grand Staircase then over to Glenn Canyon. We planned to tour more than park and in hind sight a tear drop style or expedition box trailer would have been better suited for the format of our trip but the advertising stated "up in less than 3 minutes with little effort". So we took the roll of the dice and went with the op4. Mostly due to the perception of more usable space.

First, i was totally shocked by the lack of storage and galley space on a trailer that long and while the space of the tent was nice it was a mess to take down daily. Our first issue with the op4 came when a unshielded wire from the heater system cut through it's protective cover and shorted on the heater housing. This little event occurred right after we pushed through a west Texas hailstorm and ef-3 tornado event. about 40 miles west of the worst weather to imagine when pulling a trailer we stopped for fuel and during the stop I smelled electrical smoke and upon inspection found a rolling fog of white smoke coming out of a heater exhaust vent.

Quickly we deracked the top rack, swung it open, popped the fore and aft clam shells and hit the inflate button in the control console. Anxiously in about 3 minutes the tent was inflated enough for me dive head first into the smoke filled room. Popping the hatch I saw the issue and quickly cut the power leads from the battery compartment two bays over. Noticing that none of the wiring was labeled and that none of the wiring was in wiring looms or hoops. I also noticed the sprawl of coponents into various bays rending them useless for any tyope of storage. I also noticed water lines plumped in and through bays that held electricity. an issue that I would never see in a sailboat. I also noticed all of the intenal cabinets were in fact press board and laminate. Not all that high quality after all.

due to this electrical issue, we lost the ability to use a heater, or shore power. Thankfully the owner had two zamp solar panels that in utah put out 13.4 volts and in fact bypassed most of the chopped or burned wiring. So we survived the worst part of the trip... and moved onward.

After a few days on the trail, it became obvious the up and down of the tent wasn't the issue. it was the loading and unloading of boxes on the floor of the tent on wheels that became the issue. the tent popped up in 5 minutes or less... getting stuff off of, or out of took about 45 minutes... there was an issue of design that could not be ignored.

on the road the op4 pulls straight, even with 40 gallons of water in the tanks. On the trail it seemed to not even be attached to the Defender. And this is mostly our 2021 Defender 110's doing. sitting on 33in tires it was simply a goat.. went anywhere without issue and due to its power.. nothing slowed it down or stopped it. factually, it's terrain modes prevented any form of stupidity... think mountain goat on steroids... and you might be close.

After a week out ...we decided to camp in one spot pulling a new RV park in Escalante Utah named Yonder. We recommend... a bit pricey... but on par with other parks in utah the time. We uncoupled the op4 and used it as a base camp while we explored the Staircase... we'd rather have taken it with us.. but due to electrical issues... and lack of heater. Yonder's abundant daily hot showers, morning coffee and breakfast helped us salvage the trip. While we didnt camp were the mormons did 100 plus years ago... we camped in a luxury park with a small town feel meeting tons of nice people also getting away from the plandemic.

on our return we took the Burr trail over to Bullfrog basin.. and then went on to Colorado for a night in the mountains.. before meandering back to Texas with our last night spent on a farm road just inside New Mexico about 8 miles from the Texas border. With 60 mile an hour winds ... we lost two straps on the rain fly but never folded the tent.

Overall the op4's cruisemaster knockoff suspension was great... it pulled straight and was only mildly annoying due to the electrical issues. But the tent design pulls it's on the go ability factor to damn near zero. you can't pop into a rest area to catch a few... you have to find a sight to put it all up... and that was an issue more than once. The size is about right.. and in fact we are designing a new expedition trailer loosely based on the length of the op4 in closed form. The 40 gallons of onboard water was ideal, as was the roll and lock hitch. The tent was the main issue... and always will be for our type of travel.

all in all... i'll give the Op4 2.75 stars. mostly for poor execution of wiring and component layout. If you want to set it up for two days and explore... its an option. but if you are more 'shoot and scoot' ... take a pass.

Also the Dometic fridge pulled 2x the watts our larger snowmaster pulled (yes we took 2 fridges).. one in the Defender.. one in the trailer... so it's something to consider.

Happy exploring.
 

bgenlvtex

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I almost bought one, but didn't largely due to the fact that set up and tear down despite being fairly straightforward would suck rat peckers in inclement weather.

I saw some of the wiring things you describe and had that in the back of my mind as well. I love the concept, but execution is lacking. I really think a hard side pop up like an A-Liner but with an off road suspension like the cruisemaster might be a viable thing, although I have not pursued such.

I've pretty much resigned myself to a build to get what I want.
 

The Roach ...

Rank IV

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1,116
Frisco, TX, USA
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Steve
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V
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25749

I almost bought one, but didn't largely due to the fact that set up and tear down despite being fairly straightforward would suck rat peckers in inclement weather.

I saw some of the wiring things you describe and had that in the back of my mind as well. I love the concept, but execution is lacking. I really think a hard side pop up like an A-Liner but with an off road suspension like the cruisemaster might be a viable thing, although I have not pursued such.

I've pretty much resigned myself to a build to get what I want.
I got back monday... it's wednesday --- we already have a rough design and I've talked to a fabricator about a frame. Looking at composite construction for the box portion. looks like a mix between a bruder exp4 and a boreas xt but the total length of the 0p4. I have a chevy volt battery in the garage I'm looking at repurposing into a 48v battery supply pack. 48v is the most efficient for solar.. and the battery weight is less than 20 lbs higher for 8 times the storage. Bruder has an option for induction stove and honestly a portable induction surface is better at altitude. a couple of times we had issues with propane stove staying lit.

seems like with the number of people buying trailers these days.. if you want something cool.. and within the next 14 months.. you need to build it.
 
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DiscoWanderer

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Great review Roach! Thanks for the info... I've seen those trailers and always been a bit interested. Having built sail boats professionally in the past it sounds like they could use some help over at Opus.
Nice 110 rig by the way...
I'm new to DFW area and looking for some local meet-ups, events, etc... if you have any advice.
I joined the Texas Rovers but seems like its not very active.
Thanks for any help!
 
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The Roach ...

Rank IV

Member III

1,116
Frisco, TX, USA
First Name
Steve
Last Name
V
Member #

25749

Great review Roach! Thanks for the info... I've seen those trailers and always been a bit interested. Having built sail boats professionally in the past it sounds like they could use some help over at Opus.
Nice 110 rig by the way...
I'm new to DFW area and looking for some local meet-ups, events, etc... if you have any advice.
I joined the Texas Rovers but seems like its not very active.
Thanks for any help!

Thanks... and yes Opus needs some quality control help... and maybe a design engineer. On the boatbuilder front. you think you might be interested in working / helping on a expedition trailer project / prototype build?

Re the D110.. and Dallas... Thanks.. and yes they are about dead. so much so I have been tossing around the idea of starting a Defender2 / LR adventure club. owners can get together to take trips / expeditions / adventures of x days in duration. not the beer and burger weekend stuff.. more the .. "yea let's explore xx for a week or so" type of stuff. Would have been great to have three D2's with expedition trailers on this trip going point to point to point seeing stuff, going places and talking trash for a week or so.

The trip was great and we met a ton of new people each day... but doing it one vehicle without a support team is a bit crazy. I really want to take a group and do the ENTIRE trans America trail. all parts of it. either in one year or broken down but defintely want to go coast to coast to coast with a group of people. all in the same basic type of vehicle. one thing I noticed when we were out.. we got snubbed by the Jeep guys... all of the oddball Land Cruiser guys wanted to talk.. and we were the ONLY Defender 110 out in the dirt. So much so in Utah.. we got stopped at least 50 times and heard "this is the first one of these I've seen"... which is a bit tragic. The D2 is a goat... a mountain goat... it has blown my mind to such a level I am seriously thinking about selling my 99 series 100 that is about finished. Before the trip I was thinking of making it my retirement rig with a new powerplant (diesel) and a straght axle conversion.. possibly a frame stretch. But now.. other than the fuel economy pulling a trailer (which was still better than the LC EVER gets) I can't say a bad thing about the D2. I still wish I could run 35in tires.. but I am seriously looking into a way to change the brake knuckle so we can run 18 in wheels instead of the 20's... more to come on that part.

if you're interested in any of it... PM me.
 

MarioT'sCJResto

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I don't really know if you would consider a trailer as 'gear' but in this case. a honest review needs to be done due to the lack of info in the American marketplace.

For the record, we rented our OPUS op4 from Rvshare... so this is as unbiased as one can get. Our money, our time, our experiences with the Opus and it's equipment.

The particular OP4 we rented was a late 2019 model, in very good shape overall from a great owner... I can't say anything but nice things about the owner or our experience with RVshare to date. The 0p4 however is a different story. We rented the op4 because we were considering purchasing one and we wanted a field test prior to making the commitment and I am glad we did.

Our plans were to leave Dallas and take 14 days touring the western United States overlanding the south and north rims of the Grand Canyon then moving up to the Grand Staircase then over to Glenn Canyon. We planned to tour more than park and in hind sight a tear drop style or expedition box trailer would have been better suited for the format of our trip but the advertising stated "up in less than 3 minutes with little effort". So we took the roll of the dice and went with the op4. Mostly due to the perception of more usable space.

First, i was totally shocked by the lack of storage and galley space on a trailer that long and while the space of the tent was nice it was a mess to take down daily. Our first issue with the op4 came when a unshielded wire from the heater system cut through it's protective cover and shorted on the heater housing. This little event occurred right after we pushed through a west Texas hailstorm and ef-3 tornado event. about 40 miles west of the worst weather to imagine when pulling a trailer we stopped for fuel and during the stop I smelled electrical smoke and upon inspection found a rolling fog of white smoke coming out of a heater exhaust vent.

Quickly we deracked the top rack, swung it open, popped the fore and aft clam shells and hit the inflate button in the control console. Anxiously in about 3 minutes the tent was inflated enough for me dive head first into the smoke filled room. Popping the hatch I saw the issue and quickly cut the power leads from the battery compartment two bays over. Noticing that none of the wiring was labeled and that none of the wiring was in wiring looms or hoops. I also noticed the sprawl of coponents into various bays rending them useless for any tyope of storage. I also noticed water lines plumped in and through bays that held electricity. an issue that I would never see in a sailboat. I also noticed all of the intenal cabinets were in fact press board and laminate. Not all that high quality after all.

due to this electrical issue, we lost the ability to use a heater, or shore power. Thankfully the owner had two zamp solar panels that in utah put out 13.4 volts and in fact bypassed most of the chopped or burned wiring. So we survived the worst part of the trip... and moved onward.

After a few days on the trail, it became obvious the up and down of the tent wasn't the issue. it was the loading and unloading of boxes on the floor of the tent on wheels that became the issue. the tent popped up in 5 minutes or less... getting stuff off of, or out of took about 45 minutes... there was an issue of design that could not be ignored.

on the road the op4 pulls straight, even with 40 gallons of water in the tanks. On the trail it seemed to not even be attached to the Defender. And this is mostly our 2021 Defender 110's doing. sitting on 33in tires it was simply a goat.. went anywhere without issue and due to its power.. nothing slowed it down or stopped it. factually, it's terrain modes prevented any form of stupidity... think mountain goat on steroids... and you might be close.

After a week out ...we decided to camp in one spot pulling a new RV park in Escalante Utah named Yonder. We recommend... a bit pricey... but on par with other parks in utah the time. We uncoupled the op4 and used it as a base camp while we explored the Staircase... we'd rather have taken it with us.. but due to electrical issues... and lack of heater. Yonder's abundant daily hot showers, morning coffee and breakfast helped us salvage the trip. While we didnt camp were the mormons did 100 plus years ago... we camped in a luxury park with a small town feel meeting tons of nice people also getting away from the plandemic.

on our return we took the Burr trail over to Bullfrog basin.. and then went on to Colorado for a night in the mountains.. before meandering back to Texas with our last night spent on a farm road just inside New Mexico about 8 miles from the Texas border. With 60 mile an hour winds ... we lost two straps on the rain fly but never folded the tent.

Overall the op4's cruisemaster knockoff suspension was great... it pulled straight and was only mildly annoying due to the electrical issues. But the tent design pulls it's on the go ability factor to damn near zero. you can't pop into a rest area to catch a few... you have to find a sight to put it all up... and that was an issue more than once. The size is about right.. and in fact we are designing a new expedition trailer loosely based on the length of the op4 in closed form. The 40 gallons of onboard water was ideal, as was the roll and lock hitch. The tent was the main issue... and always will be for our type of travel.

all in all... i'll give the Op4 2.75 stars. mostly for poor execution of wiring and component layout. If you want to set it up for two days and explore... its an option. but if you are more 'shoot and scoot' ... take a pass.

Also the Dometic fridge pulled 2x the watts our larger snowmaster pulled (yes we took 2 fridges).. one in the Defender.. one in the trailer... so it's something to consider.

Happy exploring.
Like most here that took the time to reply I had the Opus 4 on my short list coming in at a cool 30k I was swinging back n forth between the Opus 4, HQ black Series Classic Double, or stepping it up to a full travel trailer like the Winnebago Hike which cost around the same as the Opus 4. This review was very helpful indeed, if I decided to pick one up I would bring it to my local auto shop and have them rewire trailer which makes absolutely no sense. Now I do wonder if the 2021 models fixed these issues, so I'll give Opus the benefit of the doubt here.

Thank you for sharing this review.
 

The Roach ...

Rank IV

Member III

1,116
Frisco, TX, USA
First Name
Steve
Last Name
V
Member #

25749

Like most here that took the time to reply I had the Opus 4 on my short list coming in at a cool 30k I was swinging back n forth between the Opus 4, HQ black Series Classic Double, or stepping it up to a full travel trailer like the Winnebago Hike which cost around the same as the Opus 4. This review was very helpful indeed, if I decided to pick one up I would bring it to my local auto shop and have them rewire trailer which makes absolutely no sense. Now I do wonder if the 2021 models fixed these issues, so I'll give Opus the benefit of the doubt here.

Thank you for sharing this review.
After I did the review, I contacted Opus.. and by a turn of fate I also called a friend who imports cars and other items from Asia. he turned me on to two manufacturers that make several of the Australian market trailers that are now being imported into the USA. So, me being me... I sent an email to both. and got responses on their programs for private labeling.

I dont think the winnebago is an adequate unit for overlanding. frankly I dont think ANY trailer that has ANY wood or particle board in it is fit for overlanding. I have become a fan of the conquerors... but am having fits getting my hands on to one to field test it.

i know someone out there has to be building a quality unit that can meet the sub 30k price point in a teardrop or expedition style... I'm still looking..
 

bgenlvtex

Rank V
Launch Member

Member III

2,268
Texas and Alaska
First Name
Bruce
Last Name
Evans
Member #

19382

After I did the review, I contacted Opus.. and by a turn of fate I also called a friend who imports cars and other items from Asia. he turned me on to two manufacturers that make several of the Australian market trailers that are now being imported into the USA. So, me being me... I sent an email to both. and got responses on their programs for private labeling.

I dont think the winnebago is an adequate unit for overlanding. frankly I dont think ANY trailer that has ANY wood or particle board in it is fit for overlanding. I have become a fan of the conquerors... but am having fits getting my hands on to one to field test it.

i know someone out there has to be building a quality unit that can meet the sub 30k price point in a teardrop or expedition style... I'm still looking..
If I'm not mistaken Opus and Black Series are both "shelled" in China and the final upfit work is done on the west coast.