Smittybilt Scout Redesign Coming 2019

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bshinn

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Anybody still waiting on the Scout should take a serious look at the Black Series Sergeant. I wish I had seen it before buying my Crux, might have made a different choice. Advertised price is $9K with a tent, annex, electrical system. Haven't seen one in person, but if the quality is there, that's a helluva bargain.
 
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1Louder

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Anybody still waiting on the Scout should take a serious look at the Black Series Sergeant. I wish I had seen it before buying my Crux, might have made a different choice. Advertised price is $9K with a tent, annex, electrical system. Haven't seen one in person, but if the quality is there, that's a helluva bargain.
Another Made in China product. Inspect carefully....
 

dannyklaus

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Another Made in China product. Inspect carefully....
I just picked my Sergeant up on Saturday from Southland Rv in Atlanta. Thorough walkthrough, and inspection. Very pleasantly surprised. 1st trip is in a few weeks. If we have to thoroughly inspect everything made in China, we would not have time to do anything else.
 
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ArkansasDon

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lots of products have mishaps. How else is a company supposed to improve that product. I owned a business in the custom gun industry over 16yrs, Remington seen their fair share of recalls as like as the automotive industry has. People are quick to respond when Smittybilt has issues. I own some of Smittybilt's products: RTT, 5gal jerry can mounts, 12,000lb winch. Smittybilt made improvements on their 1st Gen RTT which introduced their 2nd Gen RTT's which I own & many do. I do not hear much grip about it , just as they made improvements on the 1st Gen Annex to the new 2nd Gen Annex huge improvements. I've seen other overland offroad companies like have recalls or problems too. I figure they will make vast huge improvements on the Scout Trailer as they done in other products. The concept of Smittybilt is about price conscientious buyers that can afford a products w\o breaking the bank.
 
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bshinn

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lots of products have mishaps. How else is a company supposed to improve that product. I owned a business in the custom gun industry over 16yrs, Remington seen their fair share of recalls as like as the automotive industry has. People are quick to respond when Smittybilt has issues. I own some of Smittybilt's products: RTT, 5gal jerry can mounts, 12,000lb winch. Smittybilt made improvements on their 1st Gen RTT which introduced their 2nd Gen RTT's which I own & many do. I do not hear much grip about it , just as they made improvements on the 1st Gen Annex to the new 2nd Gen Annex huge improvements. I've seen other overland offroad companies like have recalls or problems too. I figure they will make vast huge improvements on the Scout Trailer as they done in other products. The concept of Smittybilt is about price conscientious buyers that can afford a products w\o breaking the bank.
My comment was not a shot at Smittybilt, simply trying to offer another option at that price point since SB seems to have production issues and people are waiting. I looked at the Scout and for several reasons I decided to go another route. As a 53 yo who clearly remembers SB's bumpers and "roll bars " from back in the 80's that would rust and dent almost before you could get them installed I was unable to spend $6K on something wearing that logo. History has proven that to be a wise decision, Ive stated before that SB appears to be addressing the issue so kudos to them, but I'd be pretty pissed if my frame cracked and they sent me a few pieces of steel to have welded on at my expense as a fix, and from what I've read that's exactly what's happening. If I'm wrong, I retract that last statement.

I bought a Crux 1610 that is could very well be built in the same factory as the Sergeant, It has the same "Aussie designed" trailing arm suspension and hitch and several other similar features including a fully welded hot dipped galvanized frame. I have no doubt it will hold up in the long run.

The Sergeant appears to be well designed , and a much better bargain than the Scout, and it seems to be available now.
 

1Louder

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I just picked my Sergeant up on Saturday from Southland Rv in Atlanta. Thorough walkthrough, and inspection. Very pleasantly surprised. 1st trip is in a few weeks.
Hope you have a blast. This is NOT specific to ANY brand but make sure after your trip you go around and check all of the nuts, bolts, screws, etc. Things tend to loosen up once they have been bouncing down the road.

If we have to thoroughly inspect everything made in China, we would not have time to do anything else.
True statement just most are a lot less expensive than a trailer. I know someone that has had issues with their Black Rock and will leave it at that. I'm not sure if BR discloses where the trailers are built. Many folks believe they are built in Australia not "designed" so that's a big difference.

I won't bash Smittybilt. Some of it is good and some of it is crap. Like many brands. I own a fair amount of Smittybilt products. WIth regards to the version 1 of the trailer they quickly responded to the issue when it was brought to their attention and stopped sales.
 

sabjku

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Since a few others have offered an alternative trailer option, and without trying to derail the OP's thread, I'll just at least throw out the option of the Morris Mule trailers, built in Aniston, Alabama by Morris Burt. Having my trailer built by Morris was one of the best purchasing experiences I've ever had, and the end result was well worth it in my opinion. Solid, functional, practical trailer, that's well built and fairly priced. If you haven't heard of them, look them up. Morris is more than flexible in his build options.
 
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Bulwinkle

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Well we just got mine delivered a few weeks ago... Ordered in October. Because of my schedule I can't dive in and put it together right now, but I can say that what I see looks good. Hardware and paint look well done.. Stay Tuned..
 
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Bulwinkle

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I received the trailer a few months ago, and finally had time to start assembling. Ordered it in October 18 and got it sometime in April 19. I assume it is from the new manufacturer. Some non road observations.

The packaging and protection of parts was over the top. Each bag of hardware was very well labeled with a shipping ticket taped to each bag for each step of assembly. The shipping crate and attachment is well thought out and really did insure things stayed protected. There are no scratches, dents or dings.

(We have a shop for our construction company and Don our mechanic joked that it was packed to be shipped under water not on top of the water.)

The fit looks really good.The gaskets and door fit was even and tight. 12 sets of door keys. I plan to add a rear bumper put the spare with a swing. I actually saw the exact idea that I had on another site. Looks like a good plan.
We had it uncrated and wheels on in @ 3 hours.
Going to redo the wire harness. They did not use a quality cord and did not ground the wire to the trailer. The splices from the vehicle to the trailer are not water proof. Will add a junction box under the brake battery for any future troubleshooting or changes. Bad wire is one of my biggest concerns.

Hitch: Fortunately I have an after market rear bumper and swing spare that will really facilitate adding a second 2" receiver above the stock location. The trailer tongue is @ 23" off the ground and I want to pull the trailer as straight as possible without offset hitch. I will add a photo when we bake the receiver on.

I understand from previous threads they were having problems with welding on the previous model. I can say from inspection that this looks like very clean welding and fit. No splatter or gaps in any of the the beads.

I want to get a Max Coupler. At one time they were offering a discount to Overland Bound Members. Looking for any suggestions on where to purchase.
 

Brian B1973

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I've been trying to order one of these trailer kits since July. I don't know if anybody else has noticed that it's impossible to nail any vendor down on a delivery date. I just had a conversation today with a manufacturer and the new date for delivery is first quarter of next year. That's February/March of 2019. The reason for the delay and lack of inventory is that the trailer is being redesigned! I have no other information than that but for me it was good to know that they are working on improving the product and releasing it in the spring. I'll wait, I don't think there's a better value in the industry. I'm pretty excited to see what new features of improvements they offer on version 2.0.
Im thinking about selling mine.....Divorce
 

blackiestone

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100% agree. There is not a lot connecting the front tongue to the rest of the trailer.

We love ours but in an upgrade version perhaps the ability to customize it more would be a lot more useful.
I would imagine the next version would be more bare, and probably have a stronger subframe because of it.

I have said it before, but if you are close to the bay area and want to make it to the coast feel free to come check ours out...
Hey, I know you posted this about a year ago, but we are thinking of the smittybuilt and would love to see your's. Would you be open to showing it if indeed you do still have it?
 

McGrizzly

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Hey, I know you posted this about a year ago, but we are thinking of the smittybuilt and would love to see your's. Would you be open to showing it if indeed you do still have it?
Im really sorry we ended up selling it and downsizing actually. If you happen to have any questions I can answer perhaps, just let me know!
 

blackiestone

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Im really sorry we ended up selling it and downsizing actually. If you happen to have any questions I can answer perhaps, just let me know!
NP we are researching and would love to see one in person. We're also consdiering the Tuffstuff basecamp trailer. So many trailers, so little time.
 

Bulwinkle

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I can say that it has been fun to assemble the Scout... given that, I do have a shop with all the equipment and space to lay it all out. It has taken more time than I thought. Our mechanic and I have worked on it together. The alignment took some time. The directions were good and the parts have gone together very well. Great fit. I did not see the old tongue configuration, but this is very well designed and strong. I also built a rear bumper and swing gate for spare. There are some photos on another OB forum for Scout.
The electrical was the only shaky part of the kit. Reworked the harness and installed a terminal box for the lights and brake.