Worlds toughest Casita

[Raspy]

Check out this modified Casita, and specifically, the hitch.

Very cool and ready for action

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkfaMf4JCUg

[NEWYORKHILLBILLY]

very cool/ I love to have that back platform

[John in Santa Cruz]

those tires look way too big for the wheel wells.

indeed thats a neat back platform, but it requires the complete re-framing job they did to support it, the stock Casita frame wouldn't handle that.

I'm kinda surprised they didn't just remove the stock frame, and put the casita 'egg' on an entirely new frame, instead of welding the new frame to the original.

I wonder what the actual gross weight of that thing is now. gotta be way over the original 3500 lbs.

[Jon in AZ]

I think he said it’s a 5200# torsion axle with a “soft” ride, so I’d guess 4000-4500#, maybe.

[jerrybob]

Very cool upgrades......just goes to show.....if you have enough money....anything is possible....does it come with a Yeti cooler?

[LoneWolf04]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

I'm kinda surprised they didn't just remove the stock frame, and put the casita 'egg' on an entirely new frame, instead of welding the new frame to the original.

I agree. Probably would have ended up further ahead in the long run to get a heavier trailer frame and either set the Casita body on it and made mounts. Or, cut the casita frame in a way to keep the frame portion that contained all the mounts and then welded or bolted that mounting structure to a new trailer frame. Why waste the time modifying the front A frame to accommodate the new coupler, just to continue the new stretched / heavy duty frame the whole length of the existing frame and then some out the back.

It’s nice, don’t get me wrong. I feel like the company over complicated the solution though.

[FRED SMAILES]

How long is that AC gonna sit up there going over the terrain shown in the vid,,, let alone all the other stuff hanging off the body? Glass is strong but it will flex, with flex comes cracks and there will be the crack that broke the camel's back,, tough frame though.
Fred

[M. Bober]

200 gallon water tank?

[semievolved]

ok, I'll be the wet blanket, that is the most ridiculous thing I've seen in a while. You want to go off road, a trailer is not the reasonable approach no matter how tough you make it and I'd argue this is toughened in some ways but the weakest aspects are made even worse by some of the mods. Instead, get a truck with a pop-up camper. Trailers by nature are very limiting off road because of clearance, articulation, the inability to back out of a road that gets too tight or narrow or dead ends or whatever. You can make the frame as tough as you want, it won't help much with clearance and the overall length appears longer if anything, another negative for backcountry travel. And, that rear deck, good god, that gives me the eebie jeebies thinking of all the super easy ways to hang up on it, tear it off, or back it into or over things. I went to a 16' Scamp in 2013 from a 1977 Fleet slide-in pop-up camper in a 98 Tacoma and it is luxurious by comparison but a huge step down in terms of backcountry access and it has quite good clearance for a trailer. This project just smacks of somebody wanting to show off and spend lots of money as opposed to something that actually resulted in a really sensible outcome. Flame on!

[NEWYORKHILLBILLY]

honestly I did not think the terrain in the video was to bad. I had towed my old stock casita down atv trails in upper Michigan.Crossed railroad tracks off road . as long as i went slow i didn't have any problem .

[Glenn Baglo]

I tried to watch the video twice, but I can't get past the lousy camera work. Zoom for no reason, stop, reframe, zoom, stop, reframe. Couldn't watch it. If you are going to zoom ( and you shouldn't ), at least know where you are going to end the zoom and why you are zooming.

[computerspook]

Cool. But you have to really get ugly to need that much. Actually have had my scamp behind a bulldozer twice in order to get to a location to do cleanup management of a site.


I actually run on an open frame generator because that way I can be the source for other people at an incident.

[swhird]

Originally Posted by semievolved

ok, I'll be the wet blanket, that is the most ridiculous thing I've seen in a while. You want to go off road, a trailer is not the reasonable approach no matter how tough you make it and I'd argue this is toughened in some ways but the weakest aspects are made even worse by some of the mods.

Yep. Seemed to add little or no value and just inventing problems to solve. Did almost nothing to address clearance except add bigger tires that don't fit the wheel well.
My biggest issue with "off roading" in the Casita is the waste water plumbing hangs too low.

[Donna D.]

He needs to learn from the U-Haul folks. Some of them really take their trailers on rough, muddy roads!

[Fredomatic]

RAD

[Lead Dog]

Seen this video last year and was blown away by the addition of 12" brakes and 8 bolt wheels?? Seams like overkill since hi high speed tow rig is only 6 bolt! I probably would have chosen to match the hubs for spare usage!

[MedicineMan4040]

But is there a way to stiffen the stock Casita frame economically? I think this guys trailer super mod is close to $11K.
I do think the stock frame allows a bit much twisting and knowing the Casita is NOT an off road camper, we are all going to hit a pothole sooner or later that will torque/twist the fame.....and pop a rivet or two. Maybe some simple welded buttresses/triangles welded to what is already there?

[ShelbyM]

Originally Posted by MedicineMan4040

But is there a way to stiffen the stock Casita frame economically? I think this guys trailer super mod is close to $11K.
I do think the stock frame allows a bit much twisting and knowing the Casita is NOT an off road camper, we are all going to hit a pothole sooner or later that will torque/twist the fame.....and pop a rivet or two. Maybe some simple welded buttresses/triangles welded to what is already there?

How did you come by your opinion of the stock frame? Popping a rivet isn't a big deal but if you are actually planning to do significant off road travel some other type of camper would be more appropriate.

[computerspook]

You can do all kinds of modifications for what you need.


I go some places where I see at least two "13 foot" scamps The thing is that are sideways. People have taken a large trailer which will haul a tractor or truck with room a spare and a huge amount of weight. One of the ones I have seen is towed by a dually, the other by a simi tractor with a large sleeper. But what these have done is put a scamp on the trailer sideways at the front so that the door opens onto the trailer floor. That way they can bring their toy (antique tractor or truck) to and event and have accommodations.

[computerspook]

Originally Posted by ShelbyM

How did you come by your opinion of the stock frame? Popping a rivet isn't a big deal but if you are actually planning to do significant off road travel some other type of camper would be more appropriate.

I agree that I am not impressed with the video. But I know at least one other off road trailer camper. Know someone who does work for weeks at a time in the back country. He has a slightly larger and even more heavy duty trailer that he tows out to his camping sites. In part because once he gets there the truck he uses to tow it there is needed for the work he is doing so he can't have a camper on it.


One thing I know he did was to put a winch on the back of the trailer. Also one on the back and front of the truck.