nice

 

My total cost with extras was around $5300.00. For accessories, I got the hand rail/lantern hanger, the stove rack/sink/water jug rack, two ice chest racks (which can also haul water, gas, etc), and the attachment for mounting a full size propane tank on the tongue. I traded in my old horse trailer, and my actual out of pocket was $1800.00. I'm in the process of getting everything together to go deer hunting in about 4 weeks, and I'm taking the trailer and my atv. I'll be staying overnight with temps around 30 for a low, so I'll let you know how it does. I'll be going over some very rough one lane roads.

 

That sounds like fun, and a good test run for your Jumping Jack. Please post again after your trip and let us know how it works out.

 

There are those Baja camper trailers that have a deck on the front for an ATV or whatever you you wanted to haul, limited to one though but if you had a pickup you could do one in the back.

How much is just the base trailer??

 

OK. I took the jumping jack out for a test run this past weekend. I tossed the atv on top, and went scouting where I plan on hunting. The road was rutted, bumpy, and slanted in places. The trailer handled all the bumps and ruts great. I never noticed it twisting from side to side, and no signs that it was top heavy. Even on the highway on the way up, I intentionally took the corners at above the rated speed, and the trailer behaved like I was taking the corners slow. Absolutely no swaying. The trailer remained flat/level at all times. With the long ramps, I had no problem loading and unloading the atv. My little Prairie 360 did fine with both the wife and I on it. Some of the old skid roads I was on were long and climbed rapidly, but the atv pulled fine. The kawasaki doesn't have a lot of top end, but it does to the job for me. I have to admit, that before I bought my Jumping Jack, I was concerned about it being top heavy, but those concerns are completely gone after this trip.

 

Here's my two cents from another (non ATV Connection forum) response I gave to a question about the Jumping Jack trailer:


I was looking for a offroad tent trailer a year ago. Something rugged (we really do get well off the beaten path), light, versitile and simple. The ones from the mainline RV manufacturers are *!&#, (Fleetwood Expedition, Jayco Baja, etc.) look under them. Hoses and wires hang loose. The outlet on the water tanks are the lowest part of the trailer, etc.etc. etc.

It was clear that modified "off road" versions of tent trailers wouldn't cut the kind of camping we do. After a lot of searching, the JJ and an all aluminum offroad trailer made in Reno were the only real choices. I was able to look at a JJ but not the one in Reno so the JJ was my choice.

I picked it up on a Friday and one week later left Idaho for Baja. On top of the trailer was an ATV, coolers, grub box, gas cans, tools, spare tires, etc. My estimate is that we had well over 1000 pounds of gear.

The trailer handled the load, wind and Mexican roads to San Felipe without a wimper. At SF we gathered up my parents and 6 other people, two dune buggies, two more 4 X 4 pickups with tons of gear and headed for Bahia de Los Angeles. I rode my KLR 650 and my 19 year old son drove the Dodge with the JJ trailer.

Anyone who has driven the road south from SF can attest to how rough it gets. Although there is some occasional maintanence it goes from good paved to washed out paved to fair gravel to just plain rough, steep in places and washed out in others. In a dune buggy or on a bike it's great. As my wife and mother will attest in a pickup it is brutal.

Distance to the bay is well over 100 miles. It is a good 6-8 hour drive in a pickup.

Along the way are the scattered remains of every type of RV, from motorhomes and broken boat trailers to flat camper shells etc. When the group in SF heard I was bringing a tent trailer to take on this trip they simply shook their heads. My dad warned me repeatedly not to do it.

Although after thoroughly inspecting the JJ trailer before buying it, I still had a few doubts like weld quality, axle to frame connections etc. After spending a few days at the bay we returned to SF and I no longer had any questions about the toughness of the JJ tent trailer. It survived just fine. No cracks, no tears, yes some scratches and a broken tail light lens but I really couldn't ask for more. The only casualty was one of the water jugs that came with the trailer. The road was so rough it literally wore a hole in the side of the jug even though it was tightly strapped down. Ask me sometime what happens in a grub box when someone leaves one 14 oz can of corn in the same box as all the dry goods on a road like this.

The trailer zoomed back to Idaho via the Grand Canyon after Baja without a problem. It pulls just fine at 75mph. Since then it's been out a couple of times including Memorial Day at the South Fork campground in the Owyhees with buckets of rain and plenty of snow and sleet.

Even though they are expensive compared to a good tent, if you want a stout off road camp trailer, in my opinion, there's nothing like the JJ tent trailer.

Here's the specs for mine:

Double and single bed.

Optional rear awning- but it's pretty much worthless.

Cooler carriers - tie them down tight or you'll lose them on a rough road.

Kitchen option - I wouldn't buy again - I have an original Coleman folding kitchen bought when they were test marketed 15+ years ago-outstanding.

Carpet (don't think it's a luxury, it is actually easier to keep the inside clean with carpet)

No trailer brakes (I pull with a 3/4 ton diesel and you don't even know it's there even on steep declines).

I threw away the water jugs that came with it and replaced them with 5 gallon Military Spec Poly jugs. Virtually indestructable.

Zodi Hi Performance tent heater - no moisture inside like the Mr. Heater my dad has.

I took off the Chinese 4 ply tires the day I bought the trailer and replaced them with the BFG 3 ply sidewall off road tires. Excellent investment.

Partner Steel three burner all aluminum propane stove.

Things I'm still working on:

Tongue box to store the stove, heater and a propane shower in.


I'd buy another JJ tent trailer in a heartbeat.
_________________
Shawn T[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Okay! I've had my jumping jack out twice now with my quad. I took it up deer hunting and pulled it with my jeep liberty. I hardly knew it was back there, except for those long steep grades, the jeep slowed a bit. On the dusty trails, even on very tight, steep turns, which required the jeep to be in 4wd, the trailer didn't flinch. I had the trailer leaning at some pretty good angles with the quad on top, and it did great (no top heavyness). My dad followed me down the mountain, while I rode the quad (hunting). The trailer actually bounced around more without the quad on it. Takes a little getting used to getting the quad off the trailer (with the trailer surface being about 2ft higher than some other trailers), but after doing it a couple of times, I have complete confidence. The only real problem, is backing the trailer, with my quad on top, into my garage. I have to ratchet the tie downs pretty tight, and then it just clears the garage door frame, by maybe an inch. I have an older home with small garage.

 

I took the jumping jack with my ATV, out 4 times in Oct., deer hunting. Spent 1 night at 7000' level, 15 degree night time temp, using a Coleman Cat. heater. The heater emitted an odor which I did not like, and it did not put off very much heat. But it did keep the tent from frosting up or getting below 30 degrees inside. After that, returned the coleman cat heater, and got a Mr. Heater (9000btu model), and went out hunting again. This time was only around 5000', but temps got down to 20 deg. The Mr. Heater kept the tent much warmer, and you could tell that it put out much more heat. Tent temp was very comfortable. At one point, I had a tent flap open while running the heater, and it got a little cool inside. I have a carbon monoxide alarm (digital) that was in the tent. Decided to seal the tent up tight. It warmed back up to where it was in the 50 deg. range and the carbon monoxide alarm stayed at "0". Apparently these tents breath very well, and allow more than enough air in to run the Mr. Heater all night long. I definately would not have tried this without using a good quality, digital carbon monoxide alarm. And even now, on future trips, I will still use the alarm every time I go. The trailer performed fantastic, and it was nice with all the accessories, to have the camp stove attached right to the tent frame, where I could peak out from the tent flap and watch dinner, while staying warm. Really liked the kitchen setup (platform for stove with backsplash, place for water jug, sink. From the time I got to my camp spot to getting everything set up, I was hunting within 30 minutes of arrival.

 

FYI, the Mr. Heater was designed to be used indoors and has a low oxygen shutoff. Also, it wasn't made to be used above 7000'.

 

I am aware of those stats, but I've read reviews from a few folks who have used them at 9000' with success. Most of my camping will be at 7000' or below, even though some of my hunting is up to 9500'. We have some big mountains here in Idaho..