Overland Style Trailers

Overland Trailer Comparison: Cubic Footage

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onecubicfoot How much storage do you need?

Face it, the main reason many of us start dreaming of an off-road trailer is to carry all of our great gear into the back country. It could be because our family has grown and we need the space in the truck (as is in the case in our family) or it could be that you're sick of packing up your vehicle every time you want to go wheeling.

Perhaps most importantly, many want to be able to spend an extended amount of time off the grid, and a well stocked trailer makes it much easier.

overland

When comparing which trailer to purchase, once the type of trailer (overland, teardrop, popup, tent, etc) is decided, capacity quickly comes into play. While most 'military' style overland trailers are similar in size, most manufacturers offer a little different spin on how they build their product.

Pricing is obviously something most people are concerned about as well. Do I have a trailer custom built to my specs? Do I buy a used trailer? Which manufactuer builds the best trailer for the lowest price? No comparison will be able to answer these questions for you, but our hope is that we can help give you a basis for further research.

After much research and a little algebra, we've been able to get an estimated cost per cubit foot for the basic models from some of the top trailer manufacturers. In this roundup we've included: Adventure Trailers Chaser, Campa Cub, CVT Pioneer, Ruger C416, Sierra 4x4 Trailers Gen 1, Manley ORV Original Elite, Manley ORV Original Economy, and the Outlander Sherpa II. While there are other options out there, this group is a good test group and all their information on pricing is publically available.

Of course, the design and included features of these trailers are not all the same, so we adjusted for the following features to arrive at a 'Comparison Price'. We made price adjustments for: Tailgate, Lid, suspension system, and other features (The Pioneer includes a water tank, sink, and stove). This is all relative and certainly not an exact science, but gives us a good starting point.

Our assumptions for the comparison price are this:

Base model trailer
NO Trailing arm suspension
WITH a tailgate
WITH a lid
NO other features
Includes basic tires & wheels (29" Jeep Compatible)

Under these assumptions, the 'comparison price' for these trailers:

AT Overland	Chaser	$6,241
Campa	Cub	$7,050

Ruger	C416	$3,270
Sierra	Gen1	$5,545
Manley ORV	Original Elite	$5,495
Manley ORV	Original Economy	$3,995
Outlander	Sherpa II	$3,850

NOTE: The Manley Economy is foreign sourced parts while the Elite is 100% USA Built (See comparison here). Other manufacturers are assumed 100% USA sourced & built.

So with this in mind, we used the published specs for each trailer to deternine the total cubic footage in all compartments which reveals the approximate cost per cubic foot. It's not a surprise that foreign sourced parts are a better value. We'll discuss build quality in future articles.

		ft³	Cost/ft³
AT Overland	Chaser	46	$136
Campa	Cub	57	$124

Ruger	C416	32	$102
Sierra	Gen1	35	$158
Manley ORV	Original Elite	41	$134
Manley ORV	Original Economy	41	$97
Outlander	Sherpa II	40	$96

It's interesting that the Sierra trailer rated highest on the list due to the additional $1450 required to add a tailgate and lid.

The Manley Elite and AT Overland come out at the high end, and the smaller Outlander and foreign sourced Manley Economy at the lower end.

Hopefully this gives you a good place to start in determining which will be the best trailer for you.

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