Outdoor toys, and lots of them – that's the short of what last weekend's 7th annual Sand-Water-RV Expo in Lake Havasu State Park, Arizona, was all about. New Atlas ventured there in search of the latest boats, water toys, off-roaders and campers. We'll look at the "sand and water" in our next gallery, but first things first: the RVs. We weren't sure what to expect, but the show included a very interesting range of RVs, from small off-road squaredrops to massive fifth wheel campers and toy haulers, some large enough to carry a four-door Jeep Wrangler and then some.
Best small trailer of show
Canada's Off Grid Trailers (OGT) offers its own take on compact, ultra-rugged off-road camping trailers, ripping any and all wood construction right out and replacing it with stronger, more reliable metal. That means a steel main frame with aluminum side panels and roof sheeting.
The Expedition pictured is OGT's military-inspired off-road trailer, and though it's the company's burliest build, it's also lighter than its others at 1,750 lb (794 kg). The sharp-angled, 13.8-foot (4.2-m) squaredrop rides on a lifted 3,500-lb Timbren suspension and 32-in Toyo Open Country AT II tires that give it close to 24 in (610 mm) of ground clearance. It also comes standard with a queen mattress, dual deep-cycle batteries, a fold-out kitchen with sink and dual-burner stove, a 60-L fridge/freezer, and an exterior-mount on-demand hot water heater with shower attachment. Base price lists in at US$23,900.
Best BIG trailer of show
This was a tight race because there were a few stretched, toy-hauling fifth wheels that looked nicer than home inside. The 2019 ATC 40FW wasn't one of them, but it showed a unique construction, layout and toy-hauling capability that made it stand out.
While other fifth wheel manufacturers place small garages in the back of spacious camping trailers, ATC flips the script with its 41-foot (12.5-m) aluminum 40FW toy hauler, dropping a small living area in front of a stretched 25.4-foot (7.8-m) garage. The garage is actually a dual-purpose space that includes a kitchen block, along with sofas that fold out of the way when it's time to load in the toys - company materials show a motorcycle bunking quite comfortably with a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. A 4,000-lb (1,800-kg)-rated ramp door and drive-over wheel wells assist owners in loading gear. The small dedicated living cabin certainly isn't as homey or fancy as some of the other fifth wheels featured in the gallery, but it offers a roomy bedroom and full bathroom.
Much like Off Grid, ATC rips the wood right out of its build process, but it also removes the steel to keep weight down and promote corrosion-free performance. That means all aluminum. The ATC 40FW was listed at $107,075 at the show.
Best small hybrid toy hauler/camper of show
Not everyone has $100K to spend for hauling around tens of thousands of dollars more worth of toys. What if you want to haul gear for less money ... a lot less money?
The No Boundaries family is one of the latest product lines from RV industry giant Forest River and looks like its answer to the light, simple adventure trailers that have become quite popular around the States, kicking up dust all dressed up in awnings, roof-top tents, roof racks and outdoor toys. NOBOs are designed to be towed by four- and six-cylinder vehicles.
The NOBO 10.5 pictured above doesn't haul toys, but its brother the 10.6 does, loading up with a drop-down rear ramp and open floor plan. It's designed to haul a full-size ATV to camp, where its multi-position folding mattress serves as sofa, lounge chairs and bed, and its slide-out kitchen makes easy work of meal prep.
Forest River's website doesn't list pricing for the NOBO models, so we don't have a specific 10.6 price, but the 10.5 we looked at wore an original price of $19,638 and was marked down to $14,455.
See all the other small, medium and large adventure trailers, toy haulers and motorhomes in our complete 2018 Sand-Water-RV Expo photo gallery.