Reviews for Smittybilt Scout Trailer
I had owned this trailer since September 2017 and I had put it thru the test from Texas, New Mexico Arizona and Utah. I’m an experienced Overlander and the longest I had taken this trailer out had been around a couple months at a time. The pictures on top are from my set up. It’s a great trailer from the price standpoint, a tad bit heavy. I own a TJ and Second Generation Xterra and they both struggle to pull this trailer. I use a F250 with a 7.3 Diesel and it pull perfectly. The trailer come as a kit and is up to you to assemble it. I’m a mechanic and have my own shop with power tools and whoever tell you can put this thing together in 4 hours is either lying or taking short cut. The trailer is bared and is up to you to outfit the trailers with your gear. It’s very important to align the trailer. So far, the trailer is great, but not perfect:
Wiring: I had to replace the wiring as the original wiring was faulty. I build my own wiring harness and replace the original wiring which to my standards was poorly made.
Color: Trailer is black, and it look awesome, unfortunately the dark color retained heat to the point that when traveling the trailer get extremely hot to the touch.
Tongue Jack: The tongue jack has a wheel, which is technically useless unless you have a smooth concrete floor on your shop. The tongue leg appeared to be somewhat flimsy for the weight of this trailer.
Stabilizing Jack: They are great, but if you place them on the travel position they interfere with opening the back door during travel mode (Example: to get to the refer in the rear you must move the legs in another position.
Overall, I like this trailer a lot, because its totally low tech and if you are a do it yourselfer, it’s very easy to work on it, perform repairs and modify. It’s a solid investment so far.
Purchased the trailer last year, and took it for its maiden voyage to Cape Lookout in November 2017. Pulled the rig about 1000miles total.
The trailer pulls great; my only issue is its a heavy! Pulling with a 2013JK 2 door without issue. The braking system works great. Upgraded the tent to an ARB Simpson III, comfortable and plenty of room. An air mattress really made a difference.
You MUST get the tires aligned properly, as per the user manual. The only problem that I had was registering the trailer in Maryland - we eventually found the right person to speak to at SmittyBilt, and they sent us a Certificate of Origin - magic happened and no more problems. Its very configurable, and easy to modify to get everything out of it. For the price, it is solid, well constructed and a great piece of kit.
This is a good trailer--I'm generally pleased with the purchase. There are a few minor things that aren't ideal (e.g., parking brake handle should be reversed 180 for better leverage and the screws holding the doors on should be blind so an electric drill/screwdriver doesn't quickly defeat the locking system). But overall, it's high quality and pulls great up to 70mph (haven't tried faster). I'll be in the backcountry this weekend and expect no problems given the high ground clearance and good tires. Note that it shipped from Smittybilt with the wrong hardware; they called in mid-assembly and said stop immediately! The bolts were defective (one broke on us in assembly); the new ones appear fine but we'll see. Smittybilt gave me an awning for it in return for the trouble. Overall, it's not perfect, but very good! I expect they will refine it a bit in the future and improve on an already good trailer.
Although I haven't used on a camping trip yet the trailer seems like it can withstand a beating. I did not construct the trailer but I was told how the wiring needed to be rewired for the electric brakes; not just on mine, but others. The awning mount should have been cut smaller. When you mount it all the way out, there's a gap between the trailer and where the awning begins. But since they made the mount long, you're unable to flush it with the trailer since the tent is up there.
I do feel like Smittybilt underestimated this rollout.I ordered it beginning of May, shipped at the end of may, got to the store Mid June. Because it's so heavy, don't think you'll have it right away. It went from being a concept trailer of being cheaper with the tent to being priced more without the tent. They also made it seem like you were able to get it delivered right to your door step then needed a loading dock and a fork lift (I understand. It's a large piece). They should pretty much take that SEMA video down from youtube to avoid future disappointment.
Pulling with a 2013 FJ cruiser. Pictures to follow.