STANDING HEIGHT A-Frame Trailer: Antishanty Camper Tour

at first glance you may think this is just a converted cargo trailer or an aluminum version of the popular A-frame style trailer but this trailer is more than meets the eye due to its aluminum construction the anti-shanty lives and plays larger than probably any trailer on the market the anti-shanty A-frame trailer comes in at the same weight as most popular teardrops you see on the road today but unlike most small camper trailers that have only one queen bed and little to no standing height this trailer has two queen beds and a nine foot six inch ceiling height plus many of you will take advantage of its ability to haul ATVs and multiple dirt bikes out to the campsite now don't let the price of this model in the video turn you off this is the limited edition just keep in mind that they make a paired down base model of the same trailer and the base model gets you out to the same amazing locations still sleeps five or more people but comes in at only half the price of this limited edition model so let's get right into this walkthrough and as usual you'll want to stick around until the end of this video as I'll be sharing the three things I like about this trailer and the three things I think can be improved and one of those three issues are often overlooked even by people who have put in the down payment or are ready to buy hello everyone it's Luke with Auntie Shanty we're here at the Loveland Overland Expo checking in with playing with sticks and wanted to sort of show you around our ultralight Adventure units up top on the roof you can see the A-frame when the A-frame is down we call it travel mode you've got a very low profile height and as soon as you get to Camp pop the roof and you've got nine and a half feet of interior ceiling to work with you can see the fan and the three zamp solar obsidian 100 watt panels on the roof those are great panels they they work well for us moving around you can see the oversized door here we really like the oversized doors for being able to take big coolers or other types of gear bikes that kind of thing some folks like to store them in there also a nice little bench we hang out on this quite a bit it's really comfortable for just pulling over and picking out your panoramic view yeah on the outside of the unit here we've got our kitchen accessory box so this has a ton of space for storing things you don't want to clutter up on the inside of the trailer the inside has a fair amount of space but is anybody living and and using a smaller space can relate with having extra options to keep things less cluttered is always always nice beyond that it's going to give you the extra flat surface area that is also coming at a premium when you're out in the back country or or even at a campsite just having some extra space to put drinks food prep whatever is is really nice it's at a nice working height and the Shelf is fully removable in here so if you want to store larger items like carpets or skis snowboards that kind of thing they can pull out as well the tongue of the unit here we've got our adventure box or our gearbox is what we call it it's basically where all the brains of the operation are housed it's got the invert the red Arc total vehicle management system as well as the 400 amp hours of lithium battery this unit is the limited unit which is our top of the line model it's available on both of our rigid roof and A-frame units and this is the A-frame Limited on the outside here we can see uh we got our shovel mounts we can do different types of shovels we've got the Roto packs there we've got water Gas Propane extra water spare tire and the shower enclosure as well got a quick deploy privacy awning for placing your cassette toilet as well as a 180 degree awning so you got awnings on both sides of the limited another kitchen box with a bike rack on the back there as well you also see on the limited we have Baja Designs exterior spots for a full wrap around of highly visible light it'll light up a really dark campsite The Limited comes with independent axle-less suspension from Timber and industries got the 23-0 awning above us that awning is also featured on the other side there and as we're wrapping around the tail of the unit this is what we call our instant awning so this thing is the back door also doubles as the awning just pop it right open and you've got a nice little spot to hang out in inclement weather that kind of thing shade from the Sun so speaking of instant I think one of the questions is going to be how quick does this pop up when you're tucking the A-frame there yeah yeah so the A-frame can be deployed in I would say with all the Jacks roughly a minute minute and a half if you're if you're moving it's the the process of popping the roof itself is three latches and then popping it open so it takes just a few seconds to really really get the thing up we can come around the back here this is the lower bunk Lower Queen bunk it's got a few different options for where you can place the panels it's a tri-panel system so there's one two three panels and those those panels can be fully removed or configured in different ways so people will pop them in in the middle there for a nice picnic table if it's just a couple traveling some people will remove the the top bunk entirely to give a ton of extra headspace all sorts of different ways to use it with the bottom bunk removed you can pull in a single Moto couple motos quad will fit in here nicely lots of different options integrated ramp slots here for the storage of double ramps or single ramp one piece that's kind of unique about our trailers is they're all made of aluminum except for one piece of giant steel uh tubing and that steel tubing goes from the tongue of the trailer all the way to the tail of the trailer which gives you total confidence to place things like heavier bike racks that kind of deal off the back without worrying about it bouncing around and kind of twerking a little heavy on the trailer so what are you guys suggesting like number of people sleeping in here so we have customers that will stack people in here so we've got customers who'll do like a sleeping pad on the bottom here with a couple kids down on the bottom and then themselves will sleep up here and then maybe three kids at the top so we've got people who will really really put them in here a lot of people like to do just the a couple down here and a couple up top and then if you have maybe a little one you can add an additional panel off the back here for above your feet to have kind of like a crib area so yeah we've got we've got lots of families that use them in all sorts of different ways yeah and then moving around the side here you can see the rest of the Baja design spots it is really neat to to throw those on and have just a huge area of light you can work within another kitchen box back here as well and this one's got the one up bike tray mounted to it yeah so this one has just some stuff stored in here but as you can see this kind of stuff floating around on the inside is just always a a hassle to manage so that's basically what this this trailer is is gear management system and this stabilizer jack I've never seen this before where is this out of yeah so those uh are pretty unique as well they are all aluminum so they're super lightweight and they're also rated for the pull units so they're actually leveling jacks not just stabilizer Jacks so you go to a campsite that's super off camber fire these up and level yourself out really easily and they swivel up out of the way obviously as well on the limited we have all electronic entries so it's the keyless entry from RV lock they work great gives you the option to not have to carry an extra set of keys around moving on into the cabin of the the unit here you can see it's got a ton of space as soon as you hop in one of the advantages to the A-frame is the ability to camp in it when the roof is down so even when the roof is down you've still got room to sort of crawl around in here you've got the full queen bed you can access without having to pop the roof if you need to do a quick overnighter uh super versatile setup but we use this as a changing room this is also a great kitchen prep area in the middle of the countertop here we've got our Wallace diesel heater and stove top combo that gives you glass to cook on and also heat for the interior of the unit so we really like that piece works great got a sink in the limited The Limited also comes with the on-demand hot water system as well for the exterior shower and the sink on the inside we've got soft touch Lighting in The Limited which is kind of neat it throws off a different Hue of white light which is a cool little feature kitchen accessory shelf for all all the storage of your knickknacks Molle panels for kitchen storage or kitchen accessories you want to have at a nice hands length away this also has the Dometic Fridge freezer combo so tons of space to basically store whatever you need to refrigerate it you've got a slide here to move it in and out for full access you've got the AC built in underneath the countertop here and what's also nice about the limited unit is with the 400 amp hours of battery this thing just goes 300 watts of solar on the roof with an additional you can see probably right here tucked in zamp obsidian briefcase panel with that amount of solar and the 400 amp hours of battery you're you're making energy that's endless yeah yeah so uh as long as there's sun it's it's really great you can plug in heavier draw items like uh one Wheels electric bikes that kind of thing you can run off-grid blenders in here whatever type of uh power consumption needs you have this thing has you covered so the one question I have it's hard to see on video this is a high ceiling what would you say the standing height is in this section of the trailer yeah so we get that a lot from really taller individuals and people just who appreciate headspace from the floor here to the the very top there you're looking at nine and a half feet so it's it's got that kind of peaked cathedral ceiling feel to it with the windows both open you get so much airflow in here it's basically an open air shade structure we've also got the queen bunk up top tons of sleeping space for a very compact footprint wow I didn't realize that's two queens that's right Queen on the bottom a queen on the top yep that's right yeah so we use an Arctic turn or turn over land double insulated window these are pretty cool windows for a number of reasons they've got a triple anti-pry latch going on my favorite feature on these units is the half latch which is right snapped in the middle gives you just a few millimeters of airflow but full triple anti-pry locking and then they also have an integrated bug screen and full blackout screen in the footprint of this trailer when this is parked in your neighborhood how big is this in your driveway or in your neighborhood the the trailer from tongue to tail is 14 feet the cabin itself with the tongue on it you're looking about 16 16 and a half somewhere in there wow so this is a trail it's small but it lives big exactly yeah and we we can make them fit in a standard garage if that's what you need we also build them with more ground clearance and other options if that's what you're looking for as well three things I like about this trailer now the first thing is what they call the instant awning unlike many of these Overland off-road trailers that require cumbersome 270 degree awnings to set up I really appreciate that they included one awning that can instantly set up similar to a teardrop Galley Hatch this allows you to quickly pull over at roadside parking areas and campsites and immediately take cover from the elements however without a slide out kitchen if you want to cook outside this will require you to set up and tear down your outdoor kitchen number two the fact that this trailer is small but lives large check out these stats it has a removable tongue that decreases the size of the trailer from 17 foot 6 inches down to 14 foot 5 inches allowing it to better fit in tight spaces obviously also the base model is only seven foot five inches high meaning it will fit through the door of many of your garages and maybe best of all the base unit only weigh weighs one thousand seven hundred pounds so it can be towed by many mid to full size SUVs keep in mind if you add the heavy toys this obviously greatly will increase that weight also I just have to note that this trailer is a little on the wider side coming in at seven foot six inches wide number three the utilitarian design it's easy to clean maintain it also increases the lifespan of the trailer due to the heavy use of aluminum versus inferior materials now on to the three things I would either improve or that I feel I should point out on this trailer I think two of these are pretty minor but one is going to require me to take some time to talk you through it number one I couldn't find a tongue weight on the website but I have to assume this tongue weight on the limited model is going to come in much heavier than many of us would probably prefer with the AC batteries kitchen all the power management system riding near the front of the trailer or just over the tongue I can't imagine how much extra tongue weight and stress this would add to the rear of the tow vehicle I think the base model will obviously be a much better configuration for tongue weight but if you do go with these upgrades I would make sure to get an accurate tongue weight from Auntie Shanty before handing over that down payment number two is another weight consideration I raved about the base model coming in at only 1700 pounds but I probably should note the weight of this limited edition the weight of this model is coming in at 2 700 pounds which will obviously kick a lot of your daily commuter SUVs out of the running for towing this trailer so essentially you may need to upgrade that tow vehicle plus spend 73 thousand nine hundred dollars for this model it definitely makes the base model at thirty seven thousand nine hundred dollars seemed like a much more viable option for many people number three this is a big one that many people Overlook and that is the fact that this trailer although hard sided still requires a rain fly over the roof for inclement weather and it also requires a removable insulating layer over the A-frame section to increase the R value during colder nights now hold on hear me out many people in the forums and online just assume this is a poorly built trailer if it requires a rain fly and temporary insulation and I agree it really doesn't make sense for many of us but what it comes down to is priorities every trailer build has trade-offs there's no Perfect trailer and that usually comes down to sacrificing something to get something else two years ago my family spent three straight weeks in our 1970s canvas pop-up trailer we absolutely loved the amount of mesh and the feeling of sleeping close to Nature with all the sounds and the breeze so when we designed our current trailer with Charles we really had to make a tough decision do we want the nice Airy trailer that feels like we are living Outdoors or do we want something that is truly Four Seasons in the end we sacrificed a tent feeling that we love for a bit more protection from the elements and I think that is what happened here with Auntie Shanty but obviously in the other direction really think about what you saw in this walkthrough this was a pretty well thought out design with quality components and after getting to meet the folks who designed this camper I realized these are folks who actually camp and have the ability to make a great camper trailer so I don't think this was an oversight I think this is a company with the intent of building a trailer that lived both like a cabin and a tent which obviously would be well suited for environments like Utah but they still wanted to have their take and eat it too so the only way to do that would be to add a rain fly as stated in their online materials their trailer without the fly is 99 impervious to the elements and with the rain fly it is 100 so with all that said just keep these next points in mind if you're looking to purchase this trailer what environments will you be taking the trailer in what happens if you have to put the rain fly up when an unexpected storm blows in do you have to collapse the trailer to get the fly over the components will water get in at that point or better yet you just err on the side of caution and put the fly on every time you go out sounds a bit tedious basically what I'm saying is anytime you buy a trailer really think through situations like this and make sure you ask all these questions to the manufacturer before you make that purchase all right off my soapbox if you enjoyed this trailer you really need to check out our Intec flyer Explorer walk through here this also hauls the toys has a utilitarian design and fits the entire family and as usual stay safe on the road and we will see you in the next episode

Channel: Playing with Sticks

Views: 130,105

Keywords: camping trailers, small camper, travel trailer, standing height trailer, camper, trailer, antishanty trailer, antishanty camper, overland trailer, teardrop trailer, pop up camper, pop up trailer, a-frame camper, a-frame trailer, a frame camper, chalet camper, chalet trailer, off road camper, camping trailer, small campers with bathrooms, off road trailer, overland trailer suspension, overland trailers 2023, camper trailers 2023, stand up camper, playing with sticks, alaska

Id: wmI_DtTIn7M

Length: 18min 22sec (1102 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 05 2023