I want to start this article off with a big thank you to Jeff and Kate at EcoTrek Campers. As a small business it takes great courage to put your product out there for an editorial review and watch it drive off with no guarantees.
This is the part where I do my job as a writer, reviewer, and web magazine owner. I go over every inch of the T3 Tent Trailer and give not just my honest opinion – but the why behind each decision so you as the reader can better understand the product and the builder gets to communicate through me in a way not normally possible.
There is so much to cover already and we just started living with the T3. Initially we are going to cover how it was built and some of the features.
Construction
The main tub and panels are constructed from 3 mm ACM. ACM stands for aluminum composite material. You have two sheets of aluminum laminated to a composite center core. This produces a lighter, stronger, and cheaper material to work with. The material is weatherproof, vibration dampening, and can be formed with no loss to its rigidity. Aluminum 6061 studs are used to create the structure that holds everything together. The heaviest model fully optioned is roughly 700 pounds with the tent installed. Even a Prius can tow that, or in our case a Jeep Wrangler with that lump of minivan V6 they try to tell us has almost 300 horsepower.
The chassis rolls on 30 inch MT tires attached to a 1500 pound Rockwell American Equalizer torsion axle. That gives a full 16 inches of ground clearance to follow your tow rig just about anywhere. They also fitted a Lock -N-Roll hitch that gives you a full 360 degrees of rotation and 3 axis of movement. This on-road, off-road hitch gives you the freedom that you can’t get with a ball hitch, but without the jerking and banging of a pintle hitch.
Mounted on top of the trailer is a RTT from CVT. The base that it is mounted to is able to be lifted and is supported by pistons that keep it open and offers access to the storage area. Pro tip from the builder. Remove your items from the trailer that you need before setting up the tent. Otherwise you get to take the tent back down to get everything out.
Design
If you go to the EcoTrek Campers website you will see some outdated pictures. The latest generation has some design changes that improve the ease of use over the previous models.
They do offer the side storage pictured but it inhibits access to the under tent storage area. You can clearly see in the picture how it pushes you away from the body of the trailer. I am just over 6 foot tall and can only reach the very edge of the compartment and not to all the way to the bottom.
They also redesigned the tail gate to allow better access. It previously swung down at you and while it could have been used for a table, it mostly got in the way loading and unloading the trailer.
Side panel doors are also an option – but one they have moved away from. Turns out they looked really cool but most things were too big to fit through them and generally were blocked anyway as soon as you put longer or taller items in the trailer. The nice thing about a small company is how quickly they can adapt designs to incorporate new features, or eliminate ones that aren’t working out.
Options
Quick list of most of the options available on the trailers. Custom items can certainly be ordered although one thing they will not do is a rear hitch. Too many incidents have occurred where people loaded hitch carriers and then unhooked from the vehicle only to practically flip the trailer over.
| Model | T3 |
| Overall Width | 68″ |
| Overall Length | 103″ |
| Overall Height | 67″ |
| Tub Width | 48″ |
| Tub Length | 60″ |
| Tub Height | 27″ |
| Deck Height | 24″ |
| Ground Clearance | 16″ |
| Storage Capacity/ Cu Ft. | 45 |
| Lockable Tailgate | Yes |
| Lockable Side Doors | No |
| Lockable Hinged Top | Yes |
| LED Lighting | Yes |
| Dry Weight/ lbs. | 550 |
| GVW/ lbs. | 1500 |
| Electrical Connector | Flat Four |
| Folding Jack | Yes |
| Stabilizer Legs | Yes |
| Safety Chains | Yes |
| Lock “N” Roll Coupler | Yes |
| Tires | 30 X 9.5-15R |
| Wheels | 15 X 6 |
| Tent | CVT Mt. Bachelor (sleeps 2+) |
| Base Price | $6,995 |
| Additional Options: | |
| Lockable Side Doors | $125 each |
| 10 Pound Propane Tank with Holder | $150 each |
| 5 Gallon Petrol Jerry Can with Holder | $175 each |
| Front Running Boards | $250 per pair |
| Black Poly Tongue Box | $249 |
| Kayak Rack | $349 |
| Custom Paint/Vinyl Wrap | starting at $495 |
| Electric Brakes | $349 |
| Timbren Axle | $695 |
| Reinforced Tailgate | $99 |
| Round 7 blade electrical connector | $25 |
Our Trailer
The T3 we are using has a few options on it to make life easier. We have a Jerry Can, a water can, the tongue tool box, running boards, aluminum tread plate reinforced tail gate, custom vinyl wrap paint and the kayak rack. Base price for the trailer is $6995 and with all of our options we tally up to $8665.
Stay tuned for more adventures and information as we use the trailer to camp across the Eastern US and attend multiple events with two people and a dog. We will do a full review of the tent, the rest of the trailer as to how it tows and performs in multiple situations both on and off road.
