Is THIS the BEST off road trailer? (MDC off-road popup) [ep 133]

This off road popup camper from @MDC_AU has an included annex with 10ft ceilings!

Welcome to the second video in our off road camper series. ICYMI, we're on the hunt for the best family off road camper, and we're highlighting various vendors in our quest.

This camper comes to you from the Australian company MDC. We had never considered a popup camper but this made us completely rethink that!

Enjoy!
- The Haskins

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Jeep
'21 Gladiator Mojave
37" Cooper STT Pro
3.5" Metalcloak Gamechanger
Metalcloak Rocksport Long Travel Shocks
Fusion 4x4 2.5 Ton Steering
Revolution Chromoly Rear Axle Shafts
1.75" Synergy 5x5 wheel spacers
4.88 Yukons
Stock wheels

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Camera
Olympus OM-D EM-1 Mark III
Leica 12mm 1.4
GoPro Hero 9
GoPro Max
DJI Air 2S
DJI OM 4

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[Andy-Gibb]

I own one here in Australia and they are awesome. We go bush with ours and have had no problems towing it in sand and over rocks. It does add a bit of weight and you can feel it when you go uphill on a standard Jeep wrangler JK. If you have a done up vehicle or a ram or dodge Ute you will have no problem towing it anywhere. Camping in the trailer is like staying at a motel as you have all the home mods as it has a step up transformer so you can use your home appliances if needed. Sometimes I think it is to much to go camping with it but when I get to where I am going and open up the trailer which takes about 2 minutes to set up then I see the appeal for the ladies by having the camper trailer. She can even use her hair dryer. It was well worth the money and here in Australia you even get one with aircon.

[ailox]

Hi! I'm a 60-year-old retired US military guy living in the UK with my English wife. We are long-distance international overland travelers and bought a used one MDC camper trailer 2 years ago that is almost identical to the Jackson. We LOVE it! Can it handle whatever you throw at it? Absolutely. It is palatial inside and out when set up. It takes me and the misses 5-10 minutes to set up without any of the annex. No more than a roof top tent. Basically, it is just a giant roof top tent on wheels with a kitchen ;-) We don't carry the whole annex, just the awning and the two sides. That is enough for even the most torrential rain (remember, we live in rainy old Blighty!). Is it great for wet weather? No, there are better rigs for wet weather but it works fine. Is it great for mild to hot weather? Perfect! My old-school Land Rover Defender pulls it like it's not even there. Putting it away takes about 10 mins even with the awning. I would say the only downside is pushing all the canvas up on the center bow is fairly heavy. At 61 and in decent shape I can still do it but it is a younger man's game. Remember that this trailer is aimed at young families, not "grey nomads". It does have a lot of storage for food/camp kit, etc. but not a lot for people. You'll need to keep most of your personal stuff (clothes bags etc.) in your vehicle. The part my wife loves the most is the ability to stop and make a meal from the slide-out fridge, pantry, and kitchen without opening the trailer. No 'garage sale' unloading of boxes just to make a sandwich makes her day! Only real changes to make are to dump the inside table and upgrade to a proper DO35 hitch. The table is heavy an awkward. I put in a normal camper table with a removable swing out leg and am very happy with it. The poly block hitch is garbage for hitching up. It works, but there are much, much better options. Anyway, that's m tuppence worth. In short, we are very happy with it. Cheers from over here, y'all!

[patrickjamesmcb]

Definitely a nice camper for sure. I actually built tear drop style offroad camper to hitch to my JK and decided to sell it all. I just didn't feel that comfortable running a trailer on the trail. Too much anxiety of having another axle and set of tires for me. You could put yourself in a bad situation trying to turn around on a narrow trail. If this is more of a base camp setup, it might work. But then you might have to backtrack hours if the trails you are running don't circle back.... but then do you decide to not bring the trailer for that trip? but then do you decide it was a waste of money if you arn't using it? For me a RTT on the JT is perfect, but i know you have kids. There are very large RTTs out there with divider walls... but is it too much weight on top? decisions, decisions.

[vish_colorado]

I'm really enjoying your new series on your search for the perfect off-road camper trailer. I've been looking around a bit myself and believe that I have my choice figured out, but you've reviewed two others I didn't know about. Have you looked at Opus yet? I would love to see you review the OP4 and hear your thoughts on it. There's a dealer up in Denver that carries them... Keep up the good work. Love your channel!

[MikeBanks]

I have the earlier version of the Cruiser Highside--a similar model to yours.

Several things I noticed in your first episode--you did not put in the safety pins in the tow bar pin--that scared the hell out of me.

The second minor thing, was your putting the guy ropes upside down. Adjust them at the pegs, and and put a half-hitch around the poles--that stops the wind lifting the annexe roof off the top of the poles. I also bought a pack of different coloured electricians' tape to mark my tent and annexe poles--so much quicker grabbing the right pole-and tennis balls cut in half with a small hole drilled in them, . fitted over poles and pushed down firmly make them almost downpour proof

I also notices you put the window shades up too high, put them a tad lower and not stretched so taut--if it rains, that way the rain trickles out instead of pooling. The same goes for the annexe--drop the front two poles a bit if it rains.

I strongly recommend that you look at the Australian MDC website--it has a HEAP of good information.

In also put a 2KW Diesel heater in the so-called safe box--about as safe from intruders as paper knickers. THAT worked a treat when it is cold as:-

Only other thing I did was replace the water pump with a bigger one. I have a couple of roll-op bladder tanks which roll up, and when I need to have more or longer showers, I can put that in the SUV and fill it at a nearby creek or stream, and have an extra fifty, or one hundred litres, depending upon which tank I use and what else is in the vehicle.

I did one thing that may now be standard on your camper--I fitted flow-through ventilation in the fridge compartment. using a small fan to draw air from the fridge door, and expelling it through a hole I drilled in the top of the partition between the fridge compartment and the lockers. In the door of the lockers, I fitted fine stainless steel mesh in the outlet, and a baffle to keep out rain. I always run this computer fan which draws air from the original inlet, but using a small car air filter fitted to the door instead of the old easily clogged tiny felt or paper ones. It turns on using a thermostat switch set to 40 degrees Celsius, adjacent to the radiator of the fridge.

[hamidnia]

Why no one takes any zoom out view to see all at once, at least one shot?

[t.o.f.t.s.]

really want to see real time set-up. Those pop-ups seem to take 30 to 40 minutes just to set up. Vs. teardrop. which is stop, open done. 🙂 Granted there are only 2 of us most the time. Kids use the RTT if the go. that's another 1min to pop open.

[JohnSmith-sb]

Built in China, not Australia. Just down the street from Black Series and Opus...

[jeepgreatstories]

But where’s the AC? 😅
BTW! You look pimp in those glasses.