T@g boondock vs. meaner bean

Bigdog

Hi everyone, thank you for let me joining this forum. I can’t really decide between a meaner bean and a boondock Tag. Both have their pro and cons. Guess it depends where you want to go with it. We plan to take it up to Alaska and later down to Mexico and further south. Gravel roads, leaving the highway into forest roads for overnight. The Bean might me more offroad capable than the Tab, but not sure if this even matters on a trip like this. It’s way more expensive and comes up to $ 29,000while you can get Tag for even below 20,000 or many preowned on the market.
I like the Tag and know the Nucamp quality. Has anyone taken his Tag to a trip like this? Would you say a boondock Tag just as good for this tour than the bean? Towing with a sierra 2500. Would appreciate any advice and experience. Thank you.

beaky

we have towed our Boondock XL down some rough tracks, but just a cursory comparison of the suspension systems of the 2 gives the Bean the advantage. We recently ordered an Opus 2 for its massively robust build and off road capacity. I do have friends who towed a stock T@G the length of the Mojave Road with no issues. The $14k price difference buys a lot of extra gear and upgrades for the T@G, like twin lithium system, suspension upgrade, and lots of sexy gear.

zgfiredude

Two thoughts: 1. Be honest with HOW you will use it.....not how you dream of using it. Road types, storage needs, etc. and 2. Lead times/availability.....depending on lead times, the decision may make itself!

DCN082162

The price difference is pretty big. We have towed our T@G down some dirt roads and deep sand for miles. There are places I would not try to take it though, like big rock fields and and ledges more than a foot or so. That said for well below 2K you could upgrade the suspension and tires and protect the underbelly with diamond plate on the T@G and be ahead.

Sharon_is_SAM

@Michigan_Mike towed up to Alaska. Maybe he can chime in.

WilliamA

https://teardrop-trailers.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/1312/t-g-boondock-vs-meaner-bean

Most of my trips involve some offroading. I'd not take my 2017 T@G XL on the Rubicon Trail (at least not ALL of it) but I have been in some pretty rough country with it. My trailer is pretty highly modified but I did a lot of my travels when it was closer to stock.

For ANY small trailer, off-road/rough road chops need 2 things: good, long-travel suspension and ground clearance. My trailer has 18" of ground clearance and 6+ inches of suspension travel.

As to the difference between a Bean and a T@G, I've not seen a Bean in person but I've been on their website a number of times and like them.

I'm not in the habit of giving advice and won't comment on the initial build quality of my own trailer. But, knowing what I know now, I'd probably not start with a T@G. My first choice would probably be an "Oregon" trailer (are they still even around?) in their off-road trim. I added a complete Timbren suspension to my trailer for about $1,200 bucks and it's the best money I've spent making my trailer more capable. That said, I would have chosen a trailer with a much stronger frame, preferably boxed steel instead of the C-channel T@G frame.

The T@G is a good trailer in road trim. But for a serious offroader looking for reliability and off-road meat, I'd look elsewhere first. If I were contemplating the Darien Gap, I'd build my own. My wife, son and I are leaving in three weeks or so for Moab, then points south to Anza-Borrego and JTNP. I'm planning to do at least some of the Mojave Road and the Red Canyon Jeep trail. I want to do at least one Jeep Badge of Honor trail with the trailer in tow. In Moab, I'd like to do at least half of "Fins and Things" trail with the trailer.

Money....

A Mean Bean trailer costs twice what a T@G costs. I've got somewhere around $3,000 in suspension and hitch, brake and running gear upgrades in my T@G, but the frame is still stock. For my trailer, that's still the weak link. If I wanted to upgrade my trailer frame to post-apocalypse standards, that'd be another $500 or so if I do the work of boxing the stock frame and adding the necessary additional crossmembers. Then there's still the constant fixing of all of the assorted swag ( screens, cabinet doors etc) that keeps falling off.

For REALLY serious offroad chops in a trailer, I'd look elsewhere first.....

That's my opinion for what it's worth.

WilliamA

Bigdog

Thank you guys! Thats all i wanted to know to get more certainty about which might be the best trailer for my needs.I live in germany , but have a place in AZ from where we will start the tour. But though i love to work on things myselft, i just dont have the time to do all necessary upgrades myself. Planning for next year, so still plenty of time to do the right decision. Won’t do rockcrawling, but the ride to Alaska is kind of a testride if we like the teardop life. I don’t like a camper cabin on my truck, too heavy. Offroad trailer offer more flexibility along the road. Will retire soon and then do the Panam all the way down. So reliability and some off-road capability is important. Will attend the overland expo this year in flagstaff and check out both, the beans and the tags and the oregon. Maybe visit the bean plant in Salt Lake City.