What is the competition up to?

[Bill]

As we have discussed over the past few days, Trail Manor has just introduced the TrailMini. It looks like a great little rig, and will definitely meet a market need for a small but well-equipped, low-profile, lightweight travel trailer.

So, what is the competition doing? Hi-Lo has just introduced a model called the Mojo. It is a kind of retro-looking teardrop trailer, and as Tim Sample would say, it is "wicked cute"! You'll have to decide how much you are willing to pay for "cute", but the new issue of the Good Sam magazine, and the Hi-Lo web site, have the rest of the story - or at least most of it.

The Mojo is, and is intended to be, a smaller trailer than the TrailMini, which makes it hard to compare the two. In addition, Hi-Lo has played the basic-configuration-vs-options game to the max, making options of several items that are standard on the TrailMini. And of course, that affects the stated dry weight (1400 pounds for the Mojo vs 1850 pounds for the Mini), hitch weight (140 vs 260 pounds), and base price ($12,593). So you can't compare them right out of the box.

Unlike other HiLo trailers, the Mojo's opener is spring loaded, not unlike the TM's torsion bars. Interior height is 6 feet, shorter than the TrailMini. The dinette converts into a bed - the bed is permanent in the TrailMini. There is no bathroom in the Mojo, and so no shower or private space. A hardwall bathroom with toilet, shower and sink is standard on the TrailMini.

According to the article and the Hi-Lo web site, Mojo options include a refrigerator, furnace, drop-down stabilizer jacks, spare tire, Porta-Potti, and propane bottle, all standard on the TrailMini, as well as awning, battery, Fantastic fan, and air conditioner, which are options on the TrailMini as well. (Hi-Lo lists the propane bottle as both optional and standard equipment.) Fresh water capacity on the Mojo is listed as 6 gallons, vs 20 gallons on the TrailMini. No mention is made of a water heater; the TM has a 6 gallon two-way unit. The Mojo does not have a black water system, of course, and apparently not a gray water system, either. Like a canvas pop-up, I imagine that it dumps gray water directly into a bucket outside. A screen door is standard.

At this point, specs and prices for both trailers are pretty skimpy. My guess is that once they are equipped with an equivalent set of options, they won't be too different in weight or price - but we'll have to wait to be sure about that.

My conclusion is that both manufacturers have added a nice model at the bottom end of their size and weight scale. That is a good move in today's world. Either will be of interest to single travellers or couples. The TrailMini might accomodate a small child as well; it is hard to think that the Mojo could do so. Both of these trailers will work well with smaller tow vehicles, of course.

And Hi-Lo apparently got the jump on magazine publicity. I'm surprised.

Bill