By Tony Barthel
I see a lot of people asking what they can tow with Jeep Wranglers. The TAXA TigerMoth might just be the answer, depending on the Wrangler. According to Jeep, the Wrangler can tow between 2,000–3,500 lbs. depending on the model, and the TigerMoth fits right into that range. It also has the same tough, go-anywhere appearance as the Jeep.
That makes sense since this is designed just for the same backwoods trails as that Jeep.
The TAXA TigerMoth is more of what we would consider a tactical trailer of sorts. The interior is loaded with exposed metal beams that have holes drilled in them so you can hang bungees and bungee nets and that sort of thing.
That kind of build is extended outside where the roof has an optional Thule rack system built-in and, again, there are plenty of steel plates with lots of holes drilled in so you can bungee your kayaks or other things down.
On the side is a “door” that swings up on gas struts. It amounts to about half the passenger side of the trailer. That is kitty-corner to a back door that swings open.
Out back is a pull-out kitchen with a unique wooden box that has movable partitions and a second box with a cutting board lid on it. Above that, on the outside, is a five-gallon jug with a push-button spigot that serves as the water system. No worries about leaks and easy enough to fill. But you also don’t get hot water unless you heat it on the camp stove.
Above the kitchen is an awning that covers the whole thing, and TAXA offers a screen room option for this. There is space on the tongue for a cooler.
While not foldable, the TigerMoth is about 2” shorter in height than most garage doors so it may fit into your garage if that’s something to consider. There are also options like a rooftop tent and the Thule rack system, which offers a ton of choices for holding adventure gear including kayaks, bicycles and more.
These are pretty tough little trailers sitting on a powder-coated steel frame with sidewalls made of a sandwich of an aluminum skin over a foam core with an aluminum inner skin.
Things like European-style Lexan windows and torsion flex axles point to a higher grade of quality, which is good when your closest neighbors are bears and coyotes instead of repair professionals.
Most RVs have what are called “parasitic loads” on their batteries. These are things like the circuit board for the refrigerator to tell it to switch between gas and electric, inverters, radios with clocks, and all sorts of tiny little draws that conspire to eat your batteries so that, if you leave the RV unattended for even moderate amounts of time, you return to a dead battery. That’s not true here. There is no CO detector because there’s no carbon monoxide. There is no circuit board for the refrigerator because there isn’t a refrigerator. Now, if you do want to keep your food cold there is a provision on the tongue for a 12-volt refrigerator/cooler. Or you could just use an ice chest.
The simplicity of this little trailer is both its hallmark and detriment. There’s no toilet and the nearby stream is your closest bathtub. In many ways, this is a step up from tent camping without taking the full plunge into the RV.
You don’t have a fireplace and a reclining couch to sit on if the weather goes south, but you can sit on the benches in the trailer that convert into beds. There are even screens over the huge openings on the side and rear of the trailer so it would be a nice place to sit and read a book. There is a table on a pole so you could sit there and write reviews of RVs or whatever pays your bills.
In fact, TAXA has even provided a provision to hold books, as I’m guessing the company’s owner has used his own product and found that reading can be a great source of entertainment when you’re not hiking, kayaking, bicycling or whatever other outdoor activity you enjoy.
You can get an air conditioner but you’d have to be hooked to some source of 110vac power – there is no inverter.
There are a number of people on the Internet who show videos or have Instagram accounts sharing all sorts of hidden places they’ve taken these trailers with a four-wheel-drive tow vehicle. This is sort of the next step if the rooftop tent we reviewed a while back isn’t enough camper for you. And I do like all the places to hang carabiners or just about anything else so you have somewhere to hang stuff when you’re not using them to climb mountains.
These RV reviews are written based on information provided by the manufacturers along with our writer’s own research. We receive no money or other financial benefits from these reviews. They are intended only as a brief overview of the vehicle, not a comprehensive critique, which would require a thorough inspection and/or test drive.
You can get a brand new pop up tent trailer with A/C, sink, refriderator, 3 burner stovetop
sink, comode, shower two kingsize beds. and a lot more for less than this trailer. So no this is not a good deal check them out. https://www.rvtrader.com/Pop-Up-Camper/rvs-for-sale?type=Pop%20Up%20Camper%7C198071&sort=distance%3Aasc
There’s always a cheaper something – but that doesn’t mean it’s comparable. I wouldn’t want to take most pop-up tent trailers out into trails and back roads whereas this would be very well suited.
Cheaper isn’t always better.
“You can get an air conditioner but you’d have to be hooked to some source of 110vac power” is true of almost every RV, inverter-equipped or not: the battery bank required to run AC for any length of time is far beyond all but a few very-high-end systems.
For 5 grandish, I would be interested.
You should say Tied down as in rope and not say Bungee down as in a rubber band. Seen too many loads held down with inadequate systems from string to bungee’s and those same loads on the side of the freeway after they break loose. Remember over a 1000 people are killed every year by items that fly off vehicle’s that weren’t tied down properly.
Please don’t use numbers (1000 people are killed) without a specific reference. Thanks
The first picture shows all kinds of stuff sitting outside of the trailer. Where does all THAT stuff go when you take off. Those two kids in the rooftop tent have to go somewhere and take up room in the tow vehicle so you can’t just toss it all in your jeep.
I’m not a fan of towing a short single axle trailer behind a short wheelbase tow vehicle either.
There is actually a decent amount of space inside this trailer for storage. For example, that cooler goes on a spot on the tongue and the picnic table easily folds down to be pretty small. Of course with any trailer of any sort, it’s always important to be aware of the cargo carrying capacity when loading the rig.
The chart says “Configuration: Fifth Wheel.”
That is sure a strange “Fifth Wheel!” Does it require a pickup truck version of Jeep Wrangler? They do not make one.
It’s a whole new style – something we’ve never imagined before. But, seriously, thank you for catching this. I just fixed it.
Specs say “fifth wheel” configuration, but photo sure looks like bumper pull. Never seen a Jeep pulling a 5th wheel, either.
Where you state, “There is no CO detector because there’s no carbon dioxide” I believe you meant to say, “carbon monoxide“.
Well fuzz buckets – I fixed it. Thank you for catching that.
Thanks, Steven. It’s been fixed. Too tired when I proofed it last night and it didn’t register. 🙁 —Diane at RVtravel.com