Let’s face it, not everybody has a pickup truck or a monster SUV to carry the tent, sleeping bags, camp stove, firewood, and all of the other associated gear and gadgets that help make a weekend family camping adventure fun and enjoyable. There is a new utility trailer / bicycle-canoe-kayak rack /storage shed, called the Tow-N-Stow™, which just might be your ticket to family camping without giving up the economy car.
Did I say storage shed? That’s right, when you are not using the Tow-N-Stow to haul your camping gear (or bark mulch for the backyard), just stand it up on its end and the Tow-N-Stow looks just like a standard yard-tool shed that you would find at any home improvement store. It’s completely weatherproof, lockable and can even be equipped with shelves to hold all of your yard care tools. Best of all, the Tow-N-Stow doesn’t take up any space in your driveway.
The Tow-N-Stow weighs about 400 pounds, so it’s towable with just about any vehicle that can be equipped with a Class I hitch, and it can haul up to 1,000 pounds. It has cargo rails that accept all of the popular roof racks, so it’s great for hauling bicycles, canoes, and kayaks, in addition to all of your camping gear and supplies.
I did a quick web search and found the Tow-N-Stow on The Home Depot® for $2,699 which is cheaper than the combination tent and utility trailers on the market (see Pop-up Tent Trailers), which run from about $4,000 to $6,500. Unlike the Stow-N-Go, though, you still have to figure out where to store a tent trailer.
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Wow $2,700 (that’s around £1,800 I think) that’s a lot of money for a trailer.
We’re in the UK (if you hadn’t guessed) and I thought shelling out around £300 for our Erde 143( review here) was a lot.
Having a trailer does make a lot of sense though. We leave ours pre-packed with all our camping gear in the garage over the summer.
Car Camped Series Tents are built for family and group camping. Ashlynn Vehicle
I’d suggest a used popup for that money. We purchased a used popup for $2800 and it includes heat, lights, water heater, fridge, etc.
It is a good chunk of change. But what a neat concept. Added to my wish list. Santa, can you hear me?
in-a-tent – keeping the trailer packed and ready to go is a great idea that makes those quick weekend getaways a lot easier!
Brian – we have some friends that bought a pop-up for about that price, last year. They are definitely loving it! They did find out after they got it, though, that their minivan wouldn’t tow it very well, so they had to get a new vehicle.
Mike – good luck
Trailers of all kinds can be exceptionally useful to travelers but towing is something to be taken seriously.
For more information about towing safely, read How To Tow Your Car.
I like it…but it’s just one more thing that won’t fit in the garage and the way they skimp on acerage her in Portland for housing there is NO room on my property elsewhere.
Oh, and I LOVED your gift package. It came right in time for camping and we set up the hammock…
That seems like a lot for a camper, maybe you could find a betting deal on this South Carolina camping website. Maybe, just maybe……. but don’t count on it.
Roy that’s huge. A few years back I was looking for something like that and ended up building one of the Harbor Freight folding utility trailers to haul my camping gear around. For all the time and effort I put into it, I think I would have shelled out the 2,700.00. I wonder if this is relatively new item brought on by the high gas prices last year. Good find!
VE – nothing better than a hammock! Hopefully it’s cooling off a bit up there.
Stephen – There are some awesome places to camp in SC.
Craig – here’s an interesting story about the guy who invented it: http://tinyurl.com/mm4d4s it’s a lot of money, but there is certainly value in that it’s lockable, accepts Thule and Yakima racks, and doubles as a storage shed when not in use.
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