Skipper Tent Trailers Launches the New Skipper Shor’T,’ a B License 3-Berth Camping Trailer

The Kerkhofs have pulled out the drawing board again! This time, their two-generation brain trust has placed a lot more focus on developing a lightweight, easily towable, and manoeuvrable camping trailer, poised for pensioners, first-time campers, and camping families with children at an affordable price. But that’s not all! They also aimed to cater to customers who want the ability to tow on or off-road without needing a valid EB towing license.

Granting all camping customers a greater variety of legal towing vehicles, including most light urban passenger vehicles, SUVs, and 4x4s!

Remember, if you’re towing a caravan or trailer greater than 750kg, you will need an EB towing license in South Africa. However, because these tented trailers are below 750kg, you do not need a specialist EB license; your regular B motor vehicle license is sufficient.

Model Variants

Are you ready to embark on a new Skipper adventure?

Introducing the newly-launched Skipper Shor’T’, an entry-level 3-berth camping trailer, available in three model variants, offering a host of upgradeable fixtures and features catering to both first-time and experienced campers alike.

Skipper Shor’T’

Their base model is called the Shor’T’, sold as a basic camping trailer with a canvas weather skirt and deluxe canvas awning, with many optional extras available too, depending on your needs and level of camping comforts. The base model is sold with 13-inch wheels and is camp-ready, including a 120L 220V fridge/freezer.

Skipper Shor’T’ LT

The Kerkhof family also manufactures an upgraded model called the Shor’T’ LT, which includes the same weather skirt, deluxe awning, and 120L fridge/freezer. However, the LT Model is sold with 14-inch tyres, catering to those needing to navigate Johannesburg potholes or improved off-road experiences.

Skipper Shor’T’ MAX

Lastly, Skipper Tent Trailers manufactures a Shor’T’ MAX variant, a full house edition featuring most of the bells and whistles from their pool of upgrade options. These include a weather skirt, deluxe awning, rally awning (with four canvas walls), a 120L 220V fridge/freezer, groundsheet, full electrical package with 12V battery system (for lighting), 14-inch wheels with mags, plus much more.

Base Specifications and Features

The base model, the Shor’T’, has an impressive GVM of 500kg, with a tare weight of 360kg and a payload of 140kg, making it the lightest tented trailer available in their range.

Your payload is the maximum amount of weight you can pack into your camping trailer to tow it to your destination of choice legally. The Shor’T’ LT is slightly more robust, offering a GVM of 600kg with a tare weight of 380kg, meaning your payload is now 220kg, suitable for those needing to carry more goods or camping equipment.

The Shor’T’ MAX edition offers the same suspension and weight stipulations as the LT edition. However, all other upgrade options are automatically applied by default with the Max edition, as stated above.

If you’re looking for a lightweight, affordable, fuel-saving new camping trailer for two adults or more (with or without children), campers and caravanners should look no further than the new Skipper Shor’T’.

Setting the benchmark with B-license towing, the Skipper Shor’T’ weighs only 360kg, making it the lightest camping trailer in its Skipper class. Although small for easy urban storage when not in use, this trailer packs a big punch! Once opened, it transforms into a camping marvel, with ample living space and good headroom that will amaze even the most seasoned campers. Practicality and simplicity for first-time camping enthusiasts were at the cornerstone of this new innovative design and build concept.

Suspension and Chassis

The Skipper Shor’T’ offers customers a hot-dipped galvanised chassis with six-blade leaf spring suspension and a solid beam axle, with a ground clearance of 310mm to the axle beam and 370mm to the four stabilising jack pads. The wheel track is 1535mm, similar to most standard SUVs or 4×4 bakkies, designed to improve off-road ability and towing. The departure angle of this off-road tented camping trailer is 28 degrees.

Internal Layout and Specifications

The Shor’T’ owes its compact ability and agility to the insulated aluminium sandwich panel construction and plywood interior base, making this new model lightweight, because the roofing and surrounds are canvas when used at your campsite.

The roof lid of the Shor’T’ opens along the driver’s side and unfolds to 180 degrees, creating a massive double bed adult sleeping area (1900mm x 1600mm). The high-density foam mattress is strapped into the lid cavity, providing a bright and comfortable tented sleeping arrangement with four large triangle-viewing screens with mosquito netting, one on each outward-facing side.

There are two exterior load-bearing stabilising legs mounted along the fold-out lid of this camping trailer for weight distribution and sleeping stability. These legs can be adjusted to selective heights, catering to a range of uneven terrain and ensuring that your bed is always level.

A children’s bed has also been added to this new model, located above the internal nose cavity area of the Shor’T’, which stretches along the internal front width of the camping trailer. This children’s sleeping area is fitted with a 1650mm x 700mm comfortable high-density foam mattress too. Alternatively, customers who do not travel with children or grandchildren can use this area as a cushioned bunk or internal dinette area, if desired.

Camping enthusiasts who frequently travel with more than one grandchild or children can also benefit from a Skipper MultiRoom, which can be applied to the exterior canvas setup, granting a much larger camping area footprint with more privacy and security if desired. Although these rooms are usually more frequently requested by teenagers and young adults, is also an optional upgrade.

The step-up to the double bed also offers additional packing space inside the cavity for those extra blankets, shoes, or sundry items. An upgrade cushion can be purchased for this bunk, creating extra seating for your dinette area if required.

Customers choosing the 12V and 220V electrical upgrade option on their baseline Shor’T’ or Shor’T’ LT edition will benefit from a 7Amp hour battery for their 12V off-grid lighting configurations. The internal cupboards are spacious and manufactured with easy-to-use sliding doors for access and storage.

The 120L 220V fridge/freezer is situated near the rear entry and exit door, providing enough space for the day-to-day essentials of any camper, overlander, or estuary fisherman.

The roof tent closes into the body of the trailer, much like many popular rooftop tent designs, and once opened, it spans across the bed and over the body exactly like their popular Model T Skipper tented trailer. Four gable poles secure the roof tent in place, which is easy, simple, and quick to erect.

The deluxe awning (3400mm x 2100mm) zips onto the front of the main roof tent, plus an optional rally awning (3400mm x 1700mm) can be mounted too if needed or desired, preferable for those Skipper customers with add-a-room upgrades because it would give you a greater reception and internal living area if needed or desired.

Canvas walls to fit this awning can be ordered at an additional cost. The canvas walls easily zip into their frame counterparts and fit any of the wall spaces, creating an extended tented area, if your preference is to have an open or closed awning canopy, for privacy, rain, or camping convenience.

We know that tented pole structures can be very daunting at times for even the most experienced campers, however, Skipper has ensured that their pole setup is designed to save time and marriages! All poles are marked and labelled.

The deluxe awning and weather skirt are standard items on both of the basic Shor’T’ units, while the Shor’T’ Max includes most of their tenting upgrades, including the extra rally tent and four canvas walls with a groundsheet.

External Layout and Features

Externally, the Shor’T’ is sleek and aerodynamic with a tapered nose storage cavity built into the front body of the trailer. The nose storage cavity is large and spacious, split over two levels, used to easily store and access your tent poles, gas bottles, 220V electrical cables, or additional camping supplies.

The entry and exit door for this tented camping trailer are situated at the rear of the leisure vehicle, also used to house your camping crockery, mounted to the inside of the door for easy and quick access.

Customers needing a larger kitchen, food preparation, or serving area should opt for a removable foldout and slide-on kitchen table upgrade. This upgrade consists of a neatly designed three-tier aluminium foldout kitchen worktop area that fits adjacent to the entry and exit door. It can be effortlessly installed or packed away and stored inside the nose cavity area of the tented trailer when not in use or for transit purposes.

The foldout kitchen upgrade is large enough to accommodate a two or three-plate gas burner stove, an air fryer, or a microwave on the top-facing surface. There are two levels below the removable kitchen surface to store your washing-up utilities and plenty of room for your pots and pans too.

This removable kitchen upgrade is mounted on telescopic legs, suitable for any landscape or uneven campsites. A 220V multi-plug can be installed for customers who upgrade their tented trailer electrical systems. A mounted aluminium wash line can be fitted to any model, which is also an optional upgrade, for any growing family or frequent summertime beachgoers.

Moving to the front of the Skipper Shor’T’, you will find the built-in nose cone cavity and storage area, which extends under the children’s bed, accessible from the front hatch. This storage area boasts a generous size big enough to store your gas bottle, spare wheel, foldout kitchen table, tenting, and poles. In front of the nose cone, you will find a nifty peg box for your convenience. You can store your pegs, ropes, and rubber mallets inside this compartment.

The Skipper MultiRoom is a perfect addition to any family. With a floor size of 2000mm x 1700mm, a queen-size mattress or stretcher can fit snugly inside. The height from the front to the back of the MultiRoom is a standard 1830mm high to easily stand up inside. The MultiRoom is zipped onto the deluxe or rally awning in place of any wall.

Conclusion

The newly launched Skipper Shor’T’ editions are a welcomed addition to the tented trailer and caravan fraternity because of their price point and value offerings. Newcomers into the leisure lifestyle activity are finally offered an affordable camping solution to meet their needs, applicable to both on and off-road conditions.

Traditionally, most new on-road entry-level caravans have a starting price of around R 300,000 and above, hindering affordability and finance for newcomers and pensioners because of their price point. Additionally, many summertime holidaygoers only use their caravans during warmer seasons, contributing to the decision to purchase more affordable tented trailers.

What makes the Shor’T’ unique is its towing size compared to its setup size. It’s easy to store in your driveway or complex when not in use and boasts a generous living area when you arrive at your campsite.

Below are the starting prices for each model variant in the Shor’T’ range at the time of publishing:

• Shor’T’ base model – R 129,900 incl. VAT, including weather skirt, 120L 220V fridge/freezer, and deluxe awning, excluding all other optional extras.
• Shor’T’ LT model – R 131,900 incl. VAT, including weather skirt, 120L 220V fridge/freezer, deluxe Awning, and 14-Inch Tyres, excluding all optional extras.
• Shor’T’ Max – R 172,500 incl. VAT, including weather skirt, deluxe Awning, rally awning (with four walls), 120L 220V fridge/freezer, full electrics (12V and 220V system), 14-inch wheels, cutlery and crockery cupboard, peg box on A-frame, foldout kitchen, aluminium wash line, and much more. Customers are advised to get in touch with Skipper Tent Trailers for a formal quotation of standard items supplied with this model if desired.

Layout and Floorplan

A- Double Bed on lid
D- Cupboard
E- Fridge
J- Rally Awning
N- Deluxe Awning
O- Dinette Bench/ Storage Bunk
P- Kiddies bed/Dinette area
Q- Fold Up Step
R- Crockery Cupboard on Door
S- Fold Out Kitchen

Manufacturer Details and Event Presence 

Skipper Tent Trailers have their base of operations situated in Park Rynie, on the South Coast of Durban between Scottburgh Caravan Park and Rocky Bay Caravan Park.

Despite their manufacturing factory being situated in Durban, their tented trailers are available to purchase nationwide, with the majority of their current clientele located in Gauteng, Durban, and Cape Town. Nationwide delivery is available on customer request. Finance can be arranged for any of their units advertised. Amazingly, Skipper Tent Trailers only require a R5000 Deposit for any newly manufactured tented trailers placed on order.

Skipper Tent Trailers will be showcasing these brand-new units at the Garden Route Family Expo situated just outside Mossel Bay between the 26th and 28th of April. Customers who purchase one of these newly launched models are set to receive a specialist discount on the models advertised at the show with a strong emphasis on first come, first serve without any delivery waiting time. We have also been informed that they will also be showcasing their best-selling Oyster tented trailer, which is a front fold tented camping trailer that looks very similar to most modern-made caravans with equal emphasis on affordability, quality, and towing ability.

Customers who would like to receive a free quotation, press pack, or catalogue on their range of products, services, or optional upgrades can do so by completing the enquiry form below. Alternatively, you can visit their website by clicking here or give them a courtesy call during business hours on 039 976 0500, Monday – Friday between 8:30 and 16:30.