Utah’s Zion Off-Road hit the trailer market with one of the most modular off-road camping trailers available, a multi-stage square drop allowing customers to specify the machine from empty to fully loaded. Now it’s shifting modularity to a simpler skeletal trailer/camper. The new Z2 starts out as a basic bed box, allowing buyers to convert it into a precisely specified stacking tool for the home and beyond. Hauling wood and supplies one weekend, dirt bikes and kayaks the next. Top it off with a rooftop tent and you’ve got a breezy micro-camper for open-ended adventures, with a return date TBD.
Zion’s original multi-stage Z1 trailer remains a very versatile choice for camping and overlanding, but isn’t great for hauling large, heavy gear like an ATV or a few dirt bikes. With the Z2, Zion frees up space for this type of bulky gear transportation, relying on raised crossbars and available rooftop tents (RTTs) to maintain full overnight capabilities.
The 12-foot Z2 starts with the same rugged frame as the Z1, and Zion has designed the standard solid axle and 3,500-pound leaf springs to be easily swappable for customers who prefer a Timbren axle. Less suspension. The ground clearance to the axle is 30.5 cm and to the frame 43.7 cm.
All those little holes represent upgrade options
Zion off road
Instead of covering that frame with a live-in body this time, Zion keeps things loose and skeletal, starting with a bedliner-finished deck of 6061-T6 aluminum plates measuring 8′ by 4′. wide. The deck features integrated slots throughout for adding accessories such as bicycle tire/fork mounts and for integrated drainage for rain and washing. It also includes 10 D-ring mounts bolted to the frame for securing equipment and cargo.
Zion packs the Z1 deck with 24.75-inch (62.9 cm) sidewalls and a 21.5-inch (54.6 cm) front wall, all of which are pre-drilled for mounting plates and accessories, both inside and out. The walls are finished with an extruded aluminum lip for even more mounting options, and while the trailer doesn’t have a hard tailgate, Zion does show a sturdy retention net to close off the rear.
In addition to camping and outdoor adventure, the Zion Z2 is ready for all kinds of work, from hauling firewood from the forest, bringing home construction or gardening supplies for DIY projects, to hauling trash to the landfill.
Zion off road
That gives you a pretty solid commercial trailer with many more mounting options than average. Zion tops out the standard base trailer with a set of four bed lights for easy browsing in the dark and a toggle switch panel for those lights and available auxiliary and rock lights. The bed lighting runs via the connection to the tow vehicle, but the optional lighting requires an external battery or power station. Zion wires the light and battery connections as standard and offers various battery options.
To take the trailer body to the next level (or two+), buyers can look to the optional crossbar assemblies, which attach to the interior side walls and serve as the top rack. Buyers can choose two to four of these height-adjustable structures and can even add a lower set of crossbars to the same risers for three levels of storage, as shown in the top photo.
Now the fun really begins, for both Zion and the buyer. We’ve seen more and more of these ultra-modular camper and gear rack designs emerge, and it’s not hard to see why: the builder can lure you with a simple basic camper for a low price, and then keep you coming back to get all that cool (probably expensive) for years to come. ) to add accessories.
Zion specs the Z1 for unlimited customization; buyers can add a variety of mounts for water and fuel bottles, spare tires, propane, cargo boxes and more
Zion off road
It’s not all bad for the buyer either, as he or she doesn’t have to put down the entire wad of cash upfront and can go straight into the wild with a basic bone model and build it up over time. . In addition to spreading the overall cost, this route can also help you identify in advance the add-ons that are actually useful in the field and the add-ons that are essentially window dressing.
We wonder how much the average modular build will ultimately cost compared to the one-off, full-spec build. We imagine it might be more tempting to keep adding when you’re sitting in camp staring at all those empty boreholes.
Be that as it may, Zion has carried over a number of MOLLE panel and carrier options from its Z1 squaredrop range, offering both standalone accessories and five full build phases. We refer you to Zion’s configuration page to see the full details for each of these stages, but suffice to say, you can spend over $17,000 on a Stage 5 package and still not have a place to sleep at night.
Transporting an ATV with a Zion Z2 trailer with RTT top
Zion off road
Stage 5 gets you a very capable dump truck with electric brakes, GoalZero Yeti 700 power plant, 23Zero 270 degree awning, tongue box, BFG KO2 off-road tires, Timbren suspension upgrade, full-size spare tire holder, various mounting plates, three height-adjustable risers/ crossbars, frame-mounted steps, auxiliary and rock lights, a hinged tow bar and more. It’ll certainly be a trick-or-treater like no other, but is it worth more than the price of Zion’s Stage 1 Z1 teardrop? Buyer decides.
Stripping everything down to the base Z2 model with just a deck, a set of leaf-sprung wheels, three walls, bed lights and automotive taillights saves you almost $10,000 in price, up to $7,600 to start. That gives you a slick 431kg trailer with a payload of over 907kg. From there you can enjoy the basic transportation, head back to Zion for upgrades in the future, or build it out yourself with crossbars, MOLLE panels, supports, etc.
The all-new Z2 is now available for pre-order. The video introduction below provides a full explanation of the basic trailer and all five stages of add-ons.
Official release of the Z2 modular utility trailer 2025
Source: Zion off road