Camper Trailers - Who's got one.

[JTmofo]

So MRSmofo and myself used to spend all major holidays out in the bush camping. Theres a whole bunch of us, friends and family that head off for anywhere between 2nights to 2 weeks.
Problem is, we've now had a bub and want to continue camping as often as we can.
I really like the idea of a camping trailer, everything contained in the trailer. The added benefit of integrated kitchen, fridge and easy to set up and comfortable.

Anyone have any experience or opinions on hard vs soft floor? Any recommendations on manufacturers or models?

 

[scblack]

Hi there, I've had a camper trailer for over a decade. Updated to a new, bigger one in 2015. Mine has always been a Jayco pop-top style. That means you are off the ground and much easier to set up. Just wind up the roof, pop the beds out and you are set. A little more to it than that, but essentially that's the setup. Jayco are very well regarded and more popular than anything else in Australia.

Sounds like you are talking the folding tent style campers. The soft floor ones can be a pain when conditions are wet as the floor is canvas down on the ground. But the soft floor can be more nimble if you camp or travel really off-road.

Here's some pics of mine:
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[Wellsey]

Hi there, I've had a camper trailer for over a decade. Updated to a new, bigger one in 2015. Mine has always been a Jayco pop-top style. That means you are off the ground and much easier to set up. Just wind up the roof, pop the beds out and you are set. A little more to it than that, but essentially that's the setup. Jayco are very well regarded and more popular than anything else in Australia.

Sounds like you are talking the folding tent style campers. The soft floor ones can be a pain when conditions are wet as the floor is canvas down on the ground. But the soft floor can be more nimble if you camp or travel really off-road.

You ever handled any serious weather in the pop top? I always wonder how they'd go in a big wind.

 

[Dales Cannon]

We have been camping for a few weeks a year for a looooong time. Add to that occasional weekends. Up until last year we tented it. Albeit a pretty detailed set up. This is a pita for weekend stuff and we rarely did the spur of the moment weekend given the planning and packing.

I had been lusting after campers for a while and late last year an opportunity to good to pass up appeared and we bought an ex demo Tvan. Bloody expensive but hard roof and hard floor and unbelievably quick to set up for an overnighter, say 2 minutes without the annexe. 10 with. The camper has all the bits in all the time so heading off requires nothing more than grab food and drink and hitch up. Best Buy we have ever made.

Lots of cheaper options of course but I know with this that a cape trip or the Simpson is not going to break anything and it will go whoever I can tow it.

I need to sort out how to carry the fatbike but other than that all sorted. Everything in the pic fitted in the car or Tvan.

Room for two on the hard floor on the back and row on the full size Queen mattress.

 

[scblack]

You ever handled any serious weather in the pop top? I always wonder how they'd go in a big wind.

Yep, all fine in bad weather. I just spent a week in January at Bendalong, with five days continuous rain. No problems at all, they are quite stable and only minor drips due to the new stitching on the annexe. The roof has four steel support struts, and two supplementary supports once the roof is up in place. I camp mostly in caravan parks, and have never had cyclonic style winds to contend with, but plenty of good storms.

 

[stoo]

We had a good soft floor camper, they're cheaper but they're a pain in the arse to set up / pack up compared to a hard floor.
Then we tried a Cub Spacevan, gas fridge, instant gas hot water pumped straight from the river for shower / kitchen. For an overnight stop you just flip the top over and you're right to go in 5 mins but as with any camper the awning is a hassle for a longer stay.

 

[MTB Rod]

Awesome rig Dales....any inside pics?

 

[Minlak]

Awesome rig Dales....any inside pics?

These are awesome I unfortunately require the only kidney I have left.

They allow you to sell them second hand on their product page
http://tstore.tracktrailer.com.au/store/classifieds/browse-ads/
eg:-


[video=youtube;mgY1t5pdEfw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgY1t5pdEfw[/video]

 

[wavike]

We did a 3mth trip in an Aussie Swag hard floor camper trailer around 1993. It was only a 12' wheel version but towed from Bris it up to Darwin through Kakado down to Alice Springs and Ayers Rock then home via Adelaide. The prices on current models are :shocked: but if you use one regularly go the hard floor or poptop. We just used a 2nd hand $600 double room canvas tent and trailer for our twice yearly camping trip after kids.

 

[Dales Cannon]

I don't have interior shots though I can grab some. Minlak's link covers it though. Mine has all the options Track offered for the MkIII. And a 47L fridge in the front box on a slide. Lucky I did that hit for the mob in July otherwise the budget would have collapsed.

I am going to mount the fatbike at the back either with a tow are bolted to the chassis or a frame to take the iSi wheel carrier. Need to relocate lights or add another trailer plug.

 

[pliskin]

i dont have a camper trailer, but i went to a 4wd show in Queanbeyan yesterday, with the idea of looking at as many different brands as i could.
boy, was i blown away by the differences in products on the market. some started as long as $2500, for a fold-out tent on top of a trailer. to a few that were close to $70000.
there were about 30 different companies with campers for sale and hire.
while its not any real advice, its still a pretty comprehensive list of the manufacturers
below is a list of all the exhibitors that were there over the weekend. nearly all have up to-date websites regarding all the products they had on display

http://4wdspectacular.org.au/the-show/exhibitors/

 

[silentbutdeadly]

We still camped with bub in a tent...still do though bub is now a six year old.

However...we have a large ute (with a canvas enclosed tray if required) and a great tent and a decent shelter and a Drifta Kitchen...and a fair swag of other good stuff besides.

Thought about camper trailers...and just can't be arsed.

 

[Ky1e]

If you're interested in a soft floor one my brother in law builds them for a living. Handmade in Sydney, with oztent canvas. No imported trailer rubbish.
Not the cheapest, hood prices though and excellent quality..
http://www.southern-cross-trailers.com.au/#

 

[fatboyonabike]

the Mrs and i did 10 months around Aus in 2006, and we did it in a $4000 soft floor, canvas oztrail fold out camper
yeah sure, you get a bit of water on the floor after heavy rain, and sometimes in very high wind things get a little dicey, but thats camping
No disrespect to old mate with the Tvan and Prado, its a nice setup..but for the best part of $100,000 you could stay in the Palazzo Versace every weekend for two years!
If its camping you want to do, keep it simple..what is the point spending $10000's on a place to sleep and cook, so you can 'get away from it all' only to recreate all the same mod-cons you already have at home?
and dont even get me started on those fuckwits with generators!
check out MDC Cmper trailers.

 

[Emigna]

I recommend mars campers.

Picked a basic soft floor for a very good price. Agree with keeping it simple, and cheap.

Setup takes 1hr solo, and quicker with help. For this reason i wouldn't want to move sites every day.

 

[Travis22]

My wife and i have done some pretty extensive outback travelling along with 99% of the vic high country over the years and we have always been dead set keen on continuing the adventures once kids came along.

We've never had a CT or van, always just swags / tents. We managed to keep up the holidays with 1 bub pretty easy and she racked up about 20 trips in her first year but now with 2 things are a little harder but we still give it a fair crack.

Biggest diffuculty atm being getting the youngest down first and now waking her while trying to get the other to bed after. That and the youngest really struggles to go down if she's 'free' in the tent (not in a porta cot etc). We have 2 Freedom Canvas touring tents. A std 2.6x2.6 and a larger one. I couldnt give these tents enough praise and as far as tenting it goes it really helps having a tough and simple tent to use, specially if your moving on every day / couple days.

Personally im just not really into CT's but now more then ever (having kids of our own) im starting to see they have their place and if having one is the difference between getting out there with your kids v's not then certainly get one asap but you might be surprised that once you've sorted out all the new things you need to bring away for the kids it isnt so bad with the humble tent.

Travis.

 

[Knuckles]

So MRSmofo and myself used to spend all major holidays out in the bush camping. Theres a whole bunch of us, friends and family that head off for anywhere between 2nights to 2 weeks.
Problem is, we've now had a bub and want to continue camping as often as we can.
I really like the idea of a camping trailer, everything contained in the trailer. The added benefit of integrated kitchen, fridge and easy to set up and comfortable.

Anyone have any experience or opinions on hard vs soft floor? Any recommendations on manufacturers or models?

Hard floor campers are easy to set up and pack up, however exy and from what I can see, you're stuck with the Floorplan.

Bought a soft floor off my (good) BIL, and used it at bright this new year. Set up easy enough on my own, about 15 minutes, for the first time ever. It's infinitely expandable with zip on rooms. Good quality canvas, the same stuff they used to make truck tarps from. Has a waterproof floor, we got about 60mm of rain the first three days we were there and we're dry as a bone. No kitchen yet, but, water tanks and gas plumbed in. I put in a 12v battery/solar system before we left. The best thing by far is the storage, all our rap for a weeks camping, 4 bikes and 2 kayaks, and didn't need a single thing I the car.

As said before, good quality Australian canvas is the way to go, if you get o e of those cheap Chinese shifters with the thin nylon tent, you're going to have a bad time.

Get the right setup, and it's a hook up and go proposition, as you can pretty much leave all your gear in the trailer. Would never go back to a tent, even for an overnighter.

Seriously consider a treg hitch too, they're ace.

 

[stirk]

I've got a hard floor soft top that is just a big glorified tent.
Most of the time I'd rather just use the tent so I don't need to tow anything.

My advice would be to keep the tents for those times you can't take the camper, like walk in sites.

As for campers I can't really recomend a brand but I'd opt for a hard floor as you can put bikes, boats, kayaks on top. Although more expensive hardfloors look much easier to set up when I've observed people doing it.

At the last caravan camping show I went to I shortlisted a cub drover as a potential upgrade, they seem a popular well regarded brand. Ezytrail caught my too check them out.

 

[JTmofo]

The best thing by far is the storage, all our crap for a weeks camping, 4 bikes and 2 kayaks, and didn't need a single thing I the car.

This is going to be the biggest + for me. Normally camping for us is loading the car up to the neck, fitting in as much as we needed for a couple of weeks, which is a lot if you bring stoves, chairs, tents, tarps etc etc.
This was fine until we had a baby, now we not only need our own shit, but all the shit my wife wants to bring for the bub. Add bikes and riding gear to the mix and it's getting pretty impossible for space with a baby in the child seat.

We dont have a big SUV or UTE, and we've just bought a wagon for a little bit more space. A camping trailer will work for us, we can store all our camping gear in there while not using it, plus its all designed to be easy to access and space saving once set up.

There's some wicked looking outfits posted above ^^^ , but the reality is I'll be looking at about $10-$15k all up. Would'nt mind a second hand unit, but still not 100% on soft or hard floor.

Aussie canvas is a must tho, heard horror stories of cheap canvas leaking like a sieve.

Does anyone tow a offroad/semi offroad camping trailer with normal wagon/sedan?

 

[Knuckles]

This is going to be the biggest + for me. Normally camping for us is loading the car up to the neck, fitting in as much as we needed for a couple of weeks, which is a lot if you bring stoves, chairs, tents, tarps etc etc.
This was fine until we had a baby, now we not only need our own shit, but all the shit my wife wants to bring for the bub. Add bikes and riding gear to the mix and it's getting pretty impossible for space with a baby in the child seat.

We dont have a big SUV or UTE, and we've just bought a wagon for a little bit more space. A camping trailer will work for us, we can store all our camping gear in there while not using it, plus its all designed to be easy to access and space saving once set up.

There's some wicked looking outfits posted above ^^^ , but the reality is I'll be looking at about $10-$15k all up. Would'nt mind a second hand unit, but still not 100% on soft or hard floor.

Aussie canvas is a must tho, heard horror stories of cheap canvas leaking like a sieve.

Does anyone tow a offroad/semi offroad camping trailer with normal wagon/sedan?

I towed our semi home with the RAV4, she struggled a bit on the ups but towed it fine. I think anywhere you can get your wagon itself, will be ok with the trailer on too.

You'll get a very good quality 2nd hand soft floor, with all the fruit, for the $5-6k mark. Just make sure they set it all up first, then check all the corners and seams from the inside for holes.

After doing Tassie in a tent for two weeks, a couple of years ago, I vowed to never speed more than a weekend in a tent ever again.

One last thing, make sure it has a good mattress, the basic ones are complete poo, and a good camper specific innerspring can cost more than a standard household jobbie. So factor an upgrade into your budget.