Hi Folks
was glad to come across this forum of avid campers. I have a young family (wife and 3 kids under 8) and we are considering buying a camper trailer.
I am struggling to decide between buying a camper trailer such as a Jayco Swan/Hawk outback vs. a 4x4 camper trailer that has the tent on the trailer with the awning etc such as a trackabout. (To be honest even the fact that they are both called camper trailers is even confusing).
We would be looking at a budget of about $20k. My wife is probably leading to the Jayco style camper trailer due to the ease of setting up. But I am trying to work out what are the pros and cons of each option and if anyone has had experience with these camper trailers particularly with a growing family.
Any advise or guidance on this topic would be a massive help
Thanks to all
Twalis
Which is better a Camper Trailer or Camper (trailer)?
Moderators: krp102, Coxy68, robcaz
-
WomblingFree
- Posts: 35
- Joined: Wed Aug 27, 2014 7:07 am
Re: Which is better a Camper Trailer or Camper (trailer)?
Hi Twalis
Have you read any of the other similar threads -
http://www.campertrailers.org/group/vie ... ?f=1&t=194
http://www.campertrailers.org/group/vie ... ?f=1&t=219
No one can tell you whats best as we all own the best
You need to attend some of the 4x4 camping shows and check out the various offerings. Come up with a shortlist of what you like and hate.
Hire a camper and have a weekend away, again determine what you like or hate about it.
You have not told us anything about what you want to do with your new camper.
Are you doing :
a/ weekends away at commercial camping grounds
b/ planning a round Oz trip on black top
c/ planning a round Oz trip on main roads (dirt + black top)
d/ doing some serious off road adventure camping
e/ something else
The fundamental choice of camper will be greatly influenced by these questions. For instance, if you looking at any dirt roads in outback oz then you probably want a fully offroad trailer to ensure that the corrugations don't shake it to bits.
Then you need to do the research into what you like/don't like in a camper. Then come back and ask us questions based on your results.
cheers
Malcom
Have you read any of the other similar threads -
http://www.campertrailers.org/group/vie ... ?f=1&t=194
http://www.campertrailers.org/group/vie ... ?f=1&t=219
No one can tell you whats best as we all own the best
You need to attend some of the 4x4 camping shows and check out the various offerings. Come up with a shortlist of what you like and hate.
Hire a camper and have a weekend away, again determine what you like or hate about it.
You have not told us anything about what you want to do with your new camper.
Are you doing :
a/ weekends away at commercial camping grounds
b/ planning a round Oz trip on black top
c/ planning a round Oz trip on main roads (dirt + black top)
d/ doing some serious off road adventure camping
e/ something else
The fundamental choice of camper will be greatly influenced by these questions. For instance, if you looking at any dirt roads in outback oz then you probably want a fully offroad trailer to ensure that the corrugations don't shake it to bits.
Then you need to do the research into what you like/don't like in a camper. Then come back and ask us questions based on your results.
cheers
Malcom
Re: Which is better a Camper Trailer or Camper (trailer)?
Thanks for the response Malcom - really appreciated
I had a look at the posts you suggested. Very informative but I am trying to get a view as to the pros and cons of either a tent - camper trailer OR a pop-top style camper trailer such as the Jayco Outback Swan/Hawk. Keen to hear if people have had both and what their experiences have been and what they would do if they could do it again?
I have attended quite a few camping shows but unfortunately whilst you can see the different units its still hard to tell and I think hearing about peoples experiences will certainly help. Such as the considerations that are no so obvious
In terms of what we would like to do with the camper. We probably won't be going up to Cape York in it, but keen for it to be able to handle some off road and be able to go on to the beach if necessary. I will be towing it with a Prado. Roads would be both gravel, blacktop and some offroad. Young family with 3 kids under 8.
With the Jayco Outback hawk/swan for example - we can see that set up looks a sinch, but with a good tent-camper trailer we can see that perhaps there is more space when its put up
Thanks again for your response Malcom
Twalis
I had a look at the posts you suggested. Very informative but I am trying to get a view as to the pros and cons of either a tent - camper trailer OR a pop-top style camper trailer such as the Jayco Outback Swan/Hawk. Keen to hear if people have had both and what their experiences have been and what they would do if they could do it again?
I have attended quite a few camping shows but unfortunately whilst you can see the different units its still hard to tell and I think hearing about peoples experiences will certainly help. Such as the considerations that are no so obvious
In terms of what we would like to do with the camper. We probably won't be going up to Cape York in it, but keen for it to be able to handle some off road and be able to go on to the beach if necessary. I will be towing it with a Prado. Roads would be both gravel, blacktop and some offroad. Young family with 3 kids under 8.
With the Jayco Outback hawk/swan for example - we can see that set up looks a sinch, but with a good tent-camper trailer we can see that perhaps there is more space when its put up
Thanks again for your response Malcom
Twalis
-
WomblingFree
- Posts: 35
- Joined: Wed Aug 27, 2014 7:07 am
Re: Which is better a Camper Trailer or Camper (trailer)?
yes but its all so personal.
We run a soft floor Johnnos Evolution camper trailer and love it. Used mainly for long distance touring but also does a lot of bush bashing.
However we also use a lot of tents. Sometimes we can't be bothered to pack the camper and just throw a tent or three in the truck. We have a fridge in the camper as well as the truck.
Tents provide you with a lot more freedom of destination and we love them also.
Again its down to you and the family as to what works.
Even though the camper is Johnnos top of the line model, it's still been extensively modified to make it just how we want it. That is an on going process as we find a limitation and modify it to suit us. We intend to keep the evo for a long time.
Everyone is going to tell you how great their camper is but then no one wants to admit they bought a dud or that they might have done better (assuming they even realise), its very personal and what works for one persons requirements wont work for the next guy.
If we had to do it all again we'd still go the soft top side loader. Its usually quicker to put up and pack away. No mucking around levelling the thing etc. Consider it might be pouring rain when you need to set it up. We can be in the tent in minutes, just flop it off the side of the trailer, extend two poles and we are set up in the tent.
But the main thing is that there is more usable room with a side loading tent than there is with a rear loading unit.
I doubt you'll find any hard floor unit that can sleep your children inside, the softies will.
In the outback we are often packing up every night so speed is a big plus for us. We throw a tarp under the floor to assist avoiding punctures. That tarp is also our trucks water bra so serves a double use.
We go camping with a group of various make campers and ours is usually the only soft floor. The other owners are usually couples but we have kids as well. With the Johnnos, no one has setup or packed away quicker than us whereas our previous soft floor cheap Chinese thing was just the opposite and everyone had to wait for us.
Most softies (and a few hard tops) have an awning that can simply be thrown over the tent before you fold it all down. Thats high on our check list as clipping on all the various extra rooms and awnings is just not fun unless you are staying put for some time.
As you want to do some real off roading, you'll need a real off road trailer. That may take some research as a lot of alledged 'off roaders' are really only semi off road. The suspension simply won't hold up to outback roads let alone tracks and bush. Poor quality chassis can crack and break as can axles (both stub and beam, independent or not). Quite often alleged 'off road' campers come fitted with road tyres which again casts serious doubt on their underlying capabilities.
There are lots of abandoned campers in the outback which have broken something that the owner did not have the capability of repairing so had to abandon. It can cost way more that the camper is worth to recover it. Google will bring up examples.
With the Prados (we've got a 90 as well as our LC 100) you have some limitations. If its an auto, you should seriously look at fitting an aftermarket transmission cooler as they suffer badly from overheating and burn out (www.pradopoint.com). They also have a smaller towing capability (2.5T) with a correspondingly lower tow ball weight (250Kgs from memory). Also I think the load carrying capability is quite low. Can't remember the numbers exactly but with 4 people in ours plus camping gear etc, we are over the limit when the camper is attached.
As you want to tow off road plus in the sand, this means you should be looking at the lighter weight camper models.
Keep in mind that a lot of manufacturers lie badly about the weight. Our Johnnos is meant to be around 900Kg but reality is around 1150 when empty probably 1500 loaded but we are comfortable with that weight.
You don't want to be pulling a really heavy camper up bush tracks.
I really think the best thing you can do is try one or two out. We bought our first in a rush as we were going tenting in the outback. However everyone else had campers and we quickly realised how long it was going to take us to pack everything up along with two squabbling 12 y.o boys hence we bought the cheap and nasty Leisure Matters soft floor and away we went.
It was great for its low price but basically a crap camper and we very quickly sold it when we returned BUT we learnt so much about we wanted/hated that its price was well worth it just for the experience and knowledge gained.
Maybe you could go on a CamperTrailers.org trip using your tents and talk to all the camper owners and pick their brains. As they are all together in the same conditions, you should be able to filter out some useful knowledge.
Once you have narrowed down your targets, check out some of the other forums where owners describe their builds. That can give you a good idea of what you may be up for owning a particular unit. Such as http://www.4wdaction.com.au/forum/viewforum.php?f=134 or http://www.myswag.org/index.php?board=7.0
A bit of rambling but I hope this helps a bit, however I suspect it'll just complicate things even more for you
Cheers
Malcom
We run a soft floor Johnnos Evolution camper trailer and love it. Used mainly for long distance touring but also does a lot of bush bashing.
However we also use a lot of tents. Sometimes we can't be bothered to pack the camper and just throw a tent or three in the truck. We have a fridge in the camper as well as the truck.
Tents provide you with a lot more freedom of destination and we love them also.
Again its down to you and the family as to what works.
Even though the camper is Johnnos top of the line model, it's still been extensively modified to make it just how we want it. That is an on going process as we find a limitation and modify it to suit us. We intend to keep the evo for a long time.
Everyone is going to tell you how great their camper is but then no one wants to admit they bought a dud or that they might have done better (assuming they even realise), its very personal and what works for one persons requirements wont work for the next guy.
If we had to do it all again we'd still go the soft top side loader. Its usually quicker to put up and pack away. No mucking around levelling the thing etc. Consider it might be pouring rain when you need to set it up. We can be in the tent in minutes, just flop it off the side of the trailer, extend two poles and we are set up in the tent.
But the main thing is that there is more usable room with a side loading tent than there is with a rear loading unit.
I doubt you'll find any hard floor unit that can sleep your children inside, the softies will.
In the outback we are often packing up every night so speed is a big plus for us. We throw a tarp under the floor to assist avoiding punctures. That tarp is also our trucks water bra so serves a double use.
We go camping with a group of various make campers and ours is usually the only soft floor. The other owners are usually couples but we have kids as well. With the Johnnos, no one has setup or packed away quicker than us whereas our previous soft floor cheap Chinese thing was just the opposite and everyone had to wait for us.
Most softies (and a few hard tops) have an awning that can simply be thrown over the tent before you fold it all down. Thats high on our check list as clipping on all the various extra rooms and awnings is just not fun unless you are staying put for some time.
As you want to do some real off roading, you'll need a real off road trailer. That may take some research as a lot of alledged 'off roaders' are really only semi off road. The suspension simply won't hold up to outback roads let alone tracks and bush. Poor quality chassis can crack and break as can axles (both stub and beam, independent or not). Quite often alleged 'off road' campers come fitted with road tyres which again casts serious doubt on their underlying capabilities.
There are lots of abandoned campers in the outback which have broken something that the owner did not have the capability of repairing so had to abandon. It can cost way more that the camper is worth to recover it. Google will bring up examples.
With the Prados (we've got a 90 as well as our LC 100) you have some limitations. If its an auto, you should seriously look at fitting an aftermarket transmission cooler as they suffer badly from overheating and burn out (www.pradopoint.com). They also have a smaller towing capability (2.5T) with a correspondingly lower tow ball weight (250Kgs from memory). Also I think the load carrying capability is quite low. Can't remember the numbers exactly but with 4 people in ours plus camping gear etc, we are over the limit when the camper is attached.
As you want to tow off road plus in the sand, this means you should be looking at the lighter weight camper models.
Keep in mind that a lot of manufacturers lie badly about the weight. Our Johnnos is meant to be around 900Kg but reality is around 1150 when empty probably 1500 loaded but we are comfortable with that weight.
You don't want to be pulling a really heavy camper up bush tracks.
I really think the best thing you can do is try one or two out. We bought our first in a rush as we were going tenting in the outback. However everyone else had campers and we quickly realised how long it was going to take us to pack everything up along with two squabbling 12 y.o boys hence we bought the cheap and nasty Leisure Matters soft floor and away we went.
It was great for its low price but basically a crap camper and we very quickly sold it when we returned BUT we learnt so much about we wanted/hated that its price was well worth it just for the experience and knowledge gained.
Maybe you could go on a CamperTrailers.org trip using your tents and talk to all the camper owners and pick their brains. As they are all together in the same conditions, you should be able to filter out some useful knowledge.
Once you have narrowed down your targets, check out some of the other forums where owners describe their builds. That can give you a good idea of what you may be up for owning a particular unit. Such as http://www.4wdaction.com.au/forum/viewforum.php?f=134 or http://www.myswag.org/index.php?board=7.0
A bit of rambling but I hope this helps a bit, however I suspect it'll just complicate things even more for you
Cheers
Malcom