What to buy, decisions decisions....

everything camper trailers, trips, tips, tricks & mods

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falsecasting
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Joined: Sat Feb 15, 2014 4:57 am

What to buy, decisions decisions....

Post by falsecasting » Sat Feb 15, 2014 5:33 am

Hi Everyone and thank you for accepting me into your forum/group. I look forward to participating.

I am in the process of buying my first camper trailer and have come to the point where there are just too many choices so what better way to seek advise is to ask those actively using camper trailers.

First and foremost I'm not looking for a top of the range flash trailer with everything I don't need. I live in a city and space is a small issue so want to keep the overall length of the trailer to a minimum, under 5mts if I can. I know this site will favour "all Aussie made" trailers so I ask please for an honest unbiassed opinion. I am looking in the 7-15k price range new and secondhand. I'll be honest I keep going back to the new "Black Series" by GIC, being the new Alpha and Delta models. I like the Delta but I have spoken to GIC and they wont custom one with a shorter draw bar even without the large box on the front. I have looked at many other brands and models but find there web sites lacking decent pictures and info. Before you say go and see them in person, I am researching this in remote West Africa so visiting a show room or attending a show is out of the question for the next month. All I'm after is a well made trailer with a good tent, a decent workable kitchen, power, water tank and some good storage that wont cost the world and can be easily set up by two people quickly without an engineering degree. I probably wont be doing extreme trips off road or touring across the outback for months at a time (I would like to change this) as I'm starting small and basic to get my wife involved into outdoor camping with a few mod cons.

So don't be shy, all advise is good advise and I look forward to hearing your recommendations. Once again, I'm not after a cheap Chinese trailer nor am I after a 30k all Australian trailer, just a good entry level camper with bits.

Falsecasting.

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wambesi
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2014 8:03 am
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Re: What to buy, decisions decisions....

Post by wambesi » Sat Feb 15, 2014 9:42 pm

I'm not going to bag any brand but have you seen the models in person yet?
At a show last year we found the build quality (welds etc) of some of the imported brands to be lacking.

Things do change however and that was six months ago.

Ours is a hybrid trailer, Aussie trailer with imported tent so I'm not biased either way. :)

I've heard Leisure Matters have some good cheaper trailers.

Disclaimer: I'm very new to this scene still ;)
Blue Tongue Off-road Trekka and KIA Carnival (to fit in the tribe) to get us by until we get ourselves a 4wd.

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01_Rod
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Feb 11, 2014 12:30 pm
Location: Brisbane

Re: What to buy, decisions decisions....

Post by 01_Rod » Sat Feb 15, 2014 11:31 pm

Check out http://www.lifestylecampertrailers.com.au

We've had ours for 6 years now very happy..
But they are very good value for money..
And very well built..

Rod
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Toyota Prado + Lifestyle 360i Camper

Mugwump
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Feb 14, 2014 12:08 pm

Re: What to buy, decisions decisions....

Post by Mugwump » Sun Feb 16, 2014 2:09 pm

Thanks for starting this topic

I am in the same boat.

Looking for something that can be towed by a ford mondeo until we do the four wheel drive thing




found this on graysonline may be of use in your search. know nothing about it

New 2014 Model Kampa `Ultimate` Off Road Camper Trailer
http://www.graysonline.com/sale/1304024 ... s?spr=true

Does anyone have any comments about this brand

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robcaz
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Joined: Sat Oct 12, 2013 4:07 pm
Location: Stockton NSW
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Re: What to buy, decisions decisions....

Post by robcaz » Mon Feb 17, 2014 8:01 pm

Hi,

From your post I would gather you are after a soft floor side fold camper trailer.

With the large number of camper trailer manufacturers on the market today it is little wonder buying a camper trailer for the first time must be a very daunting experience to say the least. To confuse the buyer even more, it is at times hard working out what you are actually buying with the wording on some manufacturers websites hiding the fact that their camper trailers are manufactured off shore, however that does not necessarily make them a poor build quality.

There are a number of manufacturers making a quality purpose built off road trailer from Australian materials & putting a quality rip stop canvas camper tent on top made off shore to their own specifications.

If a manufacturer will not customise a trailer to your preference it will most likely mean it is built off shore where they have no input to the way they are made.

The majority of camper trailer manufacturers use Australian made canvas which can be heavy especially when wet to drag back over the top of the trailer. The ripstop canvas is lighter & depending on where it is sourced can have waterproofing problems resulting in mildew, however there is some good ripstop canvas around.

If you are after an easy to set up camper have a look at the preloved rear flipover hardfloors like the Cub, Aussie Swag & older Camp/o/matic's. You will find a few good bargins to be had with near new, well maintained campers on the camper trader page. http://www.campertrailers.org/camper_trader.htm

Also check the articles under the heading buying a camper on the campertrailers.org tech tips page. http://www.campertrailers.org/tech_tips.htm

Hope this helps.
happy camping
Rob & Carol
Australian CamperTrailers Group co-owner


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We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year

Ern_Reeders
Posts: 62
Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2014 2:16 pm
Location: Melbourne

Re: What to buy, decisions decisions....

Post by Ern_Reeders » Sun Feb 23, 2014 1:26 pm

Some other things to get clear on:

How important is quick setup? If very, this steers you towards a hard-floor unit.
How much space do you need? If very, this steers you towards a soft-floor unit.
How much can the tow vehicle handle comfortably? That's about tow-bar limits and ease of cruising on the road.
How important is build quality? This is about where you want to go. If you want to tackle some of the 'iconic' Australian desert roads this steers you in the direction of a proven Australian make.

In our case, we didn't need bells and whistles, needed something pretty light to go behind the Forester and wanted proven quality. All for a ballpark figure of around $10k.

We got a Johnno's light-off-road Premier that was two years old (an ex-rental in VGC) and ended up spending $4k up-speccing it (and the car) with electric brakes, 12v charging storage and outlets, inner spring mattress and some other stuff. Over 5 trips of varying lengths including a fair amount of corrugated/gibbered dirt nothing has failed on the unit but we have had some electrical problems that would've been avoidable with a proper install. Loaded it comes in at around 850 kg and the 2.5 l manual Forester handles that fine. We don't do high-clearance tracks.

My advice to people starting out is to suck it and see by hiring one or two models that look promising if they're available on the rental market, or at least similar designs that can be taken out. There's no substitute for first hand experience. You'll find out what you are and aren't willing to live with by way of setup and amenities. It's worth putting off your purchase for this IMO.
Cheers, Ern

Pioneer Argyle SE and Isuzu MU-X

Markandrach
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 11:36 am

Re: What to buy, decisions decisions....

Post by Markandrach » Wed Mar 05, 2014 9:12 pm

Hi first time on the forum
Don't really know if this is how it's done but here goes!
For the person looking at the grays online camper , we bought one 12 months ago
It's the forward folding above ground job , it was quite basic not really wired up for 12 volt
And no 240 , no gas was hooked up either , after "winning" the trailer on pick up
Had to hook up tail lights , electric brakes etc and then dragged it the 600klm
West but o troubles what so ever!been on a few trips to the local river ( weekend)
And been up to the coast (10 days) and been to Louth races for the weekend
No dramas as yet ( touch wood) it's test will be in June we are doing
"The corner country " and the hay river track so that will be a good test.
Apart from that we love it quick set up and practical. Bear in mind it had to modified
Slightly , basic 12 volt and 2000 watt inverter done by myself and a sparky
Mate did the 240 volt and a plumber did the gas

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