wind up coromal/goldstream/jayco

Goldstream make one of the sturdiest of the three. I got one with air suspension and it is a dream on tracks. Couldn't be happier.

I went though the same thoughts before buying and while I have yet to try any of the above tracks with the van I have read many people who have done the kimberleys inc Mitchel falls and Bungle bungles. Cape York would be a no no though. do a search here
http://www.campertrailers.org/


The off road ones are wel built but the weight and size will be the main issue for things like the cape.

There is a fold down picnic table, bbq and outside cupboard for roadside stops. No real need to wind up.

We have a Goldstream and have taken it up to Drysdale Station in the Kimberly (and the rest of the GRR). Didn't take it into Bungle Bungles but there were some Jayco's in there so the Goldstream would be ok. If you get past the 1st creek crossing the rest is easy.

We did have one problem with it which I put down to the corrugations. The winch worked itself loose and fell into pieces. Temporarily fixed at the time, properly fixed in Broome and then replaced back at the factory after we returned. Recently took it to the Flinders Ranges and it was fine. Everything alse about it is robust. Cupboards shut like new, etc.

Not sure they are much light than a normal van, only differnce is a few walls. Our 'offroad' version is high enough that you can't see over it out the rear window (Prado) so visionwise, same as a full van.

I have photo's from recent trip but not uploaded anywhere yet (can't add them here). Am writing a trip report but haven't finished it yet, but we took it along some '4wd' tracks. Manoeuverability (due to size) and rear overhang are the biggest issues doing that. Dirt roads are no problem.

When we stop for lunch we wind it up just enough to open the door (1cm or so) to get at the fridge and food (we don't like pre making our lunch). Takes 1min tops to open or shut so no great deal for us. We use the drop-down table to make our lunch on and hold drinks, etc. If that sounds too much trouble (it will to some, but we like to walk around at a break, not go in a van and sit down again) then you would need to set up your 'quick cuppa' requirements to be carried and accessable in your vehicle.

You don't mention, it but I'm going to presume you have kids to accomodate? For a family it's a lot harder to find something that's suitable. Need a big van to have the space a windup has when setup but in a windup you're still sleeping under canvas. Lot's of camper trailers are quick to setup if only flipping the lid, etc but start adding annexes for kids and setup time increases a lot. Lots of pros and cons for each type.

Any specific q's, happy to give my views :)

Cheers, Nige

Hi john
we have just purchased an offroad jayco dove(only one that would fit in the garage) as mentioned above u can raise the roof a couple of mm to open the door & get to the fridge. we also keep a AGM battery in the back of the prado & run the waeco. so we can u this as well.
the fold down table sounds like a great idea, i might look @ fixing one on the dove. the dove has a small side hatch u can open to get to the storage box under the seat.
we keep a small gas stove in here(the $25 ones from kmart with the WD40 size gas cyl) so we can make a cuppa or expresso.

looking @ the van, I would regard it as a SUV style not a true 4WD style. so i would not take to cape york. but other minor tracks it would do with ease.
good luck with yr choice. cheers Tom

hi john

each brand has pricing implications with jayco being the least expensive up to goldstream being the most (IMO).

you need to look for is the layout suits you and your family. i have a jayco swan and it is excellent for 5 of us and has room for sleeping 7 and extra in annexe as well. i went for jayco to save the extra initial cost on purchase and spent the money to put in the things i wanted as i needed.

i would make sure you can access the fridge from the camper door when it is down. great for roadside stops but even better is when you forget to switch the fridge over to 12V for travel you dont have to try worm your way thru your packed van to get to it. the jayco swan is setup for this, just reach in from the door and you are in the fridge. other brands have the similar layout if you were to choose them. if you pack inside the van with extra gear, chairs, tables etc the layout may restrict your accessing it for roadside stop. apart from that they are easy enough to get into if need be, just undo front catch, wind up slightly and you are in. If you want to wind it all way up would only take you couple mins, but the smaller campers may have the slide out beds in your way. My swan is large enough that i can pull the front bed forward about a foot and its right out of the way,.

you can access the other forums i mentioned in the post above this one (30th anniversary jayco post) and get advice from others.

my only other advice if you have a family is to get the largest one you can afford (and store and tow etc) so you have plenty of space and room when camping and packing.

cheers.....

Hi John, we have a coromal, roads like the Plenty hwy are a walk in the park for all offroad wind up campers, we took ours through cattle water pass to the east Mac's, this track has servere washouts and steep rocky sections etc, too easy....also took it over the mereenie loop road where we seen several jayco's, no damage to ours....as for the old telegraph track on the cape i wouldnt dare, too much drama and risk of serious damage, I was actually surprised how well ours stood up when we dragged it all over NT, i think the biggest concern would be broken springs or U bolts on bad corrigations, the rest of the camper seems pretty sturdy, we also carry a fridge, portable cooker and fold up chairs etc in the vehicle but pack anything you may need from the camper just inside the door and it is easy to get too. Deep water crossings are a bit of a problem but other than that i am happy with mine.

John,

I have a Goldstream Wing 11R and it has been great. We are currently doing a 7 month trip around Australia with a 4 year old and a 2 year old. We have done the Cape and yes we did both the Development road and the Telegraph track. We even did the infamous Gunshot but this apparently was pretty tame this year. I have had no problems with it to date except for a little damage through driver error. Hitting a post with he door of which I will get replaced in Melbourne at the factory. I have changed a few things like the tow hitch is 360 degrees in all direction, added another water tank, another gas bottle and battery along with charger inverter and solar panel as we like to get away from the caravan parks. Stopping for lunch is no drama as stated before just lift it 1cm and climb in but what we do is make our lunches prior to departure and put these into a little 18lt waceo in the car.

Alot of "Making it last" I put down to driver attitude. We let our tyres down about 25% on corrugations and this takes, as it does the car, alot of the impact out. We also slow down. Alot of people we see are going flat out and wonder why they are falling apart. Another thing to look at as we did when we bought ours was the warranty. Jayco said 1 year but if you take it off road you void it. Goldstream said 5 years where ever I wanted to take it. I mentioned Gibb river road, yep, mentioned the Cape, yep where ever you want. Sold us.

Goona