For the Tambo CT Owners

Matt,

Have a butcher's in the Trader section. Item no 15, $7,500, save yourself a lot of time and money.

I happen to know that particular one has been well cared for.

Jim.

Matt

Also have a look at www.camelgroup.com.au

I bought their Bushman CT which costs $13,400 delivered to Victoria.

Some of the key features include full length chassis, electric brakes, new tyres and wheels, parallel bearing axle with heavy duty 7 leaf shackles, choice of hitch (mine is a Hyland), pneumatic swing up jockey wheel, 240V power, three 12V connections, drop down stabilising legs, 65L water tank and 12v pump, 80ah battery, painted steel kitchen with stainless stove/sink combo, awning with kitchen wall, two gas bottle and three water holders etc.

Apart from that, it's other features such as a stone guard, front storage container are pretty much the same as most CT's on the market. Delivery is around 6 weeks. If you give Steve a call he'll send you a brochure and DVD.

The only things I'll be adding to it, are internal anchor points, Anderson plug and smart charger.

By the way, I have no affiliation with the company.

Regards

Kim

Hi Matt

I have a camper I bought in brisbane for just over $7k. very basic but have added things.

In Holt and happy for you to have a look

A word of caution. My reading when doing the research was to have the same size wheels all round.

Maybe some others can give you some feefback on the availability of 16" tyres when doing the big trips.
Have a hilux and stuck with the 15" tims and tyres to be able to use the spares on both

If you have settled on a Tambo , no point in trying to tell you to look elsewhere.

Cant say I have ever heard a bad report on the Tambo's. Their rep seems first class.

Few guys on here with Tambo's including "Moggs". He is very happy with his.

Matt,

We have had our Tambo Cooper for just over 12 months now and I can't praise the camper or the service we have received from Keith and Amanda highly enough.

The camper has done everything we have asked of it. Ours has the 16 inch rims, side lift, tool box, 62ltr poly water tank, electric brakes, 12 volt pack, treg, stoneguard with side extensions to the mudguards on the trailer slide out kitchen and a tow bar receiver at the rear to put the bikes on.

At the time of ordering we also included the provision to add on the extra bedroom as this option can not be fitted at a later date.

The only other mod we have made is added a barrier inside the trailer that runs down the full length of the kitchen. This has been made out of the stuff used for security doors. It ensures that our contents inside the trailer do not fall onto the kitchen allowing it to slide out without any problems when we pull of for some morning tea etc.

You wont have any regrets....we love it.

Cheers

No doubt you realize the Tambo is a big step backwards in features hence the price difference. Having watched a few being set up & packed away they do take far more time compared to the flip over design of a Kimberly. I would say the Tambo would be better suited to base camping rather than regular shifting like when touring. On our last trip even those with tents were setting camp quicker. Quality of canvas seems excellent on a no fuss solid trailer.
Cheers Craig...........

I have never owned a Tambo so my comments are from what i have seen. Looks like a very well made unit. The canvas work is terrific and the trailer looks well made. Great value for money. The only negative i think is the very low canvas height over the bed. It is almost clostrophobic to the eye. Just my obsevations.

Just got back back from Flinders with Tambo CT. Tambo is excellent if you are planning to stay at the same spot for extended period of time. If you are planning to break a camp every day or two, you'll find putting it up and down tiresome...
Once you done it a few times, you'll be able to put it up in about 15 minutes (without the awning). Packing it up takes about 25-30 minutes...

Stan

We bought a Tambo Cooper in February this year and absolutely love it. I agree with the others, Keith and Amanda are great to deal with and genuinely want you to be happy with their product.

We decided on the Cooper with 16 inch rims and 285/75/16's and they made the tent wall height a bit longer to compensate for the extra tyre height. We sort of got all the options which included the stone guard back to the wheel arches, 12 volt pack, slide out kitchen, centre divider to stop stuff falling behind the kitchen, side lift, awning end walls and 1/2 front wall (kitchen side), rear bedroom, extra height cover, tregg hitch, 83 ltr water tank. Things we added ourselves include a Flojet pump and water filter on the side, Shovel and axe holders on the wheel arches, rubber matting inside the trailer.

Things we learnt / revisited with Tambo / suggest:

1. Get them to sew on the zip and rear door for the back bedroom even if you don't buy it - it cannot be retro-fitted
2. Get the 83 ltr tank, it is rear mounted to the axle and helps with the tow ball weight. In addition, it means they fit different stabiliser legs (much better Alko ones than the full wind down jobbies
3. Get them to sew in additional pole holes in the awning - one each end in the middle. It helps with the weight of the awning walls and to tension the awning roof.
4. Get them to make the travel cover 100mm higher - means you can keep all the bedding and heaps of other stuff on the bed.
5. Get the side lift - it also cannot be retro-fitted.
6. If you have a dual rear wheel carrier on the 4wd or have a single side opening rear door get them to sweep the angle of the stone guard from the centre section (ask Keith, he will know if you mention me)
7. If you get the rear bedroom, get them to sew two pole triangles on the sides (I think they might do this standard now anyway). Helps tension the roof.

All in all they are a great trailer for the price. Ours was around 12k all up and it wants for nothing.

Remember to tell them you are an EO member and you get a free end wall I believe.

Lastly, not sure why above it mentions taking long to set and pack up. We can do it in 15 minutes flat from cover off to awning done and kitchen ready to go. Packing up takes about 25 minutes easy work. BTW, you can leave the awning on, just fold it back over the roof.

Good luck with it. I am sure you will be as happy as we are!

Gday Matt,

I have a Tambo Cooper, since you are in Canberra, you are more than welcome to look at mine, which I bought in February 2005, you can even take it for a spin and camp some weekend, if your keen contact me.

jochheims at aapt.net.au

or

0428761075

You dont have to buy it, but more than welcome to look at it and take it for a camp.

Paul...

Hi Matt. We've had our Tambo for 2yrs, about 60 odd nights, and extremely happy. You'll find Keith and Amanda at Tambo provide exceptional service. My comments on the camper:

- Get an additional 100mm added to the PVC cover height, can store lots more stuff
- Have pole holes installed in the middle of the awning end walls, helps keep it sound in wind and rain
- Have velcro on the bedroom/awning top flap to keep it down in wind
- Have all prep work done for the bedroom, awning, front and side walls done upfront (this is extra holes and velcro etc). PITA to retrofit if you choose to buy something later
- We found we can't live without the sidelift. Albeit, we have a tailgate kitchen, so the sidelift give full access to the trailer body without leaning over a slideout kitchen
- We had our spare bedroom leak significantly, however be patient with weathering it in, it does reduce
- Get the big water tank, it apparently has a drain plug at the very bottom. Ours doesn't, it leaves many litres in the tank after draining, a problem for a thorough clean
- Have stone guards extended back to wheel arches
- Anyone who tells you a treg hitch is hard to hook up to a car is wrong! Dead easy, worthwhile add-on
- If you have kids, get them to weld a Rayman Reese square receiver to the rear of the trailer, so you can put on a kids bike carrier on the back of the trailer
- If you got a barn door at the rear of your vehicle, you'll find opening that door with trailer attached is a PITA, see if Tambo have any ideas
- My swing down jockey wheel is useful, but wobbles and tire goes flat regularly. I think Tambo have a different option available now
- If you plan to get a battery tray and battery, see if they can run a charging wire during construction. Difficult to do so afterwards
- I found the stainless steel pole screws very difficult to do up tight and hold the pole up against wind.Tambo have these big black screws available - much easier.
- Similarly in wind, Tambo have pole stirrups they can sell you
- When you pack it up with lots of stuff on top of the mattress, keep the bulk of the gear toward the hinged side of the mattress area. Otherwise, the centre pole loop tend to sit on top of the bulk and bends.

Tone