Soft vs hard floor camper for a family of 4

Captain, I recently bought a second hand soft floor CT and use it with my two boys 9 and 12. We actually got two sets of bunk beds with the CT but didn't find then practical, not particularly stable for the 12 yo climbing in and out of the top bunk. The younger lad sleeps in the QS bed with us. Our trailer, whilst not that big would be bigger in floor area than most hard floor trailers and with two beds set up the floor space is limited. During the day the spare beds can be stacked on the double bed to free up floor space but at night there's not a lot of room, a hard floor would be a lot worse IMO. Our can be set up in 5 minutes for an overnight stop.

Having used tents since Fred Flintstone and I used to camp together, I can only think of a couple of disadvantages to the soft floor.
Camping on wet ground and camping in stony country.

Not sure about the Camprite's floor space, but hard floor flipovers only double the space of the bed area, and for us (2 + 8yo & 11yo), there just not enough room unless you are using double bunks. Even then, I've had a shorten one to fit, and eventually, it won't be long enough to fit the smaller one in the bed. Having said that, with d/bunks, they do fit and you can camp in stony areas. When it's wet, you'll definately need an annexe for comfortable camping. Overall, the down side for our hard floor is space and takes longer to setup bunks, upside is speed of setup and comfort on all ground types.

Andrew

We've had hard floor cub for over 25 years and towed it over most of Oz often in a group with other campers as well. We fitted 2 adults and 3 kids in a supamatic with no problems until they were all in their teens and became too big for the double bunk. We only used the camper as sleeping accomodation and lived out of the back of the troopy with everything else.
On a couple of trips over the years we have had soft floor campers with us and both times they sold it and bought a hard floor after the trip because of the increased level ground area required for a soft floor (a hard floor can be chocked to level it) and the deciding factor was the ground conditions in the outback, rarely is there smooth soft ground to camp on, it is usually stony and rough, not good for a soft floor.
The last few years we have also noticed that caravan parks especially don't like soft floor campers because they smother what little grass there is and the bigger ones combined with a vehicle quite often have trouble fitting on a normal site.
When booking in we've even been asked what do you have, when answered camper they then ask what type and when told hard floor 'that's ok' is the reply.
We are usually heading west from Sydney to get to the desert regions and hate crowds so bush camp as much as possible. It may depend on what you do for your situation and where you intend to use it.

good morn'n Captain

Yve and I have toted up nearly six months on a soft floor and no complaints. We put a shade cloth under to stop dirt sticking and stones rubbing. When the ground is wet we take a little time for the underneath of the floor to dry but we have had to put it up wet sometimes.

Our rig is simple (Cavalier) but we put a comfortable inner spring mattress in and we use a large light tarp that covers the entire rig when we are more than one night stay. Protection from the heat and or rain and it goes to providing an annex roof as well.

I have watched those hard floor instant successes go up but putting up the first bit is only the beginning. Some of them go on forever with add ons. For overnighters we take about twenty minutes to get comfortable and same for packing up.

Owen

Thanks all for the replys. My first thought of a soft floor camper for space reasons is being swayed for the rocky and sloping ground reasons (+ quick setup doesn't hurt either).

But perhaps for me the most telling tale is the comment of people with soft floor campers changing to a hard floor, but no-one (yet!) has changed from a hard floor to a soft floor. I have now heard this from many different places, not just this forum.

So it looks like I will be seeking a hard floor camper (or Camprite). Anyone in WA who knows of one for sale is more than welcome to contact me.

Thanks for all the advice.

Cheers

Captain.

Captain, if you get a hard floor and want more space, it is not a big deal to buy or get made annex extensions.
Member 10 Para has an Odyssey Export hard floor (made by Australian Off Road Campers at Caloundra Qld). He does a lot of long term camping and has had a heap of canvas additions made. When fully set up, he could sleep a dozen!!

Think he is in NZ at the moment, but if he sees this he might share some of what he has done.

I have a hard floor (also an Odyssey) which is great for us. As you have recognised flat ground is not really required. We carry a number of pieces of wood in various sizes. Three treated pine about 150mm x 300mm x 35mm thick. These are used under a trailer wheel as necessary. Also about 10 pieces of 12mm ply about 100x100. These are used under CT legs as necessary. The legs are adjustable, but I often use the ply instead, or the slope is such that the extended leg is still too short. I painted all the bits of wood red so I don't miss them when packing up.

One of our best camp spots in the Kimberley this year was on a sheet of rock (granite) on the bank of a river. No problem. Leveled with our wood blocks and we don't need tent pegs when we don't put up the annex, (and the new model of our camper doesn't use tent pegs, even with the annex). Had a granite floor to the kitchen!

Another benefit of the hard floor is that the better ones are completely dust proof.

Soft floors have their advantages too, but as you say, many people 'upgrade' from soft floor to hard floor. Never met someone who went the other way. Of course thousands of soft floor owners are happy with no interest in changing.

We started in a tent, then softfloor camper and then hardfloor Camper and now the Ultimate which I believe will be the end of our upgrading.

Most people in our 4wd club have done the same thing ie upgraded from the tent, to soft floor camper to either hardfloor camper or even straight to caravan.

The main problem we found with the soft floor camper was that when it rained (which at the moment is not a problem) then the soft floor campers could very easily get very wet inside. We dont have kids but regularly had two dogs and the dog beds would get damp from being on the soft floor even if there was no rain about. Therefore if you have kids would need some type of elevated bed such as bunks if you had the soft floor camper. The Cub camper was fantastic as everything including the kitchen was inside and the same if not more floor space than our original soft floor camper but the only problem was the small sized double bed so we upgraded to the king size bed in the Ultimate and still the best night sleep I ever get!!

We have a hard floor Campomatic - quite a few other makes (KK etc) are much the same size. Lovely to setup and knock down - great kitchen, water storage etc and electrics but in my view these units are a two person unit - I think you would all be tripping over each other. In fine weather you can set up for any arrangements, but if you need to all be inside behind closed doors (foul weather, mozzie attack, or sleeping, then it would be very cramped.

It really depends on your style of camping.

We (family of 4) tend to do big trips with lots of stays, and the camprite is perfect in that we don't have to worry too much about the surface being rocky, sandy, wet, etc. However, you do you need to worry about whether you can fit or unhitch readily. Italso allows you to keep the beds made, so no need to roll up mattresses and sleeping bags.

We did 9 weeks from Sydney to Broome and back, and didn't put up the awning once. Lucky the weather was kind.

Whereas, when we got around in the tent you'd worry about the surface, but had more options with space. And I certainly benefited from regular workouts with all the packing.

Good luck!