Comment: Buying a Camper Trailer

Hi Jeremy

A couple of things you need to work through:

1. What's your budget going to be, and
2. How much "off road" is that going to be.

If you're talking lots of offroad work, then you'll need to have something quite heavy duty - and probably more expensive. If it's just light offroad stuff (forest trails and beach work etc) then maybe something a little lighter duty. Of course then there's the type of camper trailer - soft floor, hard floor etc etc etc.

I'd be working out your budget then heading off to the next Caravan & Camping show to see what's around!

Chris

There's lots of good info here and on the associated forums:http://www.campertrailers.org/

I strongly advise you try first by renting. There are lots of variations in design and there's no substitute for experience in order to choose between them.

Jump on the MySwag forum

http://www.myswag.org/index.php

Heaps of info specific to camper trailers.

Hi Jeremy

Renting is good but depending on how much camping/travelling you have had, most of the best research can be done "on the road" with a wealth of knowledge and experience in every camping/caravan spot.

My option - Depends on space, I would go a hard floor camper and most soft floor ones "can be" just as much work as a tent. Some/most of the "hard" floor version have floors that can be levelled for uneven ground which is actually more helpful and comfortable than you would think.

Questions:

Water/Dust Proof
Hard/Soft Floor
Solar or 240V
Suspension/Tyres
Position of Spare Tyre
Tow Ball Weight and Overall Weight
Water
Hot Water
Hand Pump/12V Pump
External/Internal Storage
Fridge Space/Generator Space
Kitchen Style/ Pantry
Lightning
Awnings that can stay on (when packed up)
Add On's: Bike Rack, Jerry Can Holders, Fire Wood Holders/Storage, Additional Spare Tyres?, Awning Walls. Battery Management Systems. Water Tank Gauges, Hitch upgrades.

And the list goes on. We started in a tent and saw people in a soft floor camper pull up and already have dinner cooked and we were still setting up. Got a soft floor camper and then saw someone rock up in a pop-top and went - oh isent that good. Got a Jayco Swan "Out-back????" well then some-one rocks up in a caravan. Moral to the story is there is always something better out there.

Have a budget - the create a list of wants rating from 1 to 10 and try to get as many things on the list that you can. You can spend tens of thousands of dollars and still see more stuff you want - remember it is not about the van but the adventure you will have and the people and friends for life you will meet.

Cheers K