Camper Trailers

These are another option as well when looking.

Goldstream

Baz.

I thought the "Swan" etc were relatively recent names (after 90 for example).

Anyway . . . I would recommend having a looksee at the Caravan Trader . . . Lots of Different Vans in there , including some really well setup , all the accessories , only used once.

We went up to the Cape recently and were interested in looking at campers and talking to owners to see how they performed, particularly in that harsh environment. The bottom line was ones like the Jayco do not work in rough conditions. Bits are held on with pop rivets and the pounding tends to work them loose. One owner reported their door swing off its hinges another loosing a rooflight. Others complained of dust and water leaks due to the flexing of the fairly light bodies. The only hard floor campers that seem to work in rough conditions are the Camper/Trailers such as Kimberley, Aussie Swag, Campomatic etc. Expect to pay up to $30,000 for a new one but they will last a lifetime of travel in the bush. Have not seen too many second hand though. The soft floor camper/trailers are a lot cheaper and $15,000 will see you with the top of the line. you will see a lot more of these second hand. Go to the Trading Post as well as the Caravan mags.

G`day Mattness

Looks like I buggared up there. We responded to a similar query in Post 16416.
Our camper is bigger than normal.We are just Nth of Melb, if you are interested give us a ring on 0428300357.

Mattness my g/f subscribes to Choice magazine. Theer is an article in this months mag about a guy who sued Jayco because his so called "outback" CT all but fell apart on a trip he did. I've looked at these in the past and have now been put off. To be honest I think that a camper trailer is now a long way down my list of priorities as they can be a PITA to reverse along a track when confronted with vehicles coming the other way. Most of my camping tends to be overnight stops in out of the way places and a tent/swag is probably more practical for me. I can probably copy and mail the article to you if you would like.

We had a Jayco Swan (2 adults+3 kids):
- They were ok for caravan parks but absolutely hopeless for anything off road.
- They are just too big and bulky for offroad manouvering.
- They are also a pain to put up and down all the time.
- The beds are too small.
- You don't go offroading to sit inside a bloody caravan so why tow about an inside sofa?!
- They added 4 litres per 100 km on fuel economy.

I sold mine and rented a Cavalier camper trailer. Just as easy to put up and down and easier to tow.

Ultimately I'd have a Campomatic when I'm doing gravel roads but funds a bit tight at the moment!

We also have a selection of tents and an ARB roof rack when we do real offroad. As Russell Quoit says "T for trailer spells trouble".

Bottom line:

Sealed roads + easy gravel roads + caravan parks = full caravan
Dirt roads plus easy offroad = camper trailer
Offroad challenging = camping with no trailer

Done them all!

Horses for courses really!

Hope this helps.