Camper Trailers

Smudger,

Here's a starting point for you

Australian Camper Network

You can buy an off-road trailer with a built-in tent, water tank, gas bottle holders, and whatever else you deem important and add other things as needed.

I have seen basic rigs from about the $5000 mark. While this may seem a lot, the structual strength of the chassis and suspension should be basis on which all other options are based.

Good searching

We live in Alice. Three years ago we were going through Cairns, saw and bought a Cape York Trailer in Cairns. It has to be about the strongest trailer I have seen. Simple, ultra solid. Fully galvanized. Bulletproof. Oversize bearings axles towbar etc etc. But this of course makes it heavier than most. They also had a lightweight fast ultra simple pop top model, no frills, when we were there, but I can't see it on their website any longer. That on one of their heavy duty trailers might have be ideal for you, if that model is still available.
We were going to buy the simple model but they had a special that had been on show and the price was too good to miss.
http://www.ahernmetal.com.au/default.htm

Smudger, I have a Tambo camper. IMHO you cant go past them and the base price model is about $5000. They are in Wantirna in Melbourne but advertise on this website. A search will find you a lot of satisfied customers.

Good luck

Smudger,

We have a Trak Shak and are more than delighted with it. It has travelled all over Aus for the last eight years and never caused a problem.

The Trak shak is made in Adelaide but they will freight to anywhere in the country. It is quick to set up and comfortable ot live in, there is heaps of space inside. It is relatively light to tow, is very strong and has heaps of space for luggage.

The sting is they are not cheap. When we bought ours we considered cheaper brands. When we added up the cost of optioning a cheap one up to the level the T/S was standard and found there was very little difference in price but you still had a poorer design. Things that seem little, like jockey wheels and couplings make a huge difference in the bush and can also add significantly to the price of your "basic" or "cheap" camper.

You can get a fully optioned Trak Shak or you can get one that is more basic, and equip it with the gear you already have, you still get the good design. If they are still too expensive consider a second hand one. There are plenty out there that have done very little work and then spent years sitting in the shed.

This is true of all brands. I recommend you decide what you want then decide if you can afford new or should go second hand.

Happy shopping
Duncs.

I agree with Duncs. I planned on getting a cheapy, then after doing all the research I ended up with a Trak Shak because of the quality, and because it suited our needs, which is a family of 5. It may not be the right CT for you tho, and best way to find out is to research and hire as many as you can untill you find what you like.

The other good thing about the Trak Shak....and the other higher priced "brand name" campers, is that when you sell them you can generaly ask, and get, what you originaly paid for it.

Try www.ozroamer.com.au

Ozroamer are the National Distributors for Cape York Trailer.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Simon Heard Canvas in Shepparton Vic, build a good quality cheap Offroad CT.

The basic rig starts around $5000. Ours cost $7500 with a few extras added.

Complete Campsite at Gosford also make a good CT. Writeup in 4wd Monthly , not long ago.

Hi Smudger,

We have a Challenge campertrailer, which is built here in Adelaide, but I know they have an agent in Sydney. We have taken ours 35,000kms in the last 12 months, occasionally over some very rough road, and we are really pleased with it. We too have all the camping gear, but I've found it handy to have the built in stuff as well. It makes it much easier to go somewhere (like the Bungle Bungles) and leave the trailer behind, without having to unpack everything. We saw several broken trailers in our travels, some brands which are mentioned in this post!!

Have a look at the Challenge web site - www.challengecampertrailers.com.au.

Happy travels
Anni

The best advise i can give is hire one first there are a couple of camper places in Sydney that hire them it will give you an idea of what they are like, we did this and it is the best way. The one Flappan mentioned Complete Campsite and Central coast canvas are both in central coast area also Redback near Raymond Terrace and do a good cheaper camper for around the $5500 to $7500 mark if you can stretch it get it hot dipped gal.

Baz.

We found a good s/h unit which is solidly built for $4.8k.
Sloid chassis and bearings are essential for offroad. Just imagine the day driving over big corrugations when you look at any thing and decide whether it can handle it.
Heavy duty bearings are a must and brakes don't go astray.
I really value our annexe.
Otherwise if all you want is a bed off the ground you should be up and away for nor too much moola. Especially if you are a bit handy and can add bits and craft on your existing gear.
One of the dangers in this game is that of 'creeping ambition' where you are led to believe you cannot do without all the gismos and that if your trailer cannot fly over Big Red or swim to the Cape you are a failure. We try to keep in mind our initial aim which was to drive and tow with a bit of comfort and be able to get off the road into some scenic bush to camp. So far so good! Also if you want all the bells and whistles you also have weight which leads to more fuel needed, bad backs and equipment failure.
Just my two bob's worth! I hope you have as much fun in whatever you buy as we have in ours.
Cheers,
Camper