Advise on Camper Trailers
Submitted: Sunday, Jul 03, 2005 at 21:26
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MartyB
Hi, Could anyone give me some advise on camper trailers.
Needs to fit wife & I plus 3 kids. Plus 4 push bikes and the usual camping extras.
I don't plan to do any long outback trips with it. I live in SE QLD and there is heaps of
places within 400ks to explore. An example of a trip we will do is tow it to 1770, set it up in a caravan park for a week. We would then explore the national parks & beaches in the 4wd without the trailer.
Another example is the kids ride BMX so we will
camp on site at BMX tracks,
toilet & shower to use but no power.
I doubt I would ever take it to Fraser as I have family freinds who lets us stay in their house.
I have been looking at a few brands, eg semi off road Freedom brand from Tiaro $7500. I looked at the Johnos but the Freedom trailers seem better & cheaper.
Anyone ever heard of Thommo's trailers, they are from Yandina and a bit over $8000 for a aluminium off road model. I will
check them out next week.
Also has anyone heard of any problems with Koala campers they are advertising an off roader for under $6000. Sounds cheap.
Thanks.
Reply By: drivesafe - Monday, Jul 04, 2005 at 04:20
Monday, Jul 04, 2005 at 04:20
Hi MartyB, I can’t help you with a recommendation but I would like to warn you about a mob based in
Brisbane.
I bought a camper trailer from Trek Trailers a little over 12 months ago.
The first trip I took it on, it leaked like a sieve and this is when the fun began. Their warranty is none existent, the thing leaks as stated, within 6 weeks it started rusting and is now an ongoing problem, every time you open or close lids or doors the paint chips or is scraped.
These clowns couldn’t put letter boxes together.
In all fairness the fault is down to me for not checking the thing properly before I took charge of it and once I did, I quickly found out that the warranty expired the minute I tow it out of there premises.
Just a word of warning.
AnswerID:
118715
Follow Up By: Member - Norm C (QLD) - Tuesday, Jul 05, 2005 at 22:46
Tuesday, Jul 05, 2005 at 22:46
Probably a bit late now, but Dept of Fair Trading may have been able to help. There is a concept in business known as 'fit for purpose', which applies regardless of warranty. A reasonable person would expect that a camper trailer would keep light to moderate rain out if it is properly erected. If it didn't when new, it probably wasn't fit for it's purpose. After 12 months though it may be a bit late unless you have a very
well documented record of your experiences.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: drivesafe - Tuesday, Jul 05, 2005 at 23:55
Tuesday, Jul 05, 2005 at 23:55
Thank you very much for the info Norm C, it’s excellent advice and at the time I bought the trailer, and then found out how
well these scum bags treat their customers, I contacted the DFT.
Unfortunately I found out that as I purchased the trailer through the business, for business purposes, the DFT do not have any jurisdiction on business to business problems. As the cost of going to court would probably work out more than the trailer cost, I’m let with a very expensive garden ornament.
All is not lost though. I go to most of the caravan and camping shows in this neck of the woods and so do they.
I show prospective customers how bad these trailers are and I don’t use
mine as the example. I simply show people at these shows how bad they are by pointing out the defects on their own demonstration trailers. That’s how bad their trailers really are.
Cheers and thanks anyway Norm C.
FollowupID:
374190
Follow Up By: WillV - Monday, Jul 11, 2005 at 09:36
Monday, Jul 11, 2005 at 09:36
I have a trek kudu trailer and it leaked the first time of use but seam sealing the seams fixed it. I am quite happy with the trailer as I like the hard cover for dust sealing etc and especially as it is light for towing.
The company is a bit hard to deal with as far as after sale service and problems I agree, you are basically on your own when you take delivery, but the product is
well thought out in concept and its benifits outway the non existant after sales service.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: drivesafe - Monday, Jul 11, 2005 at 10:22
Monday, Jul 11, 2005 at 10:22
Hi WillV, I bought
mine because it looked like it would do what I wanted and the over all appearance and concept seamed great.
But being naive about the requirements of this type of product, it wasn’t until I used it and found out how badly built this crap is that I realised I had wasted my money BIG TIME.
If some other company had been responsible for its construction, it would be a nice trailer.
As I stated earlier, these clowns couldn’t put letter boxes together without stuffing them up and obviously you have found out about their after sales service or more to the point, there total lack of service.
Cheer, BTW how long have you had yours.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: WillV - Monday, Jul 11, 2005 at 12:59
Monday, Jul 11, 2005 at 12:59
I have had it 12 months and used it about 6 times some times on rough roads and in poor weather.
The problems are minor except for registering it which was a major headache as the tyres stuck out beyond the gaurds and I had to quickly find and buy rubber mudgaurd extenders and screw them on in the registration place's
carpark and I was far from pleased that a trailer would be supplied in an unroadworthy condition.. The response from Trek was uninspiring ie "you must have had a tough inspector and it is the only size gaurd we make".
Other problems are mainly cosmetic ie decals peeling off after first day of use. No Victorian representitive is also a problem for after sales problems.
They sell it as a off road capable trailer when ALKO
suspension is fitted but I worry as surely weight is a trade off as to construction strength.
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Follow Up By: drivesafe - Monday, Jul 11, 2005 at 16:21
Monday, Jul 11, 2005 at 16:21
That sounds familiar. I picked
mine up late in the evening and as stated, didn’t
check it out all that
well.
I left that night for
Sydney and when I stopped for fuel in
Sydney the next morning, I noticed a bow in the main lid and when I asked to get it fixed or replaced, along with all the other problems, I was told that the guy who paints the trailers caused that and it wasn’t there problem. RIGHT.
But they got there way and the trailer still has the bow in it.
As for going of road, I have not and will not risk taking this piece of crap anywhere that isn’t sealed, GREAT trailer.
Cheers WillV and sorry to hear you have had asimilar problems with Trek.
EVERYBODY ELSE, BE WARNED
FollowupID:
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Reply By: MartyB - Monday, Jul 04, 2005 at 11:59
Monday, Jul 04, 2005 at 11:59
Thanks for the replies.
I am probably leaning towards the Koala. I rang them this morning and was offered an offroader with 12 ft room,
water tank, delux
kitchen, front storage box, galvo trailer, annex with one side wall for $7500. Seems too cheap to pass up, I will go to Bundy this week &
check them out. Anyone know what thickness canvas they use? I would hate to buy one and find out the canvas is not as good quality as the others.
Thanks for the warning about the Trek, I was offer a second hand Trek Kadu for $7500 and havn't got round to looking at it. I had a look at them on the net and they don't look like they would fit much gear inside.
from Marty.
AnswerID:
118749
Reply By: Paul&Terri - Sunday, Jul 10, 2005 at 17:07
Sunday, Jul 10, 2005 at 17:07
G'day Marty,
I brought a new Camel Trailer in January this year with most of the fruit attached. We have been quite impressed with its towing ability and performance. We picked it up in
Brisbane (near Moss St) and drove it back to the Isa via
Lark Quarry and have also taken it up to
karumba across to
Lawn Hill and Urandangi and a few other
places in between, so a fair amount of rough gravel roads at a reasonable pace.
We have only three main concerns.
1) When we had an extra Gas bottle holder fitted the welded the frame which removed the galvanising and no attempt was made to cover the bare metal.
2) The stone guard welds are starting to come apart.
3) The biggest problem, and I suspect this could be with any trailer is keeping the dust out of the storage area. Further investigation revealed holes in the corners of the floor. This also allowed water to wet the gear inside when we drove through rain. Luckily it does not do it that much in the Isa.
This unit cost us approx $11K.
If you would like I could list some other things to look out for.
Cheers
Paul
AnswerID:
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