T-Van, Worth the money?

gid'ay jack
in my opinion tough enough for the job but i reckon to much money for what you get.,can get abit cramped in em' for that length of time for that many $$$$
regards toohey.

if you are planning on spending that sort of money get a kimberly kamper heaps more room and it will go anywhere your 4wd will.

IMHO I reckon that the assymetric suspension of the T-Van and its other Track cousins looks like the toughest (military-spec) out there.... including those trailers with heavy-duty trailing arm systems.

What do you need in a trailer if you're on a trip that causes you to stop daily? You need some sleeping space, a covered area that's QUICK to erect (in tail gate on T-Van) yet still lets you pull out a full-sized awning and covered area if you really want to. Speed is if the essence with the T-Van.

I'd have one in a flash. Didn't know they'd gone up to $33k though..... :( At $25k they were still within reach..........

T-Van suspension & chassis is way more advanced than Kimberley.
Excellent build quality & like nearly all camper Trailers .... overpriced!
But they do represent good value compared to the rest of the upmarket campers.

I've gotta say that the Ultimate Camper is around the same money and (in my opinion only) offers a far more user-friendly layout.
Offroad-ability is at least as good as the T-Van (ours has been to Cape York twice, across the Gulf'd "top road", across the Simpson Desert, down the Border Track etc etc).
Good luck.....it's a lotta $$$$ and you don't want to be making an expensive mistake that will become a pain in the arze!!!
Cheers
Roachie

Dear Jack
I have owned the Tvan for the last two years and couldn't recommend it highly enough. If you want a proper four-wheel drive camper trailer it's a very comfortable option. It's very reassuring to know you are sleeping under a completely waterproof fibreglass shell when it's pouring with rain outside.
Hope you enjoy your trip.
Cheers John

gday jack 74
we have 2004 kimberley classic mariner only way to go in my opinion if you want to take a tinny with you - ours is a 3.75 bermuda vee punt with 15 hp motor carried on the boat loder on the camper or occassionally on the nissan roof racks and we have a real easy folding trailer also

we had some initiall warranty hassles with the KK but kk ballina eventually fixed them and we are fine with it now - good solid camper trailer

mate all the camper trailers are really a compromise of one sort or another and 12 months is a hell of a long time to live in a fairly small and restricted camper trailer - in my opinion they are fine for week ends; great for a week or two and still pretty good even for a month or two if the weather is reasonably kind - the longest we have used ours if for 6 weeks straight to the cape and back and we stayed in a motel on a regular one day per week basis to break it up a bit when we could - but to be honest if i was off for a 12 month trip i would buy a 16 ft or 17 ft off road van with an enclsed awning - the lightest i could find

hope this helps in some way
see you greg

Hi Jack,

At the end of the day, you decide what works for you and your own priorities. We looked at Ultimate, T-Van, Kimberly Kamper, Cape York etc and decided on an Aussie Swag Ultra. It was the closest to our requirements and worked best for us.

If we all had the same needs, they would only make one type of camper trailer.

Cheers,
Greg

G'day Jack,

In the same price bracket as the Tvan is the Adventure Camper. They are about $30,000 these days. They have a King size Bed, a huge kitchen, a separate awning over the kitchen & vastly more storage than the Tvan. But you are under canvas in the Adventure rather than fibreglass. We've been through plenty of rain without a problem, but we've yet to see days (or weeks) of torrential rain.

We found with the separate awning we could pack up the tent and still have somewhere to shelter (from the sun or rain) until we're ready to move camp, then 2mins to put the awning away and we're gone.

Anyway, horses for courses, just thought you might want to check out all your options. If you haven't already you should also check out www.campertrailers.org On that site you will find heaps of good info, plus links to the camper trailer forum which has over 1600 members.

Thanks,

Aaron.

Jack
We thought storage was an issue with the T-Van. Liked everything else but couldn't see where to put everything. Just didn't come away confident with it overall after looking at it twice.

Have you looked at a Jurgens Expedition

John

We spent over 12 months looking at campers at the higher end of the market, $30k pluss and settled on the Coota Camper. A dual axle with roller rocker suspension, (tough) heaps and I mean heaps of storage, 250lt water tank, dual battries etc etc.

It's built for extended trips, carry a boat if required. On the road it rides really well, yet to use it on really rough tracks, but being the exact same wheel width as the Patrol, tracks great in mud/clay roads.

Quick to set up for the overnighter, about 20 min to put up the full annex.

You can live with any choice once made - all of them require compromises in what you want to do - I bought a Campomatic - the Kimberley was first choice but too heavy on the nose - I thought the TVan very attractive, but shied off the storage space and the tight living area - was also a little concerned that cleaning around the tail area might be a real pain, with all those nooks and crannies etc. The stone guarding appeared inadequate too (as was the Campo - I improved mine). The Tvan would be great for sleeping - it has power and water and jerry storage - and it can go anywhere - that can't be bad - if you like it, the only issue for mine is reasonable resale value, so you don't waste all that dosh when you want to trade to something different. and .........Ron Moon loves his :-) ............. But Ron probably got his for next to nothing ..... he runs a big ad every month !

The Tvans are excellent quality and will go anywhere you choose to take them without ANY issues , but , living in one for 12 months . . . NO WAY.

WAY WAY WAY to small for that sort of thing.

The kitchen is outside , what if it rains ?

You need the awning up on almost every occasion.

I would think the Ultimate would be a far better proposition for extended touring due to having the kitchen , lounge , and huge beds inside.

You then have a choice whether you want to cook outside or in.

There is a TVan Yahoo Group that may wish to Visit/Join - full off TVan owners - so they are the "converted" but full of usetip and experiences living with the TVan.

To visit the group on the web, go to:
http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/Track_Campertrailers/

Cheers

Yep i'm with Flappa way to small, a phone booth on wheels IMO, the KK or Ozromer, aussie swag, Pioneer, Cub or any of that style would be much better.

Baz.

Hi Jack,
we have had our Tvan for nearly 3 years now and it is fantastic. We spent 3 months in it last year up north with two adults and two kids. It was a little cramped at times but really not a problem. I think there is a lot of good campers out there all with good features. It would be great to roll them all into one. We like the Tvan as when you pack up in the rain there is not wet canvas on the bed. But that is not always a problem anyway. We think it is great, however I bought it second hand EXTREMELY cheaply, so the price was not so much of an issue to me.

Good luck with your decision

cheers

Andrew

Have been agonising over just this for ever - but finally decided on the Tvan and a Nissan DX Patrol 4.2 litre (delivered yesterday) to pull it.

I do not feel it is possible to compare the TVan with much else. What it offers is simplicity and particularly immediacy. Drop the back and it's habitable in seconds. A minute or two later its together.

The Ultimate and Gulfander are superb offerings too - but lack that immediacy and simplicity.

Certainly a TVan's built-in storage is not great, but the more we travel the less we take with us and see no problems at all re this.

Can you live in one for a long time?

Well I would not want to - and don't intend to -(had enough of that with a VW Kombi) but we did have a couple of younger people staying with us a few months back who'd been living happily in a TVan for about two and a half years.
Collyn Rivers

Just to confuse you a bit further.

I have had a Trak Shak for 9 years now. 2 Adults and three kids, the oldest id now 17. We have slept 14 in it. Ok most were simply on the floor but that gives you an idea of how much space there is inside.

In 9 years the only things I have replaced are shock absorber rubbers and the cable for the over-ride breaks. It has been to Cape York, Simpson Desert, Blue Mountains and lots more.

It has heaps of space is quick and easy to set up and will go anywhere the car will. It will carry 12 jerry cans so you can mix and match what you carry water/fuel in any configuration 6/6, 5/7, 4/8 etc. I usually carry 8 jerries and 2 9kg gas just as another option. It has an area of 7 x 4 feet by 20inches high for storage. Dust and waterproof.

The kitchen is hung inside the rear door and can be accessed without setting up the camper. It can be left inside the camper if you need to or removed and set up wherever you want.

It is a canvas camper and it does flap a bit in a strong wind. We have become very good at finding some protection for it when choosing a camp site, I will admit that we have had some uncomfortable nights in strong winds. We have never had a problem with water getting in. Last hols we were camped in the Warrunbungles and I could feel the water flowing under the floor but we were dry.

Like others have said you are the one who has to live with it so you have to like what you buy. I thought the T-Van was solid and looked pretty flash but with three kids I needed more room and more storage than it offered.

The wife and I occasionally talk about what we would buy if we did not have the kids. That discussion keeps coming back to a choice of 2. Keep the Trak Shak or get an Ultimate. But that is us not you.

Duncs

We hired a TVan for 2 weeks last year to go around the red centre. 2 adults & 2 teenage kids (who slept on thermarests on the floor).

Things I liked about the TVan:
- the overall quality/finish
- the suspension seemed bullet proof
- how quick it was to set up & tear down (especially if it was raining) & as the rear hatch is essentially the last thing to close it provides cover from the rain till the last minute!
- I thought there was more than enough storage space
- during travel the kids bedding was stored on the main bed
- the wet canvas is very simple to fold up in the 'pocket' provided & doesn't get anything else wet

The only things I didn't like were:
- 2 kids sleeping on the floor effectively uses up that space completely & therefore unless you set up the external annex it gets a bit tight for space
- the side where the kitchen is really needs a very quick-to-set-up, self-supporting, pull-out awning, rather than having to use the conventional clip-on awning with poles&ropes each night.

I dont think so.

Hi Jack74

We love our Tvan! We have had ours nearly 12 months and it has surpassed all expectations for this family of 2 ads & 3 kids ( aged 4, 7, 11). We have been on a few trips now ranging from weekend aways to our latest 8 week Kimberley adventure, got back 3 1/2 weeks ago:( .The pack up and setup are as easy as advertised, with many times it just being me to do it....and I was a pro at it by the end too!!! The kids were on thermarests on the floor unless we stopped somewhere for a few nights and they pitched their tent. Yeah it was a big crowded, but we only ever go in there to sleep...all our living was done outside. We were fortunate to have beautiful weather the majority of the time so the need for the extra awnings were few and far between. We did however put the awning up when it rained solidly for 2 days and we were kept very dry...no leaky canvas...very impressed. Then when it was time to packup..we did not have to pack wet canvas onto the bed..another plus in my books. I reckon there are heaps of features that make it the way to go....but others may disagree...and thats ok too! I guess we looked at it being our holiday house on wheels( as another member here looks at her camper as being) so the price was factored to that as well. We chose the Tvan knowing that it would be squishy now with the kids...but come the day that they have had enough of sleeping with mum and Dad, we reckon it will be perfect for the 2 of us....Anyway...all the best in choosing..it is a bit of a nightmare really!!! Happy travels

Jen ( and the other Big Kidz)

I am surprised that people are saying that the storage is a bit limited. This is what Track say on their website "Two to three times the load volume of other campers Significant load and storage opportunities 1300 litre load volume – 500kg load mass." The load storage was one of the reasons we bought the Tvan.

Jen and I kept our clothes in the overhead storage above the bed and rarely got into our tub of clothes. Under the bed we had five plastic Sabco drawers in which we kept the kids clothes, spart sheets, coats etc that we did not really need to take to the Kimberley! We had another tub with shoes under there too. We kept a couple of buckets with gear just inside of the hatch on the floor and our Portaloo lived there as well. Heaps of storage space above the bed for kids thermarests and sleeping bags and pillows and table and shelf - put my sisters family or sixes bedding on there too when they were away with us.

In the storage locker we have four 25 litre milk crates and three smaller probably ten litre small crates for tools etc. There was plenty of room for storing things - maybe people are forgetting the storage inside the Tvan and only thinking about the storage locker!

I would quite happily live in the Tvan for a year if the weather was warm enough to be outdoors most of the time. Think I would rather a caravan like the Jurgens Xpedition if it was really cold and wet.

The other thing that I liked was being able to have the kids sleep in a tent sometimes - not sure that I really want them sleeping the same area as me....Jen can be quite noisy when she gets 'excited'!

Andrew

That is alot of money for something without a motor. Personally I would grab one of the Troopy campers getting around - why tow? and you would still have 5-10k change if you got a good one

Andrew and Jen

The book will out in late September. Pre-press copies have already been sent to managers of several relevant websites. May I suggest you contact me privately re this - because I otherwise cannot avoid abusing the non-commercial side of this excellent Forum.
Collyn Rivers

Problem with canvas work on tvans. Eyelets not reinforced with leather also leaking.
Kimberley is alot better

I have a new trakshak for sale, it is perfect for a family. search in archive to see what others have to say,, or look at there web site. Ours has only been used for two nights, & is only about 4 months old. It is being sold (only) due to a recent back injury. The one we have is the hybrid, 2 Queen size beds & all the accessories, including solar,boat rack,independent suspension,two fridges,ect,ect. We are asking 22K which is alot less than we paid for it & what it is worth. It just upsets the family seeing it sit there. ajr900@optusnet.com.au