info on campers

I have an Obriens and it is as tough as nails. They also have a great layout with stacks of storage. The thing I like most about them is that you don't have to unload heaps of gear every time you stop. Flip up the tent and you are ready to eat, sleep, drink and be merry, not necessarily in that order.

There is a huge amout of clearance under the mudguards so mud build up underneath is no problem.

Just a good, solid no nonsense trailer. Have a talk to John Obrien. He is a top bloke.

Boiler

Kimberley Kampers are very good as are Adventure Camper trailer from South Australia. If you are in Queensalnd Pacific Trailers make pretty good trailers in alumnium

Dont know much about the Tru Blu.

There is a BIG difference between the O'Briens and the Dingo , including Price.

The OBriens is a top notch , top quality, go anywhere product, produced by a builder thats being doing that for about 20 years. These are mostly $10k plus trailers.

The dingo is . . . well . . a dingo.

Thats NOT saying they aren't any good , because from all reports , they are , but, Having to Deal with the owner , is interesting , to say the least.

They are a more budget priced CT , and so construction and quality is that.

They may very well do the task you are asking of it , if thats the budget you have.

Boiler,
go to a good newsagent, there have now been two publication issued demonstrating a wide range of camper trailers available in Australia.

As an alternative, check out www.campertrailers.org
I have been looking for about two years now(obviously I'm in no great rush - they are an expensive investment).
As another tip I found worthwhile, go for a drive to a coupl of caravan parks in your surrounds and simply have a chat to the owners of them - I have found them friendly and they can pass on "lessons learnt" from their own experience. I don't know if you still have tin lids camping with you, since this requirement to house them as well can possibly affect your available selection.
Also - Have a goo dhard thin about how often you truly go offroad. The hard-core offroad campers aer very good, and built very strongly, but do you really need that strength with the sacrifice in comfort.
I am merely trying to highlight the differences between say, a Trak Shak and a Coromal Silhouette - which one will suit your needs for 95% of your targetted camping.
If you're only doing one hard core trip a year - look into hiring them. We hired one last year - An Albany Camper (WA), and found it was fine for waht we wanted, but further discussion centralising around when our little critters will arrive means that our camper selection may change dramatically.
If you (and your better half, if applicable) are comfortable, then you are more likely to get out more often.

Just my two cents worth matey.
This topic gets kicked around a lot in this forum - and it's always interesting to get the owner's perspective. Like I said - I'm sitting on the fence at the moment still doing my research.

Cheers,
Davo

Re Dingo campers. Agree completely with comments about bizarre experience of doing business with the owner. But we had one that gave very good service over 12 years, The design works quite well, if a little slow to erect/fold away. Really needs two people to manage. Apart from the manufacturere,The BIG problem with Dingo campers used to be (still may be, I haven't looked at one for a while) the canvas was wrapped around the base board and massively stapled underneath. Makes them virtually impossible to work on if you need repairs as the canvas can't be taken off the baseboard to get a sewing machine in.

Hi boiler,

I don't know where you live, so these suggestions may not be suitable, however I'll give them anyway.

We spent many months researching camper trailers as we wanted an off road version that could go anywhere we wanted and we also wanted to ensure that we got what we needed the first time around, they aren't a cheap purchase so didn't want to make a costly mistake.

After much research on the internet, camping expo's and discussions with manufacturers we narrowed it down to two companies:

All Terrain Camper Trailers in Seven Hills, Sydney
The Complete Campsite in Gosford NSW

We finally decided on the All Terrain camper, however both companies were excellent to deal with, prices were comparable and construction and quality were far above anything else we looked at.

Goodluck with the search,

Kerrie

Boiler,

I agree with Davo about working out what you want/need in terms of a camper.

He is right when he says there is a big difference between a Trak Shak and a Corromal. I had a neighbour who towed a Jayco off road Dove "all over OZ" and was happy as. He left the Jayco in Cairns when he went to Cape York and other similar stories on various trips hence the quotes.

I was actually working on my own design back in about 1990 when I saw the one I eventually bought at a Camping Show. I tossed my design and spent the next six years comparing my "choice" to everything else on the market. Trying to justify what was a large financial commitment. I had to be sure before I spent that kind of money.

In 1996 I eventually bought the one I had seen all those years earlier. It is still going strong and you can see it in my rig pic. We bought a Trak Shak and have never regretted it once. The only problem I have with it is every time I walk past it parked in the shed it says "Come on lets go on another trip". We, all 5 of us , are very comfrotable in it.

Also in choosing the camper think about the company you are buying from. Customer service is still good from Trak Shak, not that I have needed much. They have been around for a long time and look like hanging around even longer. Dingo, Obrien and Tru Blu I can't comment on, don't know anything about them.

The last consideration is resale. You are not buying it to sell you are buying it to holiday in, so make sure it suits your needs first. But the time may come when your needs change. A mate who bought his Trak Shak at the same time as me just sold his for about the same money he paid for it.

Happy shopping.
Duncs

Beware of Tru Blu if you are talking about the Victorian company, Tru Blu Campers.
If you got a spare hour or so I can give you plenty of reasons why, from first hand experience.

Hi boiler, its a pain in the ass looking for campers. i am currently looking at tru blu (i know about the bad write ups) and casuarina campers. at the moment i have a price from casuarina of $10500 for what i want. they seem good from what i have seen.they are very flexable which is great and only a 2 week wait.they are just down the road from tru blu at seaford. the ph no. is 97869113.
My email is halton@optusnet.com.au if you want any more info.
good luck

Hi Boiler we have a walkabout offroader full gal trailer jerry holderX2 big fold out tent with awning and pergola with extra sides all double stitched poles and framing takes 20 mins for me to set up. Craig Gall is the builder off the tents and does a mag job and the service and backup is great your water tank had a leak in it three hours before our trip to sydney this year I rang Craig and he came to our house and fitted a new tank there and then on the spot... have had no trouble with it . if you are in the brisbane area you are more than welcome to try our camper out if yoou want to cheers chris

Have a look through here .

http://www.ozebook.com/campertrailer/online.htm

should get a good choice here ,,
Neil ..

I have had a Tru Blu offroad set up, for about two years. We decided to buy it after looking at nearly every other setup. And yes we did have some problems with it first up.

The canvas in the annexe and zip on spare room leaked pretty badly and the stove did not fire up like it was supposed too.

I contacted Tru Blu and they responded in a great fashion. As we were on a coastal NSW holiday they agreed to refund the $400 that we had spent on a tarp and poles to cover the camper.

On our return I returned the annexe and spare room and kitchen to them. They were all replaced without question. So now we have a great camper. In addition we have the tarp that we had to buy in the first place.

My advice is to make your own decision. I am sure that everyone can tell you a horror story about something that they have bought.

Good luck with your decision and happy camping.

Plugger

Boiler whilst your looking at different options could I suggest you also check out the Deluxe Camper Trailer range. These are also manufactured in Adelaide, are available in either a Double or Side Camper configuration and either On or Off Road. These units are built for hire fleet use thus well constructed, are easily assembled and disassembled and also have good resale value. For further details check out www.deluxecamper.com.au

Good luck

Peter

hi boiler
if you are in WA look up campritecampers.com.au..i pick up a new one in sept,friend has one and swears by it..goodluck DB

Try Southern Cross. We have had ours for 11 years now and it has been faultless apart from replacing the zip on top which we damaged. It's been everywhere from the Simpson to the Cape and over the high country. Not the dearest around but not the cheapest either. the quality of the canvas speaks for itself.

I spent some time looking and the best I was was the adventure camper trailer. They are expensive but you only get what you pay for.

Its your decision - have a look at them.

Boiler,
I thought that I'd post some additional points to my original posting (you'll have to excuse poor typing - I'm not a secretary!). They're based on my own checklist of requirements, and extnensive visits to 4WD & Camping Shows in WA.

Before you decide on Hard Core Offroad/Soft core/Soft/Hard floor selection, try to remember back to the last trip that you did, and how often you had to set-up and break camp, since quite often you have to travel some distance to get to you intended destination.

(1) Set-up and break-down speed
Ideally, you want something that is quick and easy to setp and pack-up, especially if it's raining. Also - how'do you store things in it, and how do you get access to these items when the camper is in it's travelling state; can you easily get access to storage boxes, chairs, esky, etc when packing the camper prior to leaving home, or on the side of the road?

(2) What are you expecting to take away with you on your travels?
For example, I'm a fisho, so ideally my camper has to be able to take the weight of a aluminium dinghy, plus an outboard, pus carry a spare tyre for itself, not to mention fuel & fishing tackle for the boat. A "simple "requirement"such as this can dramatically reduce the contenders for you hard earned cash. Maybe an inflatable (Zodiac/similar is an option here??)

(3) Look at it's "livability" in inclement weather.
It happens when you're camping. Eeither it's raining, or if you travel throughout WA, the wind BLOWS (Windy Australia!). You need something stable, and comfortable if you're to be holed up in your camper all night, or even during the day. Living space is very important.
Sleeping comfort. Some Campers only offer a foam mattress. Is this okay for your spine? Mine's already cracking and popping and I'm only 35..

(4) Ease of towing
A smaller, less heavy-duty camper will be easier, and cheaper to tow. Something a bit larger, and wider than your car (eg: Jayco/Coromal/similar), will create more wind drag, which means you'll drink more fuel. Check you Vehicle's towing limitations, and whats required to set it up properly.
I worked it out quickly - while towing the "light" Albany Camper, I used an extra 2L/100km on 1 2000km round-trip, this works out to an extra 40L (not that much extra); you have to work out if that's within your trip budget planning.

(5) Spares/Engineering
This selection mainly stems around ho easy fixable is the trailer if something goes wrong with the suspension, the locking features, the erection of the living space.
Some camper come with spare stub axles, or mounting points for same.

(6) Sustainability Requirements
This is for those stand-alone-types (myself included). This item pertains to things such as solar panels, extra gas bottle storage, extra fuel storage (jerry cans), and extra water storage. Be mindfull that a 150L water tank, and 6xJerry cans of fuel will add about 270kg to the weight of you trailer on their own!
Solar panels will require batteries, plus a monitoring device to maintain charge

(7) What extra camping "hardware" do you require?
Over the years, we have built up a nice inventory of camping equipment (the latest purchase being the coleman camp kitchen - VERY nice!)
Quality items are not cheap, and can add at least $500-1000 to your price
Some campers can be procured cheaper if you already have a gas stove, Gas Bottles, 12V lighting, etc etc
eg: do you REALLY need that nice Stainless Steel cooktop on the back of a box trailer?

(8) Storage of the Camper when you're NOT camping
Check out where it will live in your home when you're not galavanting around the countryside. Some people have no room, and then have to look at storage options.

well - that's about it for my schpiel at the moment.
To be honest, out of all of the "hard core" campers, my choice is consistently the Trak Shak. It meets all of my own personal requirements. I don't own one, but have talked to a few owners who never say they would change anything about them, which to me says a lot.
Back to my Caveat - Each to his own. I could also very easily swing the other way to an offroad coromal silhouette, since I know from personal experience that this will do the job, and more importanly will be more comfortable for when we eventualy sprout youngsters. Most of the time you only have to battle corrugatons, and as mentioned elsewhere on this forum, these can be handled okay, so long as you drive SENSIBLY.
This Great Country of our needs to be seen - it offers so much to the traveller. Quite often we are simply over-complicating things for ourselves with the dream of camping in the outback with no-one in a 500km radius. How often to MOST people actially do this trip? I would say there's a definite hard-core group out there that does this regularly, and the rest of us are wannabees.

At the end of the day - it's about getting out there and doing it - there's never an eay answer to ths question of what sorft of person you are and what comfort levels you (and SWMBO) expect when you're away from home for an extended period of time.

Cheers,
Davo
(Currently working in Russia, and missing the land downunder)

G'day Boiler,

You've got more advice here than I would know what to do with!....Davo's comments above are very valid - you want to take a close look at all the things he has listed.

There seem to be a LOT of camper crowds around - and as someone metioned, a few have disappeared recently - I know of one near me in Mitcham - that was trading one day and just disappeared overnight!.... not the sort of support and backup I'd want after handing over the$$$$.

I have a Tambo - I know their lead times are pretty unreasonable at the moment ( about 10 months). BUT - can I suggest you go and have a look at one - the quality is next to none for the money you pay- IMHO. The reason for such long lead times is that Keith and Amanda will NOT take on extra staff expand the business and potentially loose their quality control.
I have a mate that has ordered one and is currently waiting - He asked Keith what happens if steel prices go up in the 10 months ..... the answer - Tambo wears it !!
I am VERY impressed by the way Tambo treat their customers - before and more importantly after the sale.

You may well not be able to wait that long - but go and take a look and talk to Keith - he will give you great advise and you will have a really good product to use as a benchmark when looking at others.

I nearly bought another cheaper camper before I saw the Tambo - I am really glad I stretched my budget a little and bought mine ( I got mine about a year ago - cost me $6500)

Good luck with it mate..... bloody confusing isn't it!

Mark.

Gidday,

no-one seems to mention them much, but we have a SoutherCross Camper trailer, Souther Cross make the best goddam tents in Australia, so we decided to by one of their campertrailer, it was a good choice, nothing too flash, just a tent on a trailer, but they do offer extras.

We were away recently and got 4 inches of rain in 2 days at Roma Qld, and everything inside was dry - not bad eh?

Southern Cross's Website

As a tip - we purchased an Incontinence Sheet from a chemist to put over our made up bed to keep the wet tent off it when it was packed up

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