Har floor or Soft floor

We are looking at a camper trailer for the first time too, now we are getting to be oldies :-).

Like trucksters idea of hiring.

What I have noticed is that all of the hard floors tend to hinge off the back, which gives you an area at the back the same width as the trailer, about 2.0 to 2.2m wide and about 7' to 2.4m long.

Whereas the soft floors fold off the back or side. The side folding seems to give you more room in the annex, and are 8', 10' and 12' deep off the trailer and the length of the trailer. Sorry, too used to working in both metric and imperial at work, say 2.2m x 2.4, 3m, or 3.6m.

Having used a tent for the last 20 years, soft floors don't worry us, we will just put a tarp down for a bit of extra protection like we do with the tent.

What else have you noticed?

Instead of using a tarp under the floor use shade cloth. Heaps better water runs through if any gets inbetween and you just shake out before you fold up. Works great on sand and dirt. Have used now for over 10 years under tent and annex of caravan.

Thanks
Good idea.

Hi Willg,

Like you I am looking, except that my tow vehicle will be a Subaru Forester.

Have a close look at the link above.

I had a look at Cape York Trailers at their factory in Cairns last year and was impressed with their build quality.

I have also been down the road of soft floor campers some years back in a much heavier 4X4.

I would never own one again.

OK for a couple of days away, but they are a real PITA on a long outback trip.

Hard floor is the only way I will go in future - but each to his own.

Just my thoughts

Dennis

What problems did you find with the soft floor?

G'day John,

Pegging out was always a PITA - especially after a hard day on the road.

Your "level" [or lack of it] of the floor was always determined by your camping area - with a hard floor you can adjust for "level".

Underfloor surface can be rocky at times. There are places where you simply can't get a smooth area for underfloor.

Underfloor wetness. This can be allieviated to some extent by placing a plastic tarp under the floor, but I found condensation was always present between the floor and the tarp in damp weather.

An absolute pain when packing up - especially if you are in a hurry to get on the road.

Also, you have to pack up a wet tarp and shove it somewhere.

Like I said above - its a hard floor for next time.

More expensive - but like most things in life - you get what you pay for.

We too have an Aussieswag. Also reckon its great. Also been to similar places.

Hard Floor Plusses.
- Quick setup and packup.
- Off the ground.
- Seals when closed to keep dust out.
- Different configurations for over night or longer stay.
Soft Floor Plusses.
- More room.

Gaz

Willg,

Depending on the design of each type, I would say that storage beneath the bed would be similar.

Again, depending on individual design, soft floor campers can weigh as much as hard floor ones.

One of the advantages of the soft floor camper is the amount of extra storage space available for annexes, etc., underneath the storm cover.

On most softies, when the trailer is closed, you can still access the storage space underneath the bed by lifting the whole base up sideways.
My camper for instance has hydraulic dampers to assist in the lifting and lowering of the entire bed/base, (secured by lockable latches) to get at the storage area, as well as from the tailgate itself.

The variety of features of each brand and style of camper is almost endless and can be confusing to the new buyer.

I started out shopping around for a hard floor camper but found the price range was $20,000+.
A good soft floor unit can be bought new for less than $13,000 with all the bells and whistles and start much cheaper than that.

In my opinion, the time it takes to erect a soft floored camper is a secondary consideration. They don't actually take all that long.
Simply flip them down, tighten the adjustable internal frame and bang a peg in at each corner for stability of the floor. Additional pegs are really only required in strong wind conditions to give extra support.

As for annexes, they generally take the same amount of time fiddling with poles and ropes, regardless of whether you have a soft floor or hard floor style.

Like others have said, hire one or two different types until you get a warm fuzzy feeling about the style and features of the different types.
Then you are less likely to be unhappy with the subsequent purchase.

My Aussie Swag hard floor has a lift up bed for storage. However, the storage is in a roll out drawer and this can be accessed with the unit shut through a tail gate.

The kitchen also slides out the side with the unit shut however we don't tend to use it this way during the day too much.

The whole unit is very waterproof and dustproof. It came with a plastic cover for the bed to use when shutting it down with wet canvas. But wet canvas is no problem and have found the cover to only get slightly damp.

The problem of hutting down in the rain is the person getting wet rather than any gear etc. Some softfloor have their kitchen inside the canvas which probably helps. In case of rain we put an annexe up (comes with two) so have to close kitchen before dropping annexe before dropping camper.

As stated above, recommend you hire different type and see which type suits you best. The hardfloor will be more expensive.

Alan

I reckon generally the soft floor campers have more storage. Although the latest Aussieswags have improved in this regard.

Oh BTW - at the risk of stating the obvious the main advantage of the soft floor units is price.

gaz

Will. You already sound sold on the soft floor...

Lyds,

That is the best thought out camper I have seen for 2 adults and 2 kids. If we ever go the camper route then that will be the first I look at - magnificent piece of kit.