CAMPER TRAILERS

hi Norm,

Im also looking around for a ct. One that the beds extend out and the cooking is in side. I like the jayco, and have just discouvered the goldstream...any thing apart from what you have said that I should look out for.

A friend of mine bought one a few years ago to take on the beach (cruiser pulling it), they got the off road one, but it was made too heavy to take on the sand. Someone said to try the all terrain rather than the off road ones, as they can go to places that soft road SUV's would be ok to go to and are not as heavy.

Another friend of mine couldnt wind the off road extend top as it was too high for them? Your views Norm on this if you know would be appreciated.

thanks

I have several friends that tow an offroad Jayco in sand with no problems.

I dont know the experience of your friend , but IMO , it sounds like your friend may not have a lot of experience in those conditions.

Sure , they are heavier then say a regular trailer based CT , but the same principals apply to trailers and vehicles . . . Tyres Pressure is the number one rule.

With the right pressures and a vehicle like a Cruiser , they should have very little trouble towing in sand.

What do you want to use your CT for ?

Offroad or On ?

There is quite a bit of difference between the On and Off Road versions , certainly in the Jayco's. Cant say I have every really looked over a Goldstream , but I have heard some good reports on them.

Greg, we have some good friends who had a Jayco Off Road model for several years. They loved it, but did most of their touring on bitumen and reasonable dirt roads.

I looked at them when I was buying a CT. The wife liked the set up, but I didn't think they were strong enough for our intended use. This year we are doing Cameron's Corner area, GRR, Mitchell Plateau, Kalumburu, Cape Leveque, etc etc. Next year it will be Cape York and the Gulf. I'm sure there will be someone who says they have towed a Jayco to these places, but they didn't win my confidence.

If you will travel like my friends with major gravel roads and bitumen being your main touring, with just a bit of rougher stuff, they fit the bill nicely. If like me, you want to get to the few remaining 'frontier' areas. I'd go for a tougher Off Road camper, but you will pay more or compromise on other things to get the strength.

Greg, given that you say you prefer the models with the cooking inside, there are not a lot in the 'real tough' category. The Ultimate is one. Great bit of kit, but very expensive. I've seen one or two others, but can't think of the brands at the moment.

We actually preferred the cooking outside away from the sleeping area.

Start point is deciding what you want to do with it. This will dictate build strength, suspension requirements, how much water and power might you need to carry. Then your budget. Only then can you get too worried about which brand, new or used, layout etc.

If you target a layout or brand first, you might get a great CT, but one not suited to the type of travel you want to do.

The Gulflander is another. Cub make a CT with an internal kitchen that suits 2 (a couple of layouts from memory).

Adventure make a CT with an external kitchen but the kitchen IS the trailer with its own awning . . . something slightly different.

Yeah Hi Flappa, They have heaps of 4wd experience, and because of that have seen vehicles bogged with their camper vans in the soup like sand before so they left the campervan out at their farm. We sleep in it when we are out their. I dont think it was a jayco, but some other brand, that made it very heavy.

Norm, my friends have done similiar trips as your friends and had no problems with their std van. Im yet to hear how it went on the beach around broome although?

But I will be using mine as a thing to take to the beach, rather than that bloody tent. Im sick of folding and unfolding the beds, tables, chairs, sleeping bags, tarps, poles, ropes, lights, cooking table, packing the back of the paj, jamming everything into the car, the esky, the fact the kids dont always help me put the tent up, the fact it takes sooo long to put up and pull down, ohh i could go on and on..but I also want the van so I can drive to melbourne with kids and not have to pay $110 plus for a dirty hotel room on the newell. And it makes it easy on your friends when you visit them if you bring your own beds.

Just be careful on the Sunshine Coast.

there was a quite wellknown brand that went belly up , leaving a heap of people in the lurch, only to reopen his business just down the road.