Islander slide-on camper

You may get more information on the CMCA website and forum.
Slide-ons qualify as mobile home and entitle you to CMCA membership.
You get a cheaper and better insurance via the CMCA especially for more
exotic vehicles.
I do not know anything other than the name and the website of Islander slide-on. We went through a decision process about a year ago and finally purchased a slide-on in the US which is somewhere in the Golf of Mexico towards the Panama canal as I write this.
We have decided to buy a slide-on because we wanted to be able to tow a boat and went looking at all sorts of variations ... at the end of the day I did not like the tray top concept (sitting too high above the wheels) .. my wife wanted a bit more comfortable unit so we were also looking at pop top slide-on's for less height but still longer floor. Pop tops are hard to cool (aircon in a tent is not very effective) so the first preference was on a longer slide-on with hard sides and thats where the problems start. How much load capacity does your vehicle have.. with water and petrol and batteries and solar panel and spare wheels and fridge and aircon and tv and .. you get the drift ... so .. a truck .. Isuzu ? Mitsubishi ? Merc ? Mack ? no way I am going to drive in a truck she said and I could not agree more :)) ... Well you could argue that they are comfortable with the airsuspended seats etc .. but it is still an reasonably uninviting environment ..
We decided to pull it through completly and also purchased a US truck with a real 8' bed and not a tray top and got the slide-on for it .. sits lower than the tray tops and the truck has plenty of load capacity with all the trim you could want ...
So long story short ... it's not really about the camper .. it's about the vehicle first, the weight/load, all the add on things and then about the camper ..
Campers in the US are reasonably cheap but require a few modifications (gas installation) when used here.. nothinh one couldn't handle ...
for me personally the larger Islanders were too high and not really stable on a standard ute tray .. but I could be wrong here .. I would have tried to drive one if I really would have gone this route .. I recommend that anyway to you .. spend the money and the time and go there to have a look ...
Our slide-on was cheap compared to Australian ones and if I am not really happy in the long run .. well I did not loose much ... it will serve me a while anyway ...
but .. you need an F350 or such to be comfortable ..
good luck
gmd

We have just gone down the same path, our slide-on arrived 3 weeks ago.
There are many local manufactures around and we narrowed it down to Wombat (Horsham), Supreme(Vic) and Islander (Tassie). While Danny Gower was by far the most helpful the thought of travelling to and fro concerned us (and cost) so opted for Supreme (Sunray1).
BAD move, we have spent the 3 weeks rectifying a variety of problems, including the table whose bracket was in the wrong place ensuring that any plates placed on the table promptly slid into your lap.
I know you were asking about Islander, but this info may help sway you.
We are members of CMCA and we are insured thro them too.
If anything ever happens to the Sunray, We will travel to Tassie as many times as is required.

Hi Rev's

Site Link

I found this while searching as I have never heard of this unit and is $98,000 right for them, that seems quite a hexy price?

Islander Slide-On 2002 3m length floor, sleeps 4. Shower, gas hot water, microwave, 2-burner gas cooker/grill, 3-way fridge, solar panel, 2 freshwater tanks (230L), grey water tank, tinted windows, insect screens, security door, awning, TV, Wineguard antenna, rad/CD player (in camper). Custom built on Nissan 4.2 diesel, professional 6 wheel conversion, 250L fuel capacity, satellite navigation, reversing camera, CD/DVD and UHF in cab. Ample secure storage, rear box contains Aquapro inflatable dinghy (5hp Yamaha outboard/used twice). $98000 DOVER 03-6298 1234.
STATE: TAS
FIRST PUBLISHED: 29 Nov 2006

SOURCE: Private Classifieds (Weekly Trading Post (Tasmania))

Seems like you want a setup and forget system? I don't know quite what setup you are looking for. Have you looked into a Trailblazer RV Traytop. www.trailblazersrv.com/review.htm (this may not be what you are looking for either, your bed will be over the cab of the 4WD) At one third the price of the islander for a standard unit, they are very nice inside. Even a Trayon may suit your needs and over one third the price they too they are ok. There are other similar brands about so make sure you look at them incase you see something more suited to needs and budget.

Hope you find your dream travelling unit.

Cya
Mrs Doe
:)