Looking for a Campervan up to $25K

Hi JandG,

The limits imposed by your tow vehicle (75kg ball & 1200kg braked) will just about rule out most of the bigger off road camper trailers but there are a number of on road units that may fit the bill. Cub campers (on road), & many of the smaller soft floor campers should come in within your towing limits.
There are so many out there that in the end it comes down to personal choices.

Look for quality welding, adequate suspension, (not slipper type springs) general robustness and reasonably heavy duty canvas roof & walls with tight stitching.
Plans vary in regard to kitchen layout, bed size, accessories available etc. All will have a bearing on your ultimate decision.

Sorry it's not much to help you decide, but I'm sure that others will offer opinions equally valid.

Talk to any campertrailer owners you meet and ask their opinions about their units.

Enjoy your search.

Disco

PS I once owned an imported Alpenkruizer(Dutch) camper trailer, great unit and layout but took ages to erect. now a caravanner.

Cheers

Gerard
It sounds like you are first time campers(my apologies if not) it has been mentioned before that a good way to start is to hire a Campervan/Camper trailer first so that you can get an idea of what you may require, this way you can also meet people on the road who can Show you the good and bad points of your/their rig.

eerfree

Hi Gerard - as you may know, the term campervan normally refers to the wind-up style camper - eg the floor space, layout and amenities of a van, but the walls of a camper trailer. Normally sleeps 4-6, as the beds slide out the ends.
The term campertrailer, normally refers to the traditional style trailer with tent roof and walls that fold up. A double bed is on the trailer, and the kitchen is on teh rear drawbar, or slides out the side.
I can think of 3 main manufacturers of campervans:
Jayco, Coromal, Goldstream. (there may be a few more, but it is a limited field).

As above, the ball weight spec of your VW will decide the matter. The normal ratio is 10% of camper weight on the ball. With a 75 kg limit, you would need a campervan weighing only 750 kgs. You may not find a campervan this light.
Our Coromal was 1,200kgs - a brilliant unit, but the downweight on the ball was at least 120 kg.
You will however find a camper trailer this weight.
If you are looking for a camper trailer, perhaps visit/join the campertrailer forum, and visit their database/files which lists manufacturers, tips etc.
Site Link

good luck with your research...............................Keith

Hi mate,

We went through a similar situation as yourself last year. Most people are over whelmed by the amount of manufactures out their which make good quality camper trailers. Kimberly Kampers have light weight models such as the escape and the SportsRV. I am unsure of the towball weights but they should be ok. They will however push you to the top of your $25K limit straight away.

It just depends on what you want to buy. Do you require a hard floor (love these, would not camp with out one these days) or a soft bottom floor. I would seriously look at the second hand market as their is a large amount of quality units with a few KM on them at 2/3 to 1/2 the price of a new model. This is what Shelley and I ended up doing and saved a bucket of cash for a quality unit. (Kimberly Kamper 1996 model, yeap, that old and it has done everything we have thrown at it)

Happy hunting and good luck

Dave

Am I pushing it with the specs on the Pioneer Argyle which can be seen here:
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Weight 640Kg
Towball 65Kg

Leaves a bit of room to pack a few things and put the rest in the VW Golf.

Any comments welcome