Coromal Offroad Camper Trailers

Thanks Effie. Interesting to see someone reads teh fine print. Have no real plans to take on heavy off road tracks, just interested to see where people have taken theirs. What model Silhouette did you purchase?

390-1 2003 model, don't think I would take it on any major desert treks (they are really too heavy for that sort of thing), but for the odd foray into the national parks dirt roads etc.. they would be fine.
It is amazing how far our predecessor's got with just a two wheel drive Holden / chev / ford and a standard plywood caravan, just took longer as you drive to suit the conditions at hand.

Thanks Fred. i'm not too fussed on warranties also. If I have taken my vehicle or in this case van somewhere i shouldn't...then who's fault is it....usually mine.

Like the idea or turning the treg 180 degrees. Mostly i am looking at softish sand tracks and gravel corrugated roads.

Evening Fred L
Your second water tank, I assume it is mounted behind the axle, any idea as to much this has affected your ball weight? was thinking of fitting second tank to try and reduce ball weight a bit, currently 145 odd kg, weighs the tail of car down a bit.

Trying to work out what you mean by rotating the trek by 180 degrees?
TIA
John M

I'm thinking turning the towball tongue over so the height of the hitch is higher..my guess anyway

Must be a Nissian thing, if I turn the towball tongue over it sits closer to the ground.

Thanks Fred

!MPG:4!

Mine sits nice and straight with OME HD suspension upgrade from ARB. My Coromal has a sticker on the hitch warning that it must be only be used in the upright position!

The van is good. We have had it on a lot of the long corrugated and rough tracks around SA (Oodnadatta, Birdsville, Arkaroola etc) and had no problems. We have camped in heavy rain in Qld and we had to add plastic to the sleeping areas to prevent seepage onto the bedding. After two years and about 15000 KM towing it is going fine basically. Let's face it you won't be able to tow it across the Simpson, but you can have lots of fun in the outback using rough roads that you wouldn't take a caravan on. It is heaps more comfortable than a camper trailer (KK and similar).

Kingo

Hi Kingo,
We also added plastic to the bedding - good idea.
A question though.
How did the OME HD effect the ride. Did you find it smoother/rougher, easier to handle the vehicle on good roads/off road.
Appreciate your comments
Fred

Fred,

The OME suspension is just great. I finished up with about 50mm lift (unladen). It was done by ARB and they look at your maximum loadings. The springs are "progressive", a modification to the sway bay on the front is included. The cost was about $1300. I have had it back twice due to a "sproing" noise on the front LHS. It was due to a burr on the bottom of the spring interferring with the mounting point. It is OK now. The overall effect is for a better handling vehicle. It is not too firm. In fact my brother thought it was softer when he rode in it compared with his only other ride when on original springs and brand new. It handles winding hills roads very well, but is obviously not a Porsche! I am very happy.

Kingo

Kingsley
Any chance of some close up pictures of your front stoneguard?

Effie, I have just added some close ups of the stone guard to my members rig and profile, so you can click on and see. It was a locally sourced and manufactured accessory available when I purchased my rig from Coromal Adelaide. The rframe is simply square tubing and the rust proofing is non existent. I should get it dipped. The guard does its job well. I have no stone chips on the back of the vehicle and I am comfortable about no stones getting up to the rear glass. The rake of the guard is just about right but I have broken a taillight when reversing and turning. Also you can only open the tailgate big door if the car and van are in line or turned slightly left.

Kingo

Kingo,
Read with interest your comment about the plastic on the bedding. Not exactly sure what you mean. To quote Pauline Hanson : "Please explain".

Even if you could update some photos in your members rig and profile to explain what you mean.

Also, anyone found the original Coromal mattresses a little hard and what have others done to get over this.

Cheers

Ash

G'day Ash, back after being off for a few days with the 'logie'.
We have a plastic cover (it is actually not plastic but that stuff that is waterproof that they make jackets out of) that we put over the bedding in cases when packing up and all the canvases are wet. Saves us having to bother with any damp spots when setting up camp that night.

Also, what I do most times if not staying in one spot is instead of using the poles on the flysheets over the beds I just use a couple of jockey straps and secure the flys to the posts on which the beds rest. Very quick & easy for overnighting but when v hot does not let much air between the canvas roof and the fly.

With the water tanks I have 2 tanks sitting side by side but both forward of the axle. Interesting!!! Would certainly increase the ball weight when full. The tanks are simply connected with a pipe between the two - effectively making it one tank. Might consider changing this so that if I lose the water from one tank I might still have a second tank - rather than losing the lot.

Great to see you guys sharing ideas about the Cormals. Here on the E coast I don't see too many.

Cheers Fred

WA 1968,

Sorry about the late reply. We have been away camping for a few days (Port Vincent, Yorke Peninsula; windy, very windy; not many blueys).

The problem with wet canvas is common to many campers, I believe. The Coromal has a waterproof shiny black section stitched in about 250mm high on the inside around the bed ends. Unfortunately this is not quite high enough and our bedding (doonahs and pillows) tends to touch the canvas walls above the plastic and the moisture wicks onto the bedding. To correct this I cut several lengths of flexible sheeting that I got from a "rubber shop" (similar to Clarkson's). I made sure that they were about 320mm high and long enough to go completely around the mattresses on the three sides where they touch the canvas. We just slip them in so that they stand up between the mattress and the canvas wall. It works a treat and we only use them if rain is expected. When not in use they roll up and are stored in a locker. The strips were cut from a large sheet then stuck together with tape and measure approx 320mm X 5000mm in total (depending on bed).
We also have some sheet plastic handy under the mattresses to cover the portion of the large bed that is exposed in the doorway. It can get wet in driving rain when setting up or down. The smaller bed is not affected. One big advantage of the Coromal is that the canvas bed ends are permanently attached to the bed slides, covering the mattress while you set up.

We also have the optional flies on the bed ends and the rather good side awning. We wrap the bed ends with the flies rather than setting up with poles and ropes (see another post above). We can look a bit like Bullen's Circus if we set the whole show up with the poles and ropes. We have done that when staying on a bush site for a few days or more.

Kingo

Kingo / Fred
Just one more question, what size tyres have coromal fitted to your campers, just wondering if different sizes where fitted to suit different tow vehicles.

Fred,

Mine came fitted with new Sunraysia style steel 16 inch wheels (six stud) and Bridgestone Dueller 265/75 R16 rubber. I did not think at the time to match them to my vehicle. I am informed that this pattern will suit Landcruiser 100, but do not fit my GU Patrol due to a different hub offset. I haven't tried fitting one to the Patrol. I must do that one day!

Kingo

Thanks Kingo for your lengthy please explain. Makes a lot of sense now. Do you find the mattresses a little hard?

WA 1968,

My Pleasure. My wife and I have not had a problem with the foam mattresses. They are a bit firm but I would rather have that than a hard spot for your hip. When tenting we use the self inflating "4WD" Jumbo Mats and they are much the same. I know that Coromal offer an innerspring for the large bed, but I reckon it would not be that great on the hard base, and if I remember rightly it was an expensive option.

Kingo