some promising figures justiying a CT
Submitted: Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 16:53
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Member - Tonester (VIC)
Hi all. It was a bunch of people on this
forum who really persuaded us to get a CT, esp rather than a larger tent setup to gear for our growing family,
young kids, etc. The calls for a CT were overwhelming.
So now, its a year and a bit later, and 55 nights in the thing (just did the math). CT cost approx $11000, with some $3000 later on other accessories/luxuries, making around $14000.
With 55 nights at a nominal $200 a night (family of 5 is not cheap) come to the original $11000.
The CT just got paid for.
Tell ya, I'm happy!
Reply By: Member - Crazy Dog (QLD) - Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 17:10
Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 17:10
yep! They are the beez neez my man....
What type of camper do you have? - post some pics for us -
mine is a Trackabout - 'bout same costs - going away again soon...
Grrr!!!
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Follow Up By: Member - Willie , Epping .Syd. - Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 17:30
Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 17:30
Mr Dog ,
Where are you going ?
Willie .
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Tonester (VIC) - Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 17:46
Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 17:46
Tambo.
Posted a couple pics in the rig page
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Crazy Dog (QLD) - Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 19:38
Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 19:38
Goin' to Tyconnell
mine again or to Kauri Creek at
Lake Tinaroo - either way both are the best for a few days away - no mindless morons now that the police have cracked down at the Lake ------ and the
mine -
well it is just the best...
Wait for Neil & Margies report on the
Easter trip....
Grrr!!!
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Follow Up By: Member - Crazy Dog (QLD) - Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 19:56
Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 19:56
Yo Tonester
check this out -
Tambo did the trip..
Tambo trip around Aussie
The trailer went thru hell but came thru...
Grrr!!!
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Follow Up By: Member - Tonester (VIC) - Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 20:12
Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 20:12
nice roll ! Is that you?
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Reply By: pepper2 - Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 18:17
Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 18:17
You should deduct the resale price say $12000 with accessories making the cost to be $2000 divided by 55 equals $36 per night.......the more u use it the cheaper it gets.......happy camping.
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Reply By: V8Diesel - Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 18:27
Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 18:27
And after yet another night of me and the missus grovelling around on the ground (and not in the horizontal folk dancing sense) in my little tent I would have say you made the right decision too Tonester.
They are pure gold.
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Reply By: Utemad - Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 19:32
Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 19:32
That's assuming you didn't pay for the nights stay as
well in the form of camping fees. They don't add much though.
I'd spend a night in the camper than in a hotel any day (or is that night?)
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Reply By: Member - bushfix - Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 19:41
Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 19:41
onya Tonester,
with family of 5, it's probably getting you all out there more too I'd suggest.
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Reply By: Robin - Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 20:03
Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 20:03
Come on Tone , I think I could invent a set of figures to support a no camper case - I won't be getting a camper or automatic until physical restraints force them apon me , but my wife would love to see your figures - but I won't let her see them and I tell her that -->
It costs on average $56 a night for an onsite van (Port Germain recently)
Camper costs $26 a nite in same place - so nett cost is only $30 per night
we save 15% on fuel by not towing - ($25 per 600km day )
Campers depreciate
Campers require maintenance including tyres etc
With camper on van you take much more complex equipment with higher capital costs
Towing anything reduces your primary saftey factor
Towing anything reduces the number of tracks you can drive
Our latest tent cost $29
By working out all the above factors - we calculate that the further we drive the more we save with the $11000 in the bank espically as most of time we
free camp.
By now I've won the arguement but I lock it in and terrifying her by saying she'd have to back in it sometimes
Only problem is snakes get into tents more easily - but I'm working on that !
Robin Miller
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Follow Up By: Member - Tonester (VIC) - Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 20:16
Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 20:16
whats the smiley face thing for flipping the bird in email?? lol
My missus drove ours fully over
easter, a little worried at first but worked out that its not hard. My yelling to stop cutting corners got through eventually too.
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Reply By: Crackles - Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 21:24
Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 21:24
I think you have over simplified the sums a little Tone. Trailer registration, insurance & additional fuel to tow the camper have got to be added in too. Pre trip servicing & of course running repairs & new tyres will eventually come around. Then you've compared the cost of putting a family up in a serviced appartment ($200) Vs camping under canvas. When we stop in cabins the family & I rarely pay more than $130 anyway for a decent roof over over our head & it has air con & real beds for everyone. Then of course you forgot that if you had bought a tent then you would still have a lazy $10,000 to invest which this year would have made 15% in interest, that's $1500 compounding annually which means yet another 7 nights each year you need to
camp to justify this purchase. Then if you do decide to stay in a caravan park they'll charge you almost double for a site compared to a tent & really you're still only camping.
A mate did the sums a few years ago & he found when the additional cost of the 4 wheel drive, assesories & camping equipment was taken into account it was actually cheaper to fly to his destination, stay in 4 star hotels & pay tour opperators to show his family of 4 around for the 3 weeks of holidays he took each year compared to camping.
Of course camping offers a completely different experience with far greater flexability so really shouldn't be compared but does go to show it is not quite as cheap as one would think particually when buying expensive items like camper trailers.
But don't worry too much though as you forgot that the trailer is still worth at least $8,000 & if you were to sell it then it would actually have only cost you $55 per night so far in real terms:-) (+ of course all those other expenses you forgot to add ;-)
Cheers Craig.................
PS: Not that I'm against camper trailers as I'm looking at building one myself.
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Follow Up By: Russ n Sue - Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 21:59
Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 21:59
Well I reckon that all those "tenters" are driving around Oz grossly overweight (vehicle wise). At least with a camper you can carry another tonne of crap with you and if you do it right, still be legal. And if you you really prefer erecting a tent and stuffing around with matresses,
camp beds etc instead of throwing open the camper and flopping onto a decent bed, then you have rocks in your head.
And who cares about snakes? It's those really big water loving lizards that worry me when I see people in a tent.
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Follow Up By: Crackles - Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 22:29
Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 22:29
Of course I would rather the decent bed but Russ you missed the point of the thread, Tone was justifying the campers cost not how great the features are.
As far as the features & convienience goes
well that's another issue. I can set up my complete
camp, tent, air mats, etc in 15 minutes on my own. (actually quicker without the kids helping) To set up a
Tambo camper like Tone's I watched one being errected at Xmas & it took 1 hour by the time they sat down. I was so physically exhausted watching them I had to have another drink:-)) And as for the big lizards do you actually think the canvas is any tougher between the kids sleeping on the floor in the
Tambo camper compared to the canvas in a Freedom tent ;-)
Cheers Craig................
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Follow Up By: Member - Tonester (VIC) - Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 22:54
Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 22:54
man, too hard... I like my CT.
I bet I can set up my CT quicker than it would for a cabin tent, which is the equiv.
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Follow Up By: D-Jack - Tuesday, Apr 17, 2007 at 11:29
Tuesday, Apr 17, 2007 at 11:29
Crackles, where on earth can I get 15% interest from, unless you just looked at your 1986 term deposit interest rates ;)
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Reply By: Member - Blue (VIC) - Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 22:18
Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 22:18
Never mind the nay sayers Tone... We(the 5 of us) love our
Tambo and the figures add up perfectly for me... If the missus buggers off with the kids, I can do 'handbrake-to-can' in 15 minutes (20 mins if I put up the kids bedroom, which we use for stays longer than 2 nights)... We are always packed up long before the others too, THAT is enough to make the outlay worthwhile... Nothing like watching others try to remember how they managed to get a family of 5's gear into the backseat of a cruiser/patrol.
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Follow Up By: Member - Tonester (VIC) - Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 22:59
Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 22:59
yeah, right on Blue.
ps. Can you tell me how you manage 15-20min?? Takes us way longer
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Follow Up By: Member - Blue (VIC) - Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 23:09
Monday, Apr 16, 2007 at 23:09
Head down, arse up and most importantly NO BLOODY KIDS... The bed is always dressed with clean linen before we pack up, the kids bunks are 90% assembled and under our mattress, their bedding is on top of ours, set tent up, awning is always attached, swing out kitchen, set up table and open the fridge to get a can...
It can be done and it always amazes
our camp mates...
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Follow Up By: Member - Brian (Gold Coast) - Tuesday, Apr 17, 2007 at 07:38
Tuesday, Apr 17, 2007 at 07:38
For an overnighter, our Cavalier can be up in 10 mins..... from brake-to-bedtime! Takes just under an hour to set all of it up, but that's only for "more-than-overnight" stays. Pack up is usually about an hour depending on whats set up.... for the o/nighter, 15 minutes.
I'm with you Tonester, give me my camper anyday!!!!!!! Although, using your maths, we have "saved" so much by now I think it's paying us to use it!! LOL....
Cheers
Brian
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Alloy c/t - Tuesday, Apr 17, 2007 at 10:01
Tuesday, Apr 17, 2007 at 10:01
We are now on our 3rd camper trailer , 1st was a semi off road rear fold soft floor that took an average of 40min to set up fully ,annex and all , not realy designed for o/nite stops , our 2nd c/t [now for sale] is huge ,so much so that it is in no way possible to spend less than an hr on set up so realy best for min 3+ days in the one spot , our latest acquisition is a Campomatic
ranger mk3 , hard floor rear fold ,been timing set up /pull down , 5min from h/brake to be in bed for o/nite ,20min for full annex set-up for longer stays , pack up = 7min and 15min , reason it takes longer to set up annex than to pack up is we like our pegs and guy ropes to be in straight lines, LOL.
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Reply By: Member - Duncs - Tuesday, Apr 17, 2007 at 14:22
Tuesday, Apr 17, 2007 at 14:22
Did a trip out to Lake Eyre a few years ago.
Sydney to
Ballina (scenic route)
Ballina to
Bourke then via Camerons Corner to
Lyndhurst, Maree, Mulloorina, William Crk.
Home via
Flinders Ranges, motel in
Broken Hill 'cause we felt like it. I kept logs on that trip and did the maths when we got
home. WIth 5 on board it worked out at $28 per person per day, including souvenirs.
The crunch is that without the camper we would not have gone. Neither would we have gone to WA for 6 weeks, western Victoria, Cape
Yorke,
Simpson Desert,
Flinders Ranges (more than once)
Innamincka, or on any of the other outback trips. The camper is sooooo comfortable and quick, the missus won't
camp any other way. I had a great tent, only took 45 min to put up. Then I got to start on all the other stuff. And because there are 5 of us I was towing a trailer anyway, might as
well have the camper.
We have had ours for 11 years now. On tonesters maths I should be a millionaire, I should have paid more attnetion to Mr Cameron when I was at school.
Duncs
Duncs
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