Camper trailer tips.

Yo Kev,

Give us you phone number and we can arrange a visit and have a squizz at my trailer here in Cairns.

Grrr!!!

Paid $11k for mine and it has everything you need. It was new by the way so the offer still stands. Full heavy duty off road as well..

Grrr!!!

There is a second hand Cape York on the campertrailers.org website.

Kev ,,
as Crazy Dog said ,, give us a way to contact you and we will give you a few options you might be after !!

Neil ..

Kev to try to answer some of your questions:
Never had trouble finding a place to set up. We generally steer clear of caravan parks, preferring to bush camp or stay in National Parks etc. When in a CP, we easily fit on a site with plenty of room for vehicle etc.

Reversing, not a problem once you are used to your trailer. The longer the drawer bar, the easier to reverse.

Ours is a hard floor CT. Uneven ground is not a big problem. We carry a small spirit level and some wood chocks to drive one wheel onto for side ways uneven ground. For front to back uneven ground, just adjust the legs on the floor when you tip it over to suit.
Up in the Kimberley, we even camped on a granite rock platform. Great to have a granite kitchen floor out under the stars. A soft floor camper is not as good (IMO) on uneven ground.

Tips? First thing to decide is what you plan to use the trailer for. If you are planning on doing 'off road' or 'rough road' travel, strength, suspension, dust proofing, water carrying capacity, 12 Volt set up, wheels and tyres to match tow vehicle, etc are important. If you have kids, space is important. If planning to lots of overnight stops while travelling, set up time for a quick stop is important. Get the drift.

You might have a think about how you will use the camper and seek some more advise before heading to the show. When we went to our first camping show when looking for a CT, we walked in with an 'open mind' but came out with heads spinning. Once we sat down and worked out what we would do with the trailer, then developed a list of 'must have and like to have' items and features, it became much easier.

The Cape York range is very good. It was on our final short list, but we ended up going for an Odyssey from Australian Off Road Campers.

Second hand is a good option, but the good CTs retain their value very well. We initially tried for second hand, but after a couple of months of looking decided we might as well pay the extra $5 or $6k (thats all there was to save for a good second hand) and buy new and spec the tailer for our needs. Had to wait at least 6 monts to take delivery though, which is also common for the better models (hence the value retention).

Hope this helps.

Hi Kev,
I have a Challenge offroad, which is a 7 x 4 trailer and 10 ft tent off the side. There's generally not a problem finding a space to camp, but it does need to be relatively level without too many rocks etc. There is probably an advantage with a solid floor type off the back as rough terrain is not so critical, but that's all part of the personal choice you need to make. We prefer the extra tent space with the tent off the side, even though it is sometimes more difficult to find a large enough clear, level spot. Having said that, we have always found somewhere eventually to set up.
You also have plenty of choices with kitchens - swing out vs slide out for example - once again, personal choice as to which suits your circumstances best.
I suggest you insist on a good size water tank and try and ensure that the tailgate and any other openings and boxes have really good dust seals - some of the cheaper trailers have no dust seals at all and believe me, you will regret not having them!
If possible, try and get wheels that match your car, or are at least interchangeable so that your spares will fit both the trailer or car - saves taking extra spare wheels. With regard to suspension, I personally prefer a simple solid axle system rather than some of the fancy independant setups, although there are some good systems around. If it has coils, then make sure it has good shockers as well and make sure that the suspension travel is not simply limited by the shockers - it should have limiting straps or chains. I have seen springs fall out when shockers break! If it has leaf springs, then shockers are not as critical, providing it has good rebound springs fitted. I have no shockers on mine and have had no problems, even over the roughest of corrugations.
I would avoid anything with a huge amount of stuff on a really long drawbar, such as fridges, jerry cans and boxes etc unless it can be demonstrated that the ball weight is not excessive when fully loaded. Ideally, the ball weight should be about 10% of the overall trailer weight. My preference is a good size box on the drawbar to house the battery and other gear, but have the jerry's and even the gas bottle, along the side of the trailer - others may well disagree - once again, personal preference. Remember though, excessively long drawbars will reduce your ramp over angle on sand dunes and creek crossings. Spare wheels are also often mounted on the drawbar, which is really convenient compared to underslung.
If you can get one with a battery setup for lighting etc., it makes it really convenient for lighting and running other appliances.
Also, be a bit choosy with the canvas as some of the cheaper trailers use some fairly ordinary stuff. There is no substitute for a good quality, heavy canvas tent, especially when you find yourself in the middle of a downpour. Australian canvas seems to be really good in terms of durability and weather protection. The other thing you may want to look for is whether the floor vinyl extends up the sides of the tent for a few inches. This keeps the water out of the tent during severe weather.
Have a good look around as there are some good second hand bargains around. Buying used can save you heaps, leaving you more money to spend on fuel and other camping gear.
Good luck - I hope you find exactly what you want.
Cheers
Gerry

Ours is a Campomatic hard floor/swing over type - just spent 10 weeks out of Adelaide across QLD - slept in it every night - level ground, like all trailer based options is ideal - you can get by on a bit of uneven ground, but lifting planks and wheel scrapes are usually the go - sleeping is better level. Hard floors (usually more $) are better suited to 2 people because of reduced space - with kids, a soft floor usually has more internal area - a Trakshak for example has heaps - others less so. Both hard floors and softies can be extended with annexes etc, but if you need quick setup and don't mind reduced spaces, hardfloors are great.

You will find they all have their drawbacks, one thing that hasn't been mentioned is that soft floor also generally have more usable storage space.

We have had a TrakShak for over 10 years now and love it. We paid $12,500.00 all those years ago. It was considered expensive then and probably was but it works out at $1250 per year now and will be less if I sell it because I will deduct what I get for it from the purchase price and devide the result by 10.

All the things you are concerned about you will soon get used to and not even think about.

Uneven ground, finding space to park set it up reversing is just stuff you learn to deal with. When you were learning to drive and the instructor said "Do a reverse park behind that car" you were worried, now you just do it, dont you? Same with the trailer.

I have never had a problem I couldn't overcome one way or another. In fact the boggest problem you will have with the trailer is finding somewhere to park it either at McDonalds or in those country towns like Wellington and Broken Hill where the majority of parking in the main street is angle parking.

These days they all tow well and they and most are well built. Find one that gives the accomodation you need, and is a set up system you are comfortable with. For me the crucher on buying a camper trailer was the time it saved when making and breaking camp. Once I found one offering the sleeping capacity I needed with a quick set up I was sold.

Buy the one you want to camp in, not the one you want to pay for.

Duncs

Thanks everyone, some good info for things to look for.

As for the reversing bit my question may sound like im a novice driver but not so, been driving 4wd's since i was 8 years old & am quite good at revering trailers of all sizes. Just wondering about access to camp sites etc, as said shouldn't be a problem.

Ive never used a camper trailer but looks like this may change.

Cheers.

the only place you will have problems with a CT is in National Parks which have fenced of camping areas which have those coppers logs telling you where you can camp, you will soon learn to move on and find a more comfortable spot for your family.Col