Tried Camper Trailer Last Weekend...Still Prefer Tents

Submitted: Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 10:00

ThreadID: 48867 Views:3896 Replies:12 FollowUps:9

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Geoff1967

Admittedly I'm a "weekend" camper and this is probably a significant factor.

In my situation the only advantage of the camper trailer was the mattress inside it. Other than that it takes longer to set up a CT than it does my Oztent because you have to unhitch and level it, remove tarp cover, put down stabilizers and put chocks under the wheels.

In that time the Oztent is out of its bag and up already. Admittedly I have to chuck in my sleeping gear but thats all in one big box so it takes 10 seconds.

The other disadvantages of a CT vs tent is you're paying to register your trailer and even with a lighter CT (mine was 450 KG) the drain on fuel economy is huge. You use probably 25% more towing a CT.

Then there's the awkward car parking and reversing with a CT and storing it. I'm 39 years old and reasonably strong, and I found when trying to hitch the CT onto my towball it required considerable physical effort...and mine was a relatively light CT.

The only thing I hate about tents is when they're wet/damp packing them away is a hassle.

AAnyway thats my thoughts. :-)

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Reply By: Teabag (Queanbeyan) - Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 10:20

Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 10:20

Yep, they all have pros and cons, plus each have there place and what works for one may not work for the other.......Hence I have 3 different mods of camping for the various situations. It also depends on the camper trailer as the KK is far quicker to set up than my old soft floor camper.....Thanks for sharing your experience......Cheers...

AnswerID: 258036

Reply By: Member - DAZA (QLD) - Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 10:28

Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 10:28

Hi Geoff

I am not an expert re Camper Trailers, as we own a Off Road
Caravan, but previous to that we camped for many years in tents.
My son lent us his Camper Trailer on two occassions, and we were
amazed how easy and less time consuming it was to erect, and less
equipment you had to carry, as it was all attached to the trailer,
and as far as hooking up to the tow ball, with the 4X4 it was very
easy, just back up, wind the jockey wheel down, and its connected.

I think it gets easier with experience.

Cheers
Daza

AnswerID: 258038

Follow Up By: Geoff1967 - Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 10:35

Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 10:35

Hi Daza,

Yep I guess it depends on your situation. As a typical weekend camper I dont carry much to start with so storage space is never a major issue. And yes, some tents take a long time to set up compared to CTs, but ones like the Blackwolf and Oztents are much quicker than a CT.

Regarding hooking the tow ball, it can be easy when the ground is firm. I was out at Sunny Corner (near Lithgow NSW) the weekend and the ground was very soft. It took a considerable effort on my part to rotate the jockey wheel to the right angle so I could pull it forward over the towball....I can't imagine how some older campers manage to do this. And being 6'3" I hated bending down and screwing in that annoying safety chain (lol).

FollowupID: 519308

Reply By: Member - Willie , Epping .Syd. - Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 10:34

Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 10:34

"The only thing I hate about tents is when they're wet/damp packing them away is a hassle."

What about the canvas on the camper - it always seems to rain the morning you are packing up !

I am going camping soon for the weekend and we will not be taking our camper - too much hassle - we'll be swagging it for two nights .

Willie .

AnswerID: 258039

Follow Up By: Geoff1967 - Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 10:39

Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 10:39

That precisely happened to me yesterday.

It was still pretty easy to pack up the CT (and I did it by myself).

The canvas is amazing. It rained all night out at Sunny Corner and stopped in the morning for an hour or so. When I went outside, the canvas was already dry again!

I have to admit when it comes to packing up a WET tent (putting in a bag) compared to packing up a wet CT, the CT probably wins.

FollowupID: 519309

Follow Up By: Member - JohnR (Vic)&Moses - Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 at 09:09

Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 at 09:09

Willie, precisely what turned us off the continual use of the Oztent we have. It only packed up easily when it was dry. When wet, it got everything else wet in its location - bedding included.

We got to be fair weather campers with it. It tended to rule what we did rather than allow flexibility. It is still part of our kit though, even though just one wind storm cost us lots in parts and repairs.

Weekend use isn't too bad but if you live out of tents week in week out, packing up each day aint easy.

FollowupID: 519903

Follow Up By: Member - Willie , Epping .Syd. - Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 at 10:36

Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 at 10:36

Hi John ,

You must be at a loose end , checking out three day old posts ! I am just sitting here checking out the stock market opening . It went up with a bang this morning .

I am still looking for a 14-15 ft non poptop off-road van . There is just nothing about second hand and most makers are quoting 12 months delivery on a new one . Ideally , I would like a Phoenix Phase 4 Off Road .

Cheers ,

Willie .

FollowupID: 519926

Follow Up By: Member - JohnR (Vic)&Moses - Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 at 13:53

Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 at 13:53

Willie, I should have jumped in with both feet on Monday. I am not so sure the bear is contained at the moment though and we don't trade.

I have the posts sorted on the basis of most recent contribution and that way I get to see the hot posts. I was away the other day so I didn't actually find this then. Someone must have commented recently apart from me!

FollowupID: 519964

Reply By: Adapi - Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 10:36

Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 10:36

gday

well without turning it into a race, taking your time, I have my CT up and ready and pact ready to go way before my fellow campers have the tents pact, levelling takes me as much time as the tenters need to get their tents out of the car, sometimes less as I park it level. hitching it up , im 50 and take very little effort with the treg hitch, when I get home I dont have to spend the next hour unpacking the car, I just reverse the CT into my garage and come back to it in my own time to take out what I need.

I for one will never go back to tents, but that is my choice, and there is campers who prefer tents, which ever one it is. its still better then spending your free time in the concrete jungle.

Ozzie

AnswerID: 258040

Reply By: Gerhardp1 - Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 11:20

Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 11:20

I guess it depends on whether you have a soft floor camper or a hard floor camper.

I had my hard floor Campomatic "locked and loaded" in a fraction of the time taken by couples with soft floor campers.

For an overnight travel stop, the Campomatic was ready for sleeping in 2 minutes after turning off the ignition. Naturally it took a bit longer if the ground wans't level.

AnswerID: 258050

Reply By: Scoof - Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 11:24

Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 11:24

You should try a hard floor camper if set up time is such an issue.

I have a oz tent and hardly ever use it since we got the camper.

Every one has different idea's.

Happy Camping.
Scoof.. :-)

AnswerID: 258053

Reply By: disco driver - Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 11:36

Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 11:36

Hi All,
I am constantly amazed about the fixation many on this page seem to have with the time it takes to erect or dis-erect tents and/or campertrailers.

The only time 'time' is important, IMHO, is when it's P***ing down rain and you're packing up to go home.

So what if my camper/tent takes 3 or 4 minutes more to erect than the latest model, it doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the place.

Get real. Time is not THAT important, particularly in the bush.

Happy camping

Disco.

AnswerID: 258060

Follow Up By: Geoff1967 - Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 11:44

Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 11:44

Agree in principle Disco, but as you say nothing worse than spending 10 minutes setting up a tent in the pouring rain so it can be a factor.

But more than that, I like ease and convenience. I'm an avid hiker who spends the whole day on the trail and by the time I return to camp I am absolutely buggered.

The last thing I feel like doing is spending another 15-20 minutes erecting a tent with poles etc. All I want to do is spend a few minutes getting set up so I can crash in my chair and sip on a colide! :-)

FollowupID: 519323

Reply By: RFLundgren - Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 11:53

Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 11:53

Well we have both a tent and a CT. We tented it for about 6 years prior to purchasing the CT. The main reason for us was that there were 6 of us going away camping, so it was more a matter of space rather than anything else.

I am happy in either the tent (Southern Cross) or the CT, but as you can imagine, on an extended trip with 6 in the trol and a fridge there isnt too much room left for carrying water, food and all of the essentials that you may need.

Now that our 2 oldest girls will probably no longer be coming camping or on trips with us, we can have the choice as to whether we take the tent or the CT. That now is really going to be determined by the location we are planning on going to, if its the Simpson then it will be the tent, if going down the South West then probably the CT. Both have their benefits and deawbacks.

Cheers

Richard

Cheers

Richard

Member
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AnswerID: 258064

Follow Up By: Member - Stephen M (NSW) - Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 13:12

Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 13:12

Agree with you Richard, totally depends on your space you have onboard, we think the camper trailer is even better with the prado as I just load the camper up with normal stuff you take and all thats in the prado is the fridge, pillows,the self inflating matress. We also have a tent which we use like we did for high country but still took the esentials like the porta loo for the other half lol. Everyone to there own at the end of the day. Personally I think our camper takes the same amount of time as the tent did to set up. The camper itself takes about 15 minutes but if we put the awning up with poles etc and throw a plastic tarp over the whole thing probably about another 20 minutes (only do that if staying for more then a night) but as said gets quicker evertime you do it and as mentioned above I get home reverse camper in and think I'll empty that tomorrow or when I feel like it, but wether its raining or not when you pack up still need to erect either of them for them to dry out properly. Regards Steve M

FollowupID: 519333

Reply By: Member - Brian (Gold Coast) - Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 15:14

Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 15:14

Yep..... each to their own! Personally, we owned a dome tent for many years and it was an absolutely PITA for setting up/packing up. Bought our C/T 2 1/2 years ago and haven't looked back! It's a soft floor, but has much more room than our old tent had and much more room than a hard floor does as well. Ours is easy to set up, easy to pack up and it's very comfortable. Wouldn't have it any other way!! ;-))

Cheers

Brian

AnswerID: 258086

Reply By: Member - Kevin J (QLD) - Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 15:42

Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 15:42

That's the problem with this country. We each have the opportunity to do our thing in the manner which suits us. It all depends on your point of view said the ant to the elephant.
From our perspective -considering age and health - a tent is not really an option any more. We had a beaut hard floor camper for about 30000kms and while it was good in the dry country we found it a big much on the coast where we were having to pack up wet annex etc... so now we have a full caravan - tandem - off road - with toilet/shower which suits our requirements. Possibly the next move will be to using cabins or motels and travelling less as towing will no doubt become a task beyond capability. I don't much care as long as I can continue to experience this great country and continue to meet and mix with the wonderful people we know are on the move.
What ever makes it happen for you is A OK.

Kevin J

AnswerID: 258096

Follow Up By: RFLundgren - Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 16:39

Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 16:39

Kevin

Very well said. Does it really matter how you do it as long as you still can and can still get the enjoyment from it.

I am only middle aged now. We dont own a house, have never wanted one. As soon as the last child leaves home, hopefully in about 10 years, we are packing the car up and CT or rooftop tent or whatever we have at that time and just going. No forwarding address.

If we like a place we will stay for a week or month or year, and if we dont then we can just overnight it and move on.

Its a wonderful country and unfortunately one lifetime is just not enough time to get out and discover it all.

Cheers

Richard

Cheers

Richard

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FollowupID: 519379

Reply By: Member - Mary W (VIC) - Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 20:17

Monday, Aug 20, 2007 at 20:17

Have you ever considered an older 80's type small pop top? mine has ben lifted by chassis depth 3" approx under the springs.Execellent ground clearance,Tows comrortably at the ton on the blacktop has handled some pretyy heavy corrugations on regular mendendiee /broken hill bit plus filnders and just recently the left !/2 circle 14.5k.Was extremely cold at times but little coocoon was quite cosy just by heat of cooking on gas stove. With the lift sits level with the Defender so no need to un hitch for over night stops.Cost 2.5k is cosy for 2 and tough-have given it some severe tests -still the answer to the trailer v tent for me!!!