TRAK SHAK(Worth the Money????)

Jeff

We yhave a 18' caravan and with a 15 yr old and 11yr old the front bunks are just not big enough for them so i say yes to the extra room with the two double beds and the lower room as well.

It looks like a really good deal with the boat loader,2 waeco 35 fridges,honda 2.0 genyy,kitchen,deepcycle battery setup,3 off 16x8 wheels not split rims,outboard carrier,independant suspension,6x 22 litre water containers,3 x22 litre fuel containers, 2x4.5kg gas bottles.Under floor storage containers.12 moths rego etc.

Dunno what has everybody else paid for a similar setup.

MAtt

Why support a company who deal with China when there as so many other options around?? Read comments on here from Track Shack owners who have the Made in Australia model and you will see that even they are distancing themselves from the made in China models.

Sorry forgor to add................Most of what we buy Made in China is about half price of what we buy Made in Australia.........so that would make the T/S on par with a 56K camper. I deal with made in china products on a day to day basis and although the quality is ok its not great.

Eugene

Thats great so you think for 28K im not getting a bad deal then,its just a complete setup for everybody,kids got there own room so to speak they can spread there stuuf out however they want without imposing on the other areas.

Boat rack is good cause i just bought a 3.5 metre tinny that was going to go on the car but now will go on the trailer.

Only thing missing i think is internal lighting in main room.

MAtt

Hi Matt,
With respect to value, really, only you can judge. It sounds to me like you've pretty much made up your mind - so go for it. It really is a very nice camper, and you won't regret it. They do hold their value well.

Personally, I think they are a little overpriced new, which is why I bought an as-new 10 month old trailer with all the features of the new ones, and saved a bundle of cash. I have the same attitude to cars, and probably won't buy new again, but rather a low km model and keep the extra for accessorising. But that's me....
As well as on this site, there are currently lots of trak shaks on tradingpost.com.au.
When I was looking for a 2nd hand trailer, I also looked at Ebay and http://www.campertrailers.org/camper_trader.htm

When doing a search on trading post and ebay, make sure you look up both "trak shak" and "trakshak" .

If you prefer to buy new rather than second hand, it still is a hell of a lot of camper, and I'm sure you will thoroughly enjoy the quality and flexibility it offers.
My wife is really enjoying the camper too. She is currently 7.5 months pregnant, and we're heading away in it for Easter. She loves it. She says now at the end of a camping trip, she is no longer hanging out to get back to her 'own bed'. She's very happy being away in the trailer, and especially having all the sleeping areas out of the walking/living area. And the flyproof area when the files are out, is just fantastic. We get people gatecrashing us to get out of the files.

As to other wholesale dismissals of Made in China goods.....well, I think the key is to check the quality of the item you want yourself. There are lots of us with good Chinese-made Trak Shaks, but there are some who have had some problems. My guess is that they would have had some quality control teething problems when they started manufacturing over there. To generalise and say Made in China stuff is no good, is just wrong.....For those who have had problems with their Aussie made campers, it's not becuase they're Australian made, it's because their quality control failed at that point in time.

If I could have gotten an as new Aussie made TS I would have, but fact is, they don't make them here now.(Consequently they are not into the $30000+ range (yet!!). )

Good luck! Go with your gut, and just enjoy the thing!!

Eugene

Had a good look on trading post, they have what i want but they are all interstate and by the time i get it transported ,licensed etc i maybe wouldnt save anything and dont get a warranty.

Anybody have any idea on transport from VIC/SA to WA.

MAtt

Sorry no idea on transport to WA. (Might be an idea to post a new thread on that topic and see other people's ideas).
Getting the trailer registered shouldn't be expensive at all. Rego transfer in VIC cost me about $25, I think. Because it's a trailer, it was way cheaper than a car.

The other option is to take a couple of days off and drive to pick it up and tow it back. Though I think there may be some funny rego laws in WA if I remember correctly..
You should still make a few thousand dollars savings on a late model trak shak.

Eugene

Eugene

Yeah the rego doesn't really bother me,its just time constraints are getting low.Im leaving for warra station on the 28th of next month and trying to get ot here and sorted before then will be tight.

BTW i have no license unitil midnight on the 28th so im screwed either way.

So looks like the order will stand,i have the option of cancelling up until tomorrow arvo.

Matt

Matthew ,United Fuel,

i had a trailer freighted from vic to qld & it only cost me $495.

i could not do it myself for the price of diesel.

search google under caravan / trailer freighters,

thats how i found my guys.

cant remeber who they were but the job they done was unreal.

good luck.

Thanks bushfix , but I sold it yesterday for $17,000 . I bought it for $20,500 in 2003 , so they hold their value well .

Trak Shak "GOOD"
Two queen sized beds .
Huge floor space .
Huge storage space .
Proven great off road design - strong , but not heavy.
Low ball weight .

Trak Shak "BAD"
Have to undo stone guard to get to fridge .This is a struggle and a dirty job .
Time consuming to erect and especially to pull down and stow away. In fact , we used to swag it , if stopping for two days or less.
Poor underbody and general paint protection . As soon as a dirt road is travelled , they start to rust up ( rock chips ) . I would treat the entire underbody with a two part tar finish , if I was buying one today .

I have no knowledge about the quality of the Chinese made models.

Cheers ,

Willie

PS .
If you get one , and you get a water tank , make sure you also have provision for three jerry cans of water as well as fuel . If you find water somewhere and it is OK for washing only , you cannot mix it with you drinking water . I preferred six water jerry cans and long range fuel tanks in car .

Good stuff Willie,

now, quickly get the Tojo in there before the space gets filled with crap!

btw, hope your waterhole is complete so you were able to take advantage of the recent rains.

Willie's wallow is progressing very well . We laid a huge waterproof rubber mat down , ringed it with bloody big sandstone rocks and built a two stage waterfall which has 10,000 litres an hour flowing over it .

I am now planting a forest around it , in fact I have just returned from the nursery with some cycads , small palms and ferns .

The night after it was filled , l the marsh frogs had an orgy which lasted for four days . Now they are all lying around on their backs smoking and looking pleased with themselves .

Willie .

Michael ,

When I had my Trak Shak , one of the best features was the boat rack. I put a tinnie or a couple of canoes on there and also threw firewood on there at the end of the day .

It takes 10 seconds to swing it out of the way when you want to set up camp .

Willie

Exactly

Designed here built there with cheaper labour, spoke extensively with there manger today and he pointed out that.

The stainless was 306 grade for about 25 trailers and is now 316
The canvas is made in the hunter valley shipped to china to be made up as we see it.
There is a new dealer in my state WA (winnebago agent also and they dont sell bleep ) to cater for any problems.

He has heard all peoples concerns and i offered him some negative feedback that i had heard, BUT at the end of the day it IS all about personal choice and circumstance so i parted with a gregory peck today and will pick it up next week.

MAtt