Wednesday, Apr 23, 2008 at 12:36
I have a Lifestyle Explorer +.
Canvas very good
Fit and finish very good
After sales service very good(but theyre only 1/2 hr down the road) I somehow broke one of the gas struts that hold the floor section open,
John replaced BOTH with heavier units at no cost.
Everything that moves or pivots has a grease nipple.
All wireing covered where possible and grommeted where it goes thru panels.
The entire trailer is power coated, from A frame to tail
gate.
Is the lack of checker plate on walls and floor an issue? Not in my opinion.
Strenght of trailer, I have had no problems, its been to Fraser Is 3 times , levuka, rover park etc I havent skull dragged at 110 kph over 30 cm deep corrigations for 2000km and really dont expect too. Mind you it would probably handle that as
well as most other comparable trailers on the market, it has a triple draw bar and good welding throughout. I havent noticed any twisting or evidence of anything moveing as yet (18 months)
Tent frames are reinforced in the corners.
Tent has good ceiling height and keeps cooler in summer.
The annex fits
well and is easy to fit.
The kitchen works.
Gas system simple and effective.
Pinchweld rubber seals on the tailgate and under the main hatch.
The
suspension is IMO a bit stiff, but as you could probably carry 1.4 ton of dirt thats what its rated too, Im looking at removing a leaf or 2.
Get the electric brakes that will allow you to actually put stuff in it,
mine has a dry weight of 700kg, fill the
water tank and put in your
camp chairs and you're over 750kg.
I looked at Lifestyle, Camel, Castaway, and Trakkabout for about 2 yrs before I bit the bullet, Lifestyles build quality, my intended use and
John the owners attitude is what swayed me and they got my money. Trakkabout is a more heavily built trailer and heavier, but didnt have the size tent I wanted and is also a good unit.
Camel, canvas as good as Lifestyle, but in my opinion lifestyles trailer fit and finish is better, and Camels owner is an opinionated Seth Efrican, I didnt get along with.
Castaway, didnt appeal to me.
Haveing a look around at a show is a very good idea, you get to compare apples with apples next to one another.
Good luck with whatever you choose.
AnswerID:
300059
Follow Up By: Moose - Wednesday, Apr 23, 2008 at 13:21
Wednesday, Apr 23, 2008 at 13:21
G'day Guzzi
We too have a Lifestyle CT.
Agree with all you say re its qualities. An excellent trailer. If the Trakkabout is more heavily built then I wouldn't want one as I reckon the Lifestyle is plenty heavy.
Go ahead and remove two leaves - I did. l also removed those wavy bits of steel that supposedly help with the
suspension. But then I do have shockies on
mine. Gee it rides so much better now. The wheels actually move up and down like they're supposed to.
Hey Twenty47 I think Lifestyle now offer independent
suspension which will avoid the leaf spring issues discussed above.
Have you looked up their website - specs are fully listed.
You don't need the checker plate.
They are very tough - I've towed it through
places where I was sure it would suffer some sort of damage but it has come thru just fine. Good luck.
Cheers from the Moose
FollowupID:
566214
Follow Up By: twenty47 - Thursday, Apr 24, 2008 at 10:51
Thursday, Apr 24, 2008 at 10:51
Hi guzzi,
Quote:"Is the lack of checker plate on walls and floor an issue? Not in my opinion."
That's the bit I was not sure on because some people are telling me that checker plate gives more strength. Others had told me there is more 'flex' in non-checker plate floors.
I was thinking whether the trailer floor in the Lifestyles had the checker plate on the bottom (turned upside down)? Do you know the thickness of the trailer floor?
From my initial research it appears the Lifestyle camper trailers are better value, with castaway and ABL not far behind. Hence at this stage my desire to go with Lifestyle. Didn't appreciate the guy at castaway (name unknown) as he thought it was easy for me to get up there to look at them...down in
Sydney working with family commitments not easy. Sure it would be great to visit Brissy over a weekend and
check them out, but on my tight budget the cost of getting/staying up there i could put towards the purchase.
Hi Moose - yes looked at the specs just wasn't sure on the checker plate. Independent
suspension would be great - hoping to win lotto before I actually purchase but at this stage no can do.
Just another question with regards to electric brakes can these be fitted afterwards? I was concerned that the Lifestyle Explorer (which don't have brakes as standard) once loaded as you say guzzi that i may need brakes.
Cheers everyone
FollowupID:
566389
Follow Up By: Moose - Thursday, Apr 24, 2008 at 11:01
Thursday, Apr 24, 2008 at 11:01
Yes - electric brakes can be fitted later. That's exactly what I did - but I suggest it would be best to get it all done by Lifestyle at the time of manufacture. I wish that was what I'd done.
Re flex - WTF are you intending to do with it? They are built like a bloody tank so I can't see flex being an issue. If you were to have to rely on the floor as the main structural platform I think that would be a bit of a worry. Surely the chassis strength is what matters.
Cheers from the Moose
FollowupID:
566391
Follow Up By: twenty47 - Thursday, Apr 24, 2008 at 11:29
Thursday, Apr 24, 2008 at 11:29
Moose - that's why I asked the question because some people tell me that non-checker plate floors give some flex due to the the thinner size as apposed to checker plate been thicker. This is from people making trailers because I originally looked at getting a trailer made up and buying the tent separately. So they tell me go with checker plate for its strength.
I'm thinking of the Explorer Plus which comes with the brakes as standard.
Moose which model do you have?
Cheers
FollowupID:
566392
Follow Up By: Moose - Thursday, Apr 24, 2008 at 12:35
Thursday, Apr 24, 2008 at 12:35
G'day Twenty47
I'm fairly certain they recently changed their trailers names and specs.
Mine's a couple of years old and back then we could chop and change so we had the top model minus some bits or the second model plus some - can't recall. For example I didn't want their kitchen and built my own. I think that now they are a fixed package, which is probably easier for them.
That stuff about flex still sounds like a poor trailer chassis being strengthened by the floor. But then I'm no engineer so what would I know. Have you asked
John at Lifestyle about that? - he seems to be an honest sort of guy and I'm sure he'll enlighten you. I found him to be really good to deal with. I'm sure some will cut corners if they can and I feel that Lifestyle certainly haven't.
Cheers from the Moose
FollowupID:
566395