Camper trailers

Big subject. Search the threads, and you'll find lots of answers including directions to the camper trailer forums. Lots of good ones out there for all budgets, but lots of less than ideal ones too. I have an Aussie Swag, and am very happy with it, but it cost a bit and might not suit your vehicle, family size, intended use etc. Most of the manufacturers have web sites. Go to the camping shows and visit the manufacturers in your area - which is??? No doubt Melissa will have words of wisdom to add..... Good luck!Russell S
Prado RV6

Buy second hand, and save...

Look out for large amounts of thinning of wallet.

Thanks Russell have also been to aussie swag this week and nearly put the deposit on the ultra got the price at 33K we tow with a GU TI Patrol and just the 2 of us now we then went to see the Australian Offroad Camper and they will do some alteration for us also has hot shower so still looking thanks for you help how do you find the treg hitch

Also have a look at the Tvan. Purchased mine in February and really pleased with it. See www.mrt.com.au and also www.tracktrailer.com for specs and Q.&A. Plenty of photo's.
Have matched tyres/rims to my patrol and find it tows really well.
Plenty of advantages with this unit but it really comes down to personal preference and type of use.
Have found the good campers are expensive but if looked after should hold their value. I know the Tvan is just about impossible to find second hand.
With hitch make sure you can open rear doors when parked. Mines ok except when vehicle is angled too far to the right as the spare wheel on the van gets in the way. The tow bar is turned up to increase height and there would be approx 1.5 inches between bottom of door and top of hitch Just looked and found I have the AT35 (All Terrain 3.5 Tonne) which is easy to line up and hitch up with jockey wheel height adjustment. About 80-90kg drawbar weight (10% of total trailer weight) would be about right.
Cheers
Bob

re hitches.....
I'm surprised that I've not seen more mention of the "Hyland" hitch..
It's a fully articulated off-road 50mm BALL coupling..
I don't know if they're online, but I have a brochure which I picked up at the recent 4wd, fishing & camping expo in Bris.. Ph. # is 07 3200 6261
I'm sure they'd be happy to fax or email details to anyone who is interested..
I'll definitely be going with one of these when I get my camper made in the near future...
10 Para, I gather you are in the Bris/SE Q'ld area (?) If so, you may wish to give Glenn @ Australian RV Trailers a call on 07 5495 3947 and/or visit www.austrvtrailers.com .. They're at 13 Learjet Drive, Caboolture...

I was seriously considering the Aussie Swag myself, but after having a good talk with Glenn at the "Farmfantastic" field day at Caboolture last weekend, I've decided that as soon as the $$$ are organised, I'll be talking with him some more...

Aust RV appear to be geared to "one-offs", therefore not hindered by the production-line mentality, so you can have your camper made any way you want it..

Trucksters' suggestion (buy secondhand) has plenty of merit, but of those that I'm interested in (hard floors), the asking prices seem to be not much less than new anyway, so I figure I may as well pay the xtra & have EXACTLY what I want..
Hope that helps..

r/ Ed. C.

To Big John, yeah have had a good look at the KK and really like it, also the Australian Camper between the 2 the AC has more storage even though it has the shower, take on board what you say re fill up, however we are off to NZ and will be up the rivers for a while we also have an in car Twine, the AC can also have the spare mounted on a carrier at the rear to allow for more water to be carried up to 180 litres, although it does not allow for access to the under bed storage when shut the KK has only part acces as i can see it i have been told that the reason for the brakes on the KK is because they do a lot of hire trailers is that correct i must say that when o towed the KK this week it was great but it was only for about 15 minutes and on the blaketop, well have to decide by Monday as we want the trailer for the end of september, thanks for you help.

Here a couple of links that will be of interest:

Yahoo Camper-trailer list: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/campertrailers/
Lots of good info and experience on all things camper-trailer related in the archives here - Other members are more than happy to share their (not inconsiderable) knowledge. There was a very topical discussion recently on the merits of electric brakes vs override brakes. Also some good information on design features that affect towing stability in the files area.

WA camper trailer list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wa_campertrailers/
Similar to the national list but with a WA focus.

Cheers,
Pete

10Para,we just got back from 3 week gulf trip in our new KK & couldn't falt it. Only prob dud battery but dealer replaced with new one no questions asked, beats a tent anytime. we looked at campers for 2 years before deciding at this years rosehill show to bite the bullet & buy the KK now the boss cant wait to go away again.Regards Bob
Where to next

Hi, It depends weather you want a hard floor which will cost around $10000 up or an soft floor which start around $5000. I work for a place that build soft floor campers in coffs harbour its called coffs canvas i would hitch use a tregg ploy block, the length of draw bar i place on my trailers around 1700mm long from front of trailer to hitch, electric brakes are good for tar surface only, dust roads not so good, i would use override disks brakes if you need more info drop me a email

Hey there,

Check out the Ultimate!!!! www.ultimatecampers.com.au

AT around $34K they are probably the most expensive, but man they are good. Very different from most of the others, but just as capably if not more so off road than any of the others.

I am biased as you can see from the pic.

Just back from a trip up the cape. The Ultimate when with me to Cape melville via Starke and the OTL all the way.

I'm happy to answer any Questions, as my wife and I went through the whole selection process about 12 months ago.

Down side with the Ultimate, a 6 month waiting list from committing to the order.

Kelvin See you on our travels

H,K & A

10 para,
look closely at the units mentioned above THEN go HIRE the model you select for a quick holiday, long weekend, see if it is large enough to to support you and any future family etc....
Stay at a caravan park and talk to the owners of similar units to get some clues and their ideas, however remember that the people talking with you will never admit that they have the second best camper available, their camper is always the best, that is why there are so many reply's to your question with so many different brand name's. Is like the Fridge debate!
Another question you should ask is can you get an awning or full annex extension to increase the available living area, as in the rain you will have to stay inside and in most of the fixed floor type units their available living area is quiet small and some have their 'kitchen' area sliding out from the side, yes if it is wet you either starve or she gets wet and is very unhappy....
I have and recomend that anyone should have electric brakes, preferably with hand controll as well as the standard foot controll, once you have them you wonder how you managed without them.

Ruben,

In regards to the storage of the sunroom,

All the extra attachemnts have purpose made canvas bags to store them in. They then fit micely in the nose locker. We bought the Enterprise model with all the extra bits. On our trip to the cape we hade everything inthe nose locker, including all the extra canvas. No probs there. As far as the extra $ are concerned. My answer is Yes. All the top makes are around the $30K mark, but for the extra couple of thousand, go to a show and see them all in the flesh. Im sure you will agree with our decision. Good luck and maybe see you on the road.

Kelvin
See you on our travels

H,K & A