off road camper purchase

Garry - I think that one thing you will need consider is a camper than you can easily fold up by yourself. With our past camper we find that a piece of canvas needs to be tucked in this side and whilst you put that piece in another piece comes out on the other side. I would look at a Tvan. I do not own one but appears to be a very good camper.

www.tracktrailer.com.au


A J

Thank you. Just the type of info I need.

Garry,
what about a small pop top caravan, no set up, you can sleep in it at rest stops with security and stop just about anywhere and anytime. Its a bit different as soon as you have to unpack a canvas tent or tent mounted trailer ( camper).. A lot of people buy camper trailers because they have plenty of room for sleeping to suit families but normally have outdoor kitchen. A small PopTop , 7 foot wide caravan has heaps more advantages for one or two people, especially for an extended trip. Packing up a camper trailer every day when you are on the move is hard yakka and would take the shine of a trip for somene travelling alone. you can be a little more independant with a van and avoid a lot of the van parks if you utilise the overnite stay and parking areas.. You can also get off road models if you need one. Hope this helps.. Michael

Garry,
I see you are from WA.Do yourself a favour and visit the workshop of Pioneer Camper Trailers in Wangara where they are built.Ilooked for two years before buying a Pioneer Argisle which I bought new and have only praise for the camper--TOTALLY dust free and very easy to open(3 minutes) and also easy to fold up(5 minutes) without the annexe.It has been to Cape York and a trip around Tassie plus pig shooting trip in the Gulf and N.territory without any problems.Ihave no connection with Pioner but highly reccomend their campers.

A caravan would be more practical . Just open the door and walk in if its raining etc . Forget poptops also .

Personally you can't go past an Australian Off Road Camper but try looking at www.campertrailers.org

Everyone has their own opinion.

Kevin J

Also depends on how far 'off road' you want to go.
Do you have reasonably well set up 4wd?
If not a more road orientated camper or van of some sort may suit.
Well, down tracks might be a better description.
Other consideration is budget. :o)
We found what we were looking for new, and saw a good version come up on the 2nd hand market and saved 40%.

Other consideration is if you are on the road for a while, you might need something a bit more sturdy than a soft top camper for security and wet season weather. Packing up wet canvas on a camper is not fun. We survive because we are only on the road for up to 6 weeks at a time and have a house to come back too.

Something like a 'T' van?

www.campertrailers.org for idea.

I have just been through this whole process.

I will be travelling on my own & wanted something I can get off the sealed roads with & set up & pack up easily on my own.

I opted for a Jayco Penguin no-ender outback wind up camper. (They call it an outback, not an off-roader because its not suitable for the real rough stuff)
My preference would have been for a Goldstream Crown no-ender but I couldn't justify the extra $10k or more.

I have only taken delivery of it yesterday so I can't comment on the dust proof capabilities etc.

I can set it up in a matter of minutes & wouldn't hesitate to set it up for a lunch break.

Limited storage inside but I have a dual cab Triton to carry the extra gear needed.

happy camping
Daryl

Hi Garry,

I am in the same boat as you are. I am looking i to a The Kimberley Karavan.................http://www.kimberleykaravans.com/index.php.

Good luck, you never know one day we will catch up some where in this wonderful land

Redvintage

Hi,

We've just spent 7 weeks on the road doing the Gulf Savannah with a group of friends. We had various types on "campers" on the trip. The Jaycos were definitely 2 people affairs and suffered from dust, even though the vents were taped up (that in itself caused fridge problems).

Soft floor camper trailers were OK, but still a 2 person job to pack up. We had 3 single guys travelling with us, their choices were an Avan, roof top tent, and the Argyle camper. I must admit I was impressed by the ease of setup and packup of the Argyle for 1 person.

Our choice on the trrip???? .....we tented it!

Cheers,

Michael

Garry, I too took delivery of the Pioneer Onyx earlier this year and have been very pleased with its performance. It hasn't been fully tested yet but to date there has been no dust and whilst camping during wet weather had no leaks. If you look at the Pioneer take a look at the optional winch which I had fitted to the Onyx. I can pack up on my own with ease and the winch saves you the trouble of lifting the floor/hard top up when packing up.

Good luck with your search. One thing you will read quite a lot in doing your research is.......hire a camper before you buy. I thoroughly recommend you consider this advice.

Cheers.

Hi Garry,
Being your in WA pop in to George Day Caravans they now stock 4 top brand name camper trailers including the T-Van that has been mentioned aswell as Goldstream.
There is also a 4wd show coming up in Perth 14-16 November.

One tip is dont leave your purchase to the last minute and head of on the big trip straight away. Once you have your camper do some small trips first to sort yourself out.
Then enjoy your travels.

Hi Garry
We have a Tvan (canning model) and are very happy with it.
I have no problems with setting this up or packing it away, this would depend on your height and general strength.
They are very well built and quick to set up and pack away, and will go anywhere your vehicle can take it. The backup from track should you be unlucky enough to have any problems is excellent.
They are expensive at around 40k, but the resale is excellent. So much so that we found there was no point in buying second hand.
There is usually a few months wait for delivery.
We had some special things done to our van so if you are interested in buying one drop us a line and we may be able to give some advise.
Cheers Lyndon & Bernadette
lyndonkain@bigpond.com

Hi Gary
As you have seen most people seem happy with what they have (or are not willing to admit to making a bad purchase!!!!). My wife and I have a Tvan and are very happy with it.
Good points are:
Easy to set up with one person.
Can set up for a quick overnight stop without using any canvas.
Good kitchen accessible without opening van.
Relatively light weight (tare 750 kgms) compared to some others.
Tough and proven. Will go almost anywhere. Superb suspension.
Bed in the hard shell part of van. No wet canvas ever on bed.
Very good company (Tracktrailers) to deal with.
Lots of options to give you what you want.

Bad points:
Relatively expensive. Not compared to other top of the range ones like Ultimate, Kimberly, Aussie Swag etc but expensive compared to soft tops.
Annex a bit time consuming to put up but no more than other annexes. We have not used ours yet as the tent attached to the van has been all we need but for long trips (months)I suspect you would need an annex.

Hope this helps. My other bit of advice would be not to get all the options at first. Easy to pay good money for something you do not need and takes up space and weight. Buy a more basic set up and have a few shakedown trips and then get additions if you need them. The Tvan is well designed and the options are easy to add later.

Good luck in whatever you decide and happy travels.
Cheers
Dave

Arrived back about three weeks ago from our trip to collect our camper.

We looked for about 12 months before we settled on the one we selected.

We ended up with an Adventure Campers Traytop (hi Paul), they make trailer versions as well:

Adventure Campers

We also optioned the awning walls, roof basket and 80lt fridge.

Having now used it for four weeks continuously we are extremely happy with it. Belinda was a bit sceptical about the cost (before we got to Adelaide and she saw the camper for the first time) but is extremely happy that we wen't with this rather than some of the other campers we saw on the road. Some significantly more expensive (upto 5 times as much).

I can setup/packaway by myself. I do not have to climb a ladder like most traytops or rooftops to get into bed. Lunch stops, open the side pull out the fridge/stove shelf and everythings there. Even protected from the sun or rain by the door or put the awning up if you really need it.

Storage is enormous. We read the brochure and website but did not actually realise how much space it really was. Our gear for a total of 5 weeks away did not even fill half the storage area, even with the big tool box (1300mm x 500mm x 500mm) we had on the tray in there with nothing in the tool box. With the hi-lift jack and optional awning walls in the storage area we still could have fitted the same amount in again plus more. Then theres the kitchen area as well. We had two weeks food in the kitchen and the fridge. All our cooking and eating gear, toiletries and library and still had extra space.

We can set it up, put the jacks down and drive away if needed.

All in all a really excellent product.

Service on pickup was also excellent. The camper was setup when we got there, to show us how everything worked and how to packit up. Put it on the tray and made sure everything worked as it should.

It's also the little extras that really make a difference. Like the step ladder so that you can reach all the way into the storage area. Ours is on an F100 and the tray is 1.1m off the ground so having a small step ladder is really necessary but it was included.

No dust or water inside throughout the whole of the trip. No water inside also using the high pressure wash after we got home. Really good locks on the doors and good dust seals.

Only additions I'd like is an extra 12volt outlet inside the kitchen area and a 4 way 240v outlet, then we would not have to use a power block for the camera/laptop/etc battery chargers when at a powered site or keep on changing what was plugged into the outlet.

First night setup took us about 40 minutes. That's from stopping and selecting a site to sitting down to a cup of tea or coffee (would have been a beer but it was about 5 degrees). Not to bad considering it was the first time we had done it and had only watched the supplied DVD.

Now it's about 15minutes total, that includes the bedding as you don't need to put it away separately just make sure it's flattened out on the bed and making the tea or coffee (or getting the beer or wine out).

Bed and tent is adjustable to get level, only site we found to be a little awkward was when the F100 was not level from one side to the other. Just put the hi-lift jack on the low side and lifted the tray 25mm or so to get it level. Could have done this with something under the rear wheel if really necessary but the jack was the easiest.

Bed is a true kingsize, 2mx2m and I don't hang over the end or touch the sides of the tent. (I'm 187cm tall, Belinda go lost in it).

Any way as some one else said don't leave it to the last minute, (they need some time to build these as well) and have a look at all you can. Don't necessarily opt for the first one that catches your eye, we almost did and are now glad we did not.


Regards
Ross & Belinda

Garry I have been investigating an easy set up/pack up trailer for one person for some time. If you are planning to travel on your own, like me, I guess you are not looking for hard off road stuff. The Avan A-line campers look good with the Adventure Pack, but I am not convinced that they are that rugged or sufficiently dust proof. I came across a VistaRV the other day, but at $50K they are not cheap, but look really practical. They are a step up from the TVan

Website http://www.vistarv.com.au/reception.htm.

The Pioneers and Kimberleys obviously are good, but for one person I think there is too much canvas. Might be OK in good conditions, but with rain and wind could be a different story.

Anyway good luck, keep us informed of your decision making

I bought a Vision made by Pacific Aluminium Trailers its all aluminium constraction only weighing 650KG has pneumatic suspension and the bed is NOT under canvas. I took it up Cape York and its pretty dust proof. At a lunch stop you just open the back section which is opened by pneumatic actuators. Can carry 240 lts of water with hot water sevice. It has two Bushman Fridges the one I ran as a freezer(-15 deg C) and other as a fridge (0 deg C) for 12 weeks on solar power and the batteries never dropped below 76% of charge.
More info Image Could Not Be Found

Hi Garry, just went through the same, although I am not looking @ retirement for a couple of years.
We hired camper trailers for a few years first. softtops & hardtops, u can hire both types in Perth.
we hired the Pioneer mentioned above, was a good solid unit. only problem a bit small inside.
finally just purchased a Jayco Dove outback, a couple of weeks ago. first shake down trial this weekend. reason for the dove, only one that fits in the garage. ???
not a proper, offroad, machine, but will probable do us.
would have liked the coromal but quite a few $ more.
anyhow good luck. Tom

Hi mate we were in same boat and after a lot of looking went for hard floor Camp-o-matic and not sorry. Can have a cuppa, meal etc without setting up. I put a winch on front and one person open close. Can access the close with camper closed and wedge box on front holds the goodies. We got to of the unit secondhand like 1 yr and saved about $7000
Pull with Terracan and get 9km/L on last trip off 15000km WA and back.
Hope this helps
Glenton

Glenton, Thanks for the info. If you have the resources would it be possible to email me a photo of your camper showing the winch setup
thanks

Have a look at the Cub offroad campers.

I can set up and pack up fairly easily by myself while the wife plugs the electricity in.

Putting up awnings takes longer than the basic setting up though!

Easy access to the fridge in the back when stop for a cupa and as it has an outside kitchen you can boil the kettle if you want without opening the camper. I guess most of these features are common in good campers.

We have taken ours on parts of the Oodanatta and just recently to Arkaroola,Flinders. These aren't real rough areas but it handled it OK.

They sit well on the road at 100kph or if the wife is driving 100+kph .

They seem to be fairly dust proof if you tape up the vents.

I have had a bit of problem getting the canvas to sit properly when up - I think the newer version have it set up better.

I believe they are cheaper than the other big names. Any way worth a look.

However if I had the money I would look at the Ultimate ( there are two of us). If just me I would probably go the T-VAN


Richard