Off road caravan or camper trailer

Stefan

will the paj' be able to tow it...........with the mitsi' being a petrol & all?

just concerned for your safety mate :-))

GDAY Stefan i to have a poojero its a great truck i have just sold my camper for a jayco poptop expanda with ensuite its 16ft outback i have two kids , but at the end of the day its personal choice most people who spend good money on these things would not skull drag them .i have been told that you can get campers to the tip i wouldnt take a van there but you could like me think about a rooftop tent.:)

Stefan

It depends what you mean by Offroad?

A van is much wider than the tow vehicle while CT and bush trailers normally are the same track width as your vehicle.

If you intend going on isolated narrow bushtracks then a van isn't a good choice. If however you only intend to do known gravel roads then the van should be OK. CT will be easier to tow than a van.


Cheers

Hi Stefan,
He couldn't help himself. He's had the day off, must be bored. I think he's still getting over the Soccer mum thing, or it could be Jo's Pink Poodle thing that has thrown him.

Anyway back to you question. I would believe the van would be the way to go for a couple of reasons if it is just the two of you.
1; and this is the most important choice. SWMBO thinks a van is the go, well then a van is the go.
2; when SWMBO is happy, life is good.
3; a van I would believe to be more practical in your situation. It has everything set up, Just windup the roof, all weather suitable to set up, quick and easy. A bonus if it comes with one of them roll out side awnings that can become an annex.
Not saying your old by any means, but my next neighbour who has just retired has just bought himself a 16 foot van pop up, and he is over the moon about it. He drags it about with a Subaru Forrester. Hook it up, drive, pull over, five minutes if that and it's all is done.

That's my two Bob's worth.

Stefan,

i was in that situation a while ago, i ended up buying an on road van for the quick getaways and an off road C/T. i did seriously consider an off road van but as willem said a C/T is far easier to pull out bush. but in saying that on my last trip i met an elderly couple (80s) that had a bushtracker/trackmaster( cant remember which one) and had towed it all over australia and said it went everywhere they wanted to go. in and out of national parks,cape york and many many other places. so if you think the poojabah can pull it around,go for whatever takes ya fancy!

Stefan,

I don't believe that a small proper off road van will go the some places as a camper trailer due to width and length, if for no other reason.

The real point is that which ever way you go you both have have to be happy with the choice. That means your stuffed before you start because when we say "both" we know that it really means "her".

I am in the process of getting my Hall's Camper Trailer on the market to replace it with a small PROPER off road van.

Five years ago when we bought our trailer I convinced her that we could go places with the camper we would not go with a caravan. Now we found this to be a fact, however we did not go to those sorts of places too often.

Not long ago we did the Darling River Run and hit some really bad weather, not to mention the near zero temperatures. When you spend a couple of days stuck in a tent camper due to a combination of road closures and continuous rain I reckon its better to be in a caravan than under canvass.

Now we have had a ball with our tent camper and in many ways I don't regret having bought it but I know that I'm going to drop about twelve grand to sell it and caravans have only increased in price in the interim.

Have a good think about it and if you feel you may have to upgrade in the future give the camper idea a miss and go straight into the caravan.


Ian

Umm, don't wish to be a killjoy!
Can you get a GOOD OFF ROAD 8-10 yr old pop top van for 10-12k?
Not saying you can't, just things seem to cost a LOT more than that for anything good these days.
Cheers Lyndon

Stefan, have a poptop trakmaster, 1997 vintage, 14 foot inside, 6foot 6 inches wide. It has done a lot of dirt kms with us, and been to some places that are not even marked on some maps. Have been times we have left it behind and taken to tent - but we would have done the same had we been towing a camper trailer, due to 1) going places we did not want to tow anything 2) going places we were not allowed to tow anything. The key is to keep it small and manoeverable.

stefan, I am afraid the true offroad, same width as your car caravans are actually Karavans spelt with a KKKKKk for Kimberley. They are the ones that are recognised to get to the Bungles as they are built on a CT chassis. Only canvas is on an annex.

There are one or two second hand ones about +/- $60k though

your wife is right and spot on
camper trailers are only for brainless masochists who like pain
small caravan you pop the roof and dry and comfortable instantly
everything in place and ready to eat
camper trailers take hours to set up
what do you do when wet windy and cold in a camper trailer other than be miserable

Stefan,

I think we've tried everything.

Firstly a camper trailer built by a bloke to suits his needs, pretty quick to set up, but the real time was in getting all the gear out of the trailer and putting it bac.

Secondly, Jayco Eagle Outback Camper with a wind out awning. Set up was quick but storage was limited. Always boxes of stuff on the floor. Pain in the arse to to restock for each trip. Unless you wind it up, you have to crawl in on the floor to fill the fridge.

Thirdly, 16' Jayco Freedom Pop Top with wind out awning. Great if you want to spend all your time inside, but to us camping is about cooking and living outside. The time taken to set a table, stove etc is painful. Then it is numerous trips in and out of the van for plates, cutlery food etc. We found the set up and pack up time to be very long. Single beds were narrow and uncomfortable. The "Double Bed" versions have a bed 4'3" x 6', try sleeping on that.

Finally, back to a Camper Trailer with a slide out kitchen and drawer. Fair Dinkhum Q/S bed with latex mattress, heavenly night's sleep. Easily the fastest set up of all that we have tried. Without the awning we are up and ready in 5 minutes, awning adds another 15.

Cheers,

Jim.

Stefan,

My perference is for the van. I had and disliked a camper trailer for a couple of years. The only ones I like cost lots of dollars for what they do (Ultimate my first choice).

I'd say this would be a good buy. Little more than the dollars your talking, but trusted manufacturer, a fairly rare thing....

Evernew off roader

Cheers,

Matt