camper Trailer power & Electric brakes

I should also say, as you would be aware, anything over 750 kg GVM & you require brakes. The Tambo Cooper weighs in at around 570 kg empty. That leaves 180 kg. If you have a full 85 litre water tank like mine will, you only have about 95 kg to play with. You will find you will exceed 750 kg easily and in my opinion, it would be very unwise and dangerous to run without brakes, not to mention doing so illegally. Just my two bobs worth.

Dave

Hey thanks Dave and everyone else for the info. Looks like I should get one off ebay and save some bucks. Thanks too all for the advise on brakes. We did a lot of research on CT and almost got a Casarina ( think thats how u spell it) bet ended up with the Tambo. Its sitting proud outside Im dying to use it but its prime photography season for me so have to earn the bucks b4 I try it out. Maybe I should set it up out the front for the kids. So thanks Dave and all for your comments

James,

You are welcome. Exploreoz is a fantastic forum to share ideas and have questions answered. I'm not one to rush out and buy something without doing plenty of research, so the more info I can get, the better. And with the Tambo camper, I spent months and months researching for the best value for money camper for me, and Tambo came up trumps. (And as a bonus, I reckon you would agree Keith & Amanda run a top business - they would be the most helpful people I have had the pleasure to deal with, nothing is too much trouble - fantastic service - hence people can understand why they do not attend any of the camping shows etc, their business is mostly through word of mouth) I rang again the other day to get them to alter the jery can holders from 25 to 20 litre, so I don't have to stuff around making up something to pack them out - no problems they replied !!

One thing I forgot to mention previously was about my battery setup. I have a Navara STR dual cab and to install a dual battery system under the bonnet was going to be difficult, if not impossible, and not suit my purpose, as I could not fit a big enough battery. Instead, I have an auxiliary battery (100 a/h AGM) in the tub in the back that sits next to my 40L Engel. It is fully portable and can be taken out and placed in the camper if I wish. Whilst driving, the fridge is powered off the car. It has Volt and AMP meters and is switched/relayed so that when I turn the ignition off, power from the vehicle is cut to it, and the battery kicks in and runs the fridge. It is not a true dual battery setup with isolator etc, rather the 12V supply to the rear powers an inverter (electrically isolated) which in turn powers a 3 stage smart charger - gives me a full 100% charge. Did the Simpson last August and it worked a treat. Will be doing Cape York in July for 8 weeks and it will get another workout then.

So, for my camper, rather than install another battery in the camper, I will simply run an extension lead if you like with a home made box with cigarette and hella plug sockets to power the lights etc. The fridge will stay in the car most of the time. To make it easier to run the extension lead, Tambo is putting a second access zip in the PVC wall, at the other end from the door, so for overnight stops, I can just run the lead from the back of the car into the tent via the shortest route.

Enjoy your camper and your upcoming trip.

Cheers,

Dave

He Hi Lance

Thanks for the vital into. Yes we did get the flooring and we did get the extra room as we have 2 boys. Yes the Tambo is well priced. I feel they keep their costs down due to keeping business word of mouth and using the www. I think we have the smaller gas bottle carrier. So will they just change it over for $10? Well my wife would be keen to get the Lido burner. My fridge is the Engel 40Ltr and its terrific. Bit of an outlay but worth it. I did a trip in 07 using a Waeco and it failed to work. It seems they need room for air.