Allterrain Campertrailers

One thing I do not like about the All Terrain Camper is that the water tank plumbing goes through the floor of the camper into the storage area. IMHO it is just creating a potential point for failure of the water tank system.
I discussed this with Mr All Terrain and he would not modify to suit my needs so as a result I did not purchase one. Even though I loved the set out of the All Terrain :(
He reason for not modifying the connection point was that the water tank size would be less.

Most other people I have spoken to about this have found it strange as they have found him to be very accomidating.

Cheers Kev

We got our first camper from All Terrain about 4 years ago when I was looking for sometning to use on my photo expeditions and Fiona decided she wanted to travel too. We searched the internet and came up with a change of model deal at All Terrain that didn't cost the earth.

We had absolutely no idea about what to and what not to look for when we started and by the time we got to Glen at All Terrain we had a bit of an idea and he filled in the missing bits. Without question he nurtured us through the set up stage twice, spent 4 hours on a job to strengthen up the chassis when I broke something and didn't charge for the job. We did about 40,000km with the trailer from Ayres Rock to Cooktown and never had a problem.

Sure we have changed to a wind up Coromal Magnum magnum 340 because it is easier for Fiona when we make one night stop overs, my point being that Glen was a fabulous and genuine bloke who always pointed us in the right direction, advised us to always buy quality gear that would last and the workmanship on the trailer was solid.

We would still have the camper but circumstances brought about the change.

Our experience was all good!
Paul & Fiona

We are from Newcastle NSW and we pick up our TAMBO Offroad Cooper XT Camper Trailer next Saturday - FINALLY!! We are a family of two adults and two kids and we did heaps and heaps and heaps of research and couldnt go past TAMBO for many reasons.

We looked at All Terrain a couple of times at the shows and on the internet etc and like you couldnt justify the money when compared to TAMBO. We owned a JUMBUCK Camper Trailer back in 2005 but sold it after 18 months as we never got it setup right from the build stage and it was painful after a while and we didnt get the use out of it. So from owning a camper trailer before we knew this time what we wanted and what was important to get at the build stage.

We started looking at TAMBO about 18 months ago and we are planning to do a lap of OZ with ours - leaving on the big trip in mid JUNE 2009 and very excited. So we went to all the camping shows, got all the companies we thought were close to Ncle and beyond to send us all their brochures and prices and after loads of looking, comparing etc we still ended up back at TAMBO.

We finally flew down there in March this year and looked at them in the flesh and placed our order 3 days later. We got everything we wanted complete with the XT tent which gives us loads more room in the main tent for the kids, water tank, side left, tailgate kitchen, toolbox, full annexe, electric brakes and it all come in under $11K. We obviously have to drive down and pick it up (leaving ncle next friday morning - cant wait...) but for the 24 hour return trip we couldnt go past the value for money....

The owners of the business are fantastic...we emailed them heaps of questions prior to going down there over a period of 18 months and they also sent us a DVD info package being interstate customers and that is fantastic as it shows you right through the campers and all the options etc etc. They are very easy going and accommodating thats for sure.

I love the robust look of the trailers and being a boilermaker by trade I have found it hard to find well built trailers that I would even consider buying. The rest of the TAMBO benefits worth mentioning are the side lift option for easy access, the vertical wall against the main bed and kitchen area, the canvas being from bradmill is a huge plus as the quality is first class. I could go on for ages but I wont as I am sure you can see from my reply how rapt and excited we are to be receiving our TAMBO very soon.

We found out about then initially via the story at www.wrongwayround.info that was in the camper trailer aust magazine we subscribe too.

We liked the Complete Campsite as well especially with the walkin trailer option up to the main bed but again we couldnt justify the dollars....

Best Of Luck and if you want to know anything more about our TAMBO camper just reply here and I will check it over the coming day or so....

GOOD LUCK

In reply to your questions -

Yes you can access inside the trailer from inside the tent area. The bed base is actually carpeted with marine quality carpet and the hatch under the bed base is on gas struts as well so they raise and hold the bed base very very well.

The outside side lift option is a must for those who have a camper trailer. We didnt have it on our first camper trailer as jumbuck didnt do it but my parents had a highlander back then and they had the side lift option and it was fantastic for packing the trailer before departure and also for access when you are camped. The TAMBO has it and we got it on ours without hesitation. Not sure if All Terrain do it from memory but again we definitely recommend it. The tambo side lift can be used when the trailer is open or closed so it is fantastic. If you get them to mail you a dvd it shows it all in there and speaks for itself.

No roof thingy you mention about the main bed - but that is a personal choice. Not sure if thats something we would really care about - all to their own.

Again - being a boliermaker the build quality etc is great on the TAMBO. The dvd again shows you underside of the trailers etc as they have it hoisted for you to see how they do the water tanks and electric brakes and all that underside stuff!!!

I receommend you request their DVD info packages if you havent already and it shows you through everything in and out.....

Good Luck

Hi Ingo57

We are currently travelling the country in an All Terrain Camper. We are mum, dad and 2 kids, 10 and 13. We have been on the road full time now for 4 months.

The unit we have is about 2 years old so it is the 7' trailer (are you aware that the current AT's are a full 8' inside? - I don't know how the Tambo compares). We also don't have the zip open roof.

The AT is a very heavy duty trailer with full 16oz canvas tent section. The trailer is built well in terms of strength and durability. Apart from a small issue with wheel studs that was no fault of the trailer itself or the manufacturer, we have had zero trouble with it. The only thing I don't like is the brakes. The simple and strong (8 leaf) leaf springs with 2t C class bearings make it easy to tow and the extra 50mm of lift gives more than enough clearance on the tracks.

We have modified our trailer considerably to accommodate our needs as a full time abode but not the tent itself. We have found that in very heavy rain that we do get some seam leaks, but then, apart from our Oz Tent, we have never had a canvas (or material) tent or bag etc that hasn’t leaked a small amount somewhere. We have the walls to enclose the annex as well as the ‘kids room’ but only put them up when we stay somewhere longer than a few days. When they are all up we enjoy a full 27sqrM of living space.

In basic format (without the annex roof) we can be stopped and set up, including beds made, in 15min as long as the kids put their own stretchers out ready for their made up mattress’ that travel atop the main bed. Putting the annex up adds another 10 minutes. If I do a full set up it takes about an hour, but as I say, we only do that if we stay somewhere for a week or so and generally I wait till day 2 to add all the walls and the kids room.

I carry the walls that surround the kitchen on the bed and the rest on the roof of the cruiser as I don’t need them often. You are supposed to carry them all on the bed but we have an innerspring mattress which thicker than the std foam unit. On top of that are both kids foam mattress’ made up, a large plastic fold up table, both folded camp stretches, 4 fold up directors chairs, the ladder and then the 2 walls I mentioned. This pretty much fills the road cover when it’s on.

Accessing the under bed area is through the rear tailgate. I’m not sure if you are aware but you are only accessing the 2/3rds of the underside behind the partition and the area is a full 550mm high so getting in isn’t all that difficult. The area in front of the partitions is accessed through the side hatches. We have modded that part of the trailer to widen it and to add a fixed set of draws that are about 1200mm long and open into the tent area. The remaining area of about 500mm on the other side houses our porta-loo.

The way the water pipes appear out of nowhere in the floor worried me a bit at first but we haven’t had any issues to date. I replaced the clear plastic hoses with food grade braided hose when I added the Shur-flo pump.

I don’t know anything about the Tambo except to say that I have read good things about them. What I would check is the quality of the canvas, the type and size of the bearings, the springs and hangers and the brakes. The internal length of the bed area would be worth looking at as well as how much stuff you can pile onto the bed before you close it.

Couple things that might be worth a mention too. We rarely peg down the tent and we never use the stabilizers. The annex needs pegging as does the kids room.

This is our 3rd camper. When we decided to change we had a specific list of must haves. I’m pretty fussy when it comes to these things (particularly in areas of strength, durability and convenience) and the AT ticked most of the boxes for us. We are very happy with our camper.