How much quicker / easier are hard floor camp trailers to set up than soft floor

G'day GN, I have never owned a soft floor CT, but I have an AORC hard floor CT and it is a breeze to put up and packup too.
Have a look at the link and see for yourself.
On the bottom of the page you will see 'view operating procedure'


Odyssey camper

Dave

Hi GN
There are pros and cons for either soft floor or hard floor.
I would try and hire one of each and decide what suits your needs best.
I you are young and fit and setting up for a few days soft floor are ok.
Hard floor with a winch to close it is the way to if your back is buggered like mine.


Rob.

Hi, Ive had both. The hard floors are a bit quicker but theres not much in it.
Putting the dust cover on the soft floor version adds a little time as does dragging the tent section up onto the bed.
Our hard floor camper was the cub regal and was a bit quicker and the winch saves your back a bit.
Either one I found it was packing away all the other bits that took all the time up. e.g kitchen stuff, kids gear, annexe, floor mats etc.

hope thats some help.

cheers,Keith

Set up time is a little longer for a soft floor however getting back on the road is far easier with a hard floor. You have to push canvas in with both and the soft floor you have to drag the tent up and on to the trailer, very heavy and sometimes difficult particularly if it is wet from dew or rain.

We have just returned from a weekend with a Camp-o-matic which has a hard floor. This was the first time we have used a CT , this one was hired. Set up and packing away was very quick. I would say it took 3minutes to set up and 10 minutes to pack up. We did not use the annex so that would make it longer. But for a one night stay, you are ready for bed in minutes.

Biggest problem is that after teneting for years, my wife says CT is the only way she will go camping from now on.

GN
The biggest pain with soft floors is waiting for floor to dry from dew etc before you pack it up, and your clothes ineveitably get dirty packing up. Soft floors once you get used to them would only take max extra 10 minutes both ways.

We have had a large soft floor (16ft incl trailer plus annex and walls) for our 3 children gave us the stacks of room we needed. As one of our children has left home and more will in comming years, we purchased a Kimberly Kamper.
If we had 3 kids at home we would have still had our soft floor.

Nothing wrong with Soft floors, Hard floors tend to have more "extras" than most soft floors which are often more basic, but you can get soft floors with "the kitchen sink" if you want to pay for it.

We have an Aussieswag hard floor CT and reckon they're great. For an overnight stay when an early morning getaway is what you are looking for then a Hardfloor CT is quite a bit quicker. But when you are staying for a few days and have set up annexes and awnings etc.. then the prorata time difference is less.

But I think the biggest advantage of a hardfloor camper is they stay cleaner and dryer.

Gday GN
Kathy and I have had a soft floor camper for 7 years now, and we don't remember getting dirty while packing up in the mornings. We fold and leave the floor open to the sun and do other things while the floor dry"s. I just brush the floor and wipe with a towel to help the drying process.If it is raining and we are to be home that day, we just fold as quick as possible, then open the camper in the shed till dry.
Murray

I have had a soft floor for 13 years now and love it.

I can be in bed within 10 min of pulling up, don't need to unhook from the car and packing up is just the same. That is doing it on my own.

I don't have a soft cover, the Trak Shak is in a suitcase like box on top of the trailer and keeps everything tidy and dust free while on the road.

The Trak Shak offers more accomodation than any hard floor I have seen and is competitive in the set up, pack up race. If it is a race.

Most of the time difference I see in any of the campers is the routine of the people using them. After 13 years mine is pretty sorted but it is getting quicker as the young bloke gets stronger and more helpful.

Duncs

Sar Major soft floor, don't even need to add or remove extra poles. 4 Pegs max if just an overnighter. Don't know about getting dirty either, never had that trouble. We pack our canvas so that the bottom of the poly floor never touches canvas so it doesn't matter how dirty or wet the bottom is until the last packup (use a shade cloth matting and it wont get dirty at all). If not detatching the camper from the car, probably 7 minutes to get it up and pegged at most. Awning takes an extra 5 minutes, annex like any takes another 1/2 hour about.

Never owned a hard floor, but biggest difference I see is they are good in extreme rain conditions, and SLIGHTLY quicker. Less floorspace generally. Oh, other difference is they are generally at least double the price..

Big D

I think the other thing that people are missing here is the price difference. You get a soft floor and with the extra cash you get it all decked out with power, hot water, independent suspension etc etc and probably still have change.

We've had a Pioneer hard floor for about 3 years now and had a winch fitted not long ago to assist with packing it up.
It makes a huge amount of difference especially when the wind is blowing an Easterly gale in the morning, as the floor acts like a big sail and it's either much harder to pull up or it comes crashing down and you haven't time to tuck it in properly!
With the winch we hoist it up so far then tuck in and then some more until it can fold down easily and this is so much better especially if it's cold and the canvas is hard as well.
If it's continual rain wet when packing up there's no alternative but to pack wet and dry out later which ever type of camper you have. We spread a plastic sheet over the bed and that keeps any damp off.
Alan.

We have a Aussie Swag and love it. It is interesting to read all the pro's and cons of set up and pack up. Nobody has mentioned the huge difference of getting into and out of bed. If you are like me and always have to get up inthe night for a wee walk then it's simple. In a hard floor you get out the end of the bed, not over your partner. You then gradually get back to ground level. Three levels. Not a ladder. I can not climb a ladder with bare feet in the middle of the day. I guess you could wear your boots to bed. If i had to climb down a ladder betwwen sleeps they would find me hung up like some poor emu that has been caught in a fence. Upside down, feet in the air and dead.
Don't risk it.
Tony F