whats the best campertrailer

Or here.

Camper Trailers - manufacturuers


Budget andf the number of people to accomodate will get it down to less than 10 hopefully :o)

And what will you be towing it with?

Val.

In that case you had better look at a Trak Shak, we have one and very happy with it, we also have a d4d prado, tows it like a dream, it takes a big hill to pull it back. shaw the trak shak is big for 2 people, but takes no more time to put up actually 10 minutes from start to beer!! there is no substitute for extra room. the others may have all the bells and whistles but you cant swing a cat. but there is plenty of choice out there.

Good luck researching.

And tandem wheels :-)

I agree with Tony on the hard floor. But it will cost more. Having towed off road a lot I would not go for tandem wheels on the maneuverability side but the tandems would tow nice on the bitumen.

Generally there are certain aspects for a camper that people look for.
Cost
Reliablity
Durability
Features

Probably in that order.

I have chosen a fully featured camper with a hard floor that comes with all the benefits they could squeeze in. It is set up as a tray top but also comes as a trailer mount version. But my mate is going for a very spartan camper with soft floor and little to no extras. (he will fit his own) So like a lot of people are saying you need to look around.

Many on this site often pass comment on their campers. I hear a lot of good words about Kimberley Kampers and Ultimate Campers - probably because they are so flash. But there are many more that work just as well for their owners.

Top price does not necessarily mean best camper.

David

Mine is on tandem axles :-)

David, you are correct in that maneuverability is (or can be) somewhat compromised, though I have not found this to be any kind of a problem (just need to allow for it;-)).. and yes, the trailer does get off-road, and occasionally off-track;-)

You are also correct in that it does indeed tow very nicely on the bitumen :-)

IMHO, the advantages of the tandem far outweigh any (perceived) dis-advantages.. (YMMV)

Regards, Ed C

:)

What is the advantage of a tandem?

I'll answer for him - you can carry more weight on the trailer and less on the tow ball.

I've checked out the Coota and it's a good option if you want all the fruit like fridge, heaps or storage, boat, outboard, generator etc. The likes of Kimberly, AOR, Cape York and so forth keep extending the draw bar and putting it on.

It's a step in between a single axle CT and a off road van in my opinion.

OT

The campers that you mentioned with the ridiculously long draw bars would be worse than useless on a lot of the tracks in the High Country.

Outbacktourer hit the nail on the head. As well as all that it's well ballanced with the 250lt water tank and spare wheel over and behind the dual axle.

We have had the camper over 4 years and apart from a tyre not had one issue, been where we want to go with it, the only problem we have now is a resident mouse, picked up somewhere in NQ last month. He uses a stick under the plate of the trap so he can get the bait, or so it seems.

Hi Richard, I don't want to hijack this thread but seeing your Troopy has prompted me to ask the question about your tyres and in particular rims. I have the RV Troopy very similar to yours with the split rims etc and want to keep the splits if I can as I am not a fan of the "sunnies" and alloys are expensive but the one thing that sticks in my mind is the chance of a "blow out" in one of the tyres is increased by the use of tubes. You have been to a few destinations, am I being overly concerned regarding the increase blow out risk?

Cheers


Mark

Mark

You are not being overly concerned, I am and drive accordingly, all ways thinking about it (sometimes to much), don't travel on country roads over 100 km/hr and have my own dirt rules.

The thing about blow out is we use to get them in cars with cross plys, when radials came in tubes went out, so that was the end of it.

My Troopy runs radial tyres maybe the give in the tyre saves us, I don't know, I've only been driving 29 years but have never had a "blow out" but have had many a flat tyre, I have never shredder a tyre except for one on the CT on the Birdsville track.

I don't drive hard and the Troopy has done over 150000 km's now and have only had flats, a hell of a lot more than any other vehicle I've ever owned....

I'm not a splits man, they came with the vehicle so they stayed on her, I like them I could have my tyre repaired before Mick O could get he's table set up.. LOL. I haven't had enough troubles with them to warrant replacing them, and I not into looks so don't need mags.

Regards

Richard

On the split rim issue - I have persevered with split rims for 15 years believing the relative ease of changing the tyre was worth the hassle. Eventually I just gave up. The older the split rims got - and the more I had used them off road the more flats I got. The biggest issue is water penetration through the split. Once water gets in it starts to rust the inside and those unseen rust scales cut the tube. Never ending flat tyres and constant blowouts. I eventually changed to sunraiser rims as the most affordable alternative. Later I purchased a car with mag rims.

David

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Thanks Richard and David, I will more than likely at this point go for the steel rim 16x7 which will allow the 235x85xR16 to go on them without having to put flares etc on. The Toyota 16x8 rims are OK but I would then have to go to 265x75xR16 which would mean fitting flares.

Cheers

Mark

Mark

If I ever change over to solid rims I would go the steel skinnys as in 265x75xR16 which is what I run now on 5.5" rims, not sure of rim sizes but you may not need to go out to 7".

Cheers

Richard

I have owned several camper trailers, both soft & hard floor. You wouldn't get the travel cover off a soft floor camper before a hard floor camper was set up.
I am not saying one is better than the other, just stating a fact.

Shaker,

The Trak Shak does not have a travel cover. It is all contained in a suitcase like box mounted on top of the trailer.

To open the TS all I have to do is undo 2 clamps and lift. The gas struts make that easy. Supporting legs automatically swing into place. I then pull the canvas out the back which stands up the internal frame put in 2 pegs, 2 poles and 2 guy ropes. Go inside fit the last section of internal frame pull the ladder from under the bed climb up and lie down, Head on pillow about 6 min after putting the handbreak on.

In side the Trakk Shak I have 2 almost queen size beds and a floor area of 2.8m x 3.2m with 1.8m of head room over the pillows on the beds which are above the trailer. I also have full access to the load area of the trailer without going outside or lifting any beds. The kitchen is mounted on the rear tailgate which opens inside the camper when set up but can be lifted off and placed wherever is convenient.

I have only owned 1 camper trailer but I have looked most of them. I spent six years researching before I bought the Trak Shak. Nothing I have seen comes close to the ease of set up, convenience and living space provided by the Trak Shak. Coupled with exceptional build quality it makes a very nice bit of kit. Not perfect but very nice.

I am not saying one is better than the other just stating the facts.

We all need to use the gear that suits us. That's why I said the best trailer for broomdreamer is the one that suits his needs.

Duncs

Over the back all you do is undo 4 clips & lift over the floor, thats it!

Personally, I think both have their advantages, but I maintain that the perfect camper trailer is yet to be designed ... & always will be!

You may want to add the Camprite to the "don't fit the mould" type. Its an off-the-ground hard top that has a double bed and two singles (4 singles plus double if you have the bunk bed option) plus room for bikes and kayaks that can stay on when set up, which takes under 5 minutes - ideal for families.

Cheers

Captain

Why are we all in such a hurry?

Don't know, help me out with an answer.

I read these posts with interest - everyone always has such different priorities!

To Shaker - not hurry just keen! For us we went for the Trak Shak because with two young children the inside space (without the need for awning) is great, immediately. So we pick up the boys off the bus at 4pm - drive two hours ish and set up before it's dark! We do weekends away at this stage and will always continue to do this, around big trips!

Likewise I feel that in sometimes dodgy weather the inside space in the Trak Shak is dependable ... we've borrowed a Kimberly loads of times and whether it's the way I bang pegs in, or tighten the guy ropes ... with a fair wind and some rain thrown in the awning suddenly starts looking like it might not be as tight as it should be! The structure of the Trak Shak seems to stop this!

To OP -- Good luck in the search! Enjoy the reading up and asking questions, I miss that bit now we've purchased ... now I just read all the other stuff I couldn't concentrate on before! lol!