Travelling around OZ, Caravan or camper trailer,pop top ???

Hi Bob,

A quick look through the trader section here suggests that your budget will stretch to a basic off road camper trailer but not a caravan, much less the off road variety. If you do not have children and dont need all the mod cons then there should be no reason why a camper trailer would not suit you - providing that you choose carefully. There are usually plenty of good secondhand units on the market. Just be sure that the canvas is sound and the suspension is off-road standard.

As for leaking in wet conditions, a good tarp should keep you dry. Likewise a sheet of plastic or small tarp over the bed when the camper is closed up should prevent moisture in your bed, but others with more direct experience will be able to comment on that.

Maybe take a wander round a caravan park or two and have a chat to the owners of likely looking rigs and ask whatever questions you have. Most people (at the right time) are only too happy to show off their rig.

Cheers,

Val

You should get an interesting responses on here to those questions.
We have just finished 3 year trip around oz in a camper trailer with 2 kids. We copped some pretty heavy rain at times. We got wet a couple or times, mainly when the trailer was set up facing the wrong way and water ran in the door. We got major flooding in Burnie when the kids room blew off and the rain just pelted in while we were out. For some reason when we were on the road these things didn't worry us. Depnds on the trailer set as to whether the bed gets wet or not, some do some don't. Our bed never got wet because of the way the canvas folded up even when we packed up in the rain. We have a section on our website about buying a camper that might be of interest, have a look here under- looking for a trailer
http://www.kidsandall.webs.com/
We had an O'Briens offroad trailer. Ours was top of the range but they do cheaper models with the same quality build. If you look around even second hand you could get a reasonable trailer for around $10,000 depending on what you want. You need to decide how offroad you intend going then look for a trailer to suit.
We actually had more room in our trailer than most had in their caravan and was very quick to set up.
When looking at trailers take your time, look at welds and joins, look at dust sealing. Look at quality of metal used.
Feel free to ask any other questions you come up with.

Josh

hi Josh,I remember reading some of your threads, It;s funny, after all the threads i've read on this forum it seems I haven't learnt that much at all. I guess there's nothing like real world experience. Thanks for your advice.

Hi Bob

I support what the others have so far said. With your budget, go for a second hand very sturdy trailer. Sure it will annoy you if you meet days of wet weather, but it does with any sort of camping. That is why we try and follow the sun. A caravan at that price is likely to only be suitable for taking to the coast for the annual holiday on bitumen roads. One day of rain is usually not a problem if everything gets wet - prolonged rain would be a nuisance.

Go camping with whatever you have now - even if you have to hire a tent. Talk to other campers; find out who hates setting up and packing away their trailers, and who can do it in minutes with one of the well designed models. Then decide the level of ease you are willing to accept to meet your budget.

Motherhen

Friends of mine got a bargain. $5 grand for a near new off road model with all the bits and pieces. Some one was going through the big D. I was jealous of their bargain.
When we had ours we always used a tarp when in one place for a bit. It kept the canvas in good order. We also used a double swag so our bedding would keep dry and dust free. One thing if I ever bought one again the door would not be on the corner. The water use to run off the roof down the zip and inside. Happy shopping.

Gday Bob
Where are you?
I am in Melbourne if you would like to see the workings of a camper trailer.It is in the shed at the moment, but i am willing to put it up for a look.

camper trailers for one night stands and cold or wet weather are a nightmare.
Look for a cheaper caravan and fix it up. Open the door and you are dry and comfortable. Close the door in the morning and you are on your way. Setting up and unpacking camper trailer is 1 to 1 1/2 hour affair morning and night.

G'day Bob,

How far "off road" do you plan on going?
Do you have Kids?

We have done all 3 - camper, pop top and now full size caravan. We found the camper trailer was a PITA for over nighters, mostly due to all the other crap we take with us (boogy/surf boards, snorkelling gear for 5 etc.)
If no kids the amount of misc. stuff you take with you will be less and less hassle unpacking/packing. Setting up the outside kitchen to cook got to be a pain for quick stops aswell.
We could go offroad with it - but found we would set up camp some where and then do day trips offroad.
We then went to a windsor rapid poptop offroad caravan - a bit more comfy and good for dirt road and short offroad access to your camping spot but still the same problem of storage. same thing, set up camp then do day trips.

We now have a full size on road caravan, shower/toilet TV etc. and find we do the same thing - set up camp and do day trips. We still take dirt roads just go a bit easier.

It all depends what your plans are - full on bush stuff or mostly black top with a few side trips
Hope that helps, Keith

Wet weather?

A good K Mart style Tarp and a few poles will keep you and the surrounding area dry and give you a lot more utilisable shade area than a caravan if you have kids.
We just had 4 days with 20-50mm each day, everything stayed dry.
Wet weather would not be my worry, I would be more concerned about the PITA component of packing up each time.

$10k should see you get a reasonable off road capable 2nd hand side flip CT with slide out sink. Suspension would be worth adding shock absorbers to enable it be able to handle corrugations.

Pop Tops are much easier to set up, but cost more.
Best solution will be diferent dependent on where, when you are going, what equipment you already have, budget, how "off road you will be" and if you have kids.

Hi

I have done the caravan and trailer thing and at the moment have a trailer. I think a big thing is the actual setup time. I can setup my camper in 5 minutes if no awning required, but start adding awning and walls and cooking gear and seating and fridge and all the rest and it can be an hour setup and then another hour packup, no worries. If looking at a trailer I strongly suggest have the seller do a complete setup for you. Time them... dont take it for granted that their 'couple of minutes' is indeed only a couple of minutes. I have seen many people in my travels who have taken 1 hr plus to setup their camper trailer, and than another hour to pack up in the morning. I imagine this would get pretty tiring after an extended period. Time savers are slide out or swinging kitchen and easy access to sundry items. A caravan is quicker setup but I personally prefer towing a camper. I find there is not the same need to overtake me with the camper as was with the caravan... regardless of speed, thus a more relaxed journey.

regards Kc

Plenty of good advice above, but I cant agree that a side tent C/t takes an hour
& a half to set up. We set up easily in 20 min, & the childbride & I wont ever see
60 again. We always use a silver tarp over the top...no leaking issues, no stains,
no wet packups...takes 5 min to put on with a handful of oco straps. Your $10k
will buy you a very good offroad C/t second hand or even new, but be aware
that you can get into a basic unit for half that & $5k still buys a lot of fuel.
Bedding can get wet with the wind up type campers eg Jayco Finch but not
with the fold out campertrailers. My trailer, off road, cost around $2k & has
travelled the Tanami/Gibb River type of roads with no issues. Simple leaf springs,
no brakes & no shocks. Top is a Chinese Oztrail. Total cost under $5k. Only
cost over 25k of outback travel is $17 for new shackle bushes. Friend has a new
GIC offroad model, cost $4.5k & is very similer to mine. This is entry level stuff
but the remaining $$ can be better spent on additions you really need & not on
decoration. Not much around in offroad caravans for that budget, & the restrictions of an onroad model are obvious. Could always go with an onroad &
use a tent for the rough stuff, but that requires a lot of duplication of gear.
Best advice is to hire/borrow for a weekend & try it out.cheers.....oldbaz.