TRAKSHAK CAMPERS
Submitted: Sunday, Jan 31, 2010 at 21:11
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Jamiee
Is anyone able to compare the current model Trakshak with the originals made by Peter and his missus in North
Adelaide in the late nineties? My late nineties model has been brilliant but it has a double bed and the time has come to explore upgrading to the queen size bed, but I would not want to do so and find the canvas is now not as good or that the ride or reliability has deteriorated.
My existing trakshak has been through remarkable storms and rough roads everywhere in Australia without any disappointments. It would be a pity to sacrifice that wonderful experience for a 20 cm increase in bed width if the new owners have dropped Peter's engineering and canvas standards.
Can anyone objectively advise? Not interested in other brands as my trakshak is streets ahead of others I have observed while travelling
Jamiee
Reply By: Member - GREENDOG - Sunday, Jan 31, 2010 at 21:42
Sunday, Jan 31, 2010 at 21:42
Better the devil you know mate,your camper sounds great,I have a 1990 Shakshak soft top that i brought secound hand 2 years ago,it's our first C/T and we love it.cheers GREENDOG
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Reply By: Mark Howlett - Sunday, Jan 31, 2010 at 22:46
Sunday, Jan 31, 2010 at 22:46
We took our 2003 Aussie Made Trak Shak around Australia for 6 months with the kids in 2008. We came across a familly who had a then 3 month old model that they had travelled up and down the West in. He wasn't too happy with the quality of the canvas as it had quite a few small holes throughout and the stainless boat rack was covered in surface rust after their few months away. I thought the canvas looked too shiny and thin and the boat rack coating looked crap.
The response he got from Trak Shak was they were going to send Australian canvas over to China to fix the quality issues and they were still waiting for a new supplier/agent for the stainless boat rack. Now he was a Pom but I think he had every right to complain about it!
I haven't heard if these issues have since been fixed or maybe he got a one-off lemon?
Cheers,
Mark.
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Reply By: Member - Bucky - Monday, Feb 01, 2010 at 07:33
Monday, Feb 01, 2010 at 07:33
Jamiee
We have a 2001 model, which we brought in 2005, and it has done all the hard work. ie Canning,
Cape York, Simpson, The
Gibb River Road, Bungles, and the list goes on.
Cannot really comment about the new ones, only to say that we had a real good talk to owners of the new "Chinese" versions, and the owners were happy.
I do not believe that they are as tough as the original Aussie versions, but time will tell.
Only real issues are the Electric braked, and that's not the camper's fault, (more, the owner) and the rear door seal. Everything else is fine.
The Trakky just keeps keeping on
Cheers
Bucky
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Reply By: Sir Kev & Darkie - Monday, Feb 01, 2010 at 07:42
Monday, Feb 01, 2010 at 07:42
I have a 2000 model and set it up next to John T's new one at the
St George National Gathering.
It appears the older one was slightly longer in the tent/canvas area. 3 Side windows compared to the current one.
I have email John T to see if he is able to make comment on this thread for you as
well.
Cheers Kev
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Reply By: Member - John T (Tamworth NSW) - Monday, Feb 01, 2010 at 17:52
Monday, Feb 01, 2010 at 17:52
Hi Jamiee,
As Kev has pointed out I have a "current" version - body built in China but from what I can see all the other fittings are Aust - canvas too it would appear.
I have dragged
mine around a fair bit since I bought it nearly 3 years ago doing some rougher stuff as
well as some blacktop. Only problem I had was the collapse of a bottom
suspension mount on the
Birdsville Tck which caused "inconvenience" more than anything else - meant I could not travel at any great speed down the
Birdsville or
Oodnadatta Tracks but who wants to drive fast on them anyway.
Had the problem fixed
well and truly by a bloke at
Coober Pedy (
Ross by name) who reckoned the original Trak Shak method was dodgy anyway. If the
suspension on
mine ever breaks again I have done something really bad to my beloved CT.
No problems with rust or dust anywhere. It rides and tows beautifully and I could not recommend them enough to anyone who wants lots of space for a large family. More than happy with
mine.
Cheers
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Follow Up By: Member - John T (Tamworth NSW) - Monday, Feb 01, 2010 at 17:53
Monday, Feb 01, 2010 at 17:53
Might add that I spoke with Trak Shak at last years Agquip Field Days at Gunnedah last year and suggested that they re- engineer the
suspension mounting to make it stronger.
Cheers
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Follow Up By: Jamiee - Monday, Feb 01, 2010 at 18:58
Monday, Feb 01, 2010 at 18:58
Thanks very much for your comments John T. It is said that this product has changed hands twice in recent years with the first buyer sending everything off to China to be made and the second having to stop that because of manufacturing disappointments such that the chassis etc still comes from China but the canvas and finish is from here again.
Peter the original designer and owner maintained that it was too light to need coil springs so I have leaf springs still on his recommendation and they have been great. Do you have coil springs and can you comment on them please?
My canvas has survived one very rare storm with unforgettable winds at Mungerannie that had me literally up for hours in the night fearing the canopy and canvas must surely collapse, but next morning it was completely unharmed. Has your canvas been tested by torrential rain like that?
Thanks for responding because there are not that many of these sold so your advice/experience is very much appreciated
Jamiee
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Follow Up By: Member - John T (Tamworth NSW) - Tuesday, Feb 02, 2010 at 08:39
Tuesday, Feb 02, 2010 at 08:39
Hi again Jamiee,
My Trakkie has coils and shocks - obviously the
suspension does not work too
well if a shocky fails but so far (apart from the incident mentioned already) nothing has gone wrong. And the CT has been taken over some really crappy tracks.
I have been through a few wild thunderstorms up in the
New England ranges and the like with no damage but the worst was a violent dust storm at
William Creek a couple of years ago - was so concerned that I left the CT hitched to the Nissan. Had I not done that, I reckon the CT and me would have been out on the bed of Lake Eyre somewhere - winds to about 60 - 80 kms at least.
Didn't get much sleep that night I can tell you. Dust and fine sand in everything that was exposed but no damage to the canvas. Liike you I was very concerned that with the buffeting the steels canopy bows were going to fail but all OK.
Cheers
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