Which campervan is off-road

Drago,

when it comes this "hybrid" style of camper, be it either a Coromal or Jayco you will get a whole lot of varied opinions.

I purchased an "outback" Jayco and it has the same sort of comments about going off road.

I still bought it, especially after seeing the suspension and chassis was twice what you get on some so called "heavy duty" off road campers.

There are dust sealing issues, which can be quite easily overcome, and then you get comments about "forget taking it to Cape York"

Put things into perpspective, how often are you going to go there. If its once like me, then just hire one from Brisbane, just for that trip.
Mine has been all over the countryside and apart from a few cupboard catches coming loose and scratches from bushes, it is surviving more than adequately.

I believe the key to taking anything, camper, caravan or 4wd across any difficult terrain is to simply slow down. Why travel at 90kph shaking the daylights out of everything, when slowing down to 75kph will make it enjoyable and safe and won't destroy everything.
Invest in a good quality air compressor and you can adjust tyre pressure to suit the road or track conditions.

A side note to anyone who is about to comment on my comments.............

I believe what I have said and I am commenting from first hand experience, not "from a mate who knew someone" or comments I have heard, but from real life testing with my own hard earned money.

With 4 adults you are pretty much limited to the Jayco style of camper, so , as above, take it easy on the corrugations and you will have very few problems..

Don't forget to get under it and protect anything that can get hit by rocks...preferably put some sort of stoneguard on the front....check out past posts as to dust sealing....and away you go.

I've been away with friends in a Jayco outback and a Coromal outback and they both handled with ease the Oodnadatta, Plenty Hwy, Cordillo Downs-Birdsville-Innaminka-Camerons Corner etc etc....

The Cape?? yep, just don't expect to go the "hard" way..

I have a Goldstream camper. Few more $$$$. Classed as off road take anywhere. As above dust issues first trip, got it sorted now.Still holding
, no doors falling off.
Brian

"are they off road or not?"
Depends on your definition of offroad. While they may be able to handle rough dirt roads like you get in the Flinders or around Birdsville, they are definately not set up for all terrain use. A heavy chassis, swapping the axle over the springs, a treg coupling & some aluminium chequerplate down the side does not make any trailer reliable for all terrain use. Many of these are simply too wide, have poor ground clearance, are too long in the draw bar & weigh too much to be taken far off the beaten track.
Cheers Craig..................

Drago
You have opened a can of worms. You have to define off-road before you can get the definitive answer to your question. If you want the camper to do what is mentioned in the Coromal brochure, i.e., true offroad work, none of those type of campers will do the job. If you just want to be able to cover standard outback tracks, yes they will do the job if you take it easy. For true offroad work you will really need a much stronger and more compact design. Have you considered updating to a camper similar to your old one and adding an annexe for the extra bedroom. BTW I speak from experience having written off a 2000 model Jayco Eagle Outback by asking too much of it. Have a look at the forum pics in my profile.

teege

Have a look at the Trak Shak Camper Trailer they come with twin Queen beds,definately hard off road & storeage for gerry cans & other camping equipment is very good. Why did Jayco change the name of "OFF ROAD" to "OUTBACK" Does anyone know? I have an idea but willing to listen to the views of others!!!

You did well to find the disclaimer on the site Drago. It was fairly obvious when i started looked around seven years ago, but i haven't been able to find it recently. The disclaimer is also in the boot on many of their models. Off Road is merely a name many manufacturers use. Those vans which had similar disclaimers were soon crossed off my search list.

Second hand is the way to go with what ever you choose. After all, it becomes second hand the moment you take it out the driveway, and like with cars, the value depreciates immediately.

There are some quite roomy camper trailers (fold out canvas types) out there, but i haven't particularly noted the brands.

Motherhen

Hi Drago
I have a Coromal Magnum 380 camper. I've done a few off road trips with and am very happy with it! I've got 3 kids and it sleeps the five of us comfortably.(kids are all under 5.) And when we're packed up, we take everything from an extra 2xfridges, 3x kids pushbikes, bbq, annexe, and all the rest of the camping accessories, and they all fit IN the camper easily!

My mate has bought the Pioneer Onyx off-road camper with the extra annexe. Great camper, great suspension but once it's all packed up and the annexe packed into the storage there's not much room for your fishing rod!

Coromal's seem a lot easier to pack up and go as there's plenty of room to throw all the stuff in, put your roof down and go. However, a dust problem does exist with the Coromal -
Once the vents are sealed, you can get around this!

My missus can even set the camper up by herself while I nick down to the river to get us some dinner! :)

Rowsie

Just another thought.........

Have you had a look at the "camprite" camper trailers.

Very nice, very good, and very tough.
We came so close to buying one, but the Jayco just suited our needs a bit better.