camper trailer for a women

Hi Mark,
thanks, I am really looking forward to the show next year, am hoping to have a 'narrowed down' list of what campers to spend time looking at.
I have read about the Tvan, a great camper; though somebody told me the the tent bit is a bit of a struggle lifting & holding up, whilst attempting to open the clips to fasten it to the roof. Also this is made much heavier and harder if the tent is wet .Don't know if this is correct.
We had thought of the stockman pod too, but appears to have limited storage .
plan to use the trailer for 'off the beaten tracks' doing 2-3 month stint holidays. Enjoy the 4WD , bush camping ( ie not caravan site camping)

Hi Andrew and Jen,
I own a Oztent and love it, it's one of the first designs getting a bit old now, but still going well despite it's 10 + yrs. I highly recommend these great tents. I also own a swag and enjoy using it on certain nights. However as I am getting a bit older I find the Oztent difficult to load onto the roof, carry etc. .
Hadn't really thought about a roof top , thanks for the suggestion. Would it make the Prado more likely to 'roll' on dirt tracks? Do you know a model that you would recommend looking at?
Cheers Horseshoe

Hullo again
I don't have any experience with rooftop tents (on Prados) so you will need others to add their comments re this aspect (stability). I can only say that I see them out there and they are all still the right way up!
I think that with a rooftop on, I would just pay a lot more attention to where I packed other heavy items in order to keep CoG as low as I could manage and drive accordingly.
"getting a bit older" is a bit of a b.gger in a few respects - but not others :-)
Regards
Andrew

Our current set-up is a Land Rover Defender, purpose modified for long-range touring, and a TVAN, which is a recent addition. We had a Kimberley Kamper a number of years ago.

We also have a Southern Cross centre pole tend that works perfectly when required, and a rooftop tent gathering dust in the shed.

My partner has never been a fan of the rooftop tent as it is only a bed, no standing room to get changed in, and whilst you can add skirts it almost becomes redundant versus setting up the Southern Cross tent. Janet is happy with the Southern Cross tent as it is easy to set up, which she does herself sometimes and has standing room.

Our criteria for a camper trailer was to ensure it is robust enough for remote travel, has standing room, and can be set-up and closed by Janet. The TVAN ticked all those boxes and hence our purchase.

Whilst rooftop tents and the like appear a sound idea, and are for many people, they have many limitations and if you are parked in a place for some time you may also need to consider power supply if you are running appliances. Otherwise you will need to close to drive your vehicle if the alternator is your charging source for batteries, or if you want to use your vehicle. You also have a substantial weight penatly on the roof which may or may not have CoG issues.

Good luck with your choice, The Landy

Can 2nd that. Phyllis from ModCon demonstrated with ease setup and pack up in incredibly fast time.
Wish I was buying now.
Myles.

Hi Myles,

The front fold setup and general layout of the camper suits us perfectly and is at the top of our list after extensive searching. I see you have an Imperial, how is the build quality generally.

Regards
Geoff

G’day Geoff,
The funny thing about asking someone about their camper is you rarely see anyone saying there is anything wrong with theirs or anything that could be improved….. so here goes.
I was in the fortunate position where I wasn’t buying on price. I spent over a year considering the options because to be honest I didn’t really want one. I noted the specs on 17 trailers…. I’m a bit like that…. Always do my research. I was a happy tent camper but the camper trailer was going to be for my wife’s benefit. I wouldn’t have it any other way now. The trailer stays stocked with food and water and the fridge is permantly stored within the trailer. We try to get away every third week.
Anyway, back to your query. I cannot fault the quality. The workmanship is excellent. Every weld looks perfect and the canvas work never looks saggy. It is set up without any poles except for the awning. I had the trailer modified to take a large Autofridge and to have an awning extending over the drawbar. Nothing looks modified and I really couldn’t be happier with the quality. I have had it absolutely covered in bull dust with virtually none penetrating the trailer. All the doors and the top have auto seals. The only dust penetration was in the battery compartment where cables exited through a rubber grommet but I applied silicone and that fixed that. The only fault was, IMHO, supplying a pneumatic jockey wheel which I replaced last weekend with a solid wheel.
Having said all that I had narrowed my selection down to about four different manufacturers and decided on the one that was closest to me.
No regrets. Kerry and Phyllis supply a great product and great service.
Cheers,
Myles.

Yes,

Ann, some good advice there,

Ms Horseshoe maybe go to a caravan sales yard and see what is available, see if you can manage to move them in any way physically ?

Maîneÿ . . .

Hi Barbara

We previously owned a KK and sold it a number of years ago as Janet my partner could not operate by herself. We recently bought a TVAN has it ticked all the boxes, including sole operation by Janet.....

Cheers, The Landy

Hey Horseshoe,

I can second David's endorsement of the Travelander's ease of setup - that's why we bought it (the basic one without fridges/extra batteries or annexe). My wife is small (she would say petite) a tiny fraction over 5', and she has no trouble at all operating the camper. We also have the traytop model, but if anything the trailer version could be even easier to use, being slightly lower. Setup and packup times are no more than three minutes.

Hi,
I agree with Brian. Just loved our Ultimate camper and went everywhere in it. But there is no way that I could have closed it up by myself. My husband could but it is so much easier when you have two people to tuck the canvass in.