Off-Road Camper for 6

[BigJules]

I doubt you'd get a new camper that would meet your requirements for $15K, but definitely $20K.

That will be a quality soft floor plus extra room. Yes, you could get a 16' tent but they're too hard to put up and put away, so regular 9' or 10' tent plus room will be more manageable.

[cm4x4nut]

yes i am always chattin to people who pass through town ,and anywhere we go for that matter, always walking through campgrounds checkin out peoples set ups seeing whats looks good and getting ideas .when we did the cape last year was always asking ct owners about there setup  mates thaught i was  just a have a chat .missus wants one by june next year probally earlier to do a few test runs before we tackle the cape again.

If you do decide the camprite option is the one to go with, think soon because there is a very long lead time...........big contributing reason to their second hand price and availability being what they are.

Having said that, after the wait to get it, we have never looked back and it has followed us down ( and backwards out) of some very challenging stuff.

[jaycamrie]

is there anyway you can get a boat on top of one

[Bird]

is there anyway you can get a boat on top of one

of which one?

[chrisroche]

we r a family of 6 and run a lifestyle with the 12ft tent and have two sets of bunks and porta cot.  Also built underbed storage with drawers for extra storage.  Bought it with the door and extras to bolt on the extra room but do not have the extra room yet and figure a little tent by the back door might be an option (the kids think this will be fun / cool).  Works for us.

Chris

[cossonfamily]

We are a soft floor camping family of 7 (sometimes 8, when the Step-daughter comes).

Although we have only just got our camper and only have a 9ft tent and an awning we have found the following will meet our needs.

Leave the awning on when packing up. Just fold it back over the main tent roof before collapsing the tent section. So that reduces the time needed to re-attach when setting up. Also if you dont want to put the awning up and it is a tad windy, just zippy tie it down through the eylets.

When dismantling the tent section, I don't undo the extension poles over the bed (check to see if your travel cover will still fit dismantling it this way). I have Trackabout and I store 2 sets of bunks on the bed when packing up (and ALL the bedding) so I had my travel cover extended in height to allow for all this). I got this idea from when we hired a Johno's Camper. This is the way they pack their campers up. Johnos also say to leave the window canvas (over the bed) open a third, as it allows the air to escape when packing the camper up.

Our camper didn't come with awning walls, but in hindsight I am glad it didn't. We are eventually going to get 2 OzTents to use along the sides and just get a portion of walls made up for the awning. OzTents are expensive, but they are quick to set up (2minutes) and act as extra bedrooms. Which is what we need. I am hoping the front awning on the OzTent can act as a little extra roof to extend the awning as well. I'm not sure if this will work as yet, just ideas. But at the moment we set up 2 sets of bunks in the tent section. It is a tight fit along two walls, but it JUST makes it

I agree what others have said on here - it is just a matter of getting a good system going and it doesn't take long.

Anyways, I strongly suggest you hire different ones. get the sales man to show you how to put it up and pack it down. then form your opinion from there. I didn't bother looking at the hard floors when I seen how little storage room they have!

Goodluck and cheers
Tam

[jaycamrie]

of which one?

camprite

[CruiserNut]

Thanks everyone for your feedback 

At the end of the day, there are so many options to choose from, but it sounds like 'practice makes perfect' as well, something I think I knew in the back of my head but had kinda forgotten - top advice 

Given the price of quality made campers i think I'm going to tackle my own setup using my 5x8 trailer that I built about 10 years ago.  Its damn solid with 75series landcruiser leaf springs and has lots of room.  I plan on building a square box 'tradesman' style top with 3 x lift up doors.  Add to that an EeziAwn family size roof tent (sleeps 4) on top of the trailer and a smaller size tent or possibly swags for the older 2 kids.  I'll bolt on a couple of role out awnings and build the kitchen to 'slide out' from one of the doors.

I figure that I can build this for less than $10k where a quality made camper that is quick setup would cost near double that.  I guess this will keep my weekends busy for the next 6 months 

Anyone selling a Trak Shak, Camprite, KK, or other quality made camper mentioned for $10k to $15K?

Cheers
NUTS!

[Bird]

... $10k where a quality made camper that is quick setup would cost near double that.

Plenty of quality trailers <15k that are quick to setup. Many you can setup the tent section in 5mins or better.

Once you start talking awnings and rooms - they all (even the top$ ones) take time as said several times in the thread.

What exactly is quick setup in your mind? 1-10 minutes complete with extra rooms? I'm not sure there would be many any floor campertrailers that are setup in <10mins with awnings, extra rooms etc on them.

But that doesnt matter, get out to the shed and build your camper!

[Crosslander]

Anyone selling a Trak Shak, Camprite, KK, or other quality made camper mentioned for $10k to $15K?

Cheers
NUTS!

This is on ebay at the moment http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Trak-Shak-Camper-Trailer-/260809593773?pt=AU_Caravans_RVs&hash=item3cb97693ad

[CruiserNut]

What exactly is quick setup in your mind? 1-10 minutes complete with extra rooms?

Yeah, 10 mins would be good, but its not just the setup of the tent.  This is why I really like the idea of roof tents - all the bedding is made up and ready to go once folded out.  A normal soft-floor camper is ready to go for the main bed, but that still leaves 4 x beds to make up for the kids, and storage for that equipment as well. I guess what I'm saying is that 10 minutes tent setup can easily turn into 30+ minutes complete setup...well, this is what I've found using a touring tent anyway, sounds like I'm already sold on a roof topper

But that doesnt matter, get out to the shed and build your camper!

Yeah....just gotta clear out all the wifes stuff, I cant even get to my work bench at the moment  :'(  A sad, sad sight indeed 

Thanks for all the feedback, its got me thinking much more broadly.  Hopefully i'll be able to post about the end results in a month or two, what ever it ends up being 
Cheers
NUTS!

[cossonfamily]

Sounds like you may have it sorted to suit your needs

A tip - if going to use bunk beds, I set the bunks up when I first buy them. Then when it is time for packing away, all I do is take the bottom bunks legs off. This then allows the whole set to fold flat. This I then lift onto our bed for storage. Then I put all the sleeping bags, self inflating mattress' and pillows on top of this. I have 2 brands of bunks. The OzTrail folds up quite well this way, but the Aldi brand poles we had to add a few screws to keep the set from falling apart when doing this type of dismantling. Packing up like this meant I had to get an extension made to the travel cover though. Also, has made the top quite heavy to lift on the gas struts. But it seems to be coping well with the load and I can still lift it by myself. Just thought I would share this, as I found it a pain erecting and dis-mantling bunk beds every camp trip. The other option if you didn't want to use bunks (in the main tent), is to roll out swags on the floor at night, then roll up again in the morning.

I hope this helps some people

[Bird]

10 minutes tent setup can easily turn into 30+ minutes complete setup...well, this is what I've found using a touring tent anyway, sounds like I'm already sold on a roof topper

Sounds like a plan. Will be interested to see how quick it all sets up

[Bird]

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Off-road-Camper-Trailer-suitable-family-6-/300573119057?pt=AU_Caravans_RVs&hash=item45fb8dd251

Off-road Camper Trailer, suitable for family of 6
 
Item condition: Used
 
Time left: 6d 12h (11 Jul, 201110:56:28 AEST)
Buy it now Price: AU $2,450.00

[ryangus]

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Off-road-Camper-Trailer-suitable-family-6-/300573119057?pt=AU_Caravans_RVs&hash=item45fb8dd251

Off-road Camper Trailer, suitable for family of 6
 
Item condition: Used
 
Time left: 6d 12h (11 Jul, 201110:56:28 AEST)
Buy it now Price: AU $2,450.00

What a monstrosity!

[mumbls]

We are a family of 6 (dad, mum and 4 girls) and I've worked out every camper trailer/camping trailer has compromises. You just have to work out which compromises you can live with and which you cant. We needed water and storage. We couldn't find a camper (hard/soft) to suit and afford. I decided to source a secondhand trademate style tray and it build into something we could use. So far it owes me about $4300. We use 2 tents, the kids put up their own, including the bunks. The trailer is the kitchen area with an awning for protection. We have 250L of water on board which gives us an easy week in isolated spots. Just a couple of shots below of what we've got so far. More to come as money and time allows. My 2c   

[CruiserNut]

Thanks guys,

Good tip about the awning and also only partly packing the bunks down to reduce time, its little tricks like that which make a lot of difference, and can only be learnt and refined with more trips away.....I'm going to get right onto that 

Mumbles, the idea I have in mind for my trailer is very similar to yours - great minds think alike  .  Do you ever worry about your trailer being top heavy when going off road?  I guess having that much water down low in the trailer would help.  I think I'm going to start out with a similar setup, and progress it as I get time and get to use it.  A lot to be said for a good tent that the older kids can put up themselves as an extra room to sleep them in.

Thanks again to everyone, this thread makes for a top read.