Morning All,
Well I have been told that it is time I stopped lurking around the Forum and properly introduced myself. My name is Jill and, in the words of the founder of Myswag.org, I am Brett's "Swag Warmer" aka "Missus" aka "Other Half" aka "Drinkin Buddy" and so on
. I am a past Camper Trailer owner (O'Mara's Soft Floor which I had to sell due to a change in "circumstances") and I too am a fan of all things outdoors (was bought up on cattle stations in far SWQLD). And don't worry, Brett and I are working on once again becoming Camper Trailer owners! I mean crikies...how does the Founder of Myswag.org not have a Camper Trailer? It's like a Jockey without a Horse
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After having a bit of a squiz at it ourselves, Brett has set me the task of writing a little overview of what was/is on show at the Rockhampton Home Show & Caravan & Camping Expo this year. It is being held at the Rockhampton Showgrounds (finishes 4pm today - Sunday) and there is free parking. Admission $8 Adults, $6 Seniors and Free for the Ankle Biters (aka Children). It has taken me a little while to track down all of the brochures that I collected at the show so that I could get my thoughts together for this little review. I eventually discovered some of them in the "Thinking Room" - it seems young Brett was multitasking and doing some research while attending to "other" business!
We went for a wander around on Friday (26th) and, even though the weather was a little on the damp side, we really enjoyed catching up with some old and new faces. It was also awesome to spot some Myswag shirts in the crowd
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Some of the more well known exhibitors in the Off Road Camper Trailer Section were:
Aussie Swag Campers
Robust Campers
Discover Oz Camper Hire
Jimboomba Camper Trailers
South East Queensland Campers & Gear (distributors of Kimberley Kampers and Kimberley Karavans as well as Travelander)
Track Trailer
Cub Campers Queensland
Brett had a great catch up with James Fernance from Aussie Swag Campers (while I was ducking in and out of the demo camper like a rabbit in a warren checking it all out) and got the goss that Aussie Swag are bringing out a newie in the very near future - the demo was supposed to be at the Show however wasn't quite ready in time. There is a bit of change in colour with this one so keep an eye out for it. They certainly produce a great product but I guess with 26 years of manufacturing experience they know a thing or two about building trailers! Next stop on the Aussie Swag Camper tour is the National 4x4 Show in Melbourne 2nd-4th September@ the Flemington Showgrounds.
We also had a chat with John from Robust Campers - John is a local Rockhampton manufacturer. This bloke has put in some really hard and long yards of late and it has really paid off. He no longer manufactures soft floors and so is focused totally on his Phoenix range of hard floors. On display he has his newly finished (only a few days before the show) Phoenix Titanium as well as his demo trailer from last year. Just by comparing last years trailer to this years you can really see that he has been listening to the people and has been perfecting some already fantastic concepts. One of the many amazing things about John's new trailer is the tare dry weight of 840kg! I was also gobsmacked with the fact that ALL models have an ergonomic remote control setup which allows the main part of the camper to be set up in 60sec with the touch of a button. Now this is appealing to me cause that means I can have the remote in one hand and my beer (in a Myswag.org cooler of course) in the other
! John will be at the Sunshine Coast Home Show & Caravan & Camping Expo at Stockland Park (Kawana Waters) 14th-16th October so if you missed out on seeing him in Rocky it may be a chance to check out his handiwork.
Brett also caught up with Darryl from Discover Oz Camper Hire. He is getting quite the fleet together including the Australian Off Road Odyssey ZR! For those of you who don't know Discover Oz is based right here in Rockvegas also.
We then went off to introduce ourselves to Terry at Jimboomba Camper Trailers. Terry, his wife Sue and the gang have been churning out some fantastic, good quality products! They have a really tidy range of camper trailers and after speaking with Terry it was obvious that they are really passionate about what they do. Terry gave us a personal demonstration of "Teza's Extreme Ute Back" which was actually mounted on the back of his personal ute and was what he and his colleague were camping in/under throughout the show. It was amazing how much he could not only fit in the canopy setup itself but also the shelter he managed to create around it. I had never seen a ute back setup in person and was intrigued by how it all worked.
South East Queensland Campers & Gear were there and we had a good chat to Stu about the latest developments with the Kimberley Kampers and Karavans. On display they had a 2011 S3 Limited Edition Kimberley Karavan, 2011 Platinum Xtreme Kamper, 2011 Limited Edition Kamper and 2011 MyCube Rooftent. They also had a 2011 Travelander Geo Convert2 and 2011 Travelander DC2 - Slide On. I have to say that I was super impressed by the "finish" of the Kimberley gear - it is definately smicko!
We also had a long chat with Jason from Horizon Campers - he was representing Track Trailer at the Show and had a Tvan with him - don't quote me but I am pretty sure it was the Canning??? They are quite an ingenious little set up and look just that little bit different to the other trailers with their unique shape. Jason is based in Townsville and is the only hire agent for the Tvan Camper Trailer.
Cub Campers had quite a few of their models on display including their Daintree LE. They really are a nice looking trailer. I noticed driving around Rocky yesterday (Saturday) that their was a brand new one parked outside one of the motels here in town so I reckon someone just bought their "next adventure".
Overall I really enjoyed checking out all of the different products at the show this year. I myself haven't had much exposure to hard floor campers so really enjoyed sussing out how they all work and what the pro's and con's of them are. I felt disappointed on the Exhibitors behalf that the weather turned so nasty however on the bright side...it was a chance for them to show that their products were waterproof!
I have to say that I am getting more than a wee bit excited about our upcoming adventure to the National Myswag Meet in Wilmington SA. Brett and I set off "the long way round" on the 9th September. Am really looking forward to exploring some more of this great continent and to perhaps meeting some of you on the way.
