What upgrades do you NEED in your CT?

[Bennyd04-87]

Hi everyone,

As some of you may know from the introductions, we are new to the forum and looking to buy our first CT. We are in Bendigo central vic and have a firm budget of 5k (low I know). Looking for a soft floor to do mostly one or 2 night stays with a 3 year old girl, my wife and myself.

We Are not sure to try and find one with all the 'extras' and figure out what we do or don't use. Or get Andre budget 'no frills' version and rend or out what we prefer later on?

What is the one thing you could never go without? What have you wished you had when you got your CT? Or what have you got and barely used.

Cheers.

Ben

[mrdenn1s]

LT rates tyres

[BaseCamp]

Hi mate, and welcome to the forum

Roll out kitchens and fridge slides are good to have

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[archer63]

One thing that I am definately going to do soon is replace the standard twin power point with a Camec twin power point also with twin USB chargers....a small thing for sure...but a necessity.

[Alan Loy]

Starting at the most basic

*reliable unit that is easy to put up & down*

Pull out kitchen
Water tank
2 gas cylinder holders
Battery & sockets for lights

[tryagain]

For a 5k budget you can get a decent soft floor for 1-2 night trips however you NEED something that doesn't take forever to setup up and packup, otherwise it will be more hassle than it's worth and you won't use it. As others have said, a Kitchen and stove and plumbed water tank would be a must.

Where you plan to stay is the other big variable,  a ideal set up purely for powered caravan park sites can be different to something you want to use free camping.

Also if you're planning on keeping it for a while and more kids keep that in mind when looking at size.

[edz]

How long is a piece of string .. Camper inclusions can be all inbuilt or seperated and multy use .
10 + years we used our home built lite weight soft floor camper for two and three week trips ..
 No onboard plumbed water or  power .. We use Two 25 ltr portable water drums for drinking / cooking [ much easier to get refills ] , Two tables [ 1x plastic patio, 1x folding ally type ] and two 2 burner cookers .. Lights are a mix of solar LED and AAA battery powered magnetic LED light strips ..
Firm believer of food and fridge stays with the vehicle [ you always have food / drink with you when out and about / or stuck ] .
I x twin ensuite tent,  shower water from vehicle mounted pump /  heat exchanger fed from 25 ltr drums or streams..
Lite weight easy to set up and adaptable .

[Bird]

How long is a piece of string ..

what he said. Buy it use it and find out what YOU need..
some cant go camping without a hairdryer, microwave, 100inch TV... I can live without

[outbackogre]

I agree with Edz and Bird.  Our first CT was a brand new Tambo with no water tank, kitchen or 240volt electrics.  We stored water in two jerries. I added a home made shelf and storage on the tailgate with a portable stove that connected directly to the gas bottle.  Lighting was all dry cell battery powered (which would last so much longer these days with low power LEDs).  Fridge was in the back of the 4WD.  I used this set up for a trip to Cape York and it all worked well.  This first experience helped me assess what was absolutely necessary and plan for later additions or upgrades.

[battingpig]

Use the KISS method and go up from there as you decide what ya need. The more Stuff you take only adds weight. Shelter, water, food. Good luck


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[McTavish]

Needs:
Low weight basic set up particularly for the tow ball i.e. unless you have a vehicle to handle this in the first place.   You don't want to be needing to upgrade the car just because your camper is too heavy.
Easy to set up design so it's not a huge hassle for 1-2 night stays.  Here I suggest a 9ft tent.  Less weight and generally less poles to put up - particularly for the annexe.
Good quality canvas, design & vinyl floor.
Comfortable bed. 
Water tank plumbed to the sink in a kitchen with the ability to have all your 'stuff' at hand including cutlery, cups etc.

Wants:
AGM Battery and 12volt (ciggie plug) outlets (more the merrier) if doing bush camping.
Electric water pump for tap.
Tropical roof built in for hot weather and even keeps the canvas dry in rain for the most part.
Stay on Myswag and this list is endless !

[Bennyd04-87]

Thanks for the tips everyone. I think we will get a simple camper and work out what we want feom there. They seem to hold value so rather buy a cheaper one and flog it off to upgrade, rather than buy something with all the bells and whistles and not use half of it. We have a webber bbq and water bottles we usually take when we 'rough it' in our cheap tent. The camper is already an upgrade so we will start there.

Oh I should mention that the majority of our trips will be 1 or 2 nights. Nearly all out the bush. I am putting a canopy on my tow vehicle to keep fridge etc in. It is an old 2.8td hilux so weight is a factor when looking at what we will tow also.

Cheers

[Bennyd04-87]

So we bought one today :-)

2015 forward trailers (sold by dingo?) with a queen bed, enclosed annexe, swing out out tailgate with kitchen and hand pump (no on board water), toolbox and spare wheel on front, side door access, gas bottle holder, 20 inch sides... whole thing is near new. Only set up twice and only slept in once. And we got it for a steal 😀 if I can work out how to put pics I will
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« Last Edit: Today at 04:13:28 PM by Bennyd04-87 »

[Bennyd04-87]

Pic

[SEADOO]

Nothing wrong with that mate.

Keep it light and simple.

Last few weeks I have met people who started with the simple tent on trailer,

Next was tent on trailer with all the fruit,

Then comes the rear fold hard floor with all the groceries,

Then came the 23 footer with Satelite TV and aircon with its own ensuit.....

Now they want to go back to a simple centre pole touring tent, 40l Engle, 3x3 gazebo and the Webber Q.

It's was amazing how many people I spoke to that want to go back to the basics.

Enjoy the new camper.

[Bird]

It's was amazing how many people I spoke to that want to go back to the basics.

agreee

[Bennyd04-87]

Now they want to go back to a simple centre pole touring tent, 40l Engle, 3x3 gazebo and the Webber Q.

Haha that's exactly what we plan on doing! I think the hard floors are a little small. Would be handy having all the extras but I don't see us needing it all. Prefer to buy a simple set up and have to upgrade later rather than buy one that is the bees knees and realise we spent all that extra money when we would have been happy with his feet.

[outbackogre]

Well done Benny.  Enjoy. 

[edz]

Good on you, Hope it does what you want ... Now wheres the first outing going to be ? 

[Bennyd04-87]

Cheers guys. We are very impressed with it so far. And didn't break the bank so that's a bonus. Still unsure where we will head first. The wife is already wanting to go next weekend (and every weekend after that 😀). If we could fit the trailer in our yard I'm sure she would be in it tonight haha

[Fizzie]

If we could fit the trailer in our yard I'm sure she would be in it tonight haha

That's interesting

Usually it's the bloke that get's banished to the dog house (or in the case of Swaggers, to the CT!)

[McTavish]

Love it.    So you're the one who has actually started to crawl before walking/running.    Well done.    This is the perfect first set up.   You'll be set up and packed up so fast you'll be out in it every chance you get.   

Not sure if this is appropriate - but I'll take credit for my advice 

ps My bet is the water tank may be your first mod??   Pretty cheap to sort to really.

[McTavish]

Also - really interesting middle annexe pole.   Please explain??

[Bennyd04-87]

Cheers. Yeah she wants to banish herself. Looks like no sleeping in the couch for me from now on haha.

Yeah we didn't want to spend our entire budget on something with all the goodies and then find out later we don't need half the stuff. These things retain their value so once we figure out what we need, if it's too much we can flog it off and buy a better one. Otherwise happy to do it ourselves. 

Most of our camping is in the bush and we usually try to be by the water for the fishing, dog and child. We have a 40l water container on board also. First mod if any will probably be a 12v system. My old ute lasts all night with radio on, engel plugged in and charging phones etc. My wives battery dies with radio on for an hour.

[Bennyd04-87]

Oh and regarding the middle pole, I'm led to believe it is called a 'third hand' or 'middle hand"... something along them lines. This one was along patently purchased from bunnings (not sure on price). Im sure it would also be easy enough to fabricate yourself with a welder and/or a drill and some screws. It is just a pole with a foot and some peg holes at the base. It simply slips over the bottom of the first pole and keeps it stable so you are able to build your annexe around it. We have not set the awning up either with or without it so can not comment on how good it is. I and my told it also keeps the pole stable and ensures stress free camping.