Camper Trailer Thoughts for Family of 6 (2 Adults 4 kids)

[Richard Riley]

Hi All,

I am new to the forum, but am after some tips to assist in the potential purchase of a new (or second hand) camper trailer.

First of all a little about me. My family and I have gone from tents to a basic camper trailer and currently own a Jayco Expanda. My wife loves the expanda, but I am not such a fan due to high running costs - fuel etc, difficulty in towing and with it you can not access anywhere near as many remote places as I would like.

To compromise we are looking at going back to a camper trailer, but one that is better than what we had before.

Basically what we are thinking is something that fits the 6 of us and will for some time to come.(Current ages of kids are 10, 8, 7 and 3.) Also one that when the kids have grown up we can keep it for just the 2 of us. Something that has a lot of extras already on it - batteries to last a couple of nights, water tank, lights, kitchen. (that would be the minimum - also handy would be fridge, solar and hot water) We are also wanting to be able to cart bikes on it for all the family.

With that in mind I have a couple of questions for people on the forum.

1. Which is better - Hard floor or soft floor. Had soft floor before and kids often grumbled about the surfaces that we camped on. Any thoughts appreciated. Am currently leaning toward the hard floor.

2. Which sort of camper would be good in a price range of around the $40,000 mark. May be able to put a bit more into this for the right camper. At the same time the cheaper the better.

3. Companies that we are currently thinking about are Hardfloor - Aussie Swag, Australian Off Road Campers or Cub or the Soft floor - Complete Campsite or Trackabout. Would be willing to hear about any others also. If any thoughts on these particular companies - good or bad would be appreciated.

4. Any other bits of advice that you could give would be great as we look to buy in the new year.

Unfortunately I have to do most of my research on the internet as I live in Narrabri NSW and can not easily get to any of the Caravan and Camping shows that are around due to work commitments.

Thanks in advance.

Richard

[BigJules]

Hi Richard. My recommendation for your family is a soft floor camper with an extra room, and a boat loader/rack. I'd go with a Trackabout Extanda myself. Great kitchen, quality workmanship all round.

Other campers to consider:
Complete Campsite
Mountain Trail

There are plenty more, but as your wife has been used to the (ex)Panda I think you'll need to offer her the quality of finish and designt that these manufacturers provide.

Getting an extenda, that is with a walkway in front of the bed, means you'll have lots of storage space, extra space in the main tent and ease of access to the bed when you come in a bit later, after enjoying the company around the fire.

[Bird]

2. Which sort of camper would be good in a price range of around the $40,000 mark

shit loads in your budget...!!!

Plenty of good ones in the used market too.

[grafy82]

Hi Richard and welcome to the forum.
    You have listed some great campers there and I don't think you would be disappointed with any of them. In general the hard floors set up a lot quicker but have less space, which for a big family like yours could be an issue. A way around this could be to get a fast erect tent for the older 2 and put this right next to or under your awning seeing as they are still quite young. As for being able to keep the camper until your kids have moved on (which is where a hard floor should shine through) I reckon you would probably have changed your mind on what suits by then and look to upgrade (potentially 10-12 years time with your youngest in mind). So a soft floor would be the go for now and as the others have said there are heaps of good ones with all the fruit in your price range.

Cheers

Wes

[camlisa]

Recently camped next to a family of 6 (4kids) who had a complete campsite. I was very impressed with build quality seemed to work very well for them. They told me they were wrapped with it. Looked like the ducks nuts behind their brand new 200 series.

[Kris]

What about the TrakShak?  Sleep off the floor with the tent space also available.  Don't own one myself but they look alright for a big family.

Cheers, Kris

[GeoffNeal]

We have got a Cameron Campers off road model with the concept top and kidz room and think its great..... If you don't need the space of the extension you just don't use or you can unzip it completely and leave it at home.... Their are lots of features that sold us on it, some of the big ones for us were ease of setup, I reckon for a quick stop without annexe about 5 mins, you also sleep east-west so climbing over one another to get in or our out of bed and the framed cover that goes over the packed tent can be put up with optional walls that turn it into an extra room that we use as an ensuite that goes over the door from the main tent towards the towbar or if you are stopping for a quick over night it can be used as a shelter over the kitchen instead without the need for the annexe.

[GeoffA]

What about the TrakShak?  Sleep off the floor with the tent space also available.  Don't own one myself but they look alright for a big family.

Cheers, Kris

x2 for the TrakShak. We had one when our kids were younger and wanted to camp with us. They're great for a family........look for an Aussie made one.......

[Bunyip]

we are looking at going back to a camper trailer

Hi Richard,

Welcome to MySwag, what a first question!!!

Don't you mean you are "upgrading" to a camper trailer? 

I would agree that a soft floor would seem like your best option at the moment and would last you many years.

Can I suggest that you also look at Follow Me Campers http://followmecampers.com.au/. No affiliation just very impressed with their offers of help for other MySwag members who got into trouble with a mob going bust.

We got a Kimberly camper recently and could not be happier. You can get additional bedrooms for these.

Bunyip

[Kit_e_kat9]

Basically what we are thinking is something that fits the 6 of us and will for some time to come
1. Which is better - Hard floor or soft floor. Had soft floor before and kids often grumbled about the surfaces that we camped on. Any thoughts appreciated. Am currently leaning toward the hard floor.
3. Companies that we are currently thinking about are Hardfloor - Aussie Swag. If any thoughts on these particular companies - good or bad would be appreciated.
4. Any other bits of advice that you could give would be great as we look to buy in the new year.
Thanks in advance.
Richard

Hi Richard & Co,

Firstly, welcome to the forum.  You won't find a better one on the net.

Secondly, let's address your obvious dilemma.  Please "lean" away.   

At this time, you'd probably be better off with a  (so much better) hard floor once the kids have flown the coop.  The kids are only going to grow.  If they are complaining about the "surfaces" you camp on, then you aren't picking your campsite well OR you aren't making them as comfortable as they could be.  Kids complain about lots of things, so ask them Why it's not so good - perhaps you haven't prepared the campsite properly.  Maybe they can rake the area you put the floor on and you could supply them with raised stretchers.  Once they outgrow these, get them a good swag (once they hit puberty they want privacy anyway) and everyone will be happy. 

But remember if you are camping, then you'll spend at least 1/2 the time in the camper regardless of what you buy.  I'm very biased towards an Aussie Swag (I own one) and the options for extra rooms is fantastic.  A hard floor gets you up off the ground (great in a torrential downpour).  However, the kids will still be on a soft floor area, so you must think of how to make them more comfortable.

Aussie Swag - Excellent product and before / during / after sales service is second to none.

You'll find some excellent second hand AS units.  They are built pretty much the same up to (about) 10 years of age, so therefore they can be modified the same as the brand new ones.  If you familiarise yourself with their brochure, you'll know what I mean once you start looking second hand.  95% of second hand AS units are very well cared for (if you love it you look after it right?) ... so therefore they hold their value for a long time.

As for other advice ... delve into the forum at will as there is about a Trillion hints and tips that may suit YOUR style of camping.

Kit_e
PM me if you'd like to discuss the AS at all.

[Jaysea]

G'day Richard.

With three kids we had a similar discussion. I think both hard floor and soft floor each have their own strengths and weaknesses so it is a very personal decision in the end.

I liked the hard floor but was definitely not enough room with the kids on the floor.  If they were a few years older I liked the idea of a hard floor and a 30 sec tent. That way when the kids were old enough they could have a bit of idapendance and when finally not interested we would have the camper to ourself.

However in the end we ended up with an Adventure camper (see link below for mine).  A great set up and huge amount of storage which you will find you will need with so many kids. It has the extra bonus of probably the most practical kitchen of any camper which made the wife happy. Different again to those you listed so worth a look.

Food luck - I am sure what ever you choose it will be a blast

[Rob n Tab]

Have you checked out the Camprite? http://www.campritecampers.com.au/
Quick to setup and pack away, Sleeps 6 off the ground, goes anywhere your vehicle can and you can pick up a pre-loved one with all the extras easily within your budget.
Not that we're biased or anything

[LB]

Hi Richard,

I have a Kimberley kamper and it is great especially for storage, and you can get several bedroom options, but along with Aussie Swag, Australian off road and complete campsite the kids will be on the ground.

Can I suggest looking at a Cub  Spacevan, you can get it fitted with the Double bed and bunks plus there is heaps of room on the floor for a couple of stretchers or another set of bunks.

LB

[GeeTee]

Hi Richard and welcome
I'd love to build you a GT    To quote a paint ad on TV, maybe 'think outside the square you live in' a little and consider a tent or two for your older kids, this will make site set up more flexible and much easier, especially in smaller or rougher/bush sites. Consider your trailer as the 'hub' of your campsite for family treks and the tents stay at home for the 2-person trips, now and in the future

 

[dazzler]

An off road jayco like eagle?

[shakey55]

Hi Richard and family. Welcome to this outstanding forum. I have learnt a lot since joining. There is load of experience and knowledge here.

I have just purchased and expecting delivery next week of Central Coast Camper (Charmhaven on Central Coast on NSW).

During my very long time researching, I found this camper to be of very high Australian built quality, and one of the best in value for money.

Walk up style, good kitchen, plenty of electrics, huge tent area and the owner Terry is very easy to get on with and will build to your requirements if necessary. All up cost $21000. Their website is very basic, but if you get down to the big smoke, come via Charmhaven and check out what he has to offer


'shakey'

[cm4x4nut]

Have you checked out the Camprite? http://www.campritecampers.com.au/
Quick to setup and pack away, Sleeps 6 off the ground, goes anywhere your vehicle can and you can pick up a pre-loved one with all the extras easily within your budget.
Not that we're biased or anything

I will second the Camprite option,

We had one and changed to the Kimberly at the start of the year.

For what you are trying to do, the ONLY hard floor camper that will do the job to your satisfaction will be the Camprite. We have only two kids and yes, you can add additional walls and rooms to the more traditional  hard floors, but it in a pain in the butt especially for o/night stays. Trying to fit 6 people into the kimberly without these additional rooms would be impossible. We can do it with the 2 kids, but that is it.

Other than that, your options will be a soft floor and with the budget you have got, you can nearly pick any of the soft floors that you like.

Good luck, Craig

[DannyG]

Hi Richard
Welcome to Myswag, you have come to the right place

All the big name manufacturers mentioned are worthy campers and worth investigating.

All I want to add is being in a similar situation as you there are some things Id consider carefully.

Hard floor or soft floor still pretty much means sleeping under canvas of various styles of configurations so Ill let you decide the finer details of what type of camper suits you and what additions you want to purchase with it, I only want to discuss the sleeping/living arrangements.

For our situation we had to consider

1, A set up for long term stays
2, A set up for over nighters
3, Both those set ups IF it is only us (mum and dad)
4, The sleeping arrangements for all the kids given the age differences (10,15,18)

We went with a soft floor that the main tent (only takes 10-15 minutes to setup and pack up) could sleep all the kids comfortably. The reason being is that we can do overnighters with fast turn arounds if need be.

For longer stays....2 or more days we put the awning up and can enclose all of it or parts of it to make extra rooms.

At your budget I am not suggesting you go down the large imported tent option like we did but I am giving you some points to consider.

I looked at many tent configurations at various shows and while they were nice and the ideas were great, they were only longer stay tents IMHO or at least you couldnt cram 3 or 4 kids into the main tent section. Id hate to have to set up extra rooms off the main tent just so the kids had a place to sleep. It makes overnighters tiresome.

Sure I admit having all the kids sleep in the main tent can be a bit cramped, but we are only taking about overnight stays and it is after all just the bedroom. When you are staying longer then set up the awning and annexes.

Our Kids all have swags but when they are younger bunk beds are a good space saving way to fit them all in. When they get to our kids age they drag their swags outside or if they set up their own little tents.....which is fine with us providing they do it all themselves.

My choice would be the Mountain Trail Expedition or Evolution, they everything you have suggested and its in your budget.

[Bird]

Other than that, your options will be a soft floor and with the budget you have got, you can nearly pick any of the soft floors that you like.

at his budget, he could have something 100% custom made, and keep the change to go towards many holidays!!!!!

[deepop]

And x 3 for the Camprite.   I've researched this and for my situation I will be getting one when the minister for war and finance releases the funds.

I am in exactly the same boat and am using a soft floor at the moment.   The only other option I've seen to keep the family off the floor is those South African Conqueror ones (although no good for 4 kids) really.

Having ended up camping in some extremely wet situations I love the idea of everyone being right up off the ground out of any ground water that might seep in (or water/mud that gets dragged in).   

[SteveandViv]

I'd also have a good look at the Johonno's. We have one and i did well in the Camper Trailer test that Carlisle did while he was at another mag. Anyway, worth a look and as for tough - well ours has done two laps of Aus and not had one issue

http://www.campertrailer.com.au/

[Pling]

G'day Richard,

Some pretty good responses above, I also reckon soft floor is the go and IMO a walk up model is a must.

We are a family of 5 and when we purchased ours we narrowed down to 2 brands which was the All terrain walk up and Tambo Omeo walk up.
In saying this Tambo have vanished into thin air since we purchased so no longer an option??

We however settled on the Tambo and would not have any trouble fitting another person in, all the walk up models have a little extra trailer length giving the tent more width which is a bonus for bigger families.

As for uneven ground nothing a good quality air mattress wont fix and on pack up leave them inflated on top of the main bed and fold up the tent.....Too easy!

This is what works best for us but may not suit yourself, we took 4 years to make our decision on which camper best suited our needs. We went to heaps of 4wd shows and looked at lots of second hand campers.

Attached a pic of where our kids sleep and you can see that the little extra room that the walk up models provide you could quite easily fit another mattress also If the door to the tent is closer to the trailer like Tambo have done it, there is no need for walking over sleeping bags.

Hope this is of some help

[crackacoldie]

G'Day Richard,

We have a Challenge Walk-in with 12' tent, it has plenty of room, we sleep three kids on the floor with room for a fourth.  Challenge is another brand to consider, well built Australian product.

  Cracka

[DaveCQ]

Hi Richard,

I only have 2 kids and went through the same process. We're moving from a Jayco Eagle back to a soon to be picked up Trackabout Dakar Extenda.
Wanted a Hard Floor, but based on the storage requirements we needed, and price, we went with a soft floor. I went to every camping show in QLD over a couple of year period and still do not believe there is a perfect solution to everyones camping needs.
This is what I found when comparing the newer soft floors to a hard floor. People will disagree.

Set Up Time - Overnight without an awning = Hard Floor quicker. If setting up a full awning, the hard floors are no quicker as they usually have more awning poles than the smaller soft floor setups such as the Complete Campsites and Trackabouts. If setting up kids rooms/extra tents on a hard floor, they are no quicker than a soft. Pack up Time goes in comparison with the above, but the soft floor is sitting on the ground and depending on site/weather conditions can need a clean up, so can take longer.  When setting up/packing up, its the all the crap you take with you that makes the process longer and not so much the tent.

Ability to sleep kids - Soft Floor wins without a doubt, unless you've setup in a low area and it gets flooded. In this case, youll wish you had a hardfloor.

Storage - Soft Floor has more ability to store extras. Eg under the tonneau on the Trackabout we will be putting 4 x chairs, table, 2x kids swags, solar panel, canvas bag etc. Some hard floors struggle to close even with the awning attached. Some dont, depends which one you get. If getting around with 6 kids like yourself, the soft floor will definately be a better option storage wise.

Kitchens - Hardfloors more than often had the advantage here, but the newer softfloors have more than made up ground in this area. The top of the range softfloor kitchens are now equivalent.

Weight - Once loaded bugger all difference between a top of the range soft floor and a hard floor. Hard Floor slightly heavier.

It's my opinion only, but if you are comparing a standard soft floor to a standard hard floor, with a family of six a soft floor would suit better. But thats my opinion only, and what works for me may not work for you. This does not take into consideration campers such as Camprite. They are different again and have their pros and cons. I looked at these too (secondhand) and chose to go in another direction.

In saying all this, I would have liked a hard floor due to being up off the ground that little bit. But it didnt suit my current requirements with the kids. It might later on. If I could have got an Aussie Swag that comfortably slept 4 for the price of my Trackabout, I would have bought it. (As well as a roofrack to go on my Prado) A hard floor for a soft floor price, thats not asking too much is it?

Campers - If you end up leaning towards a soft floor, have a good look at Trackabout. I checked out the Complete Campsites, Mountain Trail as well as the Trackabout and they were a lot better value for money. Check out the "My Camper Trailer" section of this forum and have a look at the Dakar Extenda which is currently being built for myself. The Trackabout website does not show this camper as yet but will be getting updated soon apparently.

Anyway, all the best

[way-t-go]

Richard,
I'd go with a Hard Floor, Kimberley, Aussie Swag or Aust. Off Road Camper. You can get the Hot Water systems in these campers and option up with the extra room for the Tin Lids.
It will be quick to setup and packup. Later when the Tin Lids want to do their own thing without mum and dad, just leave the extra room at home and you have the perfect setup for two people.

Gary