Author Topic: Hi from Busselton ... (Read 6436 times)

sanz · « **on:** March 26, 2013, 09:52:10 AM »

Hi all ... Sanz here from Busselton, WA. Have been a long time lurker with a general interest, but now find myself soon to be an avid user I think ;-)

We (wife + 3 kids) are soon to be of no fixed address ... we'll not be renewing our lease and plan to head off to see some of the Aussie outback we hear so much about. At this point the plan is a little hazy so to speak ... We know we are doing "it" ... Just not sure of the fine print! All we do know is T minus 3 months and counting before we have NFA.

I'm a web developer so will be working on the road and we plan to home school the kids. Apart from that we have no fixed ideas of the what, where, how etc ... Hoping to badger forum members incessantly ;-)

Absolutely stunned by the amount of info and accumulated wisdom on this forum ... Feeling a little overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I think I'll need to know but will endeavour to use search as much as possible before asking questions.

Anyway nice to meet everyone ... Talk soon.

Sanz and family

Rob C · « **Reply #1 on:** March 26, 2013, 10:24:55 AM »

Welcome Sanz and family,
Great to hear you will be travelling soon.

But,

We need more info,
Have you a CT??
If so Pics required
Tug type ??
ideas on where you will be heading, etc.

Good luck,

Rob C

sanz · « **Reply #2 on:** March 26, 2013, 12:18:03 PM »

Thanks for the welcome Rob C.

No CT yet. Currently in the research phase. We have a list of wants and needs and a rough budget so trying to find something suitable.

One of the main "wants" at this point is to have sleeping for all 5 of us off the ground if possible (and if the budget allows). We've looked at the various Jayco wind ups, and they seem good, however build quality of the ones we've seen so far leave a lot to be desired, and having all kids in the double bed is not a great idea long term I think.

We've come across the Trak Shak and the Camprite as possible options. They look absolutely fantastic and my wife even likes them! I think our budget will be limiting factor though ... 20k all up at this stage.

A secondary "want" is someone offroad capable ... Something that will actually handle the Gibb River etc as we are looking to head north first and then across the top end.

Other than that ... Just the usuals like inboard water, 12v setup, quality canvas etc. I'd be able to retro fit things though if they don't come on a base setup.

Finding out heaps of info here and elsewhere, just trying to sift through all the opinions.

Sanz

KingBilly · « **Reply #3 on:** March 26, 2013, 12:49:30 PM »

Welcome to the tribe Sanz and family. Good luck with your search for a CT. Look forward to reading of your adventures.

Happy camping
KB

BigJules · « **Reply #4 on:** March 26, 2013, 01:40:05 PM »

G'day & Welcome.

Did you get to the Perth camping show on the weeekend, I spent 5 days there, it was amazing.

Lots to see on your side of the country that's for sure. Depending on the age of your kids, a 10' tent would likely fit you all in, if you went with traditional soft floor style. Camprite do make a lovely camper, and with the bunks you'd all be up off the ground, which is nice. It might pay to do a search on (here& elsewhere) Trak shak. They were a terrific brand but by some accounts their quality has declined since they offshored production.

sanz · « **Reply #5 on:** March 26, 2013, 06:04:49 PM »

Hi KingBilly and BigJules,

Yep went to the show on the w/e ...great to see some of the gear up close. Mightily impressed by the Camprite and also the Complete Campsite as the more traditional soft floor CT.

Had a long hard look at a number of CTs on offer and, although I dont know too much about welding or engineering, was dissappointed by the build quality. Some indicated they were"offroad" and "heavy duty", and had nice tyres and other "bling", but did not seem like they'd handle a trip to the tip let alone long term travelling up north. They were comparitively cheap for the most part, although one was near on 35k ... tested out the kitchen slide and nearly had it fall apart!! Not well made at all!!

Did see a month or so ago a camper from Outback Campers (http://www.outbackcampers.net.au) which looked solid and well made ... anyone know of them?

Would it be worth buying a basic but solid second hand one and then do it up over the next 3 months?

Should I look for leaf springs or fancy independent suspension given we really want robustness, and if something breaks, easy of fixing on the road?

Will start making other threads for these questions.

Cheers.

Sanz

envee · « **Reply #6 on:** March 28, 2013, 12:18:59 PM »

Hi sanz and family and welcome to the forum. As you are no doubt aware there's heaps of fantastic information on here. Sounds like a brave decision you have made, well done and I'm sure you won't regret it for a minute. Good luck with the search for a camp trailer. Don't limit your search to just WA. There are many more for sale over east and some of the older ones can be an excellent buy. We bought a 2000 Aussie Swag Classic a couple of years ago from Brisbane and shipped it across. It was in excellent condition and served us well until recently when we upgraded.

Cheers

Neil

Heiny · « **Reply #7 on:** March 29, 2013, 12:43:02 PM »

Hi Sanz and welcome to My Swag

Brett

sanz · « **Reply #8 on:** March 30, 2013, 10:22:12 AM »

Hi Neil ... Yep we are starting to look over east as well ... Saw a nice Camprite in Townsville! Looks like plenty of choice around that's for sure. We are just keeping focused on what we want. Something will come up I'm sure.

Sanz

bussoboy · « **Reply #9 on:** March 30, 2013, 01:27:38 PM »

Hi Sanz and family, we'll be in Bussleton sometime in early May as part of our western adventure, might have to catch up for a drink or 2 in the "nade"

albany_nomads · « **Reply #10 on:** March 30, 2013, 06:16:48 PM »

Hi Sanz welcome and it's always good to hear from WA members

John

Kangaron · « **Reply #11 on:** March 30, 2013, 06:19:46 PM »

Hey Sanz, ever get near the RSL in Bussleton?

Graza71 · « **Reply #12 on:** March 30, 2013, 09:13:51 PM »

G'day Sanz and welcome to MySwag. Must say I'm a bit jealous about doing the NFA thing - sounds great!!
I have recently bought a second hand outback camper which is pretty basic but I'm in the process of putting electrical bits into it. IMO they are one of the best made campers going around - I did a bit of research before my purchase, and this one ticked all the boxes for my needs. Unfortunately I've only been able to take it out once so far but was really happy with it.

Happy hunting!!

weso · « **Reply #13 on:** April 01, 2013, 08:07:24 AM »

Hi Sanz welcome, come on in the waters fine !!!!

GGV8Cruza · « **Reply #14 on:** April 15, 2013, 01:57:33 PM »

Welcome to the Forum Sanz, good luck on the adventure

GG

WilSurf · « **Reply #15 on:** April 15, 2013, 02:15:18 PM »

Welcome and enjoy the reading.

muzza01 · « **Reply #16 on:** April 18, 2013, 07:40:03 PM »

Hi Sanz and family. Welcome to the forum. It sure sounds exciting taking the family around on a big trip. It's also fun looking at all of the different camper. We have looked at 100's. I enjoy looking at all the pro's and con's of different models. Good luck. Muz.

Loz · « **Reply #17 on:** April 20, 2013, 10:51:47 PM »

Hi there, I recenlty bought a 2001 Aussie made Offroad Dingo with Alko independant suspension - this trailer with the type of hitch it has can almost go anywhere!!! Would definately recommend buying seocnd hand - especially this time of the year when people have decided after xmas/easter that a camper trailer is not their thing!!

sanz · « **Reply #18 on:** May 03, 2013, 10:23:26 AM »

Hi all ... been busy lately but though I'd check in and say after testing a number of different options we have finally found our very first CT!

Not sure its perfect, not sure if it will do what we want 6 months down the track, however it looks solid, has the room we need, some good features, built in WA and is in a price range that doesn't break the bank.

We pick it up this arfternoon!!! Going to be hard to get some work done with pickup time so close ;-)

I'll make a new post in the My Camper Trailer area.

This is now the true beginning of our adventure!

Sanz

Rob C · « **Reply #19 on:** May 03, 2013, 12:47:51 PM »

Well done

Rob C

Pebble · « **Reply #20 on:** May 06, 2013, 11:50:33 AM »

G'day from another local, we recently moved to Busselton from Nannup. We haven't done much travel in the last few years but starting to look at buying a camper trailer again.
Certainly won't be hitting the road permanently like yourself, probably just 6 week getaways every couple of years with shorter trips in between.
I look forward to following your journey! How old are the kids?

sanz · « **Reply #21 on:** May 06, 2013, 09:04:48 PM »

Hi pebble welcome to Busso. We've found it a great place to live as I'm sure you will too. We wish we had bought a camper years ago ... So many places to go!

Our kids are 4, 6 and 8. We plan to blog about our travels and adventures on the road time permitting.

Just tried out the camper over the weekend ... Will take some getting used to but looking forward to hitting the road.

Sanz

Pebble · « **Reply #22 on:** May 08, 2013, 08:34:11 PM »

Good time to weather the canvas with all this rain!

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Author Topic: Hi from Busselton ... (Read 6436 times)

KingBilly