Market Direct Camper Trailers

[touaregtrailer]

Hey There,

I'm just after a little bit of advice in choosing my new trailer. I've been searching around and have come accross a company called Market Direct Camper Trailers. They seem pretty good and there's a bit of value in them, but i was just wondering if anyone has got one and what are they like?

Thanks In Advance!

[MDS69]

if you use the search function you will find a heap of threads/posts that should contain the info you are after.

[touaregtrailer]

I couldn't find anything that was in relation to their quality, Only a few about poaching staff members and their relation to other campers

[DannyG]

If you type

mdc site:myswag.org

or

market direct site:myswag.org

into google it will do what you need. The forums search function is a little basic

[Flighty (WA)]

I have one and it suits my needs exactly.
However, I have done numerous mods to this unit to bring it up to the standard that I consider suitable.
Some are as follows
Shifted gas struts to ends. ( think that is standard now )
Remove "welded" bolts from shocks and made decent mounts.
Screwed down side straps ( Instead of staples )
Fitted flat bar straps around water tank ( normally tek screwed )
Sealed around exterior of top against water ingress & dust
Made up new drawer bar 450 mm longer ( to clear rear mount spares on vehicle ) this is heavier quality than supplied.
Fitted 12v water pump and threw hand pump over left ,sorry right hand neighbours fence
Purchased decent poly block hitch, thanks to a thread by "Jeepers" on the Chinese type.
Removed and replaced complete light wiring loom inside convolute tube & "P" clips for a bit more protection, (cables ties don't do it for me underneath any trailer)
Unit tows well and canvas quality although not "brilliant"  has been good for what I do with this unit.
Just to give you an idea and you will be told otherwise no doubt, quality of welding and steel used in these is as good as anyones, and I can make that statement without fear as I have had my own fabrication shop for 20 years now, and I assure you, that you won't make it for the price you pay for it.
 
Flighty

[MDS69]

http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=22401.msg345622#msg345622
http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=16052.msg243952#msg243952
http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=19882.msg306883#msg306883
http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=11101.msg165191#msg165191
http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=14982.msg228799#msg228799
http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=21187.msg328623#msg328623

[alternative]

While there is a good amount of posts about them.. my 5c worth.. we went to a bunch of sydney CT places last week, and MDC was the only place that they guy we spoke to knew his Shit back to front both trailer and tent. Granted it was the NSW manager. If you havent already go speak to them in yagoona, get their road trip dvd and have a watch.. Toptrail also had a heap of gear for the dollars, but they seem more worried about Shit n glitter (aluminium plated steel trailer?) Than the nitty gritty..

[Big Nath]

If only I were able to put a sakes pitch in as my answer :-)


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[Marschy]

If you type

mdc site:myswag.org

or

market direct site:myswag.org

into google it will do what you need. The forums search function is a little basic

I didn't know you could limit searches in Google like that. Brilliant, a day where you learn something new is a good day

[dazzler]

Try here;

http://www.myswag.org/index.php?board=13.0

[BigJules]

There are certainly happy owners on here. My thoughts are if you're expecting to leave the showroom and head to Birdsville you'd be sorely disappointed, but with some work one could have a good value camper trailer.

[Big Nath]

One thing to be aware of, as mdc import there trailers WITHOUT a drawbar on it, and gal coating is ruined once the drawbar is welded on locally.

Hence a great spot for rust to start.






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[alternative]

One thing to be aware of, as mdc import there trailers WITHOUT a drawbar on it, and gal coating is ruined once the drawbar is welded on locally.

Hence a great spot for rust

Thats a fantastic tip. So the gal coating is ruined only where its welded though yeah?. So a good hit with some of that spray gal stuff and monitoring would be ideal?.. as if your drawbar falls off you are rooted..

[Big Nath]

Thats a fantastic tip. So the gal coating is ruined only where its welded though yeah?. So a good hit with some of that spray gal stuff and monitoring would be ideal?.. as if your drawbar falls off you are rooted..

While the gal spray makes the outside look good, what about the inside. As I work for another brand camper company, please don't think I'm bagging the product.

Double check the compliance on vital items such as "poly block" and safety chains.






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[dazzler]

Thats a fantastic tip. So the gal coating is ruined only where its welded though yeah?. So a good hit with some of that spray gal stuff and monitoring would be ideal?.. as if your drawbar falls off you are rooted..

More asthetics really.  Drawbars are an issue when they rust from the inside out as you cant see it 

But you would really have to be in a salty environment to have it rust through 3mm of steel.

I use the cold gal stuff and never had an issue.  There is a three step rustkill product that is pretty good too.

[kylarama]

But you would really have to be in a salty environment to have it rust through 3mm of steel.

Agree.  My trusty old non gal 6x4 trailer is now 14 years old and has lived its entire life out in the elements.  The last remanence of the charcoal hammertone paint departed about 5 years ago, the cage I built for it 7 years ago was painted in that cheap $2 rattle can primer from Bunnings and that has a nice rusty/chalky finish to it.  The checkerplate floor has some small rust holes up the front thanks to sitting nose down and filling with water and leaves.  Other than surface rust the chassis and drawbar (75X50X3mm) are fine and the welds are perfect.  A new floor, longer drawbar and a coat of enamel are on the cards this year.
Given the majority of people wouldn't treat their camper like a garden trailer it should be fine.

[baz1]

I saw one up here in Cairns, and I'll be honest the quality seemed poor, but when your only paying $3999 for a trailer, despite the quality issues, it's still probably not a bad deal, as long as you are aware of what you are getting, and it's limitations.

[Big Nath]

I saw one up here in Cairns, and I'll be honest the quality seemed poor, but when your only paying $3999 for a trailer, despite the quality issues, it's still probably not a bad deal, as long as you are aware of what you are getting, and it's limitations.

The same goes for all "budget"campers. After qualifying customers, I have told plenty that our trailers are not for them, in fact for what they expect a trailer to do, no 5-6k trailer will do it. It takes a salesman with integrity to tell a customer that there product won't do the job.

I understand a 3mm drawbar won't rust out overnight, but I still like the thought of knowing a week long trip to the coast won't cause problems for me in 2-3years.

Either way, go in with your eyes open.


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[Turbojohn]

I had a quick look at one at one of the sydney shows  and was quite surprised at the amount of daylight I could see through the canvas on the roof!  Pinholes  everywhere I cant possibly see how they they would not leak with anything more than a light showerand the material on the floor doesn't seem to be any thicker than a cheap poly tarp.  You get what you pay for I guess.

[GanG]

I had a quick look at one at one of the sydney shows  and was quite surprised at the amount of daylight I could see through the canvas on the roof!  Pinholes  everywhere I cant possibly see how they they would not leak with anything more than a light showerand the material on the floor doesn't seem to be any thicker than a cheap poly tarp.  You get what you pay for I guess.

canvas roof have pin holes you can see pin pricks of daylight through..........I have a 15yo tourer tent that is like this, and it has endured some horrendous storms in the vic high country, and never leaked from the top..........it always comes through the damn floor if its going to leak.

[DaveQLD]

Hi
Below is a post I made on another forum a while ago.

We got our MDC "Off Road extreme" about two years ago, I have posted a fair bit on what I found then but maybe not on this forum.
I found many, many minor issue with our trailer and a couple of not so minor ones.
To be fair I was not supprised that the build of the trailer was not great, as it is truly a budget trailer, I am lucky because I have engineering trade background and was able to sort out the problems at low cost, which was lucky because after sales service was pretty much non existant.

I wont list the problems because they are too numerous, but there are a couple that may or may not effect you.
1. Odd hard to get replacement parts, including brake parts.
2. Poor welding in some crucial spots
3. Poorly supported top hinges
4. Cheap poorly intalled seals all over.
5. Most latches (jerry can holder and gas bottle) are cheap and nasty chinese crap.
6. Wiring in the lights very poorly done.

Oh and one that I am so glad I found at home and not out on the road, could not remove the wheel off both the hubs, they were such a tight fit that I had to remove the wheels and hub assemblies completly and belt it with a very large mallet to seperate them.

Having said all that, after many hours of fine tuning and some mods we took our trailer on a 6500k trek through cenral Aus, did the Plenty Hwy, Oodnantata track, Mereenie loop, palm vally (very rough) and lots of off road side trips.
The trailer stood up well except for both Shock mounts breaking (they need reinforcing), holed water tank (needs a gaurd), broken spring in the brakes, and collecting a lot of dust inside (need better seals.
Hopefully MDC have better quality control these days.

Having said all that we have now done many trips towing the trailer without any major issues, and i guess I must trust it because we are about to tow it 7500k from brisbane to Darwin and back via the Gulf through Nomanton, Burketown, Boroloola, Roper Bar and Mataranka. a lot of rough road and river crossings I believe.

if you are going to buy one inspect it carefully, and not the one at the show room, inspect the one they build for you.

Cheers, and happy camping
Dave