Hard Floor upgrade time

[PigletPastures]

Looking to upgrade to hard floor CT

would like to hear peoples good and bad news about thier own hardfloor CT

[Kit_e_kat9]

Hey Piglet,

We have an Aussie Swag - 2010 Rover LX purchased new.

I can't say enough good things about this camper.  Build quality - excellent.  After sales service - exceptional.  Durability - excellent.  Resale value - excellent.  Second hand availability - hens teeth are only slightly rarer, but the campers will be in top condition.

I can't really say much that is bad about them at all.  We did make a list of the things we weren't so keen on over the weekend, but looking at them, it's all personal preference and no reflection on the camper itself to be honest.  Our list included: move the main interior light switch / 1 large burner on the stove / no grill / wider awning (2.4m rather than 2.1m) / kitchen sink drain hole to the rear / extend the front of the awning ... it's all minor stuff really and none of it really gets up our noses at all - we are very happy with it. 

You get what you pay for with the Aussie Swag.  A top quality product that is going to go the distance and last you for years, with an after sales service that's second to none.

We are 98% satisfied with our purchase, but we picked, prodded, poked, drilled, bartered, compromised, checked out everyones product and knew exactly how we camped, before we made our final decision.  We chose the camper with the best build, best value for money, which suited our camping style perfectly.

Kit_e

[MDSimpson]

Hey Piglet, where are you located?

[BigJules]

Aussie Swag, Kimberley Kampers, AORC seem to be the leaders. Pioneer have just updated their design and are now very attractive.

[Knight44]

Aussie Swag, Kimberley Kampers, AORC seem to be the leaders. Pioneer have just updated their design and are now very attractive.

There's also the fold-forward models from Modcon, which look attractive.

[Yoda42]

Plus eleventy seven what kit-e said

We got ours modified to fit a 60l Trailblaza, which means the nose on the camper is flat not sloped, and makes a much better place to rest foodstuffs going into or out of the fridge. And we have upgraded the mattress to inner spring, haven't tested it yet but it better be more comfy than foam!

Everything about it is ace, for us, a tvan was too closed for our liking in for the tropics, and because we didn't want another different fridge, the Kimberley didn't suit, as they did not recommend the fridge on the draw bar. Not keen on the inside kitchen of the Ultimate either, and that the bed wasn't fully made up.

There is very little else we have modified, it is just tweaking, eg we have placed small levels on both mud guards, non slip strips on the step up to the bed, and changed the jerry holders to also fit a porta potty. Worth every cent

[PigletPastures]

Located in Brisbane

Info so far is great...

Really interested in hearing the bad things people have found about their hard floor..

[PigletPastures]

Last camping trip I was keenly watching a KK setup and I thought i looked very time consuming. Not sure if they were new to the CT or if it is a slow setup.

[Finners]

PP - only biased opinions here! ;p

I've never seen a bad owner's review of the standard format (rear fold) top five (top = exy - but value is relative)... Kimberley Kampers, Aussie Swag, AORC, Pioneer and Complete Campsite.

I was only ever on market for conventionall rear-fold hard floor - so different designs like (fixed floor) Camprite and Ultimate weren't considered. And frankly lower-volume manufacturers like Robust i didn't know existed! And anything not engineered and fully built in Oz, was not considered.

If you want conventional rear-fold, then it's the usual questions - what can you afford? What features? Quality? Rugged off-road use? Weight? At one end of spectrum - a Cub might do it. At the other end, it's the 5 mentioned at top.

If you're looking at top-end of market, then to my mind the big factor is weight-v-comfort trade-off, and local servicability (reputable dealer in area, if not actual manufacturer?).

I went Complete Campsite because (1) I know and trust them having owned previous CC, (2) they are 'local' to me, (3) the value was better than Kimberley IMHO, (4) mods were always no problem given the personalised service, as opposed to Kimberley who refused to change their hitch type, (5) the CC door placement is better than Aussie Swag's (door closer to main bed means no tripping over sleeping kids and better awning protection from slanting rain, (6) bed a fraction larger than Aussie Swag, (7) awning larger than Aussie Swag.  However Aussie Swag is slightly lighter, has quicker awning design, and some better integrated engineering touches like underslung spare tyre. No real difference in quality between any of them.

I was a bit underwhelmed by Pioneer and AORC, but that's just personal preference.

Obviously then I am biased and can recommend the CC hard floor (they call it the Fraser). Only 2 things I don't like is the awning set-up time with spreader poles - but it's a big annexe space and solid in weather. And I'd like to see 200kg shaved off it, but it's at the luxo-end. I can vouch for the exceptional quality. 

Have fun hunting!

- Finners

[fabulous]

We've got a Cub - we found it had a little more room than some of the others that we looked at.  Easy to set up, takes longer if you want to set up the awning, but without the awning we find it pretty quick !

A negative is we can not access under the bed storage whilst the camper is closed up.

A great positive is you can set it up on any type of ground.

Do your research and see what suits your needs and budget - quite a few good options out there.

Good Luck !

[fuji]

What kit-e and Yoda said. Tows well, and set up pretty easy.
Wayne

[Bunyip]

We have had a Kimberly Kamper since November of last year. We have camped five times and we would take about 30 mins to do a full setup, and that was taking our time.
It was raining the last time we setup and in around 10 mins we had the Kamper setup with the awning and could have had the kettle boiling.

What I don't like, not that much, as Kit-e said it is more about personal preference. We didn't like the way the AS kitchen swung around under the bed window, for others that is a selling point over the KK. Once again the wider awning would be good, especially in the KK as when the kitchen is pulled out and the awning walls on there is little room to squeeze through.
Over Easter I found an issue with the setup and packup. The doors need to be unzipped when folding up the tent, and are open when you unfold the tent, therefore if it is raining you can get some moisture on the floor.

Bunyip

[oldblade]

Perfect Timing

We went Tent to Jayco swan to this and it can now be yours

No setting up and i mean no setup
only as wide as the car
will go anywhere you want to take it
Rain is just not an issue  and it's under warrenty

http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=28959.msg450383#msg450383

[Yoda42]

Ok, a negative, but I suspect it's common with all new hard floors, is folding up with the awning for the first few times is difficult as the canvas is still stiff. We now have no issues, it's a tight fit but it does work.

We also added a lot more press studs where the canvas joined the floor edge to prevent mice getting in when we were in central Australia in 2011. Again, I don't think that is a design flaw with the AS, but more precautionary due to a mouse plague at the time!

Interestingly, bunyip, we didn't even think of the kitchen location to the bed window, and haven't found it an issue at all. Our irk, if you could call it that with the KK, was the fridge being a bit in the way of the kitchen and having to walk around it every time. A whole, what, extra 3 or 4 paces , but it was the AS kitchen that was the clincher for us. It's splitting hairs when it comes down to it, but we have no regrets at all with our choice

[Darren253]

I only ever had a "bottom line" imported hard floor, but I did notice a significant lack of storage space especially compared to my soft floor walkway trailer now.
I upgraded the tool box to the maximum size I could find but still found myself wanting for space so I didn't have to fill the Prado like a jisaw puzzle to the roof lining.

[LC]

When we bought our KK 3 years ago we didn't have the option of the complete campsite hard floor, having seen a couple of them since they look quite good. Particularly like the remote control winch to open / close the camper (not that our KK is difficult to open or close). I also like the AORC but the lack of tailgate and therefore the inability to pack clothes etc into the drawer under the bed was the reason I didn't pursue it any further. An AORC owner at cairns did tell me how the tailgates on KK's and AS's leak and get dust into them - they had obviously believed the hype from a AORC salesman, which is just pure rubbish. We have taken our to the cape, central Australia, and the high country twice and towed it through some deep rivers and never had any water or dust inside it.

Personally I think its horses for courses, find the one that has the most of the things you like and go for it. If you buy one of the good quality ones and look after it, when you've had enough you will get most of your money back anyway.

[kiva]

We had an Ultimate and it was great. Being off the ground meant we didn't have to worry about the terrain. The bed was big and comfy, and the other bed was for the kids (top 'n tail). Making the bed wasn't an issue - an extra minute or two - nothing in the scheme of things. It is also impossible to fold up and have sand end up in the bed due to its design. There is an internal kitchen, although we never cooked inside, being able to sit inside when the weather was crap was nice. The camper was light (700 kg tare) and the ball weight was about 30 kg which meant I could literally lift the camper up and move it around by hand.

The bad - nothing to do with Ultimate per se, more so with having to dry out canvas when we got home - which is true of any camper. Living in the suburbs we don't have the room to open things up so easily. We get our new hardtop camper on the weekend from Complete Campsite which has far less canvas and that will hopefully solve that issue.

[HEM19X]

Any of the ones mentioned. Piglett, being in Brissy, you can check out most of them. KK is in Ballina, AORC Caloundra, AS in Brissy along with Modcon [Capalaba].

Then again, a trip to Moruya to check the Ultimate's would be worth it

Good luck with the search!!

Hem

[Bill]

Personal things I don't like about our older Aussie Swag.
Awning is to narrow.
Can not fold awning onto tent at packup so it needs to be intalled and removed for every setup/takedown.
It is a pre pantry model so we need to carry a separate tucker box which takes up space under the awning.
It does not have the extended draw bar so no place for a fridge so ours sits under the awning taking up more space.
Neither of these are a problem as it is just Morag and I, but if we had kids it would defiantly not work.
Now having said that, We knew when We bought the camper that We would have to do this and We are still super happy with it.
Bill

[Woodsie]

our Eureka does us just fine (Western Australian made)...the only bugbear is having to unzip the canvas door everytime to get to the fridge in the front gull wing box. Not a problem in summer bit it lets a cold breeze through in winter

[Kit_e_kat9]

Can not fold awning onto tent at packup so it needs to be intalled and removed for every setup/takedown.

We use the poles and throw it over the roof, just as we were shown at handover. 

What I don't like, not that much, as Kit-e said it is more about personal preference. We didn't like the way the AS kitchen swung around under the bed window,

It only goes 1/2 way under the window as such.  We preferred this and haven't had any issues with it.  We were given a cover (now it's a full stainless wind break) for protecting the canvas, but we've had no kitchen marks on ours what so ever ... I often forget to put the cover up.  As for it being near the window ... zero issues really.  If you are worried about smells going in ... close the window. 

KK is in

Caboolture on the Bribie Island exit side of the higway.     Why even leave the Best State?

Kit_e

[V8CRSA]

We had an Ultimate and it was great. Being off the ground meant we didn't have to worry about the terrain. The bed was big and comfy, and the other bed was for the kids (top 'n tail). Making the bed wasn't an issue - an extra minute or two - nothing in the scheme of things. It is also impossible to fold up and have sand end up in the bed due to its design. There is an internal kitchen, although we never cooked inside, being able to sit inside when the weather was crap was nice. The camper was light (700 kg tare) and the ball weight was about 30 kg which meant I could literally lift the camper up and move it around by hand.

The bad - nothing to do with Ultimate per se, more so with having to dry out canvas when we got home - which is true of any camper. Living in the suburbs we don't have the room to open things up so easily. We get our new hardtop camper on the weekend from Complete Campsite which has far less canvas and that will hopefully solve that issue.

Kiva,

We where at complete campsite on Tuesday,I think I may have a picture of your nearly finished camper in the back ground......
There are a good bit of gear.

cheers,
Matt

[kiva]

Kiva,

We where at complete campsite on Tuesday,I think I may have a picture of your nearly finished camper in the back ground......
There are a good bit of gear.

cheers,
Matt

Ooh, exciting. Tomorrow morning they'll be delivering it to our place and then the fun begins 

[JCOJ]

We are onto our second Aussie Swag Camper now. Prior to purchasing the first one I spent months comparing them, KK, and AORC, then included the CC the next time around.

I did a spreadsheet comparing everything from drawbar and chassis steel sizes, battery capacity, water tank size, storage tray size, solar panel size, battery charger size, features of the kitchen inc fridge size and pantry size as well as the ease of use of it eg: do you have to take a pot off the stove to open the pantry, general design eg: the tropical roof is basically sealed on the Aussie Swag, whereas there is a big gap for birds to rest in on the others. As you can see it was a very comprehensive list and in the end when all things were compared there was just no comparison - Aussie Swag easily won.

The reason we bought a second one was because we modified the front box to specifically suit us eg: to fit in a Waeco 25lt fridge as well as a generator, plus they had made upgrades inc 3 batteries, huge battery charger, full stainless steel splash back and gas hot water.

We have taken ours to the Vic High Country, the Flinders on many occasions, Red Centre, Kakadu & Litchfield, Yorke Peninsula plus other places and it is just brilliant. They may seem expensive but the pure quality of them is outstanding and therefore worth every single cent.

Aussie Swag Campers - the Bentley of camper trailers!!

[Bird]

What is your budget?

What are the must haves/don't wants?