Hi,
We have done the full circle on camper set ups. Our journey over the last 20 years or so looks like this:
tent -> swags/trailer -> hire soft floor -> 05 O/B Eagle -> 11 O/B Swan -> 08 KK.
(still have the swags for beach or rough camping)
We don't camp with kids just a big blue heeler, so our situation is not the same as yours. But the key considerations for us were:
* We like to tour. Which means the occasional stay of a week in one place, but usually move every 2-3 days. So quick set up / pack up was vital
* We cook and eat outside. Never used the kitchen in the Swan or Eagle. Might have boiled a kettle or heated soup but that was it. So for every meal we had to go into the camper, gather all the cooking utensils, plates, food etc from the cupboards and take it outside to cook on portable camp stove, then take is all back inside to wash and pack away.
* We don't camp in caravan parks if we can help it. Ruggedness of offroad capability was increasingly important for us.
* We live in WA, so must of our camping is in good but often windy weather. We dont tend to camp if we know it is going to be really wet. Most of the time, the weather is good / mild / stinking hot / windy
* Windy - in windy conditions, we hated the way the Jaycos would rattle and hum. I would rarely sleep well as I would be lying in bed wondering when the whole thing would tip over or the corner upright poles bend or collapse. Often we had to tie ropes from the corners of the roof to the ground. For the record, it never tipped over, collapsed or bent. However, I always felt vulnerable
* Roof storage - anything you put on the Jayco roof racks has to come off before you wind up the roof. In the KK, whatever we leave on the roof/boat rack, just flips over and out of the way.
* General storage - all the extra stuff that you dont want to take in the car needs to be stored on the floor of the camper. On long trips with a reasonable amount of gear, packing the Jayco every morning was like a jigsaw puzzle. And you basically had to pack the floor and walk out backwards. Once the roof is wound down, very hard to access anything in the camper. When you arrive at destination, everything that is stored on the floor has to be moved.
* We actually found the set up time for Jaycos a bit tedious (better than a soft floor though), but The Driver is impatient and doesnt like wasting time on set up. One great thing he did was bought a cordless/battery-powered drill fitted with a socket that matched the drop down legs. Fastest and easiest way to put the legs up and down rather than winding the big handle.
* Since buying the KK (which was a huge decision for us given the cost) we have not looked back. We havent used the full awning yet, just the Kwik Awning and some shade walls. We invested in a good quality C-Gear floor mat - our best value purchase ever.
* We go camping to be outdoors. Sitting inside is not a consideration for us, unless the weather is cr@p and then we lie on the bed to read or we go 4wd'ing. If its cold and windy outside, we wear jackets, beanies, gloves and warm socks then light the fire. We call this 'camping'.
There is no perfect solution for everyone. Everything is a compromise. The best advice I can give is go and hire a few different sorts a
few times each. I wish we had hired a Jayco a few times before we went down that path. Hiring the soft floor taught us it wasnt for us.
Best of luck with your decision. You will work out what suits your family's needs best.
Stozz 1 & 2
