New guy... in Melbourne... But not for much longer

[Claws]

Hi all,

Found this site through stooki and Lil, have chatted with them on Lcool and met Lil recently after picking up their new Cruiser.

We are about to follow in their footsteps and are currently packing up for a working around Australia trip. We were considering a Jayco outback caravan and then looked at the Outback Hawk but have decided now that a camper trailer will suit us best for now.

We are looking at hard floor campers and have short listed the KK, Campomatic and Cub. I am leaning towards the KK as I have always wanted one since first seeing them at the Brissy caravan show back in the 90's.

Interested to hear from KK owners about their campers and experience with them. I am looking for one around the $15000 to $18000 mark and will upgrade/modify to suit ourselves. There are a few 1998 models around for the right money but their owners mustn't really want to sell them as so my attempts to contact them have been unsuccessful?

[muzza01]

Welcome  to the forum claws.  Good luck with your camper search and your round OZ holiday tour.  If you can increase your budget to a little over $20k, you find some extra nice campers that need very little medications.  Good luck.... Muz

[sol]

G'day and welcome Claws.
Good luck with the camper search. Heaps out there to look at

       

[KingBilly]

Welcome to the tribe Claws.  Do yourself a favour and widen your search to include an Aussie Swag and also a Modcon.  Both of these get good wraps on here.  Look forward to reading of your adventures.

Happy camping
KB

[Claws]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the welcome...

Believe it or not we just lucked out and bought a Supreme Getaway this morning. Will be picking it up next weekend.... at the top end of our budget but wife and 8yr old daughter are thrilled we won't be "tenting it" as they call it. Must admit it will be far more comfy for our extended trip and tick the main box of being able to handle corrugated roads and going off the beaten track....

[Heiny]

Hi Claws and welcome to My Swag

  Brett

[D4D]

That looks like an interesting camperaravan, got any pics of the inside configuration?

[GeoffA]

Welcome Claws.

Looks like you've bought a very nice unit.
It's got the right number of wheels, too.......

 

[Claws]

Hi Geoff,

I see you are in Werribee, we are living in Point Cook at the moment so you are just across the highway from us.

D4D,

Will have more pics when I pick it up from Brisbane next weekend.... Long drive from Melbourne but can't wait to get it.

Tandem trailing arm coil suspension
Twin batteries with Rotronics isolator and CTek charger
Solar panels with regulator
2 x 9kg gas bottles
2 x jerrycan holders at front
2 x spare wheel holders at front and one underneath
3 x 70 litre water tanks
Rear entry

Technically it's a camper trailer as the upper body is mounted on an all steel trailer with checker plate steel floor.

[GanG]

Nice looking rig mate

[sol]

Top unit mate
I've always liked the Supreme Getaway.

       

[BigJules]

That's a big rig, just the thing for a lap. Have fun, and please share your adventures with us.

[lilstookie]

Well done Sean......thats a nice rig....BIG rig. Cant wait till you hit the road now I bet .
Jody will love having little to setup, I think we would too but we love our camper trailer the way it is.

Our new rig is going great and its had a bit of dirt road, sand and mud already on the way home.
I love the power and the feel.

The guys on here are great and you will get ALOT of help and advice on setups, modification, places to go and things to see and do.
We learned alot here and have managed to modify our electrical setup so now its simple and works a treat.

CAnt wait till you get up this way and we can hit the road together and get these 4WD's into the serious stuff whilst camping it along the way.
 

[Claws]

Yeah she's 18 1/2 foot and all set up for free camping which is perfect for us. As much as she looks like a big rig the Kimberly camper we were also looking at (link below) apparently weighs in at around 1500kg so our new van is not much heavier at 1750kg.

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/tuncurry/campervan/kimberley-off-road-camper-trailer/1016878554

I probably could have negotiated the price of the Kimberley down a bit but we got the Supreme which is a proper off road van for $18000 so it was a no brainer on which to choose for a round aust. trip.

Looking forward to getting up there with you, I reckon we hit the cape for your first 4wd adventure in the new Cruiser....

[Claws]

On our way to pick up the van and towing my work trailer to be left with friends in Parkes, pulled into servo at Nerandera and trailer spring broke in half when I hit a pot hole....... At 3am this morning..... Bummer..
Found Clarke's engineering in Nerandera at 7:00am and they came over in a truck with a crane, lifted the trailer and replaced the springs.... I doubt I would have been able to do them myself with the limited tools I had for the job and only the landcruiser jack and no blocks..... We were back on our way by 9:30am...... A big thank you to Clarke's Engineering

Recaro seats are comfy to sit in but murder to try and sleep in.... Even worse when you can't recline them due to a kid and a rabbit in a cage on the back seat.....

Currently in a motel in Narrabri, showered, fed and ready for bed...... Ahh sleep at last....

[Claws]

Well that sucks...... Picked up the van... All good.... Locked the door from the inside and shut it.... had to break lock to get back in and a quick detour to Camec for a new one... Start heading back down the coast road..... Car overheating.... Frig me, what else can go wrong.... You guessed it... Blown head gasket.... Now stuck in Woodburn awaiting NRMA to tow us in the morning..... This is going to be expensive.....

[Marcus73]

Even worse when you can't recline them due to a kid and a rabbit in a cage on the back seat.....

Not good at all mate, but I can't help feeling that it may be karma for keeping both a child and a rabbit in a cage..... Or were they in seperate cages?

Good luck with getting everything back home

[Bunyip]

Wow, sure seem to be having a run of bad luck.

Hope things get better and the repairs are not too expensive.

Bunyip

[LB]

Well that sucks...... Picked up the van... All good.... Locked the door from the inside and shut it.... had to break lock to get back in and a quick detour to Camec for a new one... Start heading back down the coast road..... Car overheating.... Frig me, what else can go wrong.... You guessed it... Blown head gasket.... Now stuck in Woodburn awaiting NRMA to tow us in the morning..... This is going to be expensive.....

I know its small thing but at least you weren't in the middle of nowhere.

We lost our brakes just outside Wilcannia once, unbeknown to us this town is not a suggested tourist destination. A 100year old ex NRMA guy came upon us and as we had no options, allowed him to do something to the car that he said would get us to broken hill to get the brakes fixed. Well we got to broken hill and the mechanic was amazed a the job this guy did, and said he really knew his stuff, so I guess we got lucky.

That was 20 years ago and funny we have never been back to Wilcannia since.

LB

[Claws]

Jeez..... Run of bad luck is an understatement... Loose clamps on the heater hoses allowing water to piss out when pressure builds up and why I couldn't find a leak..... Cracked head due to overheating and a bill of $4200 to install a reco head.... Only upside is we are in a van park in Ballina till probably Wednesday next week...

Haha Marcus.... Funny f**ker aren't ya..  nah kid was on back seat behind mum... Rabbit was in big cage on back seat behind me and hence I couldn't recline my seat..... Both mum and daughter wouldn't let me stick it outside beside the car.....

[GeoffA]

Wow Claws!! What a run of rotten luck......

It can take the shine off things, but now you've got a story to tell.

Hang in there.........it's just gotta improve soon.........