Ultimate Campers

[UIZ733]

It looks like the Brumby has sold (deposit paid).
We must now work out the replacement.
Cub Spacematic (or maybe Spacevan) is high on our list as it offers more storage and space.
However the Ultimate XTrac has certain appeal.
Comments from Ultimate owners would be appreciated.
The good, bad and ugly.
Regards

[Pebble]

We've started looking at campers again ourselves, well we'll I thought selling our 2nd car seemed a little good good to be true, I'm sure it has to be replaced by more debt in it's place one way or another (aka camper trailer), sadly I think that means we will won't be able to affrod to buy a house sooner rather than later either....but if you're optimistic then I say should we get kicked out out our rental house at least we'll have a camper to live in what do ya reckon?

The Ultimate is probably one of our main considerations, also interested at having a look at a Conqueror probably UEV 440 to compare. There was also T Van but I that might be a distant third. Anyway just tagging along in this thread 

[Wortho]

We have a 3 year old Ulti Elite and have been very happy with it so far. The only negative has been packing up in the wet resulted in the mattress getting a little wet, we now place a tarp over the mattress if packing up in the rain. We have not done any difficult off road since purchased but it tows well and sometimes we forget its there.

Only thing with the Xtrk's is you can't have gas fitted so not sure if thats an issue, something to do with certification.

Also check out the recent thread http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=29201.msg456403#msg456403
Cheers
Mark

[chookduck]

Wortho, regarding the "Only thing with the Xtrk's is you can't have gas fitted so not sure if thats an issue, something to do with certification." is no longer correct.  At the Rosehill Caravan and Camping show last week the 2013 xTrk now come with a two burner SMEV cooktop and gas is plumbed.  One of the outside compartments takes either 2 x 4 kg or 1 x 9kg + 1 x 2 kg gas bottles. So now all xTrks come wih gas.

Cheers

Chookduck

[Wortho]

Wortho, regarding the "Only thing with the Xtrk's is you can't have gas fitted so not sure if thats an issue, something to do with certification." is no longer correct.  At the Rosehill Caravan and Camping show last week the 2013 xTrk now come with a two burner SMEV cooktop and gas is plumbed.  One of the outside compartments takes either 2 x 4 kg or 1 x 9kg + 1 x 2 kg gas bottles. So now all xTrks come wih gas.

Cheers

Chookduck

Thanks for that Chookduck, its been a few years since we checked them out so I guess they now get them certified for gas. Interesting that they are moving away from the gas fridge to compressor fridges in the newer models, I think they got too many complaints about poor performance up North. Our gas fridge has been ok but struggled when it was high 30's last year.

[kiva]

I saw the same at Rosehill - Xtrk's with gas. When we ordered our Xtrk (Feb 2010, delivery June 2010 for Xtrk #70) there was no gas option. We had the metho stove fitted however we probably only used it a handful of times all up as we preferred setting up an outside kitchen.

The Xtrk is a nice camper and we were certainly happy with ours. It was light to tow, easy to manoeuvre, had heaps of storage, and the ball weight was only about 30 kg or so, which meant I could literally pick the front of the camper up to move it around.

There was an issue or two that needed attention from Ultimate and their after sales service was fantastic.

We no longer have our Xtrk however that is due to circumstance rather than being a fault of the camper. I'd certainly recommend Ultimate as a quality camper.

[UIZ733]

Thanks for the replies. One appealing factor favouring the Ultimate is the relatively light ball-weight for this type of trailer.
At this time we will continue with the search for a Cub as we genuinely like the product. Like all brands, Cub is not without its faults, however the overall package is competent and capable of meeting our needs.

[Skinnee]

We have done a number of trips in ours over last two years since buying one second hand. We are a family of 4 and have no issues with the ultimate except for the gas fridge which I ripped out and sold. Has good ground clearance, light , good on fuel $$ towing.

I reckon the cub campers would be a good buy.

[oldmate]

We have had our xtrk since October. Love it. Ours has a metho stove and was told No No No when asked if I could option it with gas. Yes as it turns out they now offer it with gas. But having said that it doesn't really bother me, as we cook outside anyway. So I still carry a gas bottle with all my outdoor cooking gear in a milk crate in the "gas locker" anyway. Only thing I do inside is boil the billy  sometimes first up in the morning. It is only the 2 of us, and when my son does come up on holidays we have a touring tent for him to use. It is easy to move around at camp by myself. As far as wet pack up, there is a chance of getting the mattress wet, but I have some cheap plastic drop sheets ( paint section @ big green shed) and keep a few in the boot. The only downside that I could consider a turn off is the boot on the xtrk is one door not gull wings, so you have to lean over front a bit. Doesn't bother me though. I like being able to pack up the sides anyway without it falling out when I open then the door.

Good luck, you won't be disappointed if you do get one, any other question just ask.

Cheers
Olly

[Bird]

There maybe a Cub Drover coming up in a month or 2 in Melbourne. He is doing central then making up his mind if its what he wants to keep..

[chookduck]

UIZ733

Reference your Thanks for the replies. One appealing factor favouring the Ultimate is the relatively light ball-weight for this type of trailer.
At this time we will continue with the search for a Cub as we genuinely like the product. Like all brands, Cub is not without its faults, however the overall package is competent and capable of meeting our needs.

You seem to be in the same place as me regarding an Ultimate xTrk.  I looked at the Cub Brumby and Ultimate xTrk at Rosehill.  I am planning on replacing my Trak Shak Midway as it is now too large for just the two of us.  My initial scan through CTs that we liked included Cub Brumby, Adrenaline Rush, Modcon Imperial and the Ultimate xTrk.  I have developed a comparison spreadsheet that quickly shows all the specs and info for each component of the CT (trailer, tent, electrical, bed, kitchen, storage, warranty and any reviews - can email it to you if you wish.  For me, tare and ball weight are important factors.  Listed tare/ball weights from their respective websites are:
Cub Brumby 800kg and 110-130kg
Adrenaline Rush 760kg and 94kg
Modcon Imperial 1040kg and 100kg
Ultimate xTrk 700kg and 30kg.
Obviously these will vary depending upon any extra options you get like awnings etc.  Anyway if you want the spreadsheet happy to email it to you.

[Draggin]

Owned and regularly used an Ulti for about 3 yrs - sold it to fund my own build and design 'cos I'm a fussy old mongrel.

Loved -the lounge,the ease of towing, hated the pack-up, hated the wet canvas/bed and the tendency to bounce around on side slopes didn't impress me much - made me worry that it was going to have a little lie down a couple of times without much encouragement. My experiences with independant suspension have not impressed me (fussy old Mongrel remember).

Can't comment on the others as I'm not familiar with them.

Prior to the Ulti I owned an old Campomatic flip over hard floor, setup and packup was a whole lot easier than the Ulti.
I'm actually building a cross-over mini caravan minimum canvass thingy so please feel free to ignore my input

[dazzler]

I'm actually building a cross-over mini caravan minimum canvass thingy so please feel free to ignore my input

I reckon left of field experience is great and good for the youngens, and the oldens!

[sako]

We are a family of 4 and are very happy with our Ultimate, it suits our needs well.
Great to tow and easy to move around.

[ian_baker58]

Another 'happy camper' here with Ultimate #1135 now just a year old. 

Things that stand out in my mind about Ultimate are:
- Light weight to tow and ball weight.  I can hitch/unhitch easily by myself!
- Really well thought out - after around 15 years of evolution, they have come a long way.  Pretty proven platform as an off-road camper trailer.
- KING size bed with a lot of space inside
- You can add more canvas if you need more under cover real-estate for extended stays etc, and you can setup pretty quickly on arrival for an overnight stop.
- Will go anywhere you can take your 4WD (for the most part) and ideal for outback touring
- you can set up the hubs/rims/tyres to match you tug so you have interchangeability of spares etc (we did that)
- Can live inside if the weather turns bad - galley kitchen inside with running water/sink, stove and fridge!  We actually tend to cook outside mostly, but the inside kitchen is rather nice for that early morning cuppa.
- I've found the people at Ultimate in Moruya pretty exceptional in all my dealings with them before, during and after purchase!
- They hold their value in the market and most owners are pretty passionate about them, so they are consequently well looked after in my experience (as of today 07MAY13 there are only 10 in the whole country for sale on the caravan and camping sales web site!)

One thing they have recently 'enhanced' is the 12v department - see the new models and battery/solar options.  I 'enhanced mine after purchase (by Jamie Hazelden at JTS Touring in Caloundra) with DC/DC charger, battery monitor and solar etc and very happy with the outcome.

Negatives - only a couple from my perspective...
- Wet pack-ups can be a little tricky at first, but with some practice usually pretty good.  Like everything there are tricks of the trade!
- the 3 ways fridge has some limitations for (very) warmer climates (we carry an Engel in the back of the LC200 tug as well).  It can be changed for a compressor fridge.  I may do that eventually...

If you are thinking of a pre-loved Ulti - its worth speaking to some owners or the folks at Ultimate about the model (names) and what was typically included.  The product has evolved over the years and continues to evolve and improve with the recent introduction of the 'top of the line' Nautilus and more recently at the Rosehill Show with the XPLOR replacing the Elite series.

The Ultimate Owners forum is a wealth of knowledge - but you must own an Ultimate to participate.

Otherwise, I can only speak in glowing terms about the company and the product....