Adventure camper trailer questions

[Doug.b]

I really like the adventure camper trailers and had a good look at them on the weekend at the 4wd & fishing show.
The unfortunate thing that is I cannot afford a new one so I am on the look out for secondhand one.

So all of you owners of a adventure camper trailer could you help me with the things that you like best about it and what you don't like.
What model & year is it and is it easy to set up and pack up.

Doug.

[Jaysea]

Doug.  Here is my completely biased view. We love it.  We have the Cape York 2007. Paid $16k second hand almost 2 years ago. Not the cheapest of campers but solid.

 Below are some pros and cons for you to consider:

Pros
- size of storage is great - we have three kids so this was a key issue for us
- hard floor too small to sleep all 5 of us, soft floor more fiddly to set up - adventure is a good compromise
- full bench height kitchen making food prep so much easier
- you can pull on to side of road and access kitchen in 10 sec or your full storage in same.  When we pull into camp late my wife is prepping dinner straight away while I set up
- set up time for tent would not be as quick as hard floor but easier than soft floor camper
- solid build
- ability to throw a lot of stuff on trailer roof rack and no need to take it off when at camp
- simple suspension (sometimes simple is good)
- tent is self supporting and does not need ropes


Cons
- there is a spring loaded cable as part of the tent that gets a bit fiddly
- I can fully set up myself but takes a bit of practice.  Easier with two bodies helping
- the piping for water tank exposed (got a stick through mine) but an easy fix with some protection
- no spot for slide out fridge (in cheaper models) but we keep fridge in car so not a big issue.  Some other adventure owners have placed small fridge in kitchen or storage area.

If it was just me and the wife I may consider a hard floor just for the sake of setup but would be hard to give up the pros above especially kitchen and storage.

Good luck with your decision.  Happy to chat more if you are thinking about getting one

[Bird]

The unfortunate thing that is I cannot afford a new one so I am on the look out for secondhand one.

Why unfortunate? Let someone else lose thousands on the new deal, you pickup the bargain

All I can say is take ya time.. some people have looked for their *perfect* trailer for 12 months...
it will come.. just might not be this week.

[swanny]

Doug,

I to own an adventure camper, mine is a 2008 Cape York model, and I echo what Jaysea has mentioned above.

I have owned an off road soft floor in the past and as It goes the adventure is so much easier to set up/pack up then my old CT.

The only real set up time is the setting up of the tent, and as it is part of slide system it folds out and is set up in no time at all.

There were 2 major factors for us when deciding to buy an adventure CT, 1 was its size they arnt an overly large/heavy CT, which makes for easier towing, it doesn't have a long draw bar, which, while it can have its challenges at times, it comes into its own when off road, (approach/departure angles), making it very manoeuvrable. 2, the kitchen is fantastic, my wife loves it, all your bits and pieces are right at your finger tips, the height makes it user friendly, and there is a mile of bench space.

I also love the storage room that it provides, I have 2 kids and the room you have for your bits and pieces is great. I have designed a bit of a shelf style system in mine which only enhances the whole storage area.

In terms of strength, I think they are a very solidly built unit, in fact id say they are bit over engineered, that said im the type of person who likes strength in those types of toys (CT, cars, bikes etc), I don't think its an issue, in fact I think its better to have something a bit over engineered rather then being a touch weaker, and susceptible to breaking.

If I had $50 for the amount of people that call in to our camp sites and chat about what a great set up they are, I reckon id have enough cash to shout my swag a few sherberts.....

All in all we love our Adventure CT, its strong with a heap of storage area, the kitchen area is fantastic, and its quick and easy to set up/pack up.......perfect for what we want...

Regards Swanny

[Doug.b]

Thanks guys for the info.

Yes Lost i am in no hurry as I have a camper trailer at the moment, so i can still enjoy the outdoors at the moment.

Jaysea that was a good price for your camper trailer.

It is good to hear that it is easier to set up/pack up than a normal soft floor camper as I do most of the work when setting my camper trailer up ( 12 foot tent)
Also I like the kitchen and storage area that the adventure camper trailer has and the awning would be a lot easier as well.

I see Jaysea and Swanny you both have the cape york model and I have been looking at that model, I know the models above that one has a storage box for the fridge on the draw bar.
I am trying to work out if i buy a cape york model where put the fridge. I know the models don't change in size with the trailer or tent just have more bling on them which i don't mind as I can
add things to suit my needs.

Is there anything that i need to look out for when purchasing one.


Doug
 

 

[swanny]

Doug,

the only dilemma I have with mine is exactly what you speak of the "fridge", I have a 40lt in my tug for our general fridge stuff, and I have 21lt as a freezer located on the storage side of the CT, I have fitted up the sockets etc to run it from that location.

The problem I have, is I don't have enough room for any drinks, on our last trip I took with me on the rack of the CT a 50lt ice box which had our drinks in it, I guess its not a real problem, more an inconvenience I suppose.

The obvious prob with the fridge in the storage side is you loose some space, now as you alluded to Adventure do a fridge/storage box for the front of the CT, (there interchangeable) which can house a 60lt engel, which is ideal, except you have to cough up your first born child to get it (very expensive).

I' am currently exploring the option of a 3rd fridge, yes that's right 3rd fridge, for carrying our drinks, i'm undecided whether ill go for another 21lt, or maybe the 32lt which has a bit more room for not only drinks but other food stuffs that spill over from my car fridge, the costs need to balanced out against all options. ill loose some space, but gain some convenience.

I guess with all CT's you have to juggle were certain things go in your set up, I like things set up in an a way so I can get at them when needed, like most people.

If I had the $$$ available I would prob buy the front fridge box which would go along way to easing the only drama I have with the CT, other then that its awesome.

The one thing you need to have a real good look at is the canvas, whilst the canvas is aussie made, its defo not 15oz canvas, well at least not on mine, more like 12oz, which I have no prob with, however I have noticed on mine that its starting to wear in places, its been re-waterproofed and doesn't leak, but something to consider when looking.

From a tent point of view mine only has a semi canvas type floor, I don't know the exact name of the stuff, but it would be better I think if it was a PVC type floor, they may do this now, but as mine is a 2008 model it doesn't have it.

Swanny

[Jaysea]

Doug

Re the fridge, I was thinking of using the front box but I really like this box for our chairs, extra canvas walls, tarps and other dirty stuff.  Keeps it separate from the main storage.  I would like to do what swanny has done and put a smaller freezer in the side.

Like all campers check underneath to see how much off road work it has had, check the bed slide to make sure it functions properly.  Apart from that it's a fairly simple build. I had a look on the caravancampingsales web site and I am amazed at the price for second hand ones. Be patient as it is worth it.   Good luck in your hunt.


Swanny - funny you mention your floor is not PVC. Ours is a year earlier but the tent floor is definitely a PVC not canvas.  I wonder why the difference?

[cetacean]

Doug,
          We've owned a 2003 Adventure Daintree for the last 4 or so years and have been very happy with it. Bought it second hand pretty cheap and spent a bit of time modifying it for a 6 month tour of Oz which we recently completed.
    The camper took everything in it's stride on the trip and we travelled over some pretty rough and corrugated roads along the way. We didn't have any issues with it at all to speak of apart from a broken wire that's needed inside the tent while setting up. It was an easy fix though when we took it into Paul at Adventure whilst in Adelaide and the after sales-service he provided us was simply fantastic.
   Like the others have mentioned there's lots of positives in Adventure Campers and not that many negative points really in my opinion,although no set-up is ever going to be perfect Another big positive for me is that you can put a tinny on the roof rack of the camper and leave it there when you set up camp without any hassles.
   A couple of the extra things we added that I'd recommend were a solar blanket,front storage box,Stone Stomper and an upgraded 12 volt system and LED lights supplied by Byrnsey
   All in all a great camper I reckon

Darryl

[Doug.b]

Well just sold my old camper, now I am definitely on the hunt for a adventure camper trailer.

Doug

[Tractor88]

Good on ya mate. Good luck with the hunt.   

[Jaysea]

Well just sold my old camper, now I am definitely on the hunt for a adventure camper trailer.

Doug

Good luck on your search Doug. You won't be disappointed