Input from anyone who has done a long Hard floor camper trip - 8-12 months

[MarkVS]

My wife and I are looking to step up from a soft floor camper, into ? We know at some point soonish, we are going to want to do a longish trip (8-12 months), along with normal smaller trips.

Our soft floor is great, but we want to spend less time setting up/packing up on a long trip. Our Pajero (NP diesel) has a towable limit of 2500kg, and I'm not keen to tow anything big anyway and have to replace the car at this point.  We still want to travel to "harder to get at" places and join in Myswag trips.

So I've done some brief investigation into good hard floors (and similar), and good smaller Offroad caravans. I know the Offroad caravan will be more comfortable and easier to setup. But there are advantages to a good hard floor camper (or similar) as well.   Pros and Cons to both.

And because it is hard to 'test run' a long trip, I am hoping I can get some good insight from the experiences of anyone that has done a long continuous trip in a hard floor......how enjoyable was it living out of a camper for that length of time? Would you do it again ? Would you recommend it ? What were the bad bits of that type of accommodation. etc.

I'm not wanting to know about specific campers, more the experience of living out of a hard floor for an extended period.

Any insights would be great.

MarkVS

[Bird]

There was a thread by one of the 'regulars' that did a 2yr lap from memory - had a blog and all... Cant remember who it was though.. they had a hard floor and cruiser from mamory

[scott8888]

im keen to see the replies to this, i was thinking about this exact thing this morning, i am researching for a 6month+ trip at the moment and am going through the pros and cons of van vs good hard floor RF or FF.
thanks for bringing it up Mark.

cheers,
Scott.

[UIZ733]

We went through the same scenario last year. At the time we had an Australian off road Odyssey. We came to the conclusion that living under 100% canvas for extended periods could be problematic, particularly if the weather turned bad. Made a quick decision to change and invested in a Vista. We had no interest in a van for a variety of reasons.
We have spent well over 200 nights in it this year. It is without doubt the best leisure investment we have ever made.
Living and touring for a long stint would still be excellent in a quality hard-floor, however there are significant advantages in doing it in a rig like the Vista.
Good luck with your decision.

[chester ver2.0]

I did 6 months in our camper

Not a hard floor but a goldstream one the wind it up and the beds slide out each end style. We did not mind it for the 6 month half lap trip

Pros of our style
Can cook inside with bad weather or outside with rollout BBQ
Nice and airy when we spend a week locked in it due to bad weather
Easy to put up for an overnighter
Easy to tow
Bit more room inside than hard or soft floor camper

Cons
Slightly larger than hard floor so had trouble due to width and weight on sandy tracks and tight bush

Would i do it again
Yes -  in the goldstream if i was not working i.e go on trip as long holiday come back and find a job cause you can get up and use bathroom ect at your lesure

No -  if i was looking for work to extend the trip into the 12 months plus i would buy a small caravan with shower toilet combo as it got a bit trying for us when we got to perth and both got work and were tripping over each other and the lack of a bathroom became problematic in the mornings and for what ever reason all the nomads must shower at 6am and 6pm right when i want the bathroom cause i am going to work.

If i was also leaving it everyday 5 days per week i would want a van for the extra security - you can keep most of your valuables in the car when touring cause the car is with you most of the time but this becomes a diffent story if you get extended work

[MarkVS]

UIZ733 & Chester,
Thanks for your inputs.
Periods of lengthy bad weather is not something I have experienced or fully considered. Generally any trip we have done has been good weather.
So it looks like something to add to my Hard floor Cons.

Chester - we will be in holiday mode when we travel so the working scenarios doesn't affect us.


MarkVS

[Wato]

Hey Mark slow down there. You can't be looking at this just yet. Your daughter is the same age as mine, that means you and Kerry have 2 more years of school fees ahead before you can head off on any long term trips like this. I know it's a dream but we ALL have to wait.

Craig

PS Until we can't any more I reckon a hard floor is the way to go.

[evolution]

Every thing is a compromise really,
It will just boil down to what works for you and your situation better. It will really come down to where you want to go I think.
For long periods I honestly think that a forward fold will work better than a rear fold, as you do have the extra living area. However A pop up like a jayco style may work better due to the full lounge and inside kitchen.

In saying that, Perhaps something more suited would be an Echo Kavango or something similar? Versatility of a crossover but able to go anywhere your car will.


Cheers
Evo

[MarkVS]

Hey Mark slow down there. You can't be looking at this just yet. Your daughter is the same age as mine, that means you and Kerry have 2 more years of school fees ahead before you can head off on any long term trips like this. I know it's a dream but we ALL have to wait.

Craig

PS Until we can't any more I reckon a hard floor is the way to go.

Craig,
we plan to go on a trip during Olivias post high school 'Gap' year. Thats only 2 and a bit years away. We will also do trips beofre then.
Feedback that a wise old man (GeoffA) gave me was maybe I should 'jump' a step and go from soft floor to hard top without the hard floor camper in between. It plays on my mind.

PS....you need to talk to Kerry. WAIT isn't something I am used to.

 

Every thing is a compromise really,
It will just boil down to what works for you and your situation better. It will really come down to where you want to go I think.
For long periods I honestly think that a forward fold will work better than a rear fold, as you do have the extra living area. However A pop up like a jayco style may work better due to the full lounge and inside kitchen.

In saying that, Perhaps something more suited would be an Echo Kavango or something similar? Versatility of a crossover but able to go anywhere your car will.


Cheers
Evo

Evo,
thaks for the feedback...I absolutely agree.
On a recent trip, we met a couple that had a great offroad caravan. They said it got them to 80% of where anybody else can go. They said for the 20%, they have 2 swags, awning on the car, fridge in back of car, and they basically leave the van somewhere and do the real tuff stuff in swags. It was a concept that appealed to us and potentially opened up another way of looking at it.


MarkVS   

[jk]

Hi Mark,

Have you considered one of these..................it's the way I'm hoping to go in the future  . It ticks all the boxes, hard roof, air con, 8x8, 400+hp and you can park anywhere you want 

[MarkVS]

JK,
Olivia has refused to let us sell the soft floor or contemplate going on trips in something else. And considering her BJJ now, I give her views a little more consideration. 

MarkVS

[jk]

Your are a wise man Mark, be brave, but if she senses fear even once you doomed   

[whitey1]

We've just got back from another extended trip(6 months) travelling around the SW of WA and then up to the Kimberley and onto Darwin where we both worked for 4 months while living in the camper. Although we did do a few house sits as well, the majority of the time was spent in the camper(AOC Odyssey).
One thing we found with living in the tropics under canvas is the little spots of mould that appear after a while. Still got to give it a good clean.
And it would have been nice to have an air con some nights!
But all in all it was fine, but we didn't have many times where it rained on us so that could make a lot of difference.
I definitely wouldn't be in the tropics in a camper from now on though, getting way too humid. Did I mention an air con would be nice?

[evolution]

http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=40034.0

Cheers
Evo

[MarkVS]

http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=40034.0

Cheers
Evo

Thanks EVO,

I sent a PM last night

[chester ver2.0]

UIZ733 & Chester,
Thanks for your inputs.
Periods of lengthy bad weather is not something I have experienced or fully considered. Generally any trip we have done has been good weather.
So it looks like something to add to my Hard floor Cons.

Chester - we will be in holiday mode when we travel so the working scenarios doesn't affect us.


MarkVS

Mark if you are in holiday mode then the har floor should be fine as it is amazing how much more you can tolerate when you are on your own time. You sound like us atm we usually save for about 3 to 4 years then take 4 to 6 months off to just travel then head back home.
We only rent so it makes it a bit easier for us to pack up

Unless you definitly know you are comning back to your house pack it all up and rent it out. Our last trip we thought we would only be away for 4 months and have now been in perth for 4 years riding whats left of the boom

[Redcherokee]

 
Evo,
thaks for the feedback...I absolutely agree.
On a recent trip, we met a couple that had a great offroad caravan. They said it got them to 80% of where anybody else can go. They said for the 20%, they have 2 swags, awning on the car, fridge in back of car, and they basically leave the van somewhere and do the real tuff stuff in swags. It was a concept that appealed to us and potentially opened up another way of looking at it.


MarkVS   

Mark, for last years trip with Dad, we got a six person tent that weighs 10 kgs and takes up about as much space as a sleeping bag.  We figure we can put that, two self inflating mattresses and sleeping bags under the bed in the van (and maybe we don't need the sleeping bags).   That should enable us to do the harder tracks if we get somewhere we don't want to take the van.  Haven't had a chance to put this into practice yet.

We did the Flinders with a friend towing a Conqueror UEV 490, and another with a Vista RV.  Both went anywhere, took little time to set up and offered living areas. We included the 'track less travelled' in our route.  The living areas in both would be a bit 'cosy' for any extended time.  They were just as miserable in the rain as we were in our soft floor.  We chose to go with the full van when deciding on our next purchase.  It is waaay more comfortable. But we still have the camper:) for Jeep camps.

[Mandrake]

For ease of put up and convenience of somewhere to hide from flies "easily" - Penguin or a Swan Outback ..
Hard floor camper we had was great but on our 3 month trip I was getting very tired hauling it up and down and mucking
about inside with the tent bows ... Mind you I am a bit older than you guys !! ( Just a little bit ) LOL ..
Nadia loves the Penguin for the cooking , sleeping and comfort - ticks all the boxes for us elders ... LOL
Mandrake

[Mandrake]

Jeewizz did my Jayco comment kill this thread ??!!!! Sorry Mark .LOL

[MarkVS]

Jeewizz did my Jayco comment kill this thread ??!!!! Sorry Mark .LOL

Not at All !!! I just dont think there are a lot of people that do very long trips in hard floors.

[chazer101]

Hi Mark,

Have you considered one of these..................it's the way I'm hoping to go in the future  . It ticks all the boxes, hard roof, air con, 8x8, 400+hp and you can park anywhere you want 

my dream JK.. freakin awsome

[Wazza2]

To your original questions Mark, although we only did 6 mths but to extend would have been awesome.

Hardfloor pros we enjoyed:
- pull up and flip open, regardless of rocky or otherwise unsuitable for soft floor ground surface.
- easy enough to keep the inside floor clean with it being a smooth flat surface
- compact whilst travelling which meant weight down low on rough roads/tracks = arguably safer, and definitely easier on the driver
- quick to set up, provided we didn't bother putting the awning up
- the floor is high and dry, even when it is rainy and the ground is soaked.
- kitchen being outside was great. Only used the awning if staying 3 or more days somewhere. Loved being in the open air.
- we loved taking our accommodation with us, even when the roads got really rough we had our 'normal' travelling home with us.
- we could safely go a bit faster than those with Caravans on moderately rough roads. They'd do 60 where we could handle 80. Makes a fair difference if you have hundreds of kms to cover between "attractions". Less time in the car.

Cons
- the roof canvas did leak in the rain (no different to what could happen in a soft floor). I have gooped up the offending seems now and all will be good. Didn't do much with this on the trip because rain was rare!
- if windy the canvas was noisy. Depending on travel route and timing, this could mean a few weeks of poor sleep.
- if it rained the nights before you packed up. Wet canvas - not fun. Luckily we worked around this on the 2 or 3 times it occurred

I'd do it again in a heartbeat, including stretching it out to be 12mths living in the camper.

If I wasn't into dealing with open/close set up operation or found it tricky then I'd lean towards the caravan most nights + swags for the rough stuff. We met a few people doing that and it did sound like a comfy option.