Forward fold campers - do I really like them?

[deepop]

I think I really like the forward fold camper.   Q bed up front to keep SWMBO happy.   Room in the main body for two sets of bunks (4 billies).   Live outdoors for the rest!

What's not to like?

What's everyone's thoughts and what do you like/dislike about them?

[GanG]

Hearing you there mate..........only my 4 billies are all 15+ now, so no bunks, they all out in swags or domies

[evolution]

Obviously I am pretty biased 

but every trip we have done with them has been Easy and painless.
Plenty of room up off the ground and plenty of storage compared to rear fold. PLUS much easier to setup in regards to terrain.

We only have two tinlids, but super easy with them. The only down side I found was with my one year old trying to climb up the step into it.
But easily managed in the long run.

Just my two cents 

Cheers
Evo

[deepop]

Thanks GanG (I think there's something wrong with your horse).
What brand have you got?
Extra's?
Good and bad?

Evo, are you gonna be at the show?

[GanG]

Thanks GanG (I think there's something wrong with your horse).

its a quarter horse mate

What brand have you got?

Its an import, liesure matters is the importer

Good and bad?

Bad
Hatch seals leak like a bitch
Brakes are noisey
powder coating is not the best job
Chinese wiring is crap
Chinese fittings are crap
water tank has been repaired twice now under warranty

Good
Canvas seems pretty good, has been in some terrible rain squalls and does not leak
No major structural issues noted so far

extra's

I have added a cetek250DS
a 2nd 105AH battery
160 watt solar panels

[evolution]

Hi mate,
I don't think I'll be doing any shows for a little while until I can walk properly.
However if you are up wodonga way I do have a demo here is can show you.
Would give you a good chance to go over one without the pressures of a sales pitch lol.

If I can help mate just let me know.

Cheers
Evo

[chillipepperz]

If I was in the market for a camper (and not building my own) I reckon these front-folds would be at the top of my list for efficiency of setup, value and sheer roominess. The only thing I wonder about is the ability to open a side hinged door (like on Prado/Pajero) when trailer is still hooked on and tent folded out...then again some of these have really long draw bars, so does that present another potential problem in weight distribution?

Good luck with your deliberations.

Cheers!
Andrew

[GanG]

I can just open the patrol doors with camper open and hooked up, but its so tight that you can do nothing and its futile.

I almost always unhook.

[wilson79]

Love my forward fold

Have 2 boys 3 and almost 2 and have plenty of room for everything, we are just in the process of working out where best to store clothes currently using bag in the ute. Have no issues dropping the tailgate while set up and have plenty of room to move about with tailgate down and still hooked up, ours come with an adjustable winch post  that may help with rear doors on wagons

[MattP]

I love mine as well.  Paid a bit (lot) more for the Modcon Imperial but its been flawless and just so easy.  Build quality is exceptional.  I put a slighly longer towball tongue on which allows me to get the vertical lift tailgate open enough on my Jeep XJ to get access.  I also have the adjustable winch holder.  Absolutely no complaints.

[jackriley]

I have a Broadwater forward fold camper, it's awesome.

Just spent a week and a half away in it, me and the billy lids, 12 and 13. Can't rate it high enough, quick and easy setup/pack up. Packed it up in the rain, surprised how dry the canvas was with only a hit with a towel. Lounge inside converts easily into a double bed. Heaps of storage, my fridge fits in perfectly. Canvas handles the rain no probs, which was reassuring to find out. I leave mine hooked on usually for one night stops, no probs opening the tail gate and window on the canopy.

Can't wait to get away in it again.

The simplicity of setup/pack up is the huge plus for me, means we get away more often with the camper even if it's just for one night.

 

[Diesel Power]

The beauty of forward folds is that they can be parked on any type of terrain, as long as it's level.
Regards
Angus.

[evolution]

Doesn't even necessarily need to be level either.
You can always drop the jocky wheel, use a ramp, or let air out of a tyre. That's my favourite thing about them. They are very versatile in regards to where you can camp.


Cheers
Evo

[Elky]

Yea I quite liked them, but for me the length of the drawbar to the axle was too much, they are quite long and tow ball weight concerned me as did the ability to go further offload. Great concept tho and I am amazed it took this long for them to catch on

Cheers

[GanG]

tow ball weight concerned me as did the ability to go further offload.

Off load or offroad?

If its off road I hear what you are saying, but I have no intention of dragging mine across the simpson, or the telegraph track. If I am going hard core off road I am taking the tent/swags etc. The camper is a compromise position when it comes to "off road" in my mind, more flexy than a van, but not as flexible as vehicle alone.

[penski]

We are very happy with our Modcon Imperial although a lighter ball weight would be good. That applies equally to rear folds anyway where there is a lot of storage added to the drawbar eg. KK and others.

One thing to be careful of is available clearance above the camper when opening. They are taller than most when open and need more clearance than a rear fold during opening. The pivot point is at the top of the trailer rather than the bottom. We have been caught out once with this.

Another plus is storage. The chairs, tables etc just pack on the floor to the rear of the camper and are the first things removed when we open it up.

One minus is cold weather camping. The bed base is completely exposed to the outside air and in the case of the Imperial made of aluminium with some sort of composite liner. It can be cold and you need to ensure you are well insulated. I am about to get a 150mm mattress to help with that and improve comfort.

Setup with the touring awning (left zipped on) and three poles is around 5 minutes when left hitched up. I can open the rear door of the Pajero half way in that situation. For longer stays unhitched and with the full awning it's 15 to 20 minutes usually.

Great for crocodile country too  .

[deepop]

Thanks all so far for your experiences and replies.

I still think I like them!

[avotrol]

There's one on flea bay for $9k (Item # 121 565 705 900 finishing tomorrow). Its a BHL Chinese import. Our friends have one and are very happy with it. They bought it direct from BHL for $8850.00.

Although not Cape York proof in standard form, a few weekends worth of beefing up / modifying and it will be ready for the tracks 

From what I have seen at the shows, the ones that sell for $15k + are not that much (if any) better  and would still need modifying for any real offroad work. This way you save $ with options to strengthen later 

  avo

[evolution]

There's one on flea bay for $9k (Item # 121 565 705 900 finishing tomorrow). Its a BHL Chinese import. Our friends have one and are very happy with it. They bought it direct from BHL for $8850.00.

Although not Cape York proof in standard form, a few weekends worth of beefing up / modifying and it will be ready for the tracks 

From what I have seen at the shows, the ones that sell for $15k + are not that much (if any) better  and would still need modifying for any real offroad work. This way you save $ with options to strengthen later 

  avo

I would want to run the hose over it personally and see if there are any leaks when closed.
Checker plate is notoriously hard to weather seal,  and there is ALLOT there....
I would also change how the jerry/gas mounts are done....
If you are handy though.....


Cheers
Evo

[avotrol]

My mate has had no probs with the canvas but buying any import is always questionable. Luckily, his seems ok. As always, exercise due diligence at all times.

  avo

[tracker]

 G'day All,
              Having just recently bought a Ecomate FF CT and have only used it a couple of times my wife and i really like them ( our first ever Ct ).....Storage is ok but i have fitted sliding drawers in back of duel cab BT50  which gives us plenty of storage is now not an issue at all .  Set up and fold up is now a breeze ( after picking Evo's brain...thanks again mate )...We are looking forward to 4 weeks on the road in early August heading to the Cape so after that we will be seasoned travellers with the forward fold. So far we would recommend the forward fold
                 Cheers Tracker.

[lilstookie]

We looked at the Ecomate FF when trying to decide on our new camper. We really liked the ease of setup/pack up, kids off the ground is a priority for us, as is being able to stop on gravel/rocks/slopes/etc. I was surprised by the height...definitely need to think about what's above before setting up. I didn't like the kitchen. We also think that storage would be a bit of an issue (we live on the road with three kids under 6) and the weight is another big consideration. From memory, their towball weight is better than the MDC, GIC, Mars, et al, as their water tank is rear of the axle. They are also quite long..I think the Ecomate has the largest lounge area of any on the market atm. The GIC and Mars FFs we looked at had external doors that hit the ground when open (wouldn't buy either of them, but that's just us. Plenty of others do), smaller lounge/sleeping area.
We'll be ordering a Drifta DOT shortly instead....the Ecomate FF ticked almost all the boxes for us and it took us a couple of months of umming and ahhing to finally make the decision.

Lil

[spork]

Doesn't even necessarily need to be level either.
You can always drop the jocky wheel, use a ramp, or let air out of a tyre. That's my favourite thing about them. They are very versatile in regards to where you can camp.


Cheers
Evo

I never even thought of that! Awesome - will make levelling my CT so much easier.

I've also been weighing up forward v's rear folding (never even knew about forward folders until a month ago)
Would it be fair to say that, all else being equal the FF would have less cubic feet interior space for same floor area, but less need for level / flat area to set up, and possibly slightly faster set-up?
Any real difference in weight? (Only towing with a Subie outback at the moment)
I do a lot of short (1-2 night) trips so fast setup and take down are important to me.
With something really fast tos et up I reckon I'd get away more often.
Wife comes on longer (6-7 night) trip once a year, and I currently use a folding wardrobe where the second mattress goes in our old CT. Is there plenty of room for all her clothes etc. in a FF camper?

[wilson79]

If towing with a Subie just watch the towball weight my FF is over 200kgs on the towball

[DaveR]

I'd like to comment on the 1 reason why one of these is NOT on our next CT list.
With the CT we have now, we have adequate and functional outdoor space below the annex when it rains for the 5 of us.
We can have the dinning table, 2 x deck chairs for Mrs and I, then the kitchen is at the end.
With all of these fwd fold CT's which I have seen, this will not be possible. Kitchen is to the rear, door in the centre, fridge pantry at the front.
We have 3 kids, 6, 6 & 9.
They like to migrate around, so with the space we have inside the tent, and outside, there is plenty to move around when it is raining. This would not be possible with a fwd fold.
Without mentioning any names, but I spoke at a show with a experienced salesman about how we use our CT when sitting inside a fwd fold, he basicaly said to not buy it as we wouldn't be able to use it like we do now.

I am saying this just to give you something else to think about when making your considerations, I am not being crytical of these types of CT's.

Bringing the rain to a camp-site is something that I am almost as good at as attracting strong winds.....