G'day guys, my name is Ben.
I joined this forum as it appears to have a great wealth of info about getting the most out of your camping/caravanning setup. Plus touring tips and ideas.
My wife and I are in the early stages of planning a 'big north trip' either next year (2016) or the following year.
We have two kids 3 and 1 who will be in tow.
I am looking to take off at least 6 months (Maybe 9 months) to travel from NSW to Broome (via Tanami), Kimberly, NT, across to FNQ and back home.
While we are keen to depart around April next year we think that maybe delaying a year is a good move, the kids then being 4 and 2 in 2017 I think will get more out of it. Plus it gives us a year to take them weekend camping and get used to the 'accommodation'. We waterski most weekends in summer and could use a camper to camp by the water rather than drive up and back to the dam in a day.
So anyway, having looked at standard style budget caravans alongside camper trailers we are leaning towards purchasing a quality hardfloor camper. We also like the look of some of the hybrid style campers but they are a little out of our budget. (Hoping to get something for no more than $50k)
We were fortunate to get to visit the Mountain Trail factory a few weeks ago and check out their EDX, Nick was fantastic and showed us through the varying stages of construction. They are a very nice piece of gear but unfortunately for us once specced up we would be spending close to $60k.
We will be checking out Kimberly Kampers at the up-coming Henty field days next month but we are open to considering other brands.
Sorry for the rambling post, but looking forward to dipping the toes into the world of camper trailers