Camper trailer advice for a true newbie.

[Jatzman]

Hey all,

So we are looking at buying a camper trailer in the next 6 months or so. Which means I am doing some research in tot hem. Recently went to the Camping and caravan show. Seen a few we really loved and started to check them out on line, with reviews etc. The G(Something) looked great at the show but.. Well, I know not to say any more on them. Suffice to say, I wont be a buyer.

Reading the forums here, the great advice is, buy a good second hand Aussie made CT. My question is, for someone who knows bugger all about them, how do I know which makes are true Aussie made and which are just assembled here or parts from here? They don't really say "Mostly Chinese made" in the ad.

A little about what I am after, My wife is "getting used to camping". She would REALLY love a hard floor camper. We wont be doing any hardcore (Top end, telegraph rd) stuff but some light off road. We need room for a couple of kids (They don't need to be off the ground like the wife), it needs to have a good kitchen and full power etc.

At the moment I am leaning towards Stoney Creek FFS6, Johnno's or Swag Voyager 2 Deluxe. We have a budget of under $20k. If we were going to go over $20k, my wife would have us in a Jayco Hawk. She loved that!

I really appreciate any advice and suggestions. Especially if there are any secrets on how to tell which ones are TRUELY Aussie made.

[ScottT]

Hey all,

So we are looking at buying a camper trailer in the next 6 months or so. Which means I am doing some research in tot hem. Recently went to the Camping and caravan show. Seen a few we really loved and started to check them out on line, with reviews etc. The GIC Black looked great at the show but.. Well, I know not to say any more on them. Suffice to say, I wont be a buyer.

reading the forums here, the obvious great advice is, buy a good second hand Aussie made CT. My question is, for someone who knows bugger all about them, how do I know which makes are true Aussie made and which are just assembled here or parts from here? They don't really say "Mostly Chinese made" in the ad.

A little about what I am after, My wife is "getting used to camping". She would REALLY love a hard floor camper. We wont be doing any hardcore (Top end, telegraph rd) stuff but some light off road. We need room for a couple of kids (They don't need to be off the ground like the wife), it needs to have a good kitchen and full power etc.

At the moment I am leaning towards Stoney Creek FFS6, Johnno's or Swag Voyager 2 Deluxe. We have a budget of under $20k. If we were going to go over $20k, my wife would have us in a Jayco Hawk. She loved that!

I really appreciate any advice and suggestions. Especially if there are any secrets on how to tell which ones are TRUELY Aussie made.

This here is a good start. Not all that are manufactured in Australia with Australian materials are members though.

http://www.australianmanufacturedcampertrailers.org.au/

The big thing, IMHO, is the canvas. Aussies make the best canvas in the world, that is a fact.

You don't want water dripping in on your head when you're trying to sleep !

2nd hand Aussie made is the way to go, don't get sucked in on the "bells and whistles" some importers add to attract buyers, these are things you
can add over time, if they're needed.

Here's a few good ones near or below your budget.

http://www.caravancampingsales.com.au/buy/results?SiloType_Dealer-Used=true&SiloType_Private-Used=true&Q=%28%28SaleStatus%3D%5BFor+Sale%5D%26Make%3D%5BCub%5D%29%26Service%3D%5BCaravancampingsales%5D%29&SearchAction=Refinement

Good luck with your search

Cheers, Scott

[Jatzman]

That link is awesome. Thanks heaps. Just what I was after. Cheers

[GBC]

If it smells like creosote it's going to be an import - serious.
If you aren't handy then an import isn't for you. They come about 92% ready to camp which is good if you know where to find the 8% before you go.
I would recommend hiring a few different styles before taking the leap - hiring is cheap, especially for soft floors. There are things about hard v soft that is a complete non issue for some people, and a reason to definitely not buy for others - big dusty/muddy covers is one, having space to put them up and dry them out is another, living out of boxes is another. There's a reason there's so many styles of campers on the market.
Has your better half ever put up a windup and then spent half the night on her knees finding things in floor level cupboards, or sat in the rain for a couple of days under an awning about the size of a car awning? Not saying they are a bad thing, but the reality is often different to stepping into a showroom model which is put up and ready to go.

[Bird]

Go and hire as many as you can to find out what works for you...

[Jatzman]

Thanks for the advice. We are hiring one in a few weeks. An Ezy Trail. The Johnno's were booked out sadly. We borrowed a friends 8 year old Oz Trail 7. Better than a tent but gave us an idea what we want.

Some great tips about the hard floor camping GBC. Really appreciate. Some things we hadn't thought of. I am ex-military. So I can sleep in the dirt but I wont! Just need some creature comforts for the little lady or we will end in a resort going broke at the pool bar!

[SambOz]

Budget of $20K, can I suggest looking at a second hand Kimberly Kamper, quality Aus. build and will go anywhere you
think you can tow it, the independent suspension will tow better over corrugations etc than most tow cars.

KK - Hard floor, takes minutes to open out, double bed remains made, rock solid stainless steel kitchen,  elec water pump to sink,  under bed roll out accessible stainless storage, gas cooker etc. A lot of design innovation went into them and to my mind most of the current hard floors have borrowed from the KK design. Awning takes a little time to erect but is huge and covers kitchen/cooking area plus heaps of other space, we put it up if staying more than one night.

We had a soft floor initially, leaf springs, kitchen, nothing was set up as well as the KK, it was much cheaper but just not in the race.

Re KK, our 2002 is fairly heavy on the tow ball weight, never measured it but I know it is from other trailers we own. It cost us round $19K three years ago, spent another grand or so to get another spare rim and 4 new tyres. Nothing has gone wrong with it in our ownership, except SWMBO is now keen for a C*R***N (blush  )

Shop around, look underneath, chat to sellers, don't buy the one that the owner says will go thru' a metre plus of water and needs the disc brakes overhauled 

We looked at a CUB, the model we looked at just didn't have IT for our expectations of quality build. Not saying they are all like that, just the one we looked at.

Some other owners YMMV 

Edit - Re canvas mentioned earlier, totally agree, KK canvas/zips, fly screens etc are extremely well make and no water gets in, the canvas is indeed top quality and "waterproof".

[GBC]

The canvas on our import has been a pleasant surprise. It is very good, and for people on a budget, a second hand sorted out import will save good coin. I'd look at second hand trailers on their individual merit.

[Jatzman]

Cheers

[slydar]

not sure if you have decided to go with a soft floor or hard floor but we still have our G-I-C (moderator doesn't like that name being mentioned after a bit of an issue a few years back) and while its a soft floor it has been through numerous storms, hail and three or four days drenching rain at a stretch and while being a canvas product it will (and did) leak eventually in the last big one last summer up at port stephens (where the centre of it was) it wasn't bad but then we also season the canvas properly for about a week when new(wet/dry/wet/dry/wet/dry) then saturate it with bondall multi-surface sealant all over - it has been great, its the 18ft model that they don't sell any more but this mob do:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/331732255844?_trksid=p2050601.m570.l5999&_trkparms=gh1g%3DI331732255844.N36.S2.R3.TR19

we love our original so much because of the space we bought one of these to keep as a spare for when the old ones wears out but each to their own - what we like about it the most is the sheer space of it and the way you can put wall separations (supplied) to make rooms in it

[stabicraft]

We picked up a brilliant 23 year old hard floor cub camper.
The tent had recently been replaced and everything else was working great.

I bought it for 3k with the intention of trying it out and seeing if they were OK to tow and use.
But after owning it for two years, I find there is no need to upgrade to new as this one is great.

I fitted LED lighting, a new bed, longer drawbar, radio and a box on the front
See the thread Poor mans camper rebuild.  http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=42107.0

We have found it more than adequate and have enjoyed many hours of camping for a fraction of the cost.
And its light to tow too.

You might be just as lucky.

[muzza01]

Each to his own on the imported vs Oz made discussion.

4 or 5 years ago the imported CT's were not the best quality . The  Australian Manufacturers website is still bringing up testing results from four years ago.

As for not getting sucks in to the bells and whistles from the imports..well my Mrs loves the fact that it came standard with a 4 burner stainless stove, sink with pressurised tap, water tank, fridge storage etc.

My brother has the same style imported CT as I do except his has certainly travelled a lot more than mine as he is retired. He has has a crack repaired on the weld of his water tank but that is about it.
He is currently in Broome after traveling through the NT outback and Kimberley's.

Imported CT's are much better quality now days and worth considering.

[Bird]

Budget of $20K, can I suggest looking at a second hand Kimberly Kamper, quality Aus. build and will go anywhere you
think you can tow it, the independent suspension will tow better over corrugations etc than most tow cars.

agree

[Jakster1]

It will all depend on your wants and needs. Everyone's idea of camping is different and what suits some, won't suit others and what may suit you now may not suit in a few years.
We went from a johnnos soft floor to a jayco eagle.
At the time the johnnos was what we wanted, 2 kids later and the jayco makes camping easier and more enjoyable.
Now days I'm not sure Aussie made campers are worth the price premium... Generally they are better quality, but.
Imported ones are getting better, Aussie made ones are getting cheaper ( not always a good thing) trying to compete( think cutting corners to keep price down).
Happy hunting for your perfect camper.

[McTavish]

I think you'd be hard pressed to find a Kimberley Kamper for $20k less than 12 years old....

The Jayco may be a good option.    Depends on where you go and for how long.   Friends of ours have a Hawke (Mum/Dad/Kid (14yr)/Kid (10yr).   And they love it.   

Your choice may also depend on your vehicle.    What would you be towing it with?  There are some examples on here with the Kimberley (Resembled??) with tow ball weights over 200kg - and there goes all the mid sized cars and some bigger ones too...

Hard Floor - More expensive/less room for a family/ Supposed to be easier to set up/ good to keep everything off the ground if uneven ground or raining.   Some good brands to look for Kimberley Kampers/ Cub/ Complete campsite/ Ecomate - quality control done by Modcon in Brisbane seem to have a good rep.   Australian Offroad Campers/ Aussie Swag.

Soft Floor - Less expensive/ more brands & options/ More room inside (I'd caution against going for anything bigger than a 12 ft room floor for ease of set up and pack down weight and number of poles and bits & pieces including the size of the annexe).   We have a 9ft with the two kids and it's great with little worry about smaller sites at caravan parks and even some national parks where they put those stupid bollards up to limit where you go.   Some brands to keep an eye out for - Complete Campsite/ Mountain Trail/ Customline (Now Armadillo) who have been around a while so some good examples for good prices/ Lifestyle/ Trackabout (again good stuff).

One of the best things we did was message a Swagger who lives in Brisbane to ask about a camper - he had us come over so we could set it up and talk through the pros and cons and literally see how long it would take and effort required.    No obligation - was brilliant stuff from a fellow Swagger....

Plenty to think about hey!

McT

[nab]

Why not a second hand Jayco? $20k should get you a late 2000's Eagle or similar. If you don't like it sell it 12 months later for pretty much the same price you bought it for... 

[McTavish]

My mates thoughts exactly - but they have not sold it cause they like it so much...

[Jeepers Creepers]

Or, you could buy my soft floor camper..... its in the for sale section..... i'm friggin near broke too.... I need the money to buy food.

C'mon, put me out of my misery.

I hate going to the soup kitchen, lining up with the homeless to get a feed... did I say I was broke.... no money. 

The other night, the line up for some soup was sooooo friggin slow.

I yelled out, "FOR FARKS SAKE, HURRY IT UP WILL YA, SOME OF US HAVE A HOME TO GO TO"

I'm note welcome back there now.... please buy my camper trailer.

[McTavish]

You are one funny guy Jeepers... !!

[SambOz]

I think you'd be hard pressed to find a Kimberley Kamper for $20k less than 12 years old....McT

Our KK is 2002, we are second owners, and have done one far north trip, previous owner had it sitting in garage for seven years before we bought it for $19K.

In other words it hasn't done a lot and it in good knick, I'd take <$20K for it any day!

(The difference in a KK 12 or 14 years old isn't all that much as far as I know)

[Paddler Ed]

Couple of things I've learnt (some the hard way of course):
-Double check the tow rating on the car AND the tow bar: my 4Runner has a limit of 1500kg with one towbar, but 1250kg with another... and only 400kg unbraked. When did I find this out? Once I'd picked up my trailer... so $700 later I'll have electric brakes fitted, but the added bonus is I've been able to upgrade the trailer from 750kg ATM to 1000kg ATM
-Check the tare weight; my rego papers say 350kg tare, but I put it over a weigh bridge and it came in at 420kg (see the problem yet?!) empty. This is on a 20yo trailer, so I can expect some of that to be due to repairs and mud in the chassis etc, so I can shave some of that weight off before I fit too much more to it.
-Work out where you're going to store; a stupid one I know, but do you have space to store it somewhere secure and easy to access/park it? I've cornered a space at the end of the car port for my block of units, which is just the right size space for the trailer and is easy to reverse up to (put the car in low range, don't lock the hubs and it's a piece of cake). A friend has theirs stored in the front garden and so far has taken out a fair chunk of the garden inadvertently parking it (the tap copped a hiding one day, as have the flowerbed(s))
-Have a look at what you're going to use it for/how you're going to use it, and a look at a lot of different campers. I'm lucky in that I work at a caravan park part time, so I often have a good nose at peoples trailers and find out what they liked and didn't like, as well as good ideas to steal. We know that setting up the camper for an overnight stop is a bit excessive, so we'll still take our swags for a one night roll out, but for a longer stop we'll use the trailer.

My personal choice is something older, as that gets something a bit more tried and tested, but do expect to do some work on it. New bearings are about $25 per side, grease is $13, and they're not hard to repack. Also expect to do something with the electrics - mine's got a dodgy earth that I'm hoping I can alleviate by recabling when I fit the electric brakes, but as it only shows when the hazard lights are on, I don't think it's too much to worry about.

Alternatively, something like Jeepers' trailer could be a really good option if you want a soft floor - I suspect by the time I've finished mine it'll have cost as much as buying Jeepers' one to begin with...

[cruiser 91]

20k budget!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Forget it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You'll easily find comfort and reliability for under $15k.
Spend the rest on the mortgage.
The recession is here................do yourself and Australia a favour..............reduce your debt 
 

[Jakster1]

20k budget!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Forget it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You'll easily find comfort and reliability for under $15k.
Spend the rest on the mortgage.
The recession is here................do yourself and Australia a favour..............reduce your debt

He's right you know
You can pick up an awesome Aussie made camper trailer that cost roughly 20 grand new a few years ago for under $15000 easy.
Trust me I know, I just sold mine, a few years old Schmick condition, depreciation is rediculous at the moment due to the current economic climate and the flood of crappy cheap imports that look good to those that don't know better.
Some good bargains to be had out there at the moment.