TVAN or Ultimate Camper

[oldmate]

Rooftop tent may be the go for the kids...


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It seems that your biggest concern is getting the kids off the ground for your cape trip??  First trip up?  Going to the main touristy destinations?  Crocs won't really be a drama at your camps. I certainly won't be swimming in lots of rivers but 100's of people swag it every year up the cape.


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[oldmate]

technically gronk asked....to which Meggsie said
 not seeing kids mentioned there mate...party time in the Ulti hey 

There's a reason I have a ulti and your stuck with a kk and kids.


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[oldmate]

As an ultimate owner, I agree. I don't want my kids in bed with me. Lucky I only have one and made an infill cushion for the lounge. That can still be a pain trying to get in/out of bed when she is asleep, but at least she is not in my bed. Come 2 kids, then I would do some homework there. As far as the under bed room is concerned, I would just buy a decent tent. Will save you both coin and set up time if you pick the right one. Most ulti accessories will cost you a kidney.

Yep. I'm with Shane. Throw the kids in their own tent, with the responsibility that comes with it, yes it's good for them. And hit the road


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[Rumpig]

There's a reason I have a ulti and your stuck with a kk and kids.


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[sharkcaver]

Just to throw a curve ball out there, Burnsy has a camprite and 2 kids and just loves it. Everyone together and off the ground, but his kids are probably a bit younger (will have to check 1st post again). Have a look at his build thread if he doesn't respond to this post.

Like Oldmate said above, if old enough, starting them out in a tent, with parents nearby, will be a wonderful part of their education into camping and touring. You cant sleep with mum and dad forever and you have to learn to camp by yourself eventually.

[Fathom]

Agree generally Crocs won't be an issue on a cape trip while camping.
Possibly while swimming or fishing.... but unlikely camping.
Probably best to buy what suits you long term rather than suited for one trip.

Someone asked what other options if you wanted kids etc off the ground....and in their own beds...

You could look at some of the newer forward folds that have the extra space for kiddies?
Several of the FF companies are doing these larger models.
Or something like the Breakaway 2 plus 2. Can be had new for the money mentioned above.

[Meggsie]

So thanks to everyone for their comments. We may have narrowed it down to a 2012 Tvan (wider/higher inside) and have more store options....or a Vista RV.
Anyone experienced a VistaRV?


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[peter_mcc]

We have a Mk3 Tvan and 3 kids (10/8/5). At the moment they sleep in the Tvan with us and we think it's great. Two of them are in double bunks and the third sleeps under the main bed. The bunks are "disc-o-bunk" and really quick to put up/down - the long bits quickly come out and get chucked up on the bed. The next step is to get another disc-o-bunk bunk and make triple bunks for the kids!

For us, the advantages of having the kids inside outweigh the disadvantages. We tend to move often rather than setting up in one place for a while. Having the kids inside means we don't need to be as picky about a site - there have been lots of times where if the kids were in a tent a otherwise nice site would need to be bypassed because there was nowhere for the tent. The Tvan can set up almost anywhere and some of the great sites we've been at haven't been tent friendly (muddy, rocky, not flat, combination of all those and more!).

The Tvan's super fast to pack up - all the bedding goes onto the main bed first (not stuffed - just chucked up the end). Then the bunk rails go on, then all the bags go on the tail end of the bed. Because it's quick it doesn't matter if we set up in the dark (because we got there late, it was hot, we couldn't be bothered, there were more fun things to do).

We looked at the VistaRV and I don't think there was any space inside where the kids could easily go.

[Hewy54]

So thanks to everyone for their comments. We may have narrowed it down to a 2012 Tvan (wider/higher inside) and have more store options....or a Vista RV.
Anyone experienced a VistaRV?


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We went from soft floor to KK to Vista XL.
Looked at the Tvan, but still a bit of set up and still has canvas.
Only the two of us so the Vista comes out a winner in every way.
The ensuite at the back could be adapted to make room for bunks.
For two, I cannot fault the Vista. Super quick set up, outstanding build quality, and it will go anywhere I am game to take the car.

[Meggsie]

Are they much heavier than the Tvan?


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[Hewy54]

The Vista XL has a Tare of 1220 and a ATM of 1600 kg, the later model than ours has larger brakes and an ATM of 1700 k.
If I load it with 120 kg of water, 60 l of fuel, wood, and all the stuff  needed for 3 weeks outback camping (ie all food drinks etc) I would be at 1700 ATM.

[Meggsie]

Many thanks Hewy54!


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[chester ver2.0]

i own neither but what put me off the ultimate compared to the tvan is that in the ultimate you have to completely unmake the bed and even move the mattresses down on the seats to fold the thing up.

Now i am a lazy bugger but i like the idea of the tvan for just throwing a doona on the bed shutting the back and driving off

[oldmate]

i own neither but what put me off the ultimate compared to the tvan is that in the ultimate you have to completely unmake the bed and even move the mattresses down on the seats to fold the thing up.

That's most people's gripe with them, oh and no out door kitchen. It's takes less then 15secs to throw the 3 mattresses up into position, and they each have their own fitted sheet already on.




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[Jules456]

After living in Darwin for nearly 30 years and 8 in North Queensland, no way I'd have my kids in a tent whilst I was tucked away in a camper.  Just me though. We are investing (for a big lap) in a lifestyle hyper camper. Bunks available for the two kids inside. Breakaway plus 2 is an option if budget and second hand availability an issue.


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[chester ver2.0]

After living in Darwin for nearly 30 years and 8 in North Queensland, no way I'd have my kids in a tent whilst I was tucked away in a camper.  Just me though. We are investing (for a big lap) in a lifestyle hyper camper. Bunks available for the two kids inside. Breakaway plus 2 is an option if budget and second hand availability an issue.


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Yeah but you guys are backwards up there 

[Jules456]

Yeah but you guys are backwards up there 

Damn right


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[Meggsie]

We settled on a Tvan. Kids will be OUTSIDE!


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[WilSurf]

We were tossing between the KK and Tvan. The KK won, however.
If it was just the two of us we would have the Tvan.
I still like them.

[Bird]

Doesn't throwing the kids outside in their own tent defeat the purpose of a fast setup trailer like a hardfloor
May as well go a soft floor with lots of room to start with.

[WilSurf]

Doesn't throwing the kids outside in their own tent defeat the purpose of a fast setup trailer like a hardfloor

Not as long as the kids are setting up their own tent. :-)

[Discoduck]

Well done Meggsie.
I travel alone and can set-up the tent section myself in 4 1/2 minutes and pack-up in closer to 5min. With a partner it would be half that time.   
Enjoy your trips; I'm sure you will.

[Alan Loy]

We settled on a Tvan. Kids will be OUTSIDE!
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We just joined the Tvan brigade today as we picked up our Tvan.  Have to say that you could easily put a couple of kids in the tent section, this would be pretty quick to put up.  Having said that if the parents were just putting on the canvas screen & the kids were putting up their own tent it would be easier.

I guess you have options 

[markeaust]

We also have a Tvan with 2 kidlets.

They go on a bunk setup which (just) fits across the back of the hard floor.  The window there gives them plenty of ventilation.

Last year we did 3 months in it with lots of packing up and setting up.

With regards to time taken to pack up, I find lots of 'conversations' on this (and other) forums.  Yes, the Tvan is quick to pack up and set up, but it's all the other stuff that we tend to carry that takes the time.... chairs, tables, tools, BBQ, plates and cutery, water containers, etc, etc, etc,,,,,,......

After 3 months I wasn't 'sick of it', but was getting a little tired of the process and longed for a caravan setup, but glad we didn't have the weight, given where we took the Tvan.

The kids love it and for us the compromises are acceptable.

Cheers,

Mark

[Pebble]

Late reply here. We were debating exactly the same scenario a few years ago, main contenders for us were Ultimate & TVan. We ended up choosing the TVan. I would consider the Vista, can't remember why we ruled it out at the time.

The kids already had their own swags so we thought that if the weather was really bad we could just chuck the swags on the floor in the tent of the tvan anyway.
Most of the time we do set up the tent space because we tend to use it for easy access to the bags of clothes, or plastic containers of food.
At pack up we generally don't even bother rolling the kids swags up, fold them in half and throw them on the bed.

Ahhhh now it's come to the point where we are thinking about the next stage of life.....like Topaz or small offroad caravan. So we will probably be selling our TVan soon (2013mkIIICanning).

It's true what others say, still some setting up / packing up to do with both Tvan and Ultimate. But you will always have that with the crossovers unless you go to a more caravan style thing. In particular having to set up an awning outside for shade / shelter. With our TVan we've added an ARB awning to the outside, just for an easier and faster option compared to the sail awning and full awning.

 The advantage that the Ultimate has is being able to cook indoors, however most people don't like to anyway (due to canvas etc) which probably leaves you going in and out all the time to get stuff. Arguably you could put a table and camp stove (dual fuel coleman or something) inside the tent of the tvan also, there is enough room in there (if you don't have kids beds set up on the floor of course). I like that idea as a last resort if the weather was really nasty, but haven't had to as yet. Have recently resorted to making some sandwiches for lunch inside though, to get away from flies.

The thing we also like about the tvan is that if we plan to leave early in the morning we might pack up the tent the night before and just put the bra on, that way we don't have to pack the canvas up with the morning dew on it and it makes the getaway that bit faster. Although the thing that takes the most time is boiling the kettle for the cup of tea and the kids having their brekky then dishes etc. lol