New Lifestyle AT12 or Australian Off Road Quantum second hand need thoughts

[Boxbuilder]

Hi to you all,
I am looking at either Lifestyle AT12 (Narrow body) or Australian Off Road Quantum second hand as my budget is approx $70k.
I have looked at both units new & second hand over the last 8 months and spoken to owners of both so we have tried to be as methodical as we can can with our decission. We are not intending to be brutal offroad users however the build quality is important.

AOR Quantum,
Pro    Almost dustproof, Macerator toilet & black tank (No cassette),Built like a tank, Pop top struts easy to use, Alum frame, Great warrenty backup with great Re sale prices. (Only depreciate at approx $5k per year)
Con   Limited space indoors 14ft a little short, No tall storage, Not many second hand for sale.

Lifestyle  AT-12
Pro    More internal features (More of a caravan) Longer body inside, Bed slides out for better access.
Con   Not a bullet proof as the Quantum, Meranti timber frame, Not much exit angle on rear, Pop top struts, Cassete toilet, Not heavy duty offroad, Not as dust proof, Had some negative comments about the slide out bed compremises the wall frame strength?

We have boiled the decission down to Lifestyle (New Calis Commadore) v AOR Quantum Second hand (Hummer)
Any addition comments by owners of either brands would be appreciated.
Thanks

[gronk]

Comes back to how extreme offroad you want to go, but one point is the Lifestyle is steel frame, not wood.

Haven't heard about lack of strength with the side opening bed, but 2 points, the AT12 is also available with the original rear opening bed and the bed doesn't slide out, it folds out !

I own a AT10, but between those two, I honestly don't know which one I would choose ??

[two up]

As a Quantum owner I can't fault it.  You have to spend some time crawling in and under it to realize how well engineered they are. Storage is not a problem it'll swallow more gear than you can legally carry. I won't be parting with mine anytime soon.

Sent from my A1601 using Tapatalk

[LC]

We considered the AORC before buying from lifestyle. For us it came down to buying new instead of second hand.

We love our lifestyle recon, but suspect we would have been equally happy with an AORC.

Sorry haven't helped with your decision!

[Julian Kaye]

Hi to you all,
I am looking at either Lifestyle AT12 (Narrow body) or Australian Off Road Quantum second hand as my budget is approx $70k.
I have looked at both units new & second hand over the last 8 months and spoken to owners of both so we have tried to be as methodical as we can can with our decission. We are not intending to be brutal offroad users however the build quality is important.

AOR Quantum,
Pro    Almost dustproof, Macerator toilet & black tank (No cassette),Built like a tank, Pop top struts easy to use, Alum frame, Great warrenty backup with great Re sale prices. (Only depreciate at approx $5k per year)
Con   Limited space indoors 14ft a little short, No tall storage, Not many second hand for sale.

Lifestyle  AT-12
Pro    More internal features (More of a caravan) Longer body inside, Bed slides out for better access.
Con   Not a bullet proof as the Quantum, Meranti timber frame, Not much exit angle on rear, Pop top struts, Cassete toilet, Not heavy duty offroad, Not as dust proof, Had some negative comments about the slide out bed compremises the wall frame strength?

We have boiled the decission down to Lifestyle (New Calis Commadore) v AOR Quantum Second hand (Hummer)
Any addition comments by owners of either brands would be appreciated.
Thanks

  OK Box, as a Lifestyle AT-12EVo owner (narrow body) I think I can help.

  1. AT-12EVO (and all Lifestyle Hybrids) come with a full Gal steel frame, no Meranti so you are off the mark on that one.
  2. Dust proof? We have a dust suppression kit in ours, cost an extra $600 from memory but they may be standard now, Best  extra you can get, we've had ours across all the inland tracks and no dust, ever.
  3. Not as heavy duty, maybe, but how heavy duty do you need to be? The Lifestyle is built like a tank, as I said we have done plenty of inland tracks, lots of corrugations and nothing structurally has ever looked like failing. Had a couple of cupboard hinges come loose on the Birdsville Dev Road and replaced and strengthened under warranty, no questions.
 4. Toilet cassette a hassle? There are thousands of dump points all over the country.

    Look, I will concede the Quantum is the bees knees, I had a close look at them and you have to be impressed. When I purchased it would have cost me $28k more to buy a Quantum over the Lifestyle and while the Quantum is a classy bit of kit it's not $28k better than a Lifestyle IMO.
   Good luck with the hunt.

[callmejoe]

To very different built vans in my opinion.
If your considering a Quatum I'd more  likely compare it with a complete campsite Exodus (11 or 14). Then a vista RV XL.

[Boxbuilder]

Hi and thanks for the below comments much appreciated.
Seems by the below comments that you all think its a line ball call and as we have no video review by a 3rd umpire we are leaning towards the AT12 however,
-I have been told that national parks are looking into not allowing cassette toilets in our / their parks due to dump points not compatable with their systems anybody have feedback on this?  (Only macerator toilets with black recovery tanks?)
-One item that we are still unsure of the toilet we do not want to be emptying the waste every 1>3 days so that why we are looking at the macerator toilet that fills a black tank that can be pumped out approx every week )depends on use of coarse)

Thanks again for you insitefull comments

[gronk]

Only on the toilet thing.....we only have a porta potti, but the missus only uses it for no1's. I use a hospital bottle. In a nat park, we use their dunny for no2's.  Free camping we dig a hole.
We don't have any issues with emptying a porta potti as it has no chemicals in it, and some people in vans with cassette toilets do the same.

[xvprado]

A tough decision

As an AOR owner, I'm biased

The AT 12 is a nice bit of gear and is priced well in the market, with so much activity in the hybrid market (lots of knock offs and copies) I think you have got the right two for consideration. I would however throw a 2nd hand complete campsite in to the mix

The advantages of a qantum ?. The macerator toilet works brilliantly, but I wouldn't see that as a key buying decision, dust proofing on the other hand would be. The quantum is excellent in this regard. Overall build quality, fit and finish would be my other motivator, the AOR product is up their with the best

the other consideration is that AOR treat 2nd hand owners with the same respect and consideration as a new buyer, any upgrades or improvements to the product will get done at their Caloundra site, any info you need or advice will be given without hesitation. It might be worth asking a prospective seller whether their unit has been back to AOR for a service and any available upgrades, you might be pleasantly surprised.

On the other hand, the AT12 will have that new trailer feel, and that is priceless. I have no experience with this unit but i have watched its evolution and I think they building a very good thing

Both will be capable of going pretty well anywhere you want to go....................good luck with the decision

[Boxbuilder]

Hi Had a look at the Compleate Camper it appears that the shower & toilet are out side in a annexe?
The leader of the opposition (Wife) made it clear no shower and toilet in the van then I will be by myself, After a great out of jail card that was just handed to me I gave it due consideration I agreed toilet & shower inside "so yes you can come along"
Thanks for you comments they are really helping with our due diligence.

[gronk]

If you are open to other choices, then what about a 2nd hand Kimberley Karavan. If I had 70K to spend, it would be on my list.

[glenm64]

North Coast Camper do an excellent van with the layout your looking for.
Not as many around but they're a bit cheaper and a very solid build.

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

[two up]

North Coast Camper do an excellent van with the layout your looking for.
Not as many around but they're a bit cheaper and a very solid build.

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

They are a copy of the Quantum, but you are right they are a good looking unit and we were considering one but the 2nd hand Quantum came at a price that was too good to pass up.

Sent from my A1601 using Tapatalk

[glenm64]

Not really a copy, just another version of a pop top off roader.
We nearly bought one new when we were looking. They were the only one that would do a layout how we wanted it without charging a million dollars for variations to the standard layout. They only charge for whats in it, regardless of the layout. Have met a few owners on the road and they are very happy with their vans.

Cheers Glen