Which Hardfloor Camper for a family of 4?

[Craig.td42]

Hi,

I'm in the market for another camper. I am wanting a hard floor camper with quick setup, i am thinking of an Aussie Swag camper but am undecided.

Could possible go for a Camprite, just undecided. Just thinking of storage and sleeping areas for the kids, value for money and weather to buy second hand or new.



I would appreciate any words of wisdom.

thanks

Craig

[Kit_e_kat9]

Check out my Tech Tip:  http://www.campertrailers.org/buying_the_right_camper.htm.  This is how we decided on ours.  We don't have kids, but bunks would work ok in an AS.  There is always the option of the kids room as well.

Kit_e

[kiva]

Exactly our situation. We have two little ones (three and seventeen months) and needed to put them somewhere. For us, the best option was from Ultimate. The kids can sleep in an "under bed room" that attaches under the flip out area. The other option is that the internal couch transforms into a bed and the kids can sleep "top-and-tail" thus avoiding the setup of the under bed room. If the kids are still very young then they can also sleep in the king size bed, or perhaps one parent with two kids in the king bed and the other parent on the single bed. We typically have the oldest upstairs on the single bed and bubs in the under bed room. For a quick overnighter which avoids setting up the under bed room I'll sleep on the single with everyone else on the king.

We also looked at the Camprite and they are a wonderful piece of kit and also had a place for the kids. However the missus loved the idea of a king size bed that is in an Ultimate and we both figured that our little ones will migrate outside to swags/tents when they are a bit older. As such, the two single beds on the Camprite wouldn't get much use after a while.

As for storage, there is quite a bit. The nose cone is quite large and inside there are cupboards under the kitchen. The cushions for the couch/single bed lift up to reveal more storage areas and there are the external storage lockers as well.

Good luck with your research!

[LC]

There was a discussion recently about kmiberley's and Aussie swags - here is the link

http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=9031.0

[BigJules]

There would  be little debate that Cub have the most internal space in the hard floor category, though perhaps not as fancy or possibly even as durable as those others you mention.

[Estelle]

We chose a Cub with it's ease of setup and space. They have the normal On Road, Transcontinental and the Off Road in most of their models (quite a bit cheaper than those you mentioned). Ours is 20ft long inside when opened by about 6th wide. Single or double beds ( more room with single) kids sleep in one section, oldies in the other.

Options upon options, stainless steel kitchen inside or out etc.  Big ones ,little ones to tow behind a bike.

Good luck 

[Captain]

We are a family of 4 and had a Camprite for many years. Apart form all the usual good gear, what other camper can you carry 4 bikes, 2 kayaks and not have to take them off when setting up for the night? And with the bunk kit you can sleep 6, but the bunks are also great for loose storage once set up for the night. It is arguably the best family camper on the market IMHO 

Cheers

Captain

[JCOJ]

We have two little boys aged 5 and 3 and we have the Aussie Swag.  On overnighters we just put them on a Thermarest (we use sheets and blankets as opposed to sleeping bags) on the hard floor and they sleep very well.

In the morning we just put their beds on top of ours and close it all up in no time - very easy.

For longer stays we do put up the kids room, but we did 3 weeks from Adelaide to Darwin and never bothered to put it up once.

[madwally]

Hi Craig,
We recently purchased a Modcon Solution HF (smallest of the forward folds). We've setup with and without the awning/annexe and cannot complain about anything. We've also got a couple of kids so we ordered the camper with an extra mattress (3 on total) in the lounge area which converts to a double bed for the kids to sleep on. Weekend trips to the beach with the kids without setting up the annexe is so easy, literally 2 minutes.  We've been away in heavy rain and strong winds and not a problem, fantastic camper. The best thing is nothing touches the ground (except the annexe) so setting up and packing away is so quick, and the kids are also sleeping up off the ground. Kerry and Phyllis from Modcon were great to deal with, nothing was a problem for them.

[coffs camping]

My children and I recently bought a 2002 model Cub Spacemtic transcontinetal pack. It suits us perfectly. We like the inside kitchen - if its raining no one get wet having breaky. My son sleeps on the fold down dinette and loves it. My daughter has a blow up on the floor (at the far end). We use the rest of the floor space for a table and put our gear underneath it.

We have a zip on awning that my daughter pulls on using a ladder and a piece of thin rope. She is only 13! She also loves putting the whole camper up - it is easy because of the boat winch and the gas struts. She drew a big crowd at Diamond Head recently when she packed us up and connected us to the Cruiser!

We have downsized from a Jayco Eagle and have no complaints at all.

Good luck with your search.

J

[Blue Bravo]

Would also agree that a Cub has more space under canvass than most competitors. Would love a dollar for every time someone looked inside ours and said they should have considered them before buying something else.

[sako]

We also chose an ultimate for similar reasons to kiva.  We have one almost 2 and another due shortly and the ultimate ticked the most boxes for us.  We have found the inside kitchen and cooking really handy in bad weather and for quick stops.  Also gives the little ones somewhere to chill out, do some drawing, reading or have a snooze.

Good luck with your decision!

[LeighC]

Hi Craig,

You know if you were to take something out of all the points raised already, is that people have chosen their particular camper as it has the features that are important to them.  As you've already got a camper you would have formed opinions on what you like about them and what you need.  Similarly you're looking at moving to a hard floor plus certain features.  So I'd put it back to you ;
* Do you mind cooking inside or out ... or moreso the smell of cooking in the tent
* Where does you budget fit in the hardfloor market
* If you're looking at second hand then do you think you'll get most of the features that are important to you.
* Will the kids be happy on the floor, shifted outside, or need a bed in the camper (camprite)

I feel there's not so much as a bad camper as this forum is full of people with campers that suit their needs.

We've got a Pioneer on order and have a 3yo and 5mnth old.  The plan is to put them on bunks later on, initially they'll both fit on the floor with out walking on them.  We spend all our time outside so don't need the space of a soft floor.   When they're older again we'll put them in the Oztent we've already got.

You've really got a great dilemma, let us know what you choose. 

cheers,
Leigh

[Craig.td42]

Thanks to all of you for your replies, good food for thought

I am still leaning towards the Aussie Swag as the kitchen, chassis and the features really make this camper suit our camping style, as we only really like to stay in one place for a night or two max. We are looking at putting the kids on the hard floor at the minute, but could possibly get the kids room later on. The biggest factor for going to a hard floor camper for us is the fact that either my wife or I could setup or packup the camper in the event of an incident.

Thanks again for all your replies, it has been most helpful in making our choice.

Cheers

craig
 

[fabulous]

Hi Craig,

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the suggestions.  It is a personal preference.

We opted for the hard floor mainly due to the ease of putting up, in need it can be an easy one person job even though we both do our bit to set it up.

Best way is to go to a caravan and camping show and look at lots of different brands and styles which is what we did.

We are very happy with what we chose.


Cheers

Phil & Karen