Any recommendations for a single traveller looking to get a camper trailer. I am going with a group of others through the Kimberley and then next year up to Cape York and I want a camper traile that can do those rugges trips but is easy for just me to put up and down every night. Thanks for your help in anticipation.
Don't buy a budget Chinese built Australian assembled one, the welding is garbage. Get one with eye to eye springs if you aren't into the independant suspension price bracket. I fitted shockies to ours and that made a heap of difference to towing on rough dirt roads. Ours originally had override brakes, but I changed them to electric brakes which seemed to be better, although it was only the basic Redarc controller before the TowPro version was available. I left the override hitch though and just used the flip over lock to disable it acting on the hand brake cable. I figured it could be used as an override brake still if the electrics played up. Also when I bought the electric brake hubs I got them with the same stud pattern as my Troopy, so all wheels were the same and spare wheels could be used on both trailer and tow vehicle.
The type that have the awnings separately attached to the main tent are easier for overnighting and packing again the next morning. Make sure there is a good dust seal on all openings. You won't keep the dust out entirely, but you'll have less ingress. A flip over hinged tent base with gas struts makes it easier to pack the trailer and also helps when setting up.
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Yes I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
I guess a lot depends on your budget, but I would highly recommend the Ultimate Off Road Camper Trailer, made in Moruya, south coast N.S.W. An Ultimate will go anywhere your car will go, can be put up in about 5 minutes (once you've done it a couple of times) by one person if necessary. They're an expensive bit of kit, but you can pick up pre-loved ones through Trading Post or similar. Ultimate at Moruya often have ones that have been traded in on an upgrade, and they go right over them. We loved ours and were sorry to see it sold, but there were age and health reasons why we had to. They are a pleasure to tow, you tend to forget it's on the back! Anyway, whatever you choose, enjoy your travels and adventures. Cheers, Annie
Mine was a 10 year old Clark's Country Camper. It's the standard box trailer type, fully galvanised. It came with water tank, eye to eye springs, a Drifter Kitchen in good condition (Luke at Drifter actually refurbished it for me at no cost because it was one of the first he built and he was so pleased that it was still going strong but it had damaged legs due to my stupidity at the time) The main tent plus a fully enclosed annex and a second partially enclosed annex all made of heavy duty canvas (redback brand tent section built for the camper). I added the shocks, elec brakes, 12V battery and charging via a redarc BCDC1225 charger. I also converted the top to a hinged top with gas struts. I also fitted a fridge slide and had a 50L Engel fridge. The trailer cost me $6,000 originally.
I'll see if i can find some pics later.
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Yes I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
I don't know about you.. But if you are solo, A camper trailer will drive you nuts if you are on the move....
I sold my Camper as its a Pitta to put up solo...
Maybe look at a Tear drop camper for your self...
Juergen
Putting them up isn't so bad, but packing them away the next morning can be a PITTA. My wife used to set up ours by herself in 15 mins, it would take about 20 mins for both of us to pack it back up, maybe half an hour by myself. Thats only the main tent, no annexes for over nighting. Agree that some form of hard top camper/van would be easier, but what I liked was that the trailer could go anywhere the 4WD went. I used to be concerned about packing it away damp from dew in the morning as well, but if you're going to be setting it up again that night then no real problem.
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Yes I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
The only thing that might be quicker than Tvan setup / packup for a quick overnight without dropping the TVan tent would be a swag on the ground , even then I think the Tvan would be quicker .
We went to the Newcastle caravan and camping show today and saw these: Kimberly Karavan. A very nice camper trailer with a hard pop up top and a slide out bed section. It gets away from the canvas thing, so it is much more secure when locking up and leaving it for the day. About 5 mins to put up and the same to pack up. Great if you have a cool $80, 000 kicking about.
We have a 2002 Kimberly Camper. A bit on the higher side of the market.
I brought it for the long term and have had many trips so far.One trip around over three months. Very Strong with indpendant supension. weighs 760kg empty. easy to set up total time 5-8minutes has a hard floor witch is very important if you don't want water under your feet in inclemant weather. Gas struts on every thing to assist opening /closing. tows so well, you don't know its behind.We put a porta loo on the hard floor at night to save tripping over to the amenaties in the dark.
The newer models are over priced. The older models have the 150mm x 50mm draw bars built like a brick outhouse.
