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Thread: Trayon campers

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2006
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    Trayon campers

    I've been dreaming a bit of late, and been looking at Trayon Campers, I think I've seen a couple of posters here have one, could you tell me what you really think of them, and what the pros/cons are?
    Ta in advance,
    Fraser

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    These are some comments I made a while back to some specific questions asked in a PM. They might cover some of the things you are interested in.
    If you have any specific things you want me to comment on, just ask.

    It's very hard to know what someone else would be satisfied with. I know of some people who will only live in a caravan for a few months if it is equipped with a toilet, shower, microwave, coffee machine, island double bed, satellite dish, plasma TV and a few other things. Others are happy in a tent.
    My wife and I have spent over two months at a stretch and had no complaints.
    The bed is very comfortable. The fridge is 80 or 90 litres, which is big enough. The stove and sink are adequate. There is plenty of storage, but as my wife has pointed out there is nowhere to hang clothes. (Funny I didn't notice that )
    Mine is the dual cab model even though I have it on a single cab 110. When you buy second hand you often just have to take what is available at the time you need to buy. The single cab model had a bit more floor space and a few more cupboards.
    Some people might get tired of having to go up and down the steps.. At 60 yrs of age my wife and I don't find it a problem. It might even depend on how much time you spend outside under the awning created by swinging the top over. That shaded area is really great especially if you park with it on the southern side of the vehicle.
    It has really good ventilation. The fly which can be fitted helps keep the heat out.
    It takes very little time to set up and pack up and is a one person job.
    I believe that I could live in the Trayon for a year or so, but of course it would not be the best thing on the market for that sort of thing. It is designed to be as comfortable as a slide on camper could be while still being no bigger than the tray, hardly higher than the cab when travelling and only about 350kg. In other words it is designed to allow the vehicle to still be able to go almost anywhere it could have gone without the camper.
    It is certainly way more convenient than any camper trailer I have seen.
    It takes me about 15 minutes to take it off the vehicle and about 20 to put it back on. I do that at home when I need the vehicle for something else, but I have only once stayed in the one place for long enough for that to be worthwhile on a trip and that was at Alice Springs.
    If you had to pack up several morning in a row when it was raining you would have to protect the bedding from the wet canvas. If you're staying put it doesn't matter. That awning over the door is great in wet weather.

    The Trayon site is worth a look.
    http://www.trayon.com/main.php

    As I said it's hard to know what someone else would be happy with. I hope this is some help.
    I'm happy to add anything else that might help if you have some specific questions about particular features.
    Don't be afraid to ask if there is anything else you want to know.

    Some of the pros would be the clever design, the build quality, the compactness when traveling and the space when camping. I like the idea of no extra rego as there would be with a camper trailer and the fact that reversing in tricky spots is just as easy as with no camper.

    The biggest con I can think of is one that hasn't yet been a problem for me, that is having the wet canvas folding down on the bed when it rains. I believe a tarp or plastic spread across the bed keeps it dry. I suppose another disadvantage is the cost. Anything that good is not cheap.

    1973 Series III LWB 1983 - 2006
    1998 300 Tdi Defender Trayback 2006 - often fitted with a Trayon slide-on camper.

  3. #3
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    Don't know anything about them unfortunately, but there's a guy here in wonthaggi who makes these: utepod.com I don't know anything about them either, but they seem a good idea.

  4. #4
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    Hi Agree with every thing VNX205 had to say, we are on our third trayon. we purchased all 3 s/h and now have the delux model with Shower, Gas hot water and most importantly perspex windows which allow us to have natural light when it's raining or cold and windy. We love it and is a perfect match for 130 dualcab.
    Peter

  5. #5
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    Definitely agree with pjihat and vnx205, we have a standard model trayon which goes on our single cab 130 on a 9 foot tray (2750mm for the younger generation), which allows us to carry 2 spare tyres, jerry cans and other extras in a separate locker. We have spent over 3 months at time travelling with it in all kinds of weather and offroad conditions. My only problem has been the gas fridge not being able to handle very hot weather, however I believe they now mount the fridges with insulation on the sides and they run more efficiently. Generally we cook and eat outside the trayon in a more traditional camping setup but when the weather is wet or really windy its a godsend to be able to walk up the steps into the camper and still be able to cook etc, not necessarily something you can do in most camper trailers I've looked at. When not in use I store it in my garage on the legs and as already said its very easy to put on the vehicle and take off. Although theses days I cheat by using a battery drill with socket instead of a normal ratchet to wind the legs up and down. They are very strong given the light weight, fully loaded with 180 litres of fuel, 120 litres of water and all necessary equipment our 130 hits the scales at 1380 kgs at the front and 1860 kgs on the rear well within the vehicles specs.

    Pros, build quality, ease of setup, roominess, no rego
    Cons, gas fridge (currently modifying tray to be able to carry engel as backup)

  6. #6
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    The old cordless drill I use to wind the legs up and down is a 12V GMC. It doesn't have enough power to lift the camper, so I use the head from an angle grinder to give the drill about a 3:1 mechanical advantage. I plug it into the power socket on the outside of the camper.

    The original owner of my camper lived in Katherine when he bought it. He fitted two little computer fans to help the 3 way fridge work better in tropical temperatures. I understand that it made a worthwhile difference to the performance.

    1973 Series III LWB 1983 - 2006
    1998 300 Tdi Defender Trayback 2006 - often fitted with a Trayon slide-on camper.

  7. #7
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    Having seen vnx205's in action, I must say I was very impressed.

    Remember Alan, I've got first dibs when you finally realise it would be better on my 130 than yours ;P

    Sent from the dodgy keyboard on my phone via Tapatalk

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by vnx205 View Post
    The old cordless drill I use to wind the legs up and down is a 12V GMC. It doesn't have enough power to lift the camper, so I use the head from an angle grinder to give the drill about a 3:1 mechanical advantage. I plug it into the power socket on the outside of the camper.

    The original owner of my camper lived in Katherine when he bought it. He fitted two little computer fans to help the 3 way fridge work better in tropical temperatures. I understand that it made a worthwhile difference to the performance.
    FWIW: I had similar problems with a 'converted' GMC 12V drill until I upgraded the power cable soldered to the terminals in the drill handle to 8 gauge. The drill torque increased considerably when connected to a 105AH deep cell..

  9. #9
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    Pros, build quality, ease of setup, roominess, no rego
    Cons, gas fridge (currently modifying tray to be able to carry engel as backup)[/QUOTE]

    Expedition 130. We were also concerned about the gas fridge and in particular that they are not meant to operate off the level! plus I wanted to get away from switching over to 12v every time we moved and the fact of having a flame on in the camper all the time. Despite Trayon saying the Waco 90 liter danfos compressor fridge would not fit, it does very neatly. So we have uped our solar supply and battery storage and now have safe and any level (up to 30 degrees) fridge freezer. We also made a shelter with two hand winches that suspends the unit on cables.
    This anables us to load and unload in seconds after undoing the hold down bolts. We still carry the legs with us for stays of 4 -5 days or more where we need the vehicle for other things.If you have the earlier model with out perspect windows you can cut a sheet of thin stiff perspect to fit inbetween the canvas and fly screen, it works very well and can be stored under the matress. Peter
    Last edited by pjlhat; 16th April 2012 at 01:02 PM. Reason: corection

  10. #10
    munro Guest

    re Trayon Campers

    To resurrect an old thread. Anyone with a 130 dual cab and a Trayon, how or where do you carry the spare wheels and Hi Lift Jack. Also is there any realistic free storage for other stuff with the Trayon?

    I realize this is an oldish thread but with a dual cab 130 in mind, is the Trayon still the slide-on of choice or is there any other slide-on that anyone would recommend as a good fit for the d/c 130.

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