GIC Camper Trailers

[DBKDISCO]

Hello,

I am currently looking to up grade my camper trailer and have came across GIC campers in Sydney, O
On paper and what I have seen on 4WD action DVD etc they appear to be pretty good, my only concern is the price, they are cheap for what you get and the build quality, has any had any dealings or got one?

as they say if its too good to be true it generally is:angel:

[TerryO]

Hello,

I am currently looking to up grade my camper trailer and have came across GIC campers in Sydney, O
On paper and what I have seen on 4WD action DVD etc they appear to be pretty good, my only concern is the price, they are cheap for what you get and the build quality, has any had any dealings or got one?

as they say if its too good to be true it generally is:angel:


At the risk of offending those that own a GIC camper, go with your gut feeling about if it sounds to good to be true.

There are many brands of good campers out there but you pay for what you get, having said that you will get plenty of exceptional bargains secondhand at the moment.

cheers,
Terry

[Tank]

I had a serious look at a couple of GIC CTs at our local Camping show recently, honestly I was shocked by the lack of quality workmanship. The braces under the ply bottom of the bed were atrocious, they were narrow C channel bent about a foot in from the ends with the bend facing up against the ply, the welds on each end of these supports were pathetic and 3 were already broken and this trailer was a display model that had never been used, on road or off. The welds on the spring hanger brackets was downright dangerous, the weld to the chassis was OK but most of the weld on the hanger was not even touching the hanger, it was the same on all 4 GIC trailers there.
After spending the day climbing under and over all the trailers at this Camping Show the more disappointed I became, I was going to buy a GIC as they were in my price range. But after seeing the workmanship of these 4 display trailers I wasn't going to risk having one of these (GIC) trailers fall to bits while outback touring.
I know there will be those that will swear by their GIC trailers, but I wouldn't use one to take rubbish to the tip, it's got me stuffed how they would be able to register the trailers I looked at, so now I am building my own and if it falls apart (which it wont) I only have myself to blame, regards Frank.

[Col.Coleman]

What was the standard of the Canvas like? I have been looking at fitting one of their canvas' to my Track Trailer.

CC

[Mick-Kelly]

They use a generic chinese import canvas. Market Direct are basically the same just different colours.

[tonic]

Having just spent 4 years buying our first camping trailer I can feel for you. So many choices.

I had a look at them at a camping show, OK but not up to my hopes given all the hype. On price great, but as already stated, be prepared for upgrades.

I ending up buying a better brand second hand that had been used 3 times in 4 years at around 60% of original price.

Originally I wanted and still want independant suspension. I have found a highly skilled mob who do unbreakable work trailers who can retrofit for around 2k. The original makers will put a boat rack on struts as I want for a similar price. All up I getting what I wanted in the first place and even with the add ons I will still be below the new price for this brand with all the extras already fitted.

My advice, unless you want new, there are great deals second hand. Many people buy them and hardly ever use them.

Good luck with it.

[Mick-Kelly]

I can second that. Bought ours second hand for $3500. It is a great setup. Off road soft floor with water tank, kitchen etc. A few mods and it is looking good.

[warren9981]

I purchased a GIC this year and am happy with what I got.
I looked at building my own but decided that for the price these would make a good base to start from. I plan on making a few changes to this trailer.
Being a fitter and turner / electronics technician / restricted electrical licence by trades I can do any mods myself. These trailer are very poorly finished off, eg hoses and cables through sheet metal have no grommets and will eventually wear through. Plumbing for water tank is really dodgy etc.

My requirement was for a "cheap" camper to fit a family of 5. No serious off road work, just the odd dirt road to get to our campsite. Mostly weekend camping so must be relatively quick to setup and pull down. We go weekend camping about every 6 weeks.

This unit ticked the boxes.
Purchased in May and have used it for 3 weekends so far.
Am happy with this unit at the moment.

[Tank]

What was the standard of the Canvas like? I have been looking at fitting one of their canvas' to my Track Trailer.

CC
The Canvas was better quality, (buildwise) than the trailer, after seeing the workmanship of the trailer I didn't do a close inspection of the canvas, but did notice that it was very hot inside, don't remember if it had a sun roof, Regards Frank.

[justinc]

it is trailers like these of poor quality and built down to a price that force higher priced but excellent quality local manufacturers out of the industry, pretty soon all you will be able to get are rubbish imported stuff and your $$ will be going overseas. We are shooting ourselves in the foot people.

:(

JC

[DBKDISCO]

Thanks for all the advice / stories, on the weekend I brought a second hand Cavalier camper trailer with the mods etc i am after, am very happy with the quality and price,

as someone has said there are alot of secondhand trailers on the market

[cewilson]

Congratulations, I hope you enjoy taking it out and using it.

[incisor]

Apparently the owners of GIC Campers object to some of the assertions in this thread.

i received this in email today.


now you know why we try as we do to protect the system.

[weeds]

geez.......you should check out the threads on myswag in relation to GIC, i normally ignore them and i am pretty sure they don't get edited

[modman]

You get what you pay for
The cheapest (new) are usually the shoddiest;)
There is a mob in Vic that Seles out of cambellfield near Barry rd that makes some very cheap campers, I stopped in to have a look. In the words of my daughter OMG..............
Looked like they were knocked up the day the metal working teacher was home sick!!
But if you're not going Offroad and that's all you can afford then knock yourself out!
Whatever gets you on the tracks or out camping is a start.
I look at the next tier up, say a basic xtrail camper and its very good value and quality workmanship (compared to some others)
Do we have to bend over for these legal bum sniffers??
Dc

[justinc]

FGS if the product was any good it wouldn't require this response. idiots.

jc

[inside]

I wonder which part they think is specifically defamatory? Just the general tone perhaps?

Hmm anyway all they've done is raise their profile. If you need lawyers to defend yourself on the internet then you've got bigger problems.

[Yorkie]

thats bull, the only real comment was from jc and he is in tassie so should not be treated seriously. :angel:

maybe we can all send the lawyers an email of support for aulro and get some of the other forums involved. as mentioned on myswag they dont hold back and other forums i have read commenting on GIC. :mad:

[Boofla]

I wonder which part they think is specifically defamatory? Just the general tone perhaps?

Hmm anyway all they've done is raise their profile. If you need lawyers to defend yourself on the internet then you've got bigger problems.

I'm currently looking at buying a camper trailer but getting a lawyer to send a letter based on peoples broad opinions has made me stay even further away from their products so much that I will never purchase anything from them! Not even 2nd hand!

[Ranga]

I wonder which part they think is specifically defamatory? Just the general tone perhaps?

It's the vibe of the thing :p

Its the vibe of the thing... - YouTube

[incisor]

and this is what i get to see

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment.php?attachmentid=63914&stc=1&d=1375872032

[Mick_Marsh]

Classic!

Hey, when I Google, I get this.
http://www.productreview.com.au/r/gic-camper-trailers/416021.html#reviews
I wonder if they'll take on Google?

[justinc]

thats bull, the only real comment was from jc and he is in tassie so should not be treated seriously. :angel:

maybe we can all send the lawyers an email of support for aulro and get some of the other forums involved. as mentioned on myswag they dont hold back and other forums i have read commenting on GIC. :mad:

:confused::confused::confused: I feel i have valid points! the law is an ass:mad::mad::mad: if something is substandard then it deserves that description ! i am sorry dave if i have contributed in some way to the above correspondence from shyster and shyster :wasntme:.


jc

[incisor]

original document in pdf format (http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment.php?attachmentid=63907&stc=1&d=1375866766)

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/08/2.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/08/3.jpg

[pop058]

Classic!

Hey, when I Google, I get this.
http://www.productreview.com.au/r/***-camper-trailers/416021.html#reviews
I wonder if they'll take on Google?

Strangely, that link no longer works :p

[incisor]

further to the notice i received and published above

and having a great appreciation for newton's third law....

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/08/1.jpg

[incisor]

i have not received any response to the above.