Soft floor campers - tail gate hinge on drivers or passenger sides?

[stuee]

I've been looking at soft floor campers lately and I've not found any particular schools of thought towards which way campers should fold our and which side the tail gate should hinge from.

My view is that the tail gate should hinge on the drivers side and the tent should fold out to the passenger side. This is mainly so that if you pull over during a drive (either well off the road or into a rest area) and pull the kitchen out the back you face the road as opposed to have your back to it. Then so that your tailgate doesn't split your annex area in two it would then make sense that the tent folds to the passenger side as well. I also thought most caravan parks/campsites would be set up for this too as generally all caravans have the entry on the passenger side and an awning that comes out that side too.

When I started looking it seems that Australian campers were made in this fashion with the imports being opposite - i.e tail gate hinged from the passenger side and tent fold out to drivers/road side. Looking more I've found some Australian campers built this way too which made me want to ask the question as to which way people think the trailers should be built and why? If you favour the tail gate hinging on the passenger side I'm keen to hear why as I have been skipping past campers with the tail gates hinged from the passenger side.

[DiscoMick]

Our hard floor hinges to the rear. Most campsites are long and narrow so rear hinges works best in them. The camper is the width of a parking space.
I've been looking at front folding campers recently, which have the advantage of folding in their own length and not needing extra space.
I don't like the idea of folding to either side.

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[cjc_td5]

Our soft floor camper is an Outback camper that used to be made in Wangarra. It folds to the drivers side. The only time it is an issue is when forced to use a caravan site with a concrete slab. Having it fold on drivers side and having the annexe over the slab forces the tent door to the rear of the site. Having it fold the other way would alleviate this issue.

I believe Outback campers are now made to fold to the passenger side.

Cheers Chris

[stuee]

Our hard floor hinges to the rear. Most campsites are long and narrow so rear hinges works best in them. The camper is the width of a parking space.
I've been looking at front folding campers recently, which have the advantage of folding in their own length and not needing extra space.
I don't like the idea of folding to either side.

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We're not even entertaining the idea of a rear or forward folding hardfloor. The budget is around $6k which will get a reasonable quality Australian made trailer and softfloor tent combo second hand. By the time any annexes are thrown up the foot print is not that different (with the exception of some softfloors which are getting to be ridiculous sizes), but I agree a forward or rear fold camper would be best for compact camp sites.

[loanrangie]

Our Dingo offroad softfloor has a traditional style drop down tailgate with a slide out kitchen on the LH side, the tent folds out to the RH side.
I didnt think the left or right side made much difference i just didnt want a rear fold as then the tent can only be as wide as the trailer which is usually 5ft. Where as a side fold will be generally 7ft long so gives a wider floor tent area.

[loneranger]

Our soft floor camper folds to the passenger side and the tailgate hinges the drivers side. My opinion is you want the tailgate to hinge to the opposite side the tent folds out. Personally I would always want a camper that folds to the passenger side that way if you have to pull over anywhere and for whatever reason put the tent up it is always away from the traffic.

[loanrangie]

Dont know about you but in traffic is the last place i would be opening the tent, besides you would only want access to the kitchen for a cuppa stop so that wouldnt be a problem.

[rangieman]

I have a Pinnacle soft floor camper and the tent on mine folds out left and right yep two rooms one each side .
My tailgate hinges from the left and also has a slide out kitchen.
Personally i`ve never had the need nor do i ever want to camp that close to a road to worry about it:eek:

[Bytemrk]

I've got a Tambo Cooper.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/03/325.jpg

The tailgate hinges to the passenger side and the tent comes off the drivers side.

The whole top also lifts from the passenger side ( Whether it's setup or packed.)
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/03/326.jpg

When I'd had to grab something out of the trailer on the side of a busy road, I've been glad it lifted on the protected side.

But like the others, I'd never camp near a busy road, so set up this isn't an issue.

[Saitch]

Caravan park site ?????????????????????
I've never really thought about "Which Side" but ours opens to the drivers side & as stated above, if ever having to lift the lid it's safer away from the carriageway.
As to pulling the kitchen out for a cuppa & you're worried about traffic well you're parked in the wrong place, my friend!
Steve


p.s. our soft floor is available although at the opposite end of the earth :)

[DiscoMick]

Our tailgate doesn't open to either side, but just drops down.
Our kitchen box slides out to open on the passenger side, so it always faces way from the traffic on the driver's side.


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