trailer advice

[Pedro_The_Swift]

borrowed a soft top camper trailer a couple of weeks a go, built by Stanaway in Maryborough about 10 years ago,, great camper, strong as--, but it had a soft top, and after trying to repack it once,, well, We are not in a hurry to borrow it again,,

so,,

anybody out there with a HARDTOP camper?
or used one?

let me know your thoughts!

any major design faults with a hard top?

rain? bedding?

talk to me,,

[incisor]

mate, most soft tops are easy peasy to pack and unpack these days.

what sort of trouble did you have ?

[Pedro_The_Swift]

its was just the way the canvas all folded into the middle,,,,

two fold-out sides
and a collapsable A frame to hold the centre canvas up

theres obviously a knack,,,

we just think a hard floor model would be a lot easier,,

only a short jump to a pop-up!!!

[Xtreme]

I built a hardtop camper back in 2001 using a 130 tub as a base. Did over 40000 kms with it. Mainly up north during the 'dry', Kimberly, west coast, Pilbara, Nullabor, the centre etc. etc. Unit performed faultlessley except for one flat tyre. Stop at campsite, open back up, drop tailgate, lift out two chairs and we were set up for the night. Even incorporated a firewood rack on the front as part of the stone deflector.
This was good setup for two people. However I have recently replaced the hardtop with a canvas foldout as my son is now borrowing it occassionally and he has to accommodate six, hence the requirement of extra room.
I ran Landy hubs, bearings (on specially machined 55mm solid axle), springs, shocks, brakes and of course wheels - even had a Landy roof.
Only problem was high wind resistance due to long (1500mm) drawbar and flat shape of front. This was not a problem however if speed was limited to a max. of 90kph. Fuel consumption from 300Tdi Disco was around 11 to 11.5 l/100km over a 23500km trip.
Some pics in the gallery but I don't think there are any with the hardtop - can post some if you're interested.

Roger

[march64]

Bought a Jayco hard top with pull out beds six months ago - have had a ball in it ever since. Weighs in at around 900kg's fully loaded. Its a 95 model and paid $8000 for it with full size annex and side walls.
Takes around 10/15 minutes to get it up and running.
Just returned from a three week trip to Corner Country with two adults and one ten year old. Very comfortable, dry and relatively dust free!
The low profile and ease of towing made simple work on really rough corrugations and kept out the cold and rain.
It blew a gale in Broken Hill and pi.....ed down for three days. Not a drop inside and although it did tend to rock and roll a bit in high winds at night, we lost little sleep.
Being able to put a meal together inside was a big bonus.
One of the joys of this type of camper is the choice of cooking inside or out depending on the weather. Ventilation is great and the beds are comfortable.
Pulled it around with a 88 Rangie and averaged 16/17 litres to the hundred. Mate had a TDi 300 with a slightly larger camper van in tow and given the extra price of Deisel and marginal extra weight it actually cost him more in fuel. More info? Cantact me.
burt2403@optusnet.com.au
Names Dave.

[seqfisho]

Pedro,

Soft floors have changed a fair bit in the last 10 years, they are relatively easy to pack up, just not the sort of thing you want to be doing day in and day out for weeks at a time (not us anyway) for stops where you will stay a few days or arent spending all the daylight hours travelling then I'd say they are the best value around as you have large living areas and huge carrying capacity (we took way too much with us last time) and lots of options for the price, hard floors require a lot more thought in packing (what you can fit where) and a lot more dollars to purchase.

Like everything else it all depends on what you want to do with the unit and what suits your budget, we are looking at hardfloors for the simple reason of quick setup and packup when we are touring long distances as we plan to be doing plenty of it over the next 10 years, although that doesnt mean I wont set up beside a river somewhere for a week or more but the constant extra work of packing and unpacking the tent section on a softfloor and traveling long days doesn't suit us. We found that out last trip, and althought the camper we hired was great I'm glad we tried one before we purchased.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2006/10/123.jpg

[incisor]

Bought a Jayco hard top with pull out beds six months ago - have had a ball in it ever since.

jayco are fine if you manage to get a good one.

i know many that have bought them and found broken and crumbled furniture when the get to where they are going...

the idea is great, the build is not so great...

[JES]

I have a Kimberley Kamper. they are a hard floor type. I recently travelled from Sydney to Kalgoorlie, then Wiluna to travel the Canning Stock route, then back to Alice, Ularu, Finke, Dalhousie, across the Simpson to Birdsville then home via dirt/tar. Had absolutely no dust in the camper anywhere!. The Disco on the other hand was coated throughout! Nice red colour:D

I was travelling with a friend who owns a TVan, unfortunately the same couldn't be said for the dust issues. He had dust in his storage areas, the kitchen and inside!

Don't pay for a new one, look around and pick one up second hand. Mine has travelled over 25 000k's now and only has a few stone chips on the tool box. Exi I know, but second hand they very good value for money.
John

[seqfisho]

I have a Kimberley Kamper. they are a hard floor type. I recently travelled from Sydney to Kalgoorlie, then Wiluna to travel the Canning Stock route, then back to Alice, Ularu, Finke, Dalhousie, across the Simpson to Birdsville then home via dirt/tar. Had absolutely no dust in the camper anywhere!. The Disco on the other hand was coated throughout! Nice red colour:D

I was travelling with a friend who owns a TVan, unfortunately the same couldn't be said for the dust issues. He had dust in his storage areas, the kitchen and inside!

Don't pay for a new one, look around and pick one up second hand. Mine has travelled over 25 000k's now and only has a few stone chips on the tool box. Exi I know, but second hand they very good value for money.
John

Hi JES,

You dragged your KK up the CSR?

If so how did it go?????

Also what model Disco do you have?