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jake
13th August 2007, 04:32 PM
:)G'day Everyone,

We currently researching into purchase of a camper trailer, We are looking towards Hard Floor Types. Anymemers with a hard floor cmaper trailer I would very much appreciate your comments on what you have or what you would like. We have started to research the following

Australian Off road Campertrailers - Odessy ZR
Kimberley Camper
Tvan
Pioneer Argyle
Cape Your Trailers

My main concerns are towing and weight. We have a TD5 Defender and have not towed with this car.
Also we are interested in set up, how do you find, or your wife finds the kitchen set.
Do you get dampness inside after a wet night and then packing up.
What is the main thing that made your descsion of purchase apart from pricing.

Any thoughts and comments are appreciated.:)

EchiDna
13th August 2007, 05:17 PM
A Defender can tow a 2 person camper like it aint there... it's got one of the highest tow capacities of all 4x4's on the market.

need to know stuff like:
how many people do you intend it to sleep?
do you want internal or external kitchen?
budget??? can you stretch to $40k+? some of those listed are well into that range...

BMKal
14th August 2007, 08:00 PM
Our trailer is not what you are looking for, but weighs about a tonne. The TD5 pulls it without any problem - better than my company car which is a 4L V6 Petrol Prado.
Wouldn't imagine a TD5 having trouble pulling anything within reason.

ATH
20th August 2007, 12:23 PM
Hi Jake.
The cook and I bought an Argyle a year ago and are quite happy with it. We have had issues with the cheap (and nasty) 12v plugs they fit as the cover just perishes and drops off very quickly. The dust and etc. then gets into them.
The bolts holding the Treg on to the A frame go rusty and I painted them with some rust proofing stuff from Bunnings and it's stopped.

We weren't happy with the canvas as it didn't look right when erected...... baggy in parts tight in others. They had it in their yard for weeks and it came back exactly the same, but looking at others from them they all seem much the same.
Overall we're happy with it as it performs well off road behind the Defender 300Tdi.
Alan.

jake
20th August 2007, 12:34 PM
:)G'day Alan,

Thanks to everyone for your replys,

Alan have you had rims standardised to the Defender.

We looked over the Argyle on the weekend. To me it was the pick in being not overly large. We have narrowed things down to two campers, either a T-Van or the Argyle.

Quality is something I am very concerned with and I did notice some rusted shavings on the lips of the doors on the Argyle. This I hope would not be an indication of poor quality. I like the Argyle and the weight factor.

I would be interested in any picks you may have hitched to your Defender.

I would very much like to hear from any T Van Owners if possible.

regards

Jake

Tank
23rd August 2007, 11:28 AM
:)G'day Alan,

Thanks to everyone for your replys,

Alan have you had rims standardised to the Defender.

We looked over the Argyle on the weekend. To me it was the pick in being not overly large. We have narrowed things down to two campers, either a T-Van or the Argyle.

Quality is something I am very concerned with and I did notice some rusted shavings on the lips of the doors on the Argyle. This I hope would not be an indication of poor quality. I like the Argyle and the weight factor.

I would be interested in any picks you may have hitched to your Defender.

I would very much like to hear from any T Van Owners if possible.

regards

Jake
T-Van, lots of money for a mobile bed, Regards Frank.

seqfisho
23rd August 2007, 12:36 PM
:)G'day Everyone,

We currently researching into purchase of a camper trailer, We are looking towards Hard Floor Types. Anymemers with a hard floor cmaper trailer I would very much appreciate your comments on what you have or what you would like. We have started to research the following

Australian Off road Campertrailers - Odessy ZR
Kimberley Camper
Tvan
Pioneer Argyle
Cape Your Trailers

My main concerns are towing and weight. We have a TD5 Defender and have not towed with this car.
Also we are interested in set up, how do you find, or your wife finds the kitchen set.
Do you get dampness inside after a wet night and then packing up.
What is the main thing that made your descsion of purchase apart from pricing.

Any thoughts and comments are appreciated.:)

I own a soft floor so this is not from experience with ownership of any of the makes mentioned, but we were looking at the range of makes mentioned after our last outback trip in a softfloor before the financial's didn't quite work as we had planned :mad:

The following is my choice in order of prefference;)

AORC Oddessy
Cape York Explorer
Kimberly Kamper
Pioneer Argyle
T-Van

Although I would slip the Aussie Swag Ultra in after the AROC Oddessy and leave off the T-Van. To me the T-Van is too restricted in area and I would feel pretty cramped inside it, especially up north in the tropical climates, but is does have a brilliant suspension setup.

If you are keen for the T-Van, PM Grizzly Adams on this site, he has one and tows it with a 300Tdi Fender Auto, and did the cape last year with no probs that I can remember. He may have a trip report on here somewhere.

PhilipA
24th August 2007, 03:35 PM
Are you buying new or used?
I recently bought a Campomatic 1997 for $10,000, and I am rapt, as I wanted a light camper.
Mine is about 500KG or so but does not have brakes or fridge or battery etc. It does however have tremendous build quality and design, with independent suspension.
The axles are 1600KG rated ALKO, however I saw someone had broken one in one of the 4WD mags last month. Going by where it broke it was a seized bearing and that is maintenance..( just so I do not get a flood of comments)

I looked at the new one on the Trak Shak stand at the Gosford show. These have fridge, battery etc and weigh 900 KG. They are assembled where else but China, but still seem to be built like brick outhouses.

The salesman said that they are planning lighter less fully fitted models. In the past, the different models apparently had different parts in them. What a nightmare.
Regards Philip A

weeds
24th August 2007, 07:08 PM
I towed my dad's CUB hardfloor to tassie and back, 32 days on the road

It was a spacematic I think 20 foot long when folded out...must point out it was not the off road model however it was half way between a road and an offroad as it had a trans-continentalpack fitted (upgraded springs, longer draw bar and larger rims/tyres)

Good Points
- affordable (comes at a price)
- tow nicely
- no muddy floor when it was raining
- full inside kitchen godsend..bloody tassie weather in the middle of summer...cooking inside under canvas is not as bad as many make out
- two single beds made it easy making the beds, accessing storage under the beds and with two boys gave us more standing room along with not disturbing your partner getting in and out of bed
- winch system for setup foldup
- no issues with wet canvas when folded up
- awning can stay attached
- no dust issues

Bad Points (most due to build cost)
- leaf spring failed in the first year (now fitted with heavy duty springs with military loop) CUB would not cover the costs
- water leaked through some stitching even after we wet it down three times prior to use, had to apply some sealant
- had to mod the canvas bows at the rear, kept colapsing when winching
- after sales service
- wasted space under the stove/sink

As the camper will be handed down to me I am pretty happy with it now that all the minor problems have been sorted aprt from not being off road

If you go with leaf suspension check that it is quality

Go light as possible but good suspension

Get the biggest battery box available

Taz
24th August 2007, 07:22 PM
As I dont own a hard floor camper - pls take my opinion as being somewhat ignorant; but here's my 2c worth anyway...

I assume that any dust or dirt that gets in and on the floor can easily end up in/on your bed when you pack it up.
Like most other campers - folding up wet canvas into a bed will either cause direct moisture transfer to your bedding, or in-direct as the day heats up and the inside of your packed up camper turns into a steam bath.
The floor space in hard floor campers are almost allways smaller than there softfloor equivalents.
Hard floor campers have much more demanding requirements for finding a level site - the extent of some wheel/floor chocking that I've seen will make you cry!Dont get me wrong - I wouldnt say no to a KK any day! Lots of advantages, but some negatives too.

Cheers,
Taz.

weeds
24th August 2007, 07:48 PM
As I dont own a hard floor camper - pls take my opinion as being somewhat ignorant; but here's my 2c worth anyway...

I assume that any dust or dirt that gets in and on the floor can easily end up in/on your bed when you pack it up.

++++ Never had a problem, just swept the floor before folding up each time

Like most other campers - folding up wet canvas into a bed will either cause direct moisture transfer to your bedding, or in-direct as the day heats up and the inside of your packed up camper turns into a steam bath.

++++ I think I had to fold up three when it was wet, beds we're dry when we unfolded

The floor space in hard floor campers are almost allways smaller than there softfloor equivalents.

++++ most hardfloors come with and annex


Hard floor campers have much more demanding requirements for finding a level site - the extent of some wheel/floor chocking that I've seen will make you cry!

++++ you still have to level a softfloor up otherwise you would roll out of bed

Dont get me wrong - I wouldnt say no to a KK any day! Lots of advantages, but some negatives too.

++++ I know a guy that was production manager at KK for a few years, they would not be his first choice

Cheers,
Taz.

But in saying all that I do like my sisters softfloor, they are just simple, it does not even have a kitchen in the tailgate...at this stage I will be towing the softfloor to cooma for the 60th

OLR-067
24th August 2007, 10:56 PM
I am after a camper at the moment. And basically due to a tight budget will be going for a simply fold out bed. A basic on road, no kitchen, no frills. Lite and simply.There are just the two of us and we don't plan on going off road, if we do will just be Park entries etc.We plan to use it as a simply base, doing off road trips with the tent, keeping things nice and simply.

cheers
paul

PhilipA
25th August 2007, 12:46 PM
Re the hard floor negatives
I now take a small vacuum, to get up the sand before packup. With any integral floor tent you have to clean up before packing.
In any case I put a polytarp on the bed, so no dirt.

Campomatics have the option of leaving the annex on top for quick stays.

Dunno about the wet bed, but this applies to all campers, except maybe the Tvan.

Dunno about the level sites, haven't yet found it a problem, although last time I camped it was across a 30CM deep drain, but wheels one side and floor posts the other.
Regards Philip A

Grizzly_Adams
25th August 2007, 01:11 PM
As seqfisho mentioned earlier I have a Tvan and towed it from Brisbane to Cape York last year behind my 300tdi auto defender.

Loved it to death, she followed happily whereever I took the Defender.

I made sure to pack a dustpan and brush to clean the canvas floor (on top of the hard floor) before packing her away each day so that I didn't leave any dirt in the packing.

The way she folds away it doesn't matter if the canvas is wet as it doesn't go on the bedding anyway. Of course you need to air the canvas out if she gets wet, but that's just canvas and is the same with any rig.

Yes the kitchen is outside but at least can be under the cover of an awning and it has a windbreak so you have some protection. The Tvan itself takes minutes to setup without the awning - with the awning can take 10 - 15 minutes.

We had 3 people sleeping in the Tvan. My wife and I on the bed and my father-in-law on a sleeping bag on the hard-floor. The trip lasted a good 20+ days and there is a trip report in the "Trip Reports - Queensland" section of this site.

As the Tvan was ex-demo stock I had to take what I could get and she had / has Prado rims / hubs (I think) but it didn't make a difference to towing. It's a long way down on my list to get landrover rims / hubs.

Some things I would like (they were optional but as I said we took her as ex-demo so got what we got) would be a water-guage so I can tell how much water is in the tank, a battery charger so the battery can be charged at powered sites and some curtains on the side windows. I have the curtains now I just have to fit them :-)

One of the absolute luxuries I love is having 2 gas tanks so I don't need to worry about running out of gas - if one gets depleted I swap to the other one and keep going until I can refill the first. I haven't managed to deplete the first gas tank yet.

Umm... what else is there? Oh yes as stated she towed beautifully but I was perhaps a little soft on the hills so let the Defender wash of in speed quite a lot though I'm sure I could have forced her up harder. Having said that she's a 300tdi and not a TD5 so you have lots more power anyway.

The Tvan is 750kgs Tare I believe and up to 1.25tonne loaded so I had to get electric brakes fitted.

Regarding heat and moisture, yes it gets hot in there and yes if it's raining you do get condesation on the fibreglass. Not much you can do about the condensation it really, just air it out when you can. Never had any unexpected water in the Tvan.

The top of the Tvan has 2 portals that can be opened up to let more air flow through and these are nice with a breeze, as well as there being a fold-out opening at the rear so you can really get some air flowing through if there is any sort of breeze. If there isn't a breeze.. well.. to be honest I'm looking at getting a 12v fan or two fitted as you can get some good ones these days (maybe something like these (http://www.springers.com.au/Products.aspx?ProductID=180)) and that will help keep it cool (or at least, the air flowing) in the Tvan.

Mikelsgt
25th August 2007, 03:19 PM
If you want details of the Tvan try www.campertrailers.org/tvan.htm
Mike

Grizzly_Adams
25th August 2007, 08:40 PM
If you want details of the Tvan try www.campertrailers.org/tvan.htm (http://www.campertrailers.org/tvan.htm)
Mike

URL no worky :(

noddy
25th August 2007, 09:11 PM
I would also consider adding the Ultimate to that list. Lived in one for 12 months and highly recommend.

Phil633
26th August 2007, 05:10 PM
The top of the Tvan has 2 portals that can be opened up to let more air flow through and these are nice with a breeze, as well as there being a fold-out opening at the rear so you can really get some air flowing through if there is any sort of breeze. If there isn't a breeze.. well.. to be honest I'm looking at getting a 12v fan or two fitted as you can get some good ones these days (maybe something like these (http://www.springers.com.au/Products.aspx?ProductID=180)) and that will help keep it cool (or at least, the air flowing) in the Tvan.

How about something like this? These are fitted to a Tvan.

http://www.campertrailers.org/mikes_fans.htm

Grizzly_Adams
26th August 2007, 05:51 PM
Yup, seen those before too :) Lots of possibilities....

1103.9TDI
26th August 2007, 08:19 PM
For my part, I'm looking for a robust galvanised trailer, that has as many features as possible for a reasonable cost. I want:
A quality build to last, as my investment is substantial.
A tinny on the roof, but quick overnight camping.
A small outboard inside a reasonably dustproof cabinet & room for a Honda 20i.
Disc brakes, independent suspension(I wouldn't let Pedders touch my lawnmower!) & at least 3 of the same wheels and tyres as my 4x4.
A tropical roof.
Heaps of power storage.
Great kitchen facilities including a large fridge.
Large awning for extended stays.
As water and dust proof as possible.

I have only seen one trailer that offers all these features, the KK. Any others?

seqfisho
27th August 2007, 10:04 AM
For my part, I'm looking for a robust galvanised trailer, that has as many features as possible for a reasonable cost. I want:
A quality build to last, as my investment is substantial.
A tinny on the roof, but quick overnight camping.
A small outboard inside a reasonably dustproof cabinet & room for a Honda 20i.
Disc brakes, independent suspension(I wouldn't let Pedders touch my lawnmower!) & at least 3 of the same wheels and tyres as my 4x4.
A tropical roof.
Heaps of power storage.
Great kitchen facilities including a large fridge.
Large awning for extended stays.
As water and dust proof as possible.

I have only seen one trailer that offers all these features, the KK. Any others?

The Australian Offroad Campers (AORC) or Aussie swag would also fit those requirements but with that list of requirements you are in the $40K bracket for new units and a very limited second hand availability due to the popularity.

They are all brilliant units with the AORC Oddessy Signature being my personal favorite, just need the $45K so I can sign on the dotted line:D

DiscoStew
27th August 2007, 10:28 AM
re the cmments about dirt in the bed, just as applicable to soft floors, which we have. Like others said, we sweep before folding up and we also have a tarp over the bed. Never had a problem with dirt in bed that didn't come from my feet.

If we pack up wet then we try to make sure we get it unpacked ASAP to avoid much moisture transfer but to be honest have never noticed the bedding getting wet because of this.

olbod
28th August 2007, 01:12 PM
I rather like the "Adventure Offroad Camper" made
down in Sth Oz. The way they have things organised
is quite unique and there is loads of room and storage
space.
Been thinking about replacing the old van with a camper and one of these might do the trick.
Not rushing into it yet because my wife has been very sick lately and is not out of the woods yet.

I have their DVD, 1 1/2 hrs long, very informative.
Send me a PM if you want info about the disc.
Cheers.

ATH
26th September 2007, 04:24 PM
Sorry to take so long getting back on your questions Jake, but I completely forgot this thread!!!
You've probably already bought a camper but here's my answers.
Yes I did have the wheels done to suit the Defender but had to have drum brakes as Pioneer reckoned it was too hard to alter it to suit discs with LR wheels. Don't ask me why.
I have yet to try a Defender alloy on them and reading another thread on the Tech. side, I think I'd better just to make sure they will fit OK.
300 Tdi Defender has no probs. pulling it and basically we're happy with it.
We have had issues with the canvas but that seems to have been tidied up a bit when we complained. More of a problem is the cheap 12v outlets on the outside ...... their rubber dust caps rot and fall off very quickly.
A better solution would have been the Narva/Hella type with a hinged cover.
Bolts holding the Treg onto the A frame rust quicly but I painted them with some rust paint and they're now OK.
Happy Camping.
Alan H.