Camper-Trailers vs Tents

[FifiLámour]

Hi all
Am new to this forum and have spent the last few nights trawling through a lot of the camping and bushwalking threads. It all looks like so much fun and was one of the motivators for my OH and I investing in a second hand D3 last week - so we could do some of this stuff with our boys.

So we've got the car. Now we're starting to think about what we need to save for/look for next. So my questions are:

1. A Camper Trailer or a Tent?

2. Is one a better option than another? If you could have your choice of either, which would you choose?

3. Why would you make that particular choice?

4. If you choose a tent, would you get a big one (eg 2+ rooms for a family of 4) or try and keep it as small as possible?

5. If you choose a trailer, are there any specific features that for you are a "must have"?


All opinions gratefully accepted :). Thanks in advance.

[CraigE]

Camper trailer hands down.
We have had a Cavalier off road for a long time now and they are great. Have done a few mods. Tips, get the best in your budget, there are way too many on the market now. Look for one with a bit of history and back up service. You get what you pay for and the Cavalier IMHO is the best in its class. Think about what you want before buying. The most important items I would want are Treg Hitch, longe drawbar, big solid jockey wheel, water tanks, 9kg gas cylinder holder, at least 2 jerry can holders, good off road trailer, matching wheels and tyres with tow car. Everything else can be added as you need it and most stuff can be stored in boxes etc inside the trailer. They can go anywhere.
We have just upgraded to a bit more luxury buying a Coromal Family F400 off road caravan. Wont go where the camper trailer gos, but we wont miss out on too much either.
Cheers
Craig

[Utemad]

1. A Camper Trailer or a Tent?
Depends where you want to go and how much money you have.

2. Is one a better option than another? If you could have your choice of either, which would you choose?
No it is your personal choice. I have two tents, a softfloor camper and a swag. The one I take depends on where I am going and who is coming with me.
In general we take the camper but if it is just me I take the swag. If we are going somewhere that I think is not an ideal camper place (i.e. a rough trip for only one night or one of the islands and being too much of a tight arse to take a trailer) then we take a tent.

3. Why would you make that particular choice?
As above it depends on various things

4. If you choose a tent, would you get a big one (eg 2+ rooms for a family of 4) or try and keep it as small as possible?
If I was only going to have a tent I would get a good quality canvas one that suited the size of my family and the planned usage.
We have two dome tents though. One small one and one larger that we can stand up in.

5. If you choose a trailer, are there any specific features that for you are a "must have"?
Well the must haves when we bought ours were a rugged trailer and quality canvas. We also got the full annex walls but they have had little use. Worth their weight in gold when you need them though. We got a few other things but anything else we could do ourselves.


Whatever decision you make though don't base it on what you think you need before you actually go camping and find out what you actually need.
Start with a borrowed tent or a rented camper. Try a few things before you commit your $$$. Otherwise it will be a very expensive exercise.

Remember you also don't need a full offroad camper to stay in caravan parks.

[Captain_Rightfoot]

Hmmm.... We have a tent only and have never owned a camper trailer. I think keeping it simple is a good call with camping setups.

We tend to move nightly when on trips and we have a freedom tourer type tent. It's very quick to set up. Also we have a system where all our beds roll up with our bedding making deployment very quick.

There are places that you can't go with a camper trailer (ever tried backing down a sand dune with a trailer on :o ), and many places where it is more difficult with a camper trailer.

I think you need a tent anyway, so start simple and see how you go.

[justinc]

Craig has just about echoed everthing I was going to say, but I would add a cheap CT isn't necessarily a worthwhile purchase; you want to have the best construction and corrosion restistance (IMHO galvinising is the best) added with simplicity and storage space. Ideally weigh as litle as possible without sacrificing the first 2 points.

Outback Australia is littered with broken substandard rigs that ruin peoples holidays.:(

I rented a trailer before I bought one, and took it into the gulf country and central QLD. I now own one the same model, as I was very impressed with its rugged construction and simplicity.
This is their site;

Cape York Trailers (http://www.ahernmetal.com.au/)

JC

[Tusker]

Tents are cheaper to register & insure...

What sort of travel do you envisage? ie big trip / move on every day, or find a spot & stay put for a while?

Regards
Max P

[sschmez]

Yep, all of the above ....
Utemad covers it similar to what I would have.

depends on what you want to do !

I've posted various setups that I use in this thread (http://www.aulro.com/afvb/camping-tucker-bush-basics/74256-show-us-your-camping-set-up-9.html#post953816) and have a browse there to see how many other variations people are using.

Stevo

[waynep]

I think tents are good for younger couples or couples with maybe 1 kid. Throw a tent in back, or on the roofrack, and it means you can be agile, camp anywhere your car can get to without towing hinderances.

Once more kids come in to the picture, you fill the back seat(s) with kids and need to take more gear, so need a trailer, so it may as well be a properly designed camper.

As you get older and it gets harder to get up off the ground, tents might not appeal so much either ( we're getting to that point but have loved our tenting till now )

Whatever you buy make sure it is quality. Especially with tents, the type and quality of tent itself, mattresses and sleeping bags etc will make the difference between you loving or hating the experience.

[dmdigital]

1. A Camper Trailer or a Tent?
Easy answer - Both. There are places you can't take a camper trailer or simply may not want to.

2. Is one a better option than another? If you could have your choice of either, which would you choose?
Easy answer again - No. Both have advantages depending on what you want to do. The CT has the advantage of having storage for food, bedding, kitchen but also must be towed. It will also usually place the sleeping area off the ground and the hard floor CT's are big advantage for keeping the living quarters clean and dry.

3. Why would you make that particular choice?
See previous answers.

4. If you choose a tent, would you get a big one (eg 2+ rooms for a family of 4) or try and keep it as small as possible?
Always get a tent at least 2 people bigger than you intend to sleep in it. That way you will have heaps of room. Unless of course its for bushwalking or hiking and then you want it small and light.

5. If you choose a trailer, are there any specific features that for you are a "must have"?
Be solid build have very good off road ability and be easy to set up or pack up, if need be by one person.


We have spent a quarter of this year living out of our Kimberley Kamper, we also have a Black Wolf Turbo Tent. In the three month trip we have done this year we learnt a lot about our trailer and were very happy with it. I will still have a tent as there are a lot of places you really don't want to bring the trailer in to or can't. The Kamper will go anywhere the car can in terms of off-road ability but you really have to watch it when the combined length (Defender + Trailer) is almost 12m.

The best option (which was something we couldn't do) is to hire out a CT for a weekend and see what you think.

[slug_burner]

A very open set of questions.

And no correct answer as the answer will differ with people, situation etc.

It probably comes down to what sort of camping do you want to do?

If you are going to stay in a caravan park, don't bother with either, hire an onsite van or stay at the motel would be even easier. If you want your kids to be minimalists, throw your bedding, a tarp, some ropes, a camp oven, one plate per head and a car fridge in and travel light, eat out of the one plate for every course every one washes their own stuff, one pot cooking keep it simple. Between the extreems is where you will settle I suspect.

Try it before you commit to too much of anything.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

They do cross over,,
some campers are just big enough to haul around the tent big enough for a family,,

I think with kids nothing beats a tent,,,;):D

[catch-22]

Given you have kids it is far easier to setup camp and stay a while. A good quality canvas tent or off-road trailer will do the job and depending on how much you are willing to spend on a trailer, it can be setup as quickly as a tent, and in most cases, quicker. Have a look at Kimberly Kampers or Ultimate (they are the best of the best I have been told).

I rented a trailer and found that for us (young couple with a 3yr old) a tent was the better option. Also take in to account space. If it were to rain on your holiday you do not want to be cramped up in a small space for a couple of days. Kids will go berserk. My tent is 3 x 4.8m and you can get some large campers...

I found that moving from spot to spot with young ones is hard and time consuming. Time you would much rather spend with them relaxing :D

Let us know what you decide.....

Cheers
Caine

edit: Just had a look at Cape York off-road trailers as recommended by JC.....they look the goods. Be well worth seeing if you can hire one. You can also hire tents from Anaconda. They have the Black Wolf range which some consider to be the fastest to setup.

[The ho har's]

We have always used a tent (until recently) as we don't like towing...have seen too many accidents with people towing campers/caravans...and we travel extensively around Australia..ours is an Oz Tent.

But in saying all of that we now have a slide on camper and occasionally take the tent when we want to do more serious 4wding:)

Mrs ho har:angel:

[vnx205]

As several others have said, it depends a lot on what you want to do and where you want to go.

For a couple of decades I had a LWB Series III and we did a lot of trips including NSW to Darwin and across the Cobbler Desert with a centrepole tourist tent for my wife, two children and me. My wife and I also did a diagonal crossing of Australia from Point Hicks to Broome with the same tent which we erected and pulled down almost every day for 100 days.

That system worked well for us and the advantages of that style of tent were that there was plenty of room with a 2.7 x2.7 metre floor to stand up and even when our son was in Primary School, he could erect the tent in the time that it took me to get the stove, table, sleeping bags etc from the back of the Land Rover. In fact I had to help him with the last little bit because he could only lift the centrepole about three quarters of the way because then the weight of the walls became too much for him.

It was so quick to erect. On the way back from Darwin on another trip, my wife and I stopped in a caravan park somewhere on the Stuart Highway. We pulled up at the same time as a normal on road caravan. We had the tent erected, the sleeping bags rolled out and were enjoying a cup of tea and the caravan owner still hadn't finished getting his van level, putting his bucket under the sink overflow and whatever other jobs caravan and camper trailer owners have to do to set up.

While I am by no means as adventurous as a lot of members here, there are still a lot of places I want to go where I just could not imagine towing any sort of trailer. I would never have even contempleted a camper trailer instead of a tent.

Like the Ho Hars, my wife and I have progressed to a slide on camper. I realise that is not an option for you. However the slide on camper I have does not restrict where I can go. While I don't make a habit of it, if I need to I can still go places like the photos below. Others may be able to do it, but I would not want to take a trailer there, but I could manage it with a tent in the back.:p

Hiring or borrowing, as someone has already said, is a good idea before you buy. I did that with the tent and with the slide on camper. I was lucky that friends were able to lend me the items I was interested in.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

[vnx205]

I know it is considered acceptable for women to change their outfits several times a day and it is common for them to change their minds for no apparent reason, but could I ask, Fifi, have many times have you changed your Avatar? I just can't keep up. :p

[dmdigital]

It was so quick to erect. On the way back from Darwin on another trip, my wife and I stopped in a caravan park somewhere on the Stuart Highway. We pulled up at the same time as a normal on road caravan. We had the tent erected, the sleeping bags rolled out and were enjoying a cup of tea and the caravan owner still hadn't finished getting his van level, putting his bucket under the sink overflow and whatever other jobs caravan and camper trailer owners have to do to set up.
Our Kimberley taks all of about 2 minutes to put up and about 5 minutes to pack up. It never ceased to amuse me when we were traveling how long some people take. Some of the worst are the "camper trailers" consisting of a box trailer with an eBay slide on tent. Poles and ropes everywhere :Rolling:
Not to say some of the cheap ones aren't good, some where excellent. As for the caravaners:
Step 1. Set up Satellite dish (or two)
Step 2. Un-hitch van
Step 3. Erect picket fence
Step 4....

And I'm not joking eiher, we did see this more than once.

Quick set up and ease of disassembly is important in a camper trailer, tent or anything actually.

[slug_burner]

I want Fifi to post a big picture of her avatar as they appear very interesting.

[FifiLámour]

Wow - pop in here after a busy day with the boys and look at all these posts. This is great! Thanks for taking the time to respond everyone.

To answer a couple of the recurring questions:

I am hoping we will be going off road ultimately, to find some of those out of the way places many of you have described in your reports within this sub-forum. But probably not really hard-core off road as would be worried we might damage the Disco I suspect.

As for how long, we would not be the kind of people who would pack up and move again after one night. Shortest stay might be 2 nights (say over the weekend - Fri/Sat/home Sunday), longest, well a week or more.

I understand it is very much a personal choice gleaned from experience, but all opinions help to prepare us to focus on the different aspects that might affect that choice.

We will probably start slowly - I have been telling my DH (Dear Husband) about some of the write-ups on Mt Barney and the eco-camping ground there where you can hire a C-T already set up. Sounds like the perfect way to start.

Then we might rent a C-T for a weekend and take it somewhere but once again a camping ground.

I didn't know you could lease tents from Anaconda - that is a bloody good idea - so we will probably try that too.

I can't see us camping out in the wilderness for a while yet (although DH is kean to do it straight away!). I need the kids and I to get used to it too and to know we can trust them to do what we ask, etc.

So thank you - each one of you has added another piece to the jigsaw and I will probably refer back to this thread time and time again. Might even list the +'s and -'s for each argument so I can get the pro's and con's straight when crunch time comes.

vnx205: I didn't know anyone was taking any notice of my avatars! Yes, I change them according to my mood. That way DH knows when to avoid me :p. Is that a problem here? Do you guys like things to be consistent?

Slug_Burner: A big picture? Hmm I will try and oblige but I'm not sure my technical skills will stretch that far, LOL. (Also I think they are avatar sized to start with.) You'll just have to get that magnifying glass out and better resolution on your monitor ;).

OK, gotta get the kids bathed and to bed - 4 1/2 hours today in the sun and water followed by another 2 hours mucking around with friends at home has completely worn them out :D. Catch you all later.

ETA: Just for you vnx205 I will put up my special Halloween Avatar ;)

[The ho har's]

Wow - pop in here after a busy day with the boys and look at all these posts. This is great! Thanks for taking the time to respond everyone.

To answer a couple of the recurring questions:

I am hoping we will be going off road ultimately, to find some of those out of the way places many of you have described in your reports within this sub-forum. But probably not really hard-core off road as would be worried we might damage the Disco I suspect.

As for how long, we would not be the kind of people who would pack up and move again after one night. Shortest stay might be 2 nights (say over the weekend - Fri/Sat/home Sunday), longest, well a week or more.

I understand it is very much a personal choice gleaned from experience, but all opinions help to prepare us to focus on the different aspects that might affect that choice.

We will probably start slowly - I have been telling my DH (Dear Husband) about some of the write-ups on Mt Barney and the eco-camping ground there where you can hire a C-T already set up. Sounds like the perfect way to start.

Then we might rent a C-T for a weekend and take it somewhere but once again a camping ground.

I didn't know you could lease tents from Anaconda - that is a bloody good idea - so we will probably try that too.

I can't see us camping out in the wilderness for a while yet (although DH is kean to do it straight away!). I need the kids and I to get used to it too and to know we can trust them to do what we ask, etc.

So thank you - each one of you has added another piece to the jigsaw and I will probably refer back to this thread time and time again. Might even list the +'s and -'s for each argument so I can get the pro's and con's straight when crunch time comes.

vnx205: I didn't know anyone was taking any notice of my avatars! Yes, I change them according to my mood. That way DH knows when to avoid me :p. Is that a problem here? Do you guys like things to be consistent?

Slug_Burner: A big picture? Hmm I will try and oblige but I'm not sure my technical skills will stretch that far, LOL. (Also I think they are avatar sized to start with.) You'll just have to get that magnifying glass out and better resolution on your monitor ;).

OK, gotta get the kids bathed and to bed - 4 1/2 hours today in the sun and water followed by another 2 hours mucking around with friends at home has completely worn them out :D. Catch you all later.

ETA: Just for you vnx205 I will put up my special Halloween Avatar ;)



Not a prob fifi anytime we usually help...ignore those boys;)

they like to stir sometimes:p


Mrs ho har:angel:

[clean32]

there are so many options and so much information that you are probably more confused, so i will just tell our story

we started off with a disco and a 2 year old who is used to traveling.
dome 4 man tent and a woping big silver tarp, some extra pegs pols and rope.

the dome tent is good to set up quickly for when you pull in late sort of thing, and putting the tarp up was good if we were hanging around for a few days.

then we went to the county, we tried sleeping in that but it was easier to use the tent by the time you unload and load etc etc. but the tent was to small and you couldn't stand up so we got a proper tent 8 X 10 with anex etc. takes a bit longer to put up but is invaluable if its wet and we still have the Tarp ether tied to the tent and some trees or the county or poles. infract we have 2 tarps now, on hot days i use the other tarp to cover the tent, keeps it much cooler. but we still carry the small tent for when we pull in late and want to move out in the morning.

Long trips or when we are going to set up a base we just use a normal trailer and dump every thing in that, so much easier to pack and you end up taking so much more. so that is close to the camping trailer.

but i really like the slide on jobs, double cab with a slide on camper, bloody ideal i think.


the down side. and this is personal. with camping trailers is that they cost so much and they remove so much of the driving experience that personally i doubt the advantages are all there. Having said that, rather tow a camping trailer than a caravan.

Cave creek last month, camping trailer behind a toymotor ( we like cave creek) solar panels generator and a bloody TV blaring away until 12pm, they had more furniture than we have at home etc etc.

[FifiLámour]

Cave creek last month, camping trailer behind a toymotor ( we like cave creek) solar panels generator and a bloody TV blaring away until 12pm, they had more furniture than we have at home etc etc.

Now see this is what I don't get. Why would you even bother going away if this is what you take with you? IMHO you don't go camping to live like you live at home.

I can't tell you how many people have suggested we get the boys a portable DVD player for when we go camping? I intend to have them out by the campfire, spotting possums, identifying constellations, talking, toasting marshmallows, DH playing his guitar quietly (if we can fit it in) or else family board games by lantern light in an annex. Ahhh Bliss!!!

[clean32]

I intend to have them out by the campfire, spotting possums, identifying constellations, talking, toasting marshmallows, DH playing his guitar quietly (if we can fit it in) or else family board games by lantern light in an annex. Ahhh Bliss!!!

EH WOOT?? shooting and dressing possums, making bows and arrows. damming up the creek. making the camp fire into a CAMP FIRE. poking sticks at spiders, chucking stones at snakes. counting how many moths you can swat. Hiding creepys in mums bed. pinching Dads smokes. make bush huts and dig caves. and if they do all that there's no board games they will be asleep.

Oh and for the constellations, the only time they look up at night is to see if its going to rain or not LOL

all for fun

[chunk]

First thing you need to work out is how often are you going to go camping, once a month, two or three times a year. I can't see the point of spending $10,000 to $40,000 on a camping trailer to have it sit in the driveway or garage for 11 months of the year.

As the others have said both have there advantages and disadvantages, I can put my 23 year old 24 ft Freedom tent up in half an hour a camping trailer might take up to 15 min to set up so your not saving that much time. If you plan on doing a lot of long distance travelling go the camper trailer, but if it's only going to be a weekend here or there buy a good tent. That's my opion for what it's worth.:)

[vnx205]

Now see this is what I don't get. Why would you even bother going away if this is what you take with you? IMHO you don't go camping to live like you live at home.

I can't tell you how many people have suggested we get the boys a portable DVD player for when we go camping? I intend to have them out by the campfire, spotting possums, identifying constellations, talking, toasting marshmallows, DH playing his guitar quietly (if we can fit it in) or else family board games by lantern light in an annex. Ahhh Bliss!!!

I couldn't agree more. One of the dozens of things I always hoped my kids would get out of our camping trips was a realisation that it was possible to have a good time without things that might be appropriate at home.

IIRC, the only thing we provided for them on our trip to Innaminka, Dig Tree, Cobbler Desert, Birdsville track was a little cloth bag. A friend with similar aged (infants and early primary school) children suggested they have their own little bag to collect things. It was a brilliant idea. They took great delight in collecting all sorts of things and chatting about them as we traveled and at night.

Honestly, they never would have had time even to play family board games. They were too busy amusing themselves and making themselves feel useful by doing jobs that were appropriate for their age. They loved toasting marshmallows. Although if my memory serves me correctly, most of the time what they did with the marshmallow was create a small incendiary device on the end of a stick. They didn't need us to amuse them and they certainly didn't need a DVD player (or whatever the equivalent might have been in the late 70s and early 80s).

[Captain_Rightfoot]

Now see this is what I don't get. Why would you even bother going away if this is what you take with you? IMHO you don't go camping to live like you live at home.

I can't tell you how many people have suggested we get the boys a portable DVD player for when we go camping? I intend to have them out by the campfire, spotting possums, identifying constellations, talking, toasting marshmallows, DH playing his guitar quietly (if we can fit it in) or else family board games by lantern light in an annex. Ahhh Bliss!!!

Look... I succumbed to the portable DVD thing. We only allow them to use it in the car, and then only for a little while after lunch. I very much understand your point, but when you're driving for say 5 x 700k days home from the Kimberlies it does make everyone's trip better.

[vnx205]

Look... I succumbed to the portable DVD thing. We only allow them to use it in the car, and then only for a little while after lunch. I very much understand your point, but when you're driving for say 5 x 700k days home from the Kimberlies it does make everyone's trip better.

I think I understand your reasons and am not trying to disagree with you.

I think that the difference between your approach and mine illustrates why it can be so difficult to offer advice to others.

You say you drove 700kms a day and I understand why you would do that. On our last trip from NSW to Darwin with our two children in the Series III, we drove about 3-400km a day. We didn't have a tight deadline and our son, in about Year 9 at the time was given the responsibility of organising the whole schedule of where we would be each day. We had organised for him to call in at Port Augusta High School on the way to take part in the Australian Maths Competition that he had done very well in over the past couple of years. Since being in the right place at the right time was important to him, it seemed appropriate to let him do all the schedule.

He knew that his mother liked to stop to set up camp early in the afternoon, so he took that into account. Hence the short days.

Our scheduled stops after a week or so became very early stops. We developed a routine of eating before it got dark, so we were ready for bed by about 8pm. After a few days we were waking at 4am after a good 8 hours sleep and had completed breakfast and were well and truly on the road before the sun came up. So after a while we had done our distance for the day by just after lunch.

It suited us well. We could wash clothes when we pulled up and they would be dry before tea time.

The point of that long rambling narrative is that different people with different children, different budgets, different vehicles, different routes, different personalities, different expectations and so on will find that different setups suit them perfectly.

That doesn't alter the fact though, that it is good to seek advice. With enough replies, it should enable you to sift through the answers and find something that you can reasonably expect to be a match for you.

[WhiteD3]

Fifi,

One thing to consider re the D3 and camping; while its a big car I find 2 nights + for me and the 2 boys means the car is chokers. If you're going to go the tent route (which we have. Blackwolf Turbo 300) you'll need at least a cargo barrier or a roof rack.

The esky and a big tent take up a lot of room. Add food, chairs, table, stove, tarps, the loo, clothes, tools and recovery gear.

Cheers.

[waynep]

Yes go low tech.

I remember in May sitting in the tent at Erldunda. Raining heavily, .................. had finished all our books.

So we got out the laptop and watched New Inventors and a couple of other programs on ABC iView via Next G wireless broadband. :D;)

[FifiLámour]

Clean32 - PMSL

Chunk - you are right about frequency. I am hoping if the boys like it, we will go once a month or so? With a maybe longer duration in school holidays. Do you know if you can still buy Freedom tents? I thought I saw a thread somewhere that said they had closed for business.

vnx205 - I love that idea of the bag!!! My kids would love that too. I am going to copy it!!! Had a laugh at the marshmallow incendiary device, that would be my boys too :D. And how cool is that getting your boy to plan the trip. What great experience for him!

Captain Rightfoot - :o under those circumstances I can understand the need for a DVD player. That is a lot of mileage to cover with kids in one day and if it's in the outback, I suspect there's not much new to see after a certain amount of time.

WhiteD3 - very good point. Especially as I suspect we wouldn't want to pack the car above seat height as we don't have a cargo rack or whatever they're called inside. Jeez, how are we going to fit it all in :mellow:? Is that a Rhino Rack on your car I see? Do you have a luggage box for it or do you just pile it up?

Waynep - I just googled Erldunda - Crikey! It's in the middle of nowhere and you still got reception! Very impressed. Go the ABC!!!:p

[dmdigital]

Waynep - I just googled Erldunda - Crikey! It's in the middle of nowhere and you still got reception! Very impressed. Go the ABC!!!:p
Most roadhouses now have mobile (NextG) reception.

[Captain_Rightfoot]

I think I understand your reasons and am not trying to disagree with you.

I think that the difference between your approach and mine illustrates why it can be so difficult to offer advice to others.

You say you drove 700kms a day and I understand why you would do that. On our last trip from NSW to Darwin with our two children in the Series III, we drove about 3-400km a day. We didn't have a tight deadline and our son, in about Year 9 at the time was given the responsibility of organising the whole schedule of where we would be each day. We had organised for him to call in at Port Augusta High School on the way to take part in the Australian Maths Competition that he had done very well in over the past couple of years. Since being in the right place at the right time was important to him, it seemed appropriate to let him do all the schedule.

He knew that his mother liked to stop to set up camp early in the afternoon, so he took that into account. Hence the short days.

Our scheduled stops after a week or so became very early stops. We developed a routine of eating before it got dark, so we were ready for bed by about 8pm. After a few days we were waking at 4am after a good 8 hours sleep and had completed breakfast and were well and truly on the road before the sun came up. So after a while we had done our distance for the day by just after lunch.

It suited us well. We could wash clothes when we pulled up and they would be dry before tea time.

The point of that long rambling narrative is that different people with different children, different budgets, different vehicles, different routes, different personalities, different expectations and so on will find that different setups suit them perfectly.

That doesn't alter the fact though, that it is good to seek advice. With enough replies, it should enable you to sift through the answers and find something that you can reasonably expect to be a match for you.

I agree with you 100% Unfortunately (or fortunately) we are usually travelling with a group and are the only ones with kids. They are very understanding of the kids (all having been there), but sometimes shorter days aren't practical for us.

[WhiteD3]

WhiteD3 - very good point. Especially as I suspect we wouldn't want to pack the car above seat height as we don't have a cargo rack or whatever they're called inside. Jeez, how are we going to fit it all in :mellow:? Is that a Rhino Rack on your car I see? Do you have a luggage box for it or do you just pile it up?

The tracks were fitted by ARB. Around $200 I think. The rack is a Rhino rack which I borrow from a mate when needed. I use a tarp to wrap everything up, which doubles as our shade cover in front of the tent.

This was our camp at Fraser in Oct.
http://api.photoshop.com/home_8c364bed92a143cea3dddad21b9ba1a1/adobe-px-assets/d856ce0c3c1c4f79b55a5f38a7728d0a

[clean32]

Fifi,

One thing to consider re the D3 and camping; while its a big car I find 2 nights + for me and the 2 boys means the car is chokers. If you're going to go the tent route (which we have. Blackwolf Turbo 300) you'll need at least a cargo barrier or a roof rack.

The esky and a big tent take up a lot of room.

true


food
Take a gun

chairs, table take an axe

stove, take matches

tarps, ok true

the loo, take a shovel and if your a real wimp take loo paper

clothes, you left in some ?? so just wash them

tools Its a D3 way to expensive to break down

recovery gear. D3 computers do all that so why do you need recovery gear.

See now your D3 has room for the flat screen TV and a gen set. LOL

just for fun


Cheers.[/QUOTE]

[Tote]

This topic could be nearly as good as an engel vs waeco one:twisted:

We have so far avoided getting a camper trailer as it is hard to justify the expense for the advantage gained. We have a centrepole tent and all our camping gear fits on the short rack on the roof of the disco.
We can set up camp in the same time as someone with a cheaper campertrailer and we are not limited with where we can go.
I like the look of some of the more expensive camper trailers but if I was to spend $30K I'd rather have a boat I think.
We have two kids, 4 and 6 and have no issue fitting all we need in, we spent all of July on the road travelling to Darwin and back.


Regards,
Tote

[vnx205]

This topic could be nearly as good as an engel vs waeco one:twisted:

We have so far avoided getting a camper trailer as it is hard to justify the expense for the advantage gained. We have a centrepole tent and all our camping gear fits on the short rack on the roof of the disco.
We can set up camp in the same time as someone with a cheaper campertrailer and we are not limited with where we can go.
I like the look of some of the more expensive camper trailers but if I was to spend $30K I'd rather have a boat I think.
We have two kids, 4 and 6 and have no issue fitting all we need in, we spent all of July on the road travelling to Darwin and back.


Regards,
Tote
It must be something that Yass people do. :) Maybe they want to escape the worst of winter. Yass was my home base when I did my trip to Darwin in the Series III.

[Tote]

Here's a pic of our D3 fully loaded at Leigh Creek:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/toteau/jul09155.jpg


And here's one of our campsites about 20K north of Oodnadatta

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/toteau/IMG_2539.jpg


And Yass isn't THAT cold in winter ( I grew up near Blayney ) :p

[Pedro_The_Swift]

And Yass isn't THAT cold in winter ( I grew up near Blayney ) :p

:o
:TakeABow:

[PhilipA]

I have been a tent man all my camping life.

A couple of years ago I bought a Camp-o-matic hard floor camper trailer as we were planning up to 3 month trips and I thought my wife would not enjoy a tent that long. We bought a 10K 1997 basic unit as we figured that by spending less we could afford to stay in cabins if the weather got nasty. As it weighs only about 650Kg loaded no need for brakes and can be moved around easily.
A couple of the reasons are:-
It gets harder getting off the ground every morning particularly as my wife has a slipped disc .
It gets very old rolling up the thermarests and stuffing the sleeping bags into their stuff bags, particularly in hot weather.
Putting the tent up and down is a minor part of setting up/down. Its the packing of the bits.
The main attractions after experience are:-

30 seconds to open if the awning not used.
Bedding stays in place/ bed is queen size/ bed off ground/ 4 inch foam with 1 inch cellular is as comfortable as home bed.

About 3-5 minutes to take down/as the tent has to be stuffed inside the seal.
Kitchen always available for cuppas etc.
Stand up excellent headroom in the hard floor area for changing/storage of clothes etc.

On the down side :-

You just have to be sure if you start a track that it goes somewhere or has a turnaround. I learned this the first day of ownership when I took a wrong turn and ended up in a dead end waterfront restaurant with an almost full carpark. I had to uncouple to turn around

Parking in country towns with angle parking is a challenge but I have always found a park in a side street wityhin 100Metres of the objective.

My camper lets me get about 15L per 100Kms at 100Kmh on flat country in my 3.9 RRC which I reckon is probably down 1-1.5 on car alone. In the Hunter valley say the hilly Golden Highway I get about 17.

I have to say that the pluses heavily outweigh the minuses and on a weekend or longer trip its the Camper trailer every time. We just stayed a week in Gloucester last week and it poured for 36 hours. We remained dry and relatively comfortable
Regards Philip A

[Grimace]

As other have stated there is no BEST option.

I now have a camper trailer, and lets just say there are times when it will be loved and times when it will be not so loved. On longer trips it is a blessing. And th added carry capacity is welcomed, when it comes to incar comfort.

I also have one of the best peices of camping equipment a single couple or individual can own. A speedy throw up tent. Its small but perfect. Goes up in 15 seconds from removing it from the car. Lightweight and great for the easy weekend away.

Then I have the back of the car, its also great for the random one night trips and setup correctly is just as comfy to sleep in as the camper (well not quiet, but almost)

So as you can see I am only one person, but there is three different camping preferences that I chop and change between. I would also like to get a swag as there are times when I wish to have the simplicity and comfort of the back of the car but not actually be where the car is.

So you need to weight up the sorts of camping your going to be doin and then decide for yourself the amount of effort you wish to put into the entire excersise.

Some thing you will need thou are adequate lighting (This is something I dont have and it give me the poopers), some damn comfy chairs (something else I dont have, which see me always wanting to flog everyone elses), and a good sized small portable esky (something I actually do have but always forget :angel:). These things combined with a warm fire, good company and the beverages of choice will make campin soo much more enjoyable.

Cheers
Grimace

[FifiLámour]

Interesting posts Grimace and PhilipA, thanks.

I'm really getting the dilemma now after all the feedback on this thread, thanks. I guess, as so many of you have already suggested, the only way to really get a sense of the options is to try them out.

I've got the camping ground where I can hire a camper-trailer sorted - Mt Barney in SW Brisbane. And I'll investigate hiring a tent from Anaconda too. Now I just have to pin DH down for some dates ;).

[clean32]

ok interesting, i was on the phone with YT110 this evening, to say thank you for his help last week and to suss out when he was heading down the boundary track. he raised to good points about your situation and about my comments ( im wrong apparently)
any way as he put it GO get a trailer. he spent about 3K for his plus another 2K for the top so say 5K all up, now his trailer is a nice bit of Kit thats well tested. now if you were to fit say a long range tank, up grade your suspension to carry the loaded weight, plus roof rack etc tent, kitchen and tables for kitchen etc you will spend more than 5K
add to that. you kids are going to get much longer over the next 5 years which is going to diminish the available packing space. in addition the food consumption is going to increase at an alarming rate so more space will be needed for that.

roof racks are a pain in the back side.

so go get a trailer it is so much easier and when you have learnt a bit and wish to do some serious of-road touring well by then you will be up grading from your D3 to an isuzu county any way. at least all your accessories ( trailer ) will fit the county LOL

[FifiLámour]

Oh Clean32 and YT110 you have really thrown the cat amongst the pigeons now! :p

Clean32, I read your post out to DH (who is back from O/S now). You made some excellent points and it got us into a "discussion" about camper trailers that resulted in us googling them so we knew we were talking about the same thing.

Anyway, we got carried away - 2 hours later around midnight, having gone through the Trading Post and sundry other sites, we happenned along a crowd (GIC) in Sydney who seem to be making what looks to be a good one at a very discounted price.

I will put it in a separate thread and ask for opinions in case someone is interested in the same company in time to come. :)

[El Duderino]

Like a lot of people have mentioned, there is no one simple solution, as the needs for your specific journey will vary from one to another. I've got a small 2-man tent for the odd overnighter, and a 6-man canvas touring tent for longer trips, which I lent to my best mate recently. He took it away to the Simpson and further north for 3 weeks, was more than ample for his family of 5 (3 young kids), and survived the recent massive dust storms with ease.

If you get a camper trailer, first thing I'd do is make sure that the wheels are swappable with the vehicle. Also make sure it's as well maintained as your vehicle...anything breaks and you've either got to stay put with it and send for help, or continue along your way without accommodation and a lot of gear you're going to need. This very situation happened to a friend along the Birdsville about 10 years ago, and they had to ditch it, continue on without most of their gear, organise for a new wheel bearing, return to the trailer and wait a day for it to arrive and be fitted. They were very lucky to have all their gear left untouched and have help available a couple of hours away! Personally I'd never head anywhere remote without a tent n emergency gear in the car as a precaution. It's potentially dangerous and inconvenient otherwise.

Trailers are fantastic for larger families or for extended trips away, but you have to weigh up the cost vs useage factor. $5-10k is a lot of money for something which is likely to get used a handful of times, unless you're a regular 'outbacker' who goes away for months at a time. This is something which only you can say is right for you. Obviously there are other factors to consider such as your comfort, financial situation, desired future use, etc.

My suggestion is to buy a canvas touring tent (mine's worth $800 n only paid $400...gotta love a sale!), try it out for a trip away n see what you reckon. Worst case scenario is you've got something to do a quick trip away trailer-free and suits your immediate needs. Next thing is to hire out a camper-trailer for a week/weekend and compare the pro's n con's. Depending on your decision, you will have an informed opinion of what suits your needs and budget best. :)

[ozscott]

I have 3 kids. The thing that works for me including on the islands, is a 6.5x4 box trailer with mesh sides (hd unit too) and I load that up like crazy and stick a large double dome tent in for sleeping. Now that I have 2 large german shepherds coming with me (there goes the Disco 2 load area) I am looking at roof racks - probably rhino - to save room for light stuff like empty water bottles and flat packed tarps and stuff.

Cheers

PS. I have used several top off road camp trailers before and they are brilliant but I need all the room of the big box trailer, so for me its a tent.

Cheers

[DMU_Dave]

The best advice I can offer is don't spend all your money at once - start off with a few basics, see what works and what doesn't, and build up your gear over time. Think twice before buying - do you really need it, and is it really worth the extra space/weight in your vehicle or trailer?

We also have a D3 - probably the single best investment you can make right from the beginning is to install a cargo barrier. As others have said, unless you're into ultra light hiking, you'll soon find your gear piles up higher than the rear seats (even if it doesn't, a cargo barrier is still a good investment to protect your most precious cargo - you and your family - in case of an accident / rollover).

In addition to the cargo barrier, we also have a half-length Rhino platform roof rack (1500 L x 1100 W). And I'm about to have a sail track awning and canvas roof bag fitted.

Camper trailers are not cheap - you won't get a decent Aussie made offroad camper trailer for less than about $8K new. And you can spend up to $50K on a top of the line trailer. That's an awful lot of money to have invested on something you might only use once a month (or less). You could get an off road trailer to carry your gear, but you're still looking at somewhere between $2.5 - $5K new. (These are retail prices. If you're handy with the tools - I'm not - you can obviously save a lot). And as others have mentioned, towing a trailer will increase your fuel consumption and somewhat limit where you can go.

We have a couple of canvas touring tents (from Freedom - still open and taking orders when I checked a few weeks ago. Ken has sold the business and apparently the new owners will continue making tents, though not sure of the range/quality). One tent is a single pole 2.4M x 3.2M. Plenty of room for SWMBO and the little fella for short trips, is relatively light to carry and quick to set up. But it gets a bit crowded on a long trip or if the weather is bad and we are confined to barracks. So we also have the larger Family Tourer (13 x 10 feet) for longer stays in one place.

The smaller Freedom tent I've had for about 12 years, and not a thing has ever gone wrong with it. All things being equal, I reckon I'll get another 12 years out of it. Pay a bit more for quality up front, in the expectation that it'll last a lot longer. There are plenty of nylon dome tents with fibreglass poles in the $150 - $300 range, but I reckon I would have gone through half a dozen in the time I've had my canvas tourer. Canvas tourers are not cheap - around $1,000 - $1,500, depending on the brand (and I realise that's a lot of money for many people) - but they're tough as, quick to erect and take down, and like grandfather's axe, can be repaired over and over.

An anwing - either attached to the tent or your fourbie - is a boon whether sunny or raining, because it more than doubles your sheltered living area.

In addition to the two canvas tents, we have one single and one double swag. We alternate between the swags and tents, depending on length of trip, weather, etc.

Apart from tents or swags, some other basics to get you started:


Folding chairs - take time to find one that is comfortable. Many are not, especially after sitting on your backside for a while. Look for one with a long seat squab. Generally, directors' chairs are more comfortable than the standard folding type. The downside is they tend to take up more room when packed.
A good stove - we use a Coleman regulated gas stove (about $130), but there are many other good ones on the market. Or you can cook over the fire, if you're really hardcore :D
Folding table - we have basic solid metal top, with folding legs, from Aussie Disposals. Bit heavier than the fancy alloy slat tables, but tougher and less to go wrong IMHO. I originally lashed out on a fancy folding camp kitchen, but soon found it too heavy and bulky when packing.
Sleeping mats - you can get fancy self-inflating mats (we have Freedom ones) but they are a bit of a pain to roll-up. Alternatively, we sometimes use the high density foam matresses out of our swags because they are easier to roll up. You can buy these separately from Clark Rubber. Sleeping bags, or you can take your doona and pillow :wasntme:
A good esky or fridge. There's an encylopedia's worth of info and opinions on this site, so I won't try to add to this. We started with a Coleman Xtreme esky, and now have an electric compressor fridge.
Lighting - don't like gas lanterns because they get very hot and the mantles can be fiddly (plus they use a lot of gas, compared to your stove, which means you need to carry a bigger gas bottle). We use a 12v Versalite (only draws about 1Ah, so won't flatten your battery), but I will admit gas light is nicer for reading by.
Anyway, just my thoughts. Different strokes for different folks, and you'll figure out what works best for you.

Enjoy your D3 and get out amongst it :)

Regards
DMU Dave

[woody]

For what it's worth my advice would be to buy the best quality gear you can at the time and don't worry about wether it's a tent or a trailer yet ( especially if you're just starting out ). As you camp more often you will get to know what is important for you and your family and what you can afford. I've found that it's better to camp a little bit rough than to worry about paying off the gear you've just put on credit, besides the best memories are made when rain is seeping in through the tent seams or the family has to huddle together on a freezing winters night. we still have a laugh about these things.( some say it builds character ?? )

we now own a cheap camper trailer ( ebay special ) we needed something bigger for the grand kids and the two large German Shepherds that we refer to as the 'fur kids'

p.s. I bought the Defender so that I could cart all the kids at once, should have got it years ago ( best investment ever!! )

[Spenboyd]

We have three kids and a D2a and we go for tents.
We have three different tent set-ups depending on the situation. for base camping style we have a Coleman three room jobbie that we are actually using less and less.
For fast and light querilla style we have pop-up tents that operate like the old CWA cake covers and take about two minutes to set up and for really light we take our hiking tents which are a Black Wolf Hornet and a Denali Gale cheapie from Anaconda that works pretty well for two school aged boys.
We have a Foxwing awning which covers the cooking and eating area, for illumination we use 300 lumen LED lanterns because they run forever and pump out enormous amounts of light. Food staorage is in a tropical style esky that will keep a block of ice intact for about 5-6 days depending on the season, Dry stores are in lockable plastic boxes.
We use a Trangia and a Snow Peak white gas stove for cooking and consequently the big Coleman Expedition three burner hasn't left the shed for a year or so.
As someone said earlier chairs are worth getting right and we still haven't nailed that one yet, most of the time I sit on the esky as I tend to demolish Coleman chairs and the like.
We often have between two and four kayaks on the roof and occasionally five bikes on a bike carrier on the towball. Although the bikes aren't taken when the terrain is really soft or difficult.
I have a trailer but to be honest I never take it off road, probably as a result of the amount of destroyed and stripped trailer carcases we came across on our trip around Oz many years ago.
Had a roof topper when we spent 9 months going around Oz and we loved that but that was before the enfants terribles ventured onto the scene

[VladTepes]

It deopends a LOT on where you want to go. For example if you were going to Fraser Islan for a week ad beach camping then a camper trailer would be great.

On the other hand if you or your OH prefers to stay somewhere with amenities there are only a few trailer spots in the campgrounds and mostly tent spots where you can park nearby but not directly beside the tent (copper logs are evil!).


If you ar looking at a tent - look at the Blacwolf Turbo 300 (cavas vesion not the turbo lite) - we are very happy with ours.
Black Wolf Adventure Gear - turbo (http://blackwolf.com.au/turbo/turbo-300/)

[PhilipA]

If you ar looking at a tent - look at the Blacwolf Turbo 300 (cavas vesion not the turbo lite) - we are very happy with ours.
Black Wolf Adventure Gear - turbo (http://blackwolf.com.au/turbo/turbo-300/)

I went away on the weekend to Kosciusko NP with the Discovery Club .
2 of the people have Blackwolf Turbo 240s .
Both are over the difficulty in repacking the tents after use and one has failing zips. In addition they are Enormous when packed.
Both now would buy an OZtent even though you need a roofrack/bars because they are so long packed.
I think even I would choose an Oz ( if I was leaving my Camp'o'matic at home) even though I hate roofracks.

BTW , boy was I glad I was in my camper 700mm off the ground when it fell to -10C or so overnight. It was so cold even at 8AM that frost would melt in the sun then revert to lovely ice crystals when they went into the shade. Very pretty. I had to hold my gas stove lighter under the tailgate lock to open it, after warming it in my pocket. And 20-30 mm of ice in my jerry can.

Regards Philip A