Thread: Touring Australia Towing a Caravan – Discovery 4 3.0 SDV6 (MY13)

Originally Posted by Slunnie

A heap of incredible experience shared in your post! Thanks

I've been looking at Hybrids for quite a while. They all seem to be single axle up until 3000kg max, maybe even a touch over. I don't think I've even seen a dual axle hybrid under 3T.

Today I really like the Stoney Creek Scout 14 which is 2T Tare, 2.8T ATM. This may change tomorrow, but it is almost impossible to find the perfect caravan.

Mate, a camper trailer is the go, lighter, more flexable to hard to get to places, camp almost anywhere and weigh alot less, and eco friendly, if you want to see the real Australia, as in the Gunbarrel, CSR, Googs Track, Great Central Rd, VIC/NSW high country and there iconic tracks, the Simpson and all the other places that can't be accessed by a house on wheels, a camper trailer is the go, especially if you want to camp in those iconic places, just my opinion.

Originally Posted by Redback

Mate, a camper trailer is the go, lighter, more flexable to hard to get to places, camp almost anywhere and weigh alot less, and eco friendly, if you want to see the real Australia, as in the Gunbarrel, CSR, Googs Track, Great Central Rd, VIC/NSW high country and there iconic tracks, the Simpson and all the other places that can't be accessed by a house on wheels, a camper trailer is the go, especially if you want to camp in those iconic places, just my opinion.

Hey Baz, the big lap more so, so living out of it for an extended amount of time also.

A mate who did the big lap said similar also, he used a camper type trailer also and he was shedding weight where ever he could and saying to keep it light and very simple - no opening and closing bed sections or anything like that.

Interesting points for camper vrs van
we had a camper trailer, absolutely loved it but sold it as soon as we started doing long touring trips of 3-4 months.
We did one long trip, 2 months with the camper but then decided to get the van, for off road, nice and narrow, not to high, relatively light. Complete Campsite Exoduse 16, it’s been fantastic and would not go back To’s camper trailer for long trips
I also wouldn’t tow across the Simpson or the CSR though which I plan towards do both over the next few years

Setting and packing up canvas wet or dry gets tiring real quick, i would never go back to a camper trailer.
14-16ft van would be ideal for us but the weight of some of these things is ridiculous, Snow River SRC16 looks about right but its Chinese built like most of the hybrids which i'm not keen on.

Camper trailers are great for easier transport and storage but are a pain in the ass to setup and pack up each day. They’re great if you go somewhere and camp for a few days or a week, but doing it everyday, no thanks. The only exception might be the mountain trail electronic which folds itself up, but is still really only a double bed in a trailer.

I also found in WA, where it’s always so windy, canvas becomes tiring to tie down, flaps in the wind etc.

Agree with the above comments, camper trailer is great for a one place holiday but for touring they are a pain , when it’s wet and windy they ruin the trip
A quality small off road an is just as easy to take off road and not much heavier
Its the cost of a quality Aussie made off road van that’s the problem, 100k is where the good ones start

Originally Posted by DiscoJeffster

Camper trailers are great for easier transport and storage but are a pain in the ass to setup and pack up each day. They’re great if you go somewhere and camp for a few days or a week, but doing it everyday, no thanks. The only exception might be the mountain trail electronic which folds itself up, but is still really only a double bed in a trailer.

I also found in WA, where it’s always so windy, canvas becomes tiring to tie down, flaps in the wind etc.

Both our campers had queen size inner spring mattresses, our current camper has a queen on one side and a king single on the other, on our Kimberley trip we had it down to 10mins to open and 15min to pack up when doing an overnighter, most stays where 2 nights, 3 or 4 if we liked the area.

quick edit; mattresses where custom made, gotta be comfy

We prefer the back roads, others prefer the main roads, it's what you're comfortable with at the end of the day.

Originally Posted by loanrangie

Setting and packing up canvas wet or dry gets tiring real quick, i would never go back to a camper trailer.

This is why we purchased a Tvan. Wet canvas not an issue. Full set up in 10 minutes. Same for pack up.

If just stopping overnight set up 1 minute. Don't drop the tent. Open hatch and put a canvas cover over the opening.

Below is a pic of 1 minute setup in the middle of the Simpson desert.

DSC02731 - Copy.jpg