Thread: Jayco style pop up campers

The proper off road pop tops are bloody expensive.

Even second hand and a few years old, they are worth both kidneys and a leg

SWMBO has been looking at them,i keep hiding the brochures so she can't find them

Originally Posted by scarry

The proper off road pop tops are bloody expensive.

Even second hand and a few years old, they are worth both kidneys and a leg

SWMBO has been looking at them,i keep hiding the brochures so she can't find them

Any poptop strong enough to be used offroad ............. It too heavy to tow offroad. The old 60's and 70's 'vans have probably travelled "the lap" dozens of times in there lifetime... Back when the roads were actually bad and there still going strong today. The heavier you make them ... the stronger they need to be ...

That little robin I have is supposed to be the "offroad" version ... so the little lump weight in at over a ton empty How can a 10' long caravan weigh 1ton. I figure the best aspect of it is it fits in the cars track. So if you like bush camping you can go down little tracks and camp out where no-one else witha caravan can fit.

It's simply a slightly more sturdily built onroad 'van as far as I'm concerned. You see if your into serious of road, your going to be stuck with a 1 ton anchor strapped to your towbar as soon as the road is soft (or any real axle articulation is required). Those 3ton+ monstrosity offroad monsters are pointless. You'd need a tracked vehicle to move them down any sort of even "moderate" offroad trail. For an average corrugated road ... A standard onroad 'van is fine (and has been for the last 50years) ... so long as you take your time and your careful.

I figure jacked up offroad 'vans are a pointless exercise in futility myself

seeya,
Shane L.

I wonder how many actually go off road?

We looked at a few,one of the first questions I asked was what is its track?Most of them had no idea.

If they are one tonne empty,they are gonna be at least 1.3t loaded.

We had a little 2003 Windsor Rapid off-road model for 6 months on the road. I was surprised to see independent swing-arm suspension, and was very impressed with the layout. The fold up beds were a first at them time (Windsor had a patent I'm lead to believe). For a 13' van, having 2 double beds fold out with hard roof and poptop made them quite roomy. Being short, we could pull up and have lunch inside without lifting the roof. Would buy one again if the need arose.

windsor rapid offroad | Caravans & Campervans | Gumtree Australia Free Local Classifieds

We inspected the showroom examples of the Lifestyle campers the other day at Slacks Creek in Brisbane and came away impressed.
Seem to be very solid, lots of layout choices and they are quite light considering their size - from 1.2 tonnes upwards. Also reasonably priced in the $40-50,000 range depending on size and options. They skip the showy fluff and concentrate on the important stuff.
Basically, each camper is hand-built to what you order. They are about to build one close to what appeals to us, so we are going back to see it under construction. They use a lot of aluminium for light strength and seem capable of coping with almost anything. Strong chassis and suspension and big wheels and mud tyres.
The people behind the company use their own campers too, which is good. One of the display vans is actually privately owned and has just come back from a three months Outback trip, so I had a good look around it for cracks and damage, but couldn't find anything. Fully made in Australia too.
The Navigator likes them, so that's a big plus.
Off Road Caravans & Camper Trailers For Sale in Brisbane, Queensland (QLD)


We started off favouring the Reconn, but are now leaning towards an AT 10. We might skip the internal shower/toilet unit to gain extra internal seating space, as it also has an outside shower, but there is an option of an internal seat which lifts up to reveal a toilet underneath. Would add an extra battery and solar, plenty of water, plus a full awning and an 80 litre fridge. We would probably end up around $55k with options.
We are using the benchmark question: Would we be prepared to drag this up the Old Telegraph Track, like we did with our current camper, or out to Mt Dare? As of now, my answer is No to the OTT (weight and the exits are too steep), but Yes to Mt Dare, although not the steeper dunes. For flat rocky desert it would be fine.

http://www.lifestylecampertrailers.c...ifestyle-at11/

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

We inspected the showroom examples of the Lifestyle campers the other day at Slacks Creek in Brisbane and came away impressed.
Seem to be very solid, lots of layout choices and they are quite light considering their size - from 1.2 tonnes upwards. Also reasonably priced in the $40-50,000 range depending on size and options. They skip the showy fluff and concentrate on the important stuff.
Basically, each camper is hand-built to what you order. They are about to build one close to what appeals to us, so we are going back to see it under construction. They use a lot of aluminium for light strength and seem capable of coping with almost anything. Strong chassis and suspension and big wheels and mud tyres.
The people behind the company use their own campers too, which is good. One of the display vans is actually privately owned and has just come back from a three months Outback trip, so I had a good look around it for cracks and damage, but couldn't find anything. Fully made in Australia too.
The Navigator likes them, so that's a big plus.
Off Road Caravans & Camper Trailers For Sale in Brisbane, Queensland (QLD)


We started off favouring the Reconn, but are now leaning towards an AT 10. We might skip the internal shower/toilet unit to gain extra internal seating space, as it also has an outside shower, but there is an option of an internal seat which lifts up to reveal a toilet underneath. Would add an extra battery and solar, plenty of water, plus a full awning and an 80 litre fridge. We would probably end up around $55k with options.
We are using the benchmark question: Would we be prepared to drag this up the Old Telegraph Track, like we did with our current camper, or out to Mt Dare? As of now, my answer is No to the OTT (weight and the exits are too steep), but Yes to Mt Dare, although not the steeper dunes. For flat rocky desert it would be fine.

AT11 Hypercamper

We had a good look at them as well.

One interesting thing the sales guy said was resale is considerably easier if the ensuite is fitted.He said vans with no ensuite are often difficult to sell second hand.

The 11 with no ensuit,just a porta would suit us,with outside shower.The small sink inside is a good idea,which the reconn didn't have.

The reconn seemed to have heaps of storage space,though.

The awning on the AT11 is much better than on the recon,although it doesn't cover the fridge slide area.

I don't know about dragging it over to the eastern beach at Moreton,though.Maybe after the sand hardened up after a bit of rain it would be OK.That eastern beach is one of our favourite places.

Agree,no hope on the OTT,but many other parts of the cape,would be no worries.

Around MT Dare would be OK,Finke area,but I don't think going actually across the desert would be much fun.

Fraser would probably be OK as the barge lands at bottom of the eastern beach,so no inland tracks would have to be nogotiated to get a good camping spot.

Four max trax would be essential��


NTB on here has an AT 12 and is happy with it.

Originally Posted by scarry

We had a good look at them as well.

One interesting thing the sales guy said was resale is considerably easier if the ensuite is fitted.He said vans with no ensuite are often difficult to sell second hand.

The 11 with no ensuit,just a porta would suit us,with outside shower.The small sink inside is a good idea,which the reconn didn't have.

The reconn seemed to have heaps of storage space,though.

The awning on the AT11 is much better than on the recon,although it doesn't cover the fridge slide area.

I don't know about dragging it over to the eastern beach at Moreton,though.Maybe after the sand hardened up after a bit of rain it would be OK.That eastern beach is one of our favourite places.

Agree,no hope on the OTT,but many other parts of the cape,would be no worries.

Around MT Dare would be OK,Finke area,but I don't think going actually across the desert would be much fun.

Fraser would probably be OK as the barge lands at bottom of the eastern beach,so no inland tracks would have to be nogotiated to get a good camping spot.

Four max trax would be essential��


NTB on here has an AT 12 and is happy with it.

The Reconn has heaps of storage. We also liked the kitchen being on the side of the structure opening out rather than as a pull out. If it was just me I'd have a Reconn with a bed which could be either single or double.
That's a good point about resale being better with an ensuite. I shall point that out to The Navigator.
We noted the difference in awnings too.
Weights of 1.2 - 1.4 tonnes depending on options are not too bad - our Aussieswag is about 1.2 fully loaded.
It looks tough enough to go anywhere it could be towed. It would be great in the desert, I think, but not on sandy dunes. I wouldn't tow a camper over dunes anyway, just because I'd rather go light.
Agree about the Maxtracks.
The AT12 is a fair bit heavier and more expensive than the 10, while the 11 is in between.
The Lifestyles look tougher than the equivalently-priced Jaycos.
They are all a lot cheaper than Aussie Off Road (AOR) vans from the Sunshine Coast, which we also looked at, which are up in the $90k plus range, but have more features. We're a bit minimalistic - more interested in durability than extras.

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

The Reconn has heaps of storage. We also liked the kitchen being on the side of the structure opening out rather than as a pull out. If it was just me I'd have a Reconn with a bed which could be either single or double.
That's a good point about resale being better with an ensuite. I shall point that out to The Navigator.
We noted the difference in awnings too.
Weights of 1.2 - 1.4 tonnes depending on options are not too bad - our Aussieswag is about 1.2 fully loaded.
It looks tough enough to go anywhere it could be towed. It would be great in the desert, I think, but not on sandy dunes. I wouldn't tow a camper over dunes anyway, just because I'd rather go light.
Agree about the Maxtracks.
The AT12 is a fair bit heavier and more expensive than the 10, while the 11 is in between.
The Lifestyles look tougher than the equivalently-priced Jaycos.
They are all a lot cheaper than Aussie Off Road (AOR) vans from the Sunshine Coast, which we also looked at, which are up in the $90k plus range, but have more features. We're a bit minimalistic - more interested in durability than extras.

We saw a half built AT 11 or 12 in the shed that has that inbuilt kitchen on the side.But inside the bed slides out the side not the rear,so room is limited.They haven't got any drawings of this design drawn up yet.I prefer the slide out kitchen,although SWMBO doesn't like the fridge being a fair way from the kitchen,doesn't worry me at all.

That side built kitchen would be excellent for roadside stops,the lift up cover would also keep the rain off.

When comparing weights and prices with other brands,you have to be careful,as the lifestyle lightness,and less costs is because it has heaps of options,many that are standard on some other brands.
Second batteries,solar panels,fridge,heaters,etc come to mind.

These vans also track very similar to the D3/4.