A few qusetions about Pinnacle campers if you don't mind.

[Jeepers Creepers]

OK, we went to Farm Fest at Caboolture yesterday to suss out some C.T.'s.

The first thing we came away with, was that we need a bed that has side loading from both sides. You see, i'm a 104 kg and wife is 52 kg, so she doesn't want me climbing over her in the middle of the night when nature calls and she reckons i;m too big to climb over (how rude) when nature calls.

The only campers there, with that set up, was Pinnacle and Market Direct.

We are quite taken by the Pinnacle jobbie and at $9,000, it does have a lot of bells and whistles etc,
One of these, is indepentant suspension.

I note most campers still run cart springs and axle, so i guess i'm wanting to know, is the independent susp. worth having?
I'm guessing yes, but i would like to hear from some who have it.

We are going to be doing mainly beach work, but may venture further a field later on.

I went through a heap of threads here last night regarding Pinnacle Campers etc, but does anyone want to tell me sumfin i might need to hear please, be that good or bad.

If we buy the Pinnacle, by the time we tip another $3,000 of extra's by way of good fridge, crapper, gas hot shower thingy, tables etc, we are going to have invested $12,000, so i want it correct, or as close as i can get.

Oh hey, i've gotta tell ya, on the way to Farm Fest yesterday, we called into a garage sale. Picked up a really good ironing board for $5.00.
I told the ol girl, it would be great to take away camping, you know, in case she got bored, she'd have something to do.

I would never have believed a full size ironing board would've fitted where it did.  :'(

[fuji]

Hi ya
Just looked at their website and it doesn't say muchnin relation where it is made the trailer and tent etc. i would be a bit wary. Probably from overseas but  theycould be a good trailerler. I haven't seen much in way of that brand on this forum.
Wayne

[Jeepers Creepers]

No, the salesman said they were Aussie made.

[fuji]

Okay, no contact details has me worried only mobile numbers. However looking at them again, they look okay. I am looking myself and waiting forthe show next month and October.

[Jeepers Creepers]

They seemed pretty ok etc.

They will be at Fraser show in August, so i'll be back there to ask more questions.

[fuji]

Yeah I would, find out where their shop is and where is the steel from.looked again and the hard floor camper for 11k?  They musn't be making any money thats fir sure. Probably imported and assembled here. Then they can say its made here. I think E&Z are the same as well as others. Have a look at the post on General Discussions about E&Z.
Wayne
I think we are the only ones awake. SWMBO woke to go to work and I heard the cat having a chuck in the hallway. Yuk!

[@fnq4now]

Can't comment on the suspension set up your looking at. We have a pinnacle (2nd hand) and are very happy with it. I know someone else who has one and they've been to the factory/showroom and were impressed. They seem to be very good to deal with. They've been around for a while now and previously did tents, awnings etc before getting into CT's.

[Mandrake]

I have the hard floor with Ind Susp -- Apart from the fact mine was welded on a slight angle it appeared to work very well -- They are a Chinese trailer assembled by Avoca River Trailers in Avoca Vic .. Sold by Pinnacle in Ballarat - Extremely helpful - Greg and Jason I think have had a few minor hiccups with the assembly side of the business but we are still very happy with our $9500 camper - It still needs a run on the corrugations up North but it rides bitumen and dirt roads in Vic really well... I was budgetting around $15K so I still have $5 K to put into the trailer if it needs anything...
Cheers
Steve

[Tom]

Steve.
Where do you get the parts/repairs done to the suspension if needed?
has the tent stood up to the wet?
Cheers.
Titch

[Mandrake]

I'm pretty sure that Greg and Jason can help with sourcing spares - I must admit that was not something I considered at the time - My local trailer builder had a look at the undercarriage and said that he could probably fix most things that went wrong - I was trying to get Jeep wheels put on the CT to match the tug... Can't do that so I am stuck with landcruiser style wheels ...
As far as the tent goes we had a tiny sewing hole leak on the roof which has now weathered in nicely - Its been in an overnight thunderstorm - about 25mm fell and our door zip let water in - The zips seem to have large gaps between the teeth and the door on the otherside of the awning got the direct full downpour and rain came through the zip top and side .. fabric is ripstop and fairly lightweight - One thing I don't like is our central rib has the LED light on it and it is not fastened to the rib like the other two are so there's a bit of movement until you get the roof nice and tight ... I also got the awning wall cut and zipped in four pieces which means I can enclose either end or the whole lot or just an end wall to cut the wind ...

Cheers

Steve

[DannyG]

Cant help you with the trailer but we have their tent (not from them, but the exact same imported tent).

I can be certain the tent is imported from China. However it is of the newest breed of Chinese tents so it is quite refined compared to many others on the market.
Ours does not leak, in fact didn't even leak when seasoning let alone afterwards in the rain.
Like you, we wanted a big tent to fold out either side, it has far more advantages than the extra couple of minutes it takes to fold out the extra side.
Rather than having to set up 2 awnings with a zillion poles to get a nice large long term set up, it only needs 1 awning set up and that gives you the same foot print as the 'other' tents that come with the 2 awnings, but a lot less messing around.
The walls are straighter than some other imported tents, so there is no wasted room inside.
They are just some of the things we love about ours. Chinese yes, doesn't always mean poor quality or design any more.
It is fast and easy to set up the main tent, takes us about 5 mins or so. One person can do it easily, but I admit it is easier with a second person (you need to put 2 poles into place and doing it simultaneously is best imho)
The awning and annex of course takes longer but realistically most people wouldn't bother with the whole set up unless it was anything other than an over night stay.
Having said that, we leave our awning attached to the main tents roof so it is as easy as getting the kids to hold the poles and we flop the awning over them
The tent also comes with divider walls, floors, trailer skirt and a heap of extras that realistically you will set up a few times for the novelty but rarely use imho.

I hope that helps.

[westvic]

have you considered looking at an "extender" type camper with the walkway at the foot end of the bed? might open up a few options.

Are you taling about these guys?

http://www.pinnaclecampers.com.au/contact_us.php

if so that phone number is in Ballarat Vic and 99% sure that the stuff is imported. Dont know about the quality as I haven't seen one myself.

[Jeepers Creepers]

Yeah Vic, in the list.

Even more confused now, as i thought the Pinnacles were Aussie made.

Geez, who would think buying a tent on a box trailer could be so friggin difficult.

[fuji]

Yeah Vic, in the list.

Even more confused now, as i thought the Pinnacles were Aussie made.

Geez, who would think buying a tent on a box trailer could be so friggin difficult.

They are made here with Chinese bits and pieces.
IMHO  I personally would not buy one but the hard floor would be the way to go. I think Mandrake  said he had one and for 11k only which is dirt cheap for a hard floor. There are other hard floor ones on ebay from W.A. Which look okay.  I would check the qual of the tent first. Have a lookat Customline, get a quality camper there for $8.5k which is similar to my old one. Aussie trailer and tent.
Wayne

[Tom]

Yeah Vic, in the list.

Even more confused now, as i thought the Pinnacles were Aussie made.

Geez, who would think buying a tent on a box trailer could be so friggin difficult.

Maybe it should state Assembled in Australia , bloody laws are useless in my Opinion.
cheers.
Titch

[xcvator]

Maybe it should state Assembled in Australia , bloody laws are useless in my Opinion.
cheers.
Titch

Yep, if 50% of the total cost of the item is Australian you can claim "Made in Australia" and to me that aint "Made in Australia" 

[Jeepers Creepers]

If thats correct, i may as wel save 3,000 and get the Market Direct thingy.

Hmmm, back to the drawing board i think.

[fuji]

If thats correct, i may as wel save 3,000 and get the Market Direct thingy.

Hmmm, back to the drawing board i think.

There are plenty of 2nd hand quality campers and new ones that are made in OZ
Wayne

[Jeepers Creepers]

back to the trading post.

[Jeepers Creepers]

So, can anyone tell me of any other models of CT with access to the bed from two sides?

[Kangaron]

I just made a little extension to a normal camper.
extends the setup time by 1 minute.

[fok]

You should have a look at the Lifestyle walkthru,a couple of members have one and seem very happy.
They are in Brisbane so are a lot closer then pinicle and are in the same price range.
www.lifestyecampertrailers.com.au