$23K to spend. SH Windsor Rapid or BN Jayco Dove OB? Ended up with Coromal MT450

[Benduro]

Been looking at changing up from the rear-fold soft floor camper trailer to a Jayco-style camper trailer for the purpose of bad weather livability with young children (babies).
Seems a lot of people do this but then get jack of set-up/pack-up and go for a pop top caravan for ease of touring.
Budget will not allow for a new pop top with expadable ends but I did come across a 2001 Windsor Rapid http://www.tradingpost.com.au/Automotive/Caravans/AdNumber=D1239201955227 in one of the local retailers and it looked to be in great nick, complete with RTV independent suspension/shocks, roll out awning/walls etc.
We would be able to get this for or under $20 000 drive away.
Undercarriage looks great and canvas ends also look good. Exterior is also very good and the interior, although dated, is neat, clean and tidy.
Although I am unsure of the model, the layout is very similar to the current RA441 which would put it at less than 14 feet.
http://esvc000198.bne102u.server-web.com/product_images/windsor/rapid/ra441.jpg

As I am finding it difficult to find info on this year of make I am a bit hesitant but price wise it appears to be a very good deal and has us seriously considering it over a new Jayco Dove OB or similar.

Thoughts

 

[nbd73]

Hi Benduro, we have a gold stream which is the same thing. The van you propose sounds good.
It all depends on storage/towing/roads u r going on. Statements are correct, if no budget and space/weight issue then caravan for sure. As long as has sleeping for 4 then all is good. Wind up trailers are great for garage storage and towing in sand or uphill. But now that we are in the know, next time would get the caravan.

[4wd26]

cannot tell you too much- but looking at the windsor- it is the on road version- has the to connection on top of the a frame and it is a bit on the light side.

we jumped straight from tents to the poptop as we had friends (quite a few) that had tents, then soft floor then hard floor then the jaycos etc.

we love our rapid- nearly 4 years old now and still going well- not sure what things I can tell you to look for as they are pretty well built.

I would agree with your assessment of around 4.5m long- probably weight 1300kg unloaded and atm 1600kg?

[Benduro]

Thanks guys,

4wd26, it does have independent suspension with shocks underneath and is fitted with larger tyres
Will get some more info/pics during the week.

[CJ1177]

It's funny to read your post because it is almost identical to the dilemma we are are currently in  .
We have an road Dove & want to upgrade to an off road van, but cant decide if we should stick with the same style of van & go with an OB Dove or a expanda style van, I'm personally leaning towards the Windsor Rapid or Coromal Transforma.

We love Dove because of the internal layout & bench space, plus the small rear over hang compared to the other wind up models, & I think are more suitable off roading than the expanda style vans. The main thing that annoys me about the wind up vans is for our style of holidaying we are normally only stay in each location for 3 or 4 nights & do this multiple times in on holiday, plus the winding up of the bed flys/awnings, poles, ropes, pegs & the packing up of the main awning etc gets frustrating, if we only ever wound the van up & pulled out the beds with no awnings it would be quite acceptable & very quick pack up.
OB Dove Pros; small compact size, great off road, no wind drag, light weight
OB Dove cons; A full set up with all awnings ropes & poles etc is slow to pack up, for short stops.

The main issue i'm having with the expanda style vans is the bed access, most only have a small access to the beds & usually in the middle of the bed, this means if you sleep over the back & get in last you have to climb over the waist of your partner to get into bed, but that van you have chosen looks great for that problem. while I would like a capable off road van like the OB Dove could give me, realistically we wouldn't push it that hard & much more than a bit of corrugation or rough dirt roads like national parks & forestry roads, of which the expanda style would cope quite fine.

For me it comes down to the style of camping your most likely to be doing, & for us to get a wind up the main benefits would be for camping that we only do 1% of the time, but the small size is a big plus for storage & towing.

[Benduro]

Thanks for the post CJ1177... You make some valid points.
Another selling point for the van is the ability to have roadside access for lunch, feeding babies, changes etc.
They still feel a little closed-in though compared to the wind-ups and certainly don't want to become indoor campers
Still betwixed and between We are planning a .5 Australia lap in the next few years which has us leaning towards a van.

[achjimmy]

The Rapids are great vans and at 20 k I wouldn't  think that's going to be around long. The only issue I have ever noticed with them was bent bed ends (2) and both those vans were inhabitated by feral children. I think the beds are smaller than the older Jayco expandas but then they have the metal bed ends. The other option with that layout is to sleep " longitudinal " in the front bed which gets around the above problem.

[2010banditsa]

i have a 2011 off road Goldstream Crown and have been looking for additional accessability to the van when on the road, as we have a 1yr old. Looked at a few pop ups, possibly with bunks as well. Its hard to let go of the Goldy, but the ease with pop tops is appealing. That being said, most of the "off road" and not "dirt road" pop tops are pretty big and costly compared to the Crown.

[Benduro]

Checked out the 2001 Rapid properly and decided against it as it lacked 12 volt and had a lot of water stains and mildew.

Upon looking on the net we have decided to up our budget to the $23 000 mark in the hope of sourcing something a little newer and in better condition.
We have also decided to for go the independent suspension/off road pack, instead looking to potentially modify an on road model by under-slinging the axle and fitting 15" wheels if required to give improved clearance and level up with tow vehicle. Will need to research this further.

There are a number of 2006-2008 models of the Windsor Rapid 441 in the $25-28 000 range that I'm wondering whether sellers margins could mean they could possibly be within my budget
I have come across a couple of sellers who have made price reductions of $4-6 000 on Windsors. They were probably overpriced to start with

I'm questioning what is a reasonable offer? I know with real estate it is considered reasonable to make offers of up to a 20% discount on asking price. Obviously many factors come into play such as options, condition, age etc but so as not to offend anyone where should I start with something like this: http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/warrnambool-3280/caravan/windsor-rapid-13-6-/1007157614# ?

 

[achjimmy]

Mate you don't have to offend anybody, just look it over if it's okay and you would be happy buying it, tell them I have this available and I can't/don't/won't spend more at present but would be prepared to pay it this for your van. Other approach is ring them beforehand and say I have X amount for a van is it worth me even looking at your van? I think the offense only comes  if your a smartarse with your approach /offer or you start trying to bag the vehicle/van out to obviously beat it down. I am always polite and give an honest opinion of what I find good and bad. Some will be desperate  to sell and be prepared to let it go .

[prodigyrf]

"We love Dove because of the internal layout & bench space"
Yup. Just visited the West Beach cara/camper show and revisited the Jayco range along with a lot of others and it made me realize how spacious windups are and how little preaparation bench space there is in so many campers or even small medium poptops. That Dove layout leaves em for dead.

As for buying the Windsor it's still an 11 yr old van and at some stage people go 'too old', 'cheapy' no matter how good a nick it is. Bought our very tidy 03 road Dove earlier this year with the works for $12750 and I figure in 8-10yrs I can write it off as worth nothing, but paying over $20k for an 01 windup? Definitely new or near new for mine at that sort of dough.

[fuji]

http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=25258.0
Give him a call

[Benduro]

Thanks but no thanks.
Eagle does not interest me, and the more I think about it the more I see a small (14") pop top with extendable ends being the go. Not much difference length or width wise, a little difference weight and height wise and in my opinion so much more versatility!
Thinking I'll just be patient now and wait for the right rapid, either a RA381 or RA441, at the right price.

[fishfinder]

550 cartons of beer an esky and a good swag

[D4D]

Have you thought about a Goldstream Wing?

[Benduro]

Sure have, and I like the wing 2 layout but its still a windup. Leaning towards a Rapid for ease of packing, roadside stops, packing up wet, wind etc.
Still considering both, and this Kanga also caught my eye: http://www.caravancampingsales.com.au/buy/details.aspx?_N=1549+1552+1602+1601+4294883672+4294965530&R=11874066

[prodigyrf]

Have you thought about a Goldstream Wing?

Exactly the same layout as the Jayco Dove except Goldstream move the door toward the centre increasing the leg of the L lounge whilst shortening the door side bench space somewhat, so you understand how good that layout is, albeit spaciousness in a light, low wind drag outfit must spell windup. Before that sit the trailers and canvas but after that the sky's the limit with a tug and home on wheels. 

[Benduro]

Well after a lot of research and classifieds browsing we ended up over budget, but with an as new 2010, 1st reg' sep' 2011 Coromal 450 Magnum Transforma.
Deposit paid and pickup from Sydney next weekend.
Anyone with any experience buying interstate? What do I need to sort rego'/insurance wise?
Payment will be via bank cheque.

[Black Diamond]

Well done on the purchase mate and look forward to some pics when you get her. Exciting times mate

BD

[Benduro]

Thanks BD,

Really liked the low travel profile of the Coromal. Independent suspension, build quality and factory solar system are other pluses
Never realistically considered the MT450 due to them only being produced from 2010, making them a bit exy$$$ But when this one came up we put in a genuine offer and within a day offer was accepted by a friendly seller and deposit paid.

[prodigyrf]

Well after a lot of research and classifieds browsing we ended up over budget by 3k but with an as new 2010, 1st reg' sep' 2011 Coromal 450 Magnum Transforma.
Deposit paid and pickup from Sydney next weekend.
Anyone with any experience buying interstate? What do I need to sort rego'/insurance wise?
Payment will be via bank cheque.

Over budget eh? Why aren't any of us surprised when it's like looking for houses

As for interstate rego to get it back home just take out an insurance cover note as soon as you've paid a deposit (ie you now have a vested interest in it and what if it's stolen or burns while you have? Ans= real ugly legal position) and ask the vendor nicely to let you drive it home interstate signing a waiver for any traffic tickets, etc. When you get home present it for rego and inspection and that's when you hand over the plates and rego disc and KEEP the receipt and email a copy to the vendor for proof and their peace of mind.

Just don't even go there with temporary rego to get it home as I found from SA going to pick up a Vic regd camper resident in a NSW cara park. Sweet Jesus what an ordeal that would have been even if you can finally get a definitive answer out of the idiots

[4wd26]

Well done on the purchase- seems like you got a bargin

[Jenko67]

I would've bought a coromal transforma if i had somewhere to store it.... good quality

[Benduro]

Thanks all
A sneek preview:

[Barry G]

Congratulations Ben, great to see you have picked up a new rig to suit your needs.
Will assist with your parking space supply as soon as I'm back in town!