Buying a cheaper breed of camper trailer

[3lt_troll]

Hi Guys

Just wondering if anyone has had dealings with www.swagcampertrailers.com.au

be it good, bad or otherwise

am considering purchasing one of the trailers on the specials page however cant find any kind of feedback what so ever

the trailers are produced by www.economytrailers.com.au and dont seem to bad in their construction

the tent is the same kind of imported tent 70% of the trailer manufacturers use

the facts are i can buy one of the ones on special pretty much ready to go for the price of a bare trailer and tent from a major manufacturer.........

let me know what you guys reckon

Ben

[hairymick]

Mate, not bagging these trailers at all. i have never even seen one.

But for about the same money or a very little more, you can buy one of these

http://www.austrackcampers.com.au/

We have one in the semi off road model and just can't fault it in either material quality, build or anything else for that matter. there are several other my swaggers with them and a whole lot of other owners around here and everybody we spoke to with one feels the same way as we do.

[Darcy7]

Hi Ben

Welcome to the forum.

I would suggest very strongly you go and have a look at them and hopefully see their manufacturing processes.  A lot of CTs look good on a website but can be pretty shoddy up close.

Also, look carefully at how the tent is erected.  Many of the Chinese tents require a lot of setup and in my opinion defeat the purpose of a CT in the first place.

Good luck with it..!

Darcy

[bimborocks]

I would definatly have a close look at the trailers as well as the tent setup.  Maybe even ask them if they will show/help you put up and pack up the tent if you are seriously look at buying one.
I bought a Mario brand trailer (on road version) http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=8590.0 and love it.  The trailers are sturdy but not really well finished off - just aesthetic sort of stuff like runs in the paint in a few spots and welding spatter around the welds.

The tent i have is a chinese tent and i believe is basically the same as GIC campers tests just a differant colour.  It is a big tent and perfect for me and the wife on the bed and another couple or a few kids on the floor.  The tent only takes about 15mins or so to put up with the 2 of us.  I can do it on my own but there is abit more time and a lot more swearing involved.  So it is no hard floor but not slow to put up either - actually it probably takes about the same amount of time to put up as out big old dome tent did.

The other brand I looked at was GIC and they had some good deals going and looked reasonable for one of the cheaper brands.

The best advice I got from here before buying mine was to get to a camping/caravan show where there are a few brands of campers setup and you can walk between them all and you can really see the differance in quality of materials and fit'n'finish of the cheaper compared to the more expensive.

Cheers
James

[speewa158]

 Well where to start . OK Welcome to Myswag . Before we discuss CTs in general we must ask  how much time have you spent in CTs . Before you buy , hire & try it out for yourself . then record the good things you like & want in your CT . Work out what type of travel you want to do & buy accordiungly . If you want to have a second opinon ask , Oh & look at the 2nd market more bang for your buck 

[Camel Tow]

There was a very good article in one of the camper trailer magazines a while ago that discussed the pro's and cons of cheap imported campers - not sure if Carlisle is out there but I recall that it was in his mag.

You can get a very good quality Aussie built trailer with good Wax Converters canvas for quite reasonable prices if you shop around.

If you do get to check one out, have a very close look at the build quality of the trailer, paying particular attention to the welds etc. I have seen some cheaper campers being set up and there seems to be a lot of poles etc that need to be set up just for the main tent section.

You get what you pay for - as mentioned above, you can get a good second hand Aussie made camper - check out the classifieds both here and on other sites.

That is good avice about hire before you buy too - I know that Johno's are always selling their ex-rental trailers.

[gettingaround]

Hi Ben
A friend of mine has a CT he bought from Swag Camper Trailers, we have just been away in it for 2 weeks at Noosa, rained like you would not believe most of the time, and the Tent did not get a drop of water in it, even some of the caravans were leaking, there was so much rain. Both the trailer and tent, are jusf fabulous, no problems whatsoever. The 9ft heavy duty tent Swag Campers sell is imported, but is nothing like the 70% of imported tents you mention, the material is very much like Australian canvas, and we have not seen that type of canvas sold by any other dealer in Qld, and we checked them all before we purchased, the tent is also very easy to erect. You are correct, their trailers are made by Economy Trailers, and are a good solid trailer. Enjoy your purchase, and  recommend Swag Camper Trailers, hope this helps...........Rod

[ynost]

My Swag Camper Trailer started to rust after 11 months so, I arranged for an RACQ inspection which proved that no primer was used. The company arranged for the trailer to be sandblasted and repainted however, it has taken 2 months and the work still hasn't been started.

[Big Nath]

Gday Ben, welcome to the forum. In regards to your question, i personally have an imported trailer. its been great, and like you want value for money. i read a comment about needing lots of set up time (poles etc) please dont take this as gospel. my trailer can be set up in under 10mins and with 3 spreaders only. (main tent only) and if you want to set up one on my 2 included annexes add another 8 poles. (4 rafters and 4 poles) which im led to believe is the same as most of the Aussie made tents.

lots of the negative remarks about these trailers are made by people who dont own one and have never seen one up close.

I have had an issue with my tent, i had 2cm of stitching come undone along whre the awning rafters attatch. I called the supplier and i got a brand new tent free. And as compensation i got the kids room AND free freight. I guess thats the joys of haveing the 2yr no questions ask warranty.

My trailer is a Leisure Matters trailer. www.lmcampers.com.au

Cheers!!

[Bird]

Hi Guys

Just wondering if anyone has had dealings with www.swagcampertrailers.com.au

be it good, bad or otherwise

Here, read this
http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=24613.0;topicseen

[GeeTee]

has Ben been back since Dec 2010?