Questions about the Camprite I'm about to pickup

[WestcoastPete]

Hi

I've been looking for a Camprite for ages but they rarely come up in Tassie, especially in my price range. One has come up and I'm going to pick it up tomorrow, but I have a few things I'm not certain about. This place seems to have a lot of people with experience of Camprites so I figured I'd ask here. It's a 2001 TL8

The seller couldn't really tell me about the brakes initially. He's had a look and now says it has electric brakes, but he's just been driving around with it unbraked by the sounds of it  My questions are;

• Did any Camprites come out without electric brakes?
• Do they have a handbrake? Surely they do.
• If the brakes on this camper haven't been used for a long long time, do you think I'm likely to have any problems hitching it up and driving it the 3hrs+ home with my Redarc brake controller? If so, is it easy to adjust them or does it require a fair bit of work?

I see people seem to have fridges inside the camper behind the kitchen. It looks like Camprite themselves make a slide sort of thing for this

• Is it OK to have a fridge inside the camper? I would've thought it would need more ventilation than that would allow
• How do you secure the fridge in there easily? How does the Camprite slide actually work?

I hope you don't mind a new member coming along and asking these questions. I'm just a bit uncertain about what I'm going to find when I get out there and the seller hasn't been super helpful. He's holding it for me though so there's that.

Thanks

[GGV8Cruza]

Welcome to the forum

I am no camprite expert but I would believe it will have brakes, if not the short trip home unloaded will not be a problem, and I would get brakes fitted up asap. But I am sure it will have them

The question if they will work is a hard one. If the owner has not been using them and they ahve corroded in anyway they may not operate. Hook up the trailer and keep the setting low and see what happens. Electric brakes are a simple set up and they are easy to work on and repair

I run my fridge inside my camper without any ventilation. Its probably not the best thing to do but I get no dust in the area it sits. I have mine located in nice and tight and does not move. The one in the car has straps on the hable points to hold it in my drawer unit.

Good luck with the pick up, they are a good bit of gear

GG

[Bird]

Welcome to forum... ask anything you like.


Do you have any photos of the wheels/under or are you buying totally sight unseen? Or link to ad? Might help someone help you with info...

I'd ask seller for few photos of the axle for brakes, and drawbar for specs on it.... What tow hitch does it have? You have the same on ya car?

Would suck to have brake issues like lock up 3 hrs from home.

edit: this one?
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/queenstown/camper-trailers/camprite-offroad-trailer/1288095619

[WestcoastPete]

That's the one. For the price I plan on buying it regardless

[Fizzie]

Welcome to Swag, Pete

What tow hitch does it have? You have the same on ya car?

That's the big one, because it looks like the CT has a Treg or similar hitch on it




What do you have on your car

[Bird]

That's the one. For the price I plan on buying it regardless

yea thats not always good logic but hope it works out anyway they are a good unit.

That's the big one, because it looks like the CT has a Treg or similar hitch on it

I think shows the other 1/2 of the treg there large threaded part - i didnt see it before.

[Mace]

The seller couldn't really tell me about the brakes initially. He's had a look and now says it has electric brakes, but he's just been driving around with it unbraked by the sounds of it 

Ive been trying to see from the pics if it has a manual brake system as well, along with the locking hand brake lever near the hitch...  It doesnt appear to have one fitted??  So it might be electric brake only, which is unusual.....  As you've said, surely they must have some sort of handbrake fitted..

A question for you, does your tug have an electric brake actuator (Redark or Tetonksha) fitted?   You will need to fit one if it doesnt to check out if the actual systems works as it should.

Cheers.

[WestcoastPete]

I'd already booked my Disco 3 in to have a Redarc Tow Pro fitted this morning, so that's happening right now. I'm waiting for them to call me to say it's ready, and then I'm heading for Queenstown.

When I've browsed Camprites, I've seen plenty that don't seem to have a traditional lever handbrake on the hitch. Makes me think there must be some other sort of handbrake on them? If it doesn't have a handbrake, I'll fit one.

The guy reckons he has a hitch that fits into a standard 50mm square hitch on a car. I have a Mitch Hitch on mine. I'm taking a whole bunch of tools with me to try and deal with whatever comes up. Fingers crossed emoji

[#jonesy]

It's a treg style hitch.  He also has the car end sitting on the drawbar. (Rusty looking piece and bolt)

[#jonesy]

Picture 1 shows what he has

Picture 2 is mine, including the tongue. You will need the tongue part for your Disco

[WestcoastPete]

Well I picked it up, but not without a hitch. Obviously I needed a hitch to be able to tow it  . Actually I did start out with out a hitch pin, but pilfered one from a Jeep wreck down the side of a shed in town. Felt really guilty about it despite it clearly being a wreck not going anywhere, but I wouldn't have gotten far without one.

Anyway, I'm pretty stoked on it. It really is a great design. It towed perfectly on the way home. I went pretty slowly a lot of the way, like 60-80km/hr due to wildlife. Didn't hit anything. The brakes worked fine. It has the bits on the hubs for a handbrake but none fitted. I've booked it in for a hub service and brake inspection, and fitting a handbrake. I might replace the hitch too. The current one is original and seems to be fine, but looks pretty weathered and is 21yrs old. I'm planning on keeping it long term, and it might be easier to replace it with one that has a built in handbrake lever.

I'll replace the tail lights with LEDs. That should be an straightforward swap. I'll contact Camprite about a new stoneguard. The seller's brother jack-knifed the trailer or something and busted the front tool box and repaired it by mounting the gas bottles on the drawbar rather than on the side. There's a tear in the canvas near the door that needs repairing but it's not in a bad spot. And it needs new tyres due to age cracking. And the shockies look shot.

Other than that, I'll just use it. There's plenty of other stuff to consider like the fold over roof rack, the rear rack for an outboard (maybe a bike rack here?), what to do about the fridge, whether to smarten up the kitchen with an integrated cooker, etc etc

What's the go for LED lighting inside and under the awning? I'll try and read up on it. Overall I'm totally stoked. Thanks for your input so far!

[Bird]

Nice work.

I'd suggest using it a few times before making any changes... as you'll find it may actually work and good as it is - or theres 15000 other things you'll wanna change too.

Enjoy.

[shanegtr]

I have a 2007 TL8s and there is no handbrake on mine either.

[Steffo1]

Well I picked it up, but not without a hitch. Obviously I needed a hitch to be able to tow it  . Actually I did start out with out a hitch pin, but pilfered one from a Jeep wreck down the side of a shed in town. Felt really guilty about it despite it clearly being a wreck not going anywhere, but I wouldn't have gotten far without one.

Anyway, I'm pretty stoked on it. It really is a great design. It towed perfectly on the way home. I went pretty slowly a lot of the way, like 60-80km/hr due to wildlife. Didn't hit anything. The brakes worked fine. It has the bits on the hubs for a handbrake but none fitted. I've booked it in for a hub service and brake inspection, and fitting a handbrake. I might replace the hitch too. The current one is original and seems to be fine, but looks pretty weathered and is 21yrs old. I'm planning on keeping it long term, and it might be easier to replace it with one that has a built in handbrake lever.

I'll replace the tail lights with LEDs. That should be an straightforward swap. I'll contact Camprite about a new stoneguard. The seller's brother jack-knifed the trailer or something and busted the front tool box and repaired it by mounting the gas bottles on the drawbar rather than on the side. There's a tear in the canvas near the door that needs repairing but it's not in a bad spot. And it needs new tyres due to age cracking. And the shockies look shot.

Other than that, I'll just use it. There's plenty of other stuff to consider like the fold over roof rack, the rear rack for an outboard (maybe a bike rack here?), what to do about the fridge, whether to smarten up the kitchen with an integrated cooker, etc etc

What's the go for LED lighting inside and under the awning? I'll try and read up on it. Overall I'm totally stoked. Thanks for your input so far!

If you go the LED rear lights, you'll need an LED trailer module for the D3 connection, otherwise you'll have flickering trailer tail lights and non-recognition of the trailer being attached to the vehicle. For more info, plus how to put a module together, visit the Disco 3 section in the AULRO (Australian Land Rover Owners) forum and type in "Flickering trailer lights" or similar.

[WestcoastPete]

Yes I fitted a Linear Designs one a few weeks ago no worries

[WestcoastPete]

I have a 2007 TL8s and there is no handbrake on mine either.

Interesting. Do you wish it had one? Our block is really steep. I'd be worried about it getting away from me quickly. I'm going to take a lot of care moving it around at home

[GeoffA]

Cruisemaster make a good, reliable handbrake.

https://cruisemaster.com.au/universal-handbrake-standard/

I ditched the McHitch handbrake that was on our van.
Had a habit of auto-releasing....

[WestcoastPete]

Using a standalone handbrake might alleviate the need to swap the hitch. Do you think I should be worried about a weathered old Treg hitch? It seems fine. Maybe I could just change the rubber bit? Do the other moving parts wear out?

[Bird]

Our block is really steep. I'd be worried about it getting away from me quickly.

For hundred bux or so, why wouldnt you fit one after spending 17,000

[shanegtr]

Interesting. Do you wish it had one? Our block is really steep. I'd be worried about it getting away from me quickly. I'm going to take a lot of care moving it around at home

I’ve owned it since 2009 or 10, and it was only on my last trip after Xmas that it’s been the only time I thought one would be handy to have. I just dug a couple holes for the wheels to sit in and it wasn’t going anywhere

[GeoffA]

Using a standalone handbrake might alleviate the need to swap the hitch. Do you think I should be worried about a weathered old Treg hitch? It seems fine. Maybe I could just change the rubber bit? Do the other moving parts wear out?

The poly blocks have been known to split with age. Not good if it happens when you're away from help.

I found the Treg style OK, but can be a bit of a bugger to align. There are easier hitches to use.
(I assume your current hitch bolted to the chassis)

The McHitch Auto-coupler is a good hitch. Easy to use, once you get used to it. The hand brake is poo.

The DO35 is a good hitch. Easy to use, as long as the jockey wheel has enough lift. The hand brake is great.

Plenty of other hitches out there, but the above is my experience.

 

[Steffo1]

The poly blocks have been known to split with age. Not good if it happens when you're away from help.

I found the Treg style OK, but can be a bit of a bugger to align. There are easier hitches to use.
(I assume your current hitch bolted to the chassis)

The McHitch Auto-coupler is a good hitch. Easy to use, once you get used to it. The hand brake is poo.

The DO35 is a good hitch. Easy to use, as long as the jockey wheel has enough lift. The hand brake is great.

Plenty of other hitches out there, but the above is my experience.

 

I have a DO35 on my pop top and with the Disco3's air suspension, a quick lift with the jockey wheel, drop the Disco to "Access Mode" and uncoupling all done. Exact opposite to hitch up. Easy peasy.
The rear door will clear the handbrake handle, too.

[Traveller]

We had a camper for near 20 years that had a Treg hitch on it. Never gave us issues apart from once being caught with very fine gravel holding the pin in that took some moving. But this was the result of a week or so of travelling outback gravel roads and not unhitching of a night. It was avoided from then on by just popping the pin every few days. I also fitted a ratchet jockey wheel that made aligning the coupling much easier, and generally moving the trailer around.

Now we have a DO35 coupling on the new camper, and it is certainly easier to use than the Treg. The only frustration with it is getting the cap to snap on when coupled. Haven't had it all that long so can't give a long term review.

There is nothing wrong with Treg hitches, I thought ours was great.

[WestcoastPete]

DO35 ready to fit! They only come as a bolt on so they'll remove the existing Treg, weld on a plate and then bolt on the DO35.

Now, apparently these Camprites use GQ/GU Patrol rear shocks, and the originals were Tough Dogs. Mine look absolutely flogged. There are quite a few different types of Tough Dogs that fit these Patrols though, can any of you tell me which ones I should get?

Also, I want to fit the standard mesh stone guard back to the camper. The way I understand it, there's a rectangular frame at the front of the trailer that the mesh bolts to, then it attaches to the camper sides which you then pop off somehow to get into the storage at the front. How do these connect on the side of the camper? And if anyone could show me a pic of the frame at the front that would be handy. I'll move the gas bottles back to the sides of the trailer where they originally were.

Thanks

[WestcoastPete]

So I'm having a fair bit of trouble sorting these new shocks out on the Camprite. I've had a bit of communication with Camprite and they've said;

"They are gq-gu rear Nissan patrol fittment you need 16mm eye bushes in them and re use washers either side of the bush and also remove metal sleeve from the eyes and put in the new shocks"

So I've got the new shocks but I haven't been able to find replacement bushes in the size they suggest, and the sleeves in my old shocks are totally shot. Everything about the original shocks is shot. I've been to Bursons and Pedders locally and they haven't been able to help. Pedders couldn't make sense of the Camprite instructions, saying replacing one of the bushes in the new shocks was pretty much impossible. They suggested maybe getting a custom sleeve made for the new shocks. This could be done but would be a pain in the bum and surely there's a better, more normal way. Do any of you have any tips?