MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Simoone on October 14, 2009, 11:05:02 PM
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I am looking at purchasing a lifestyle explorer +, I value peoples opinions on them good or bad
Thanks
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Mate have a look at the extenda,
They give so much more room for about the same price.
DionM has just had one built and there are some good pics here of his. Mine has just satrted being built and should be ready in a couple of weeks. Talk to Bill at Lifestyle he will be able to guide you in the right direction.
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Simoone
There's a fair number of Lifestyle owners here and I reckon you'd be hard pressed to get a bad word about them. They are a great camper, excellent value for money and the service and support is fantastic.
Being in Victoria, our choices for campers is a bit limited in that we were after a well built, strongly engineered camper from a reputable manufacturer without spending a fortune. Unfortunately to get the sort of camper we wanted with the features we needed for under $20k was next to impossible. So following the advice from members on this forum, we looked at some brands in QLD, Lifestyle being one of them.
We purchased a Lifestyle 360i for a number of reasons. They would have to be one of the strongest and best engineered trailers on the market. You certainly get a lot of metal for your $. The tent is one of the best we saw with excellent quality canvas made in Australia with storm covers on all (but one) windows. Its very easy to erect (the whole point of a camper..!) and the supporting frame is reinforced at the corners so it should withstand a gale force wind..! We got the full awning as well which is excellent value for money. The attention to detail in the design and manufacturer are a standout feature. You can see the design has been refined over the years to provide reliability and convenience.
The one thing that really tipped the scales in their favour was the staff's enthusiasm for their products. We dealt with John and he was so helpful right through the process and his willingness to do us a good deal and offer what we wanted within our budget was outstanding. I still can't believe we got deal we did. Their after sales support has also been first rate.
If I had one criticism at all, it would be that its worth going over everything at the time of pickup just to make sure everything is in place. We had a couple of very minor problems that needed to be sorted out afterwards that if we had checked properly at the time of pickup, could have been fixed on the spot. Nothing major and John organised to get them fixed at his cost without any fuss at all.
When you looking at what to get, I'd reccommend couple of things. Seriously consider the coil suspension upgrade. It makes the trailer so smooth and easy to tow that you hardly know its there. And at $1000 (I think that's available across the range) its got to be the bargain of the century. (other manufacturers quoted us in excess of $2200..!!)
I'd also consider purchasing the full awning. Again compared to other manufacturers, its outstanding value for money and one of the best designs we saw. If you plan to stay at a single location for a few days or more, you will really appreciate the convenience and comfort the awning offers especially in hot climate or where flies and mozzies are a problem.
If you want any more info, happy to help. There's all the details about it here too:
http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=1162.0
Enjoy
Darcy
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love my lifestyle and as said about you'll be hard pressed to find someone to saything bad about them. Someone on here has one for sale if you in the market for a second had one..
Ahh here it is http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=2165.0
You can't go wrong.
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Simoone
If you are in Brisbane pop into Vacation Campers and do a compare with Lifestyle - both are very good units but we went with the VC after a lot of research - but bottom line is it comes down to feel and what is included in the price. We thought the VC had a few more standard features and also enabled us to get a kids room out the back which is a real plus for both the kids andthe parents
Happy hunting and welcome to the MySwag forum
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Buy mine it`s perfect
http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=2165.0
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Talk to Bill at Lifestyle he will be able to guide you in the right direction.
I'd agree with that Bill is great... Never had an issue dealing with him.
Although I refuse to talk to the owner of the place.
From fraser few weeks ago
(http://www.gupatrol.com/pics/Fraser_2009/Albums/Album1/Large/16.jpg)
(http://www.gupatrol.com/pics/Fraser_2009/Albums/Album1/Large/68.jpg)
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Buy mine it`s perfect
http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=2165.0
I agree - this is a top buy - you would be hard pressed to get a better deal. Unfortunately we had already ordered the VC
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Although I refuse to talk to the owner of the place.
That doesn't sound good Lost.
I only ever dealt with John and it was his attitude that sold us, only ever had a small problem to follow up and all was dealt with ok but that was a long time ago when there was only about 4 staff and they were at the old factory, maybe the pressures of a rapidly expanding business are taking there toll on him.
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We are very happy with ours, I called in to their showroom yesterday to thank them for our camper. We dealt with both Bill and John, they are a good pair of blokes. :cup:
If I go into more detail I might be accused of being on the payroll :laugh:
If you live in SEQ you will realise that we are spoilt for choice on the camper manufacturer's all of them in our area are quality items
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If you live in SEQ you will realise that we are spoilt for choice on the camper manufacturer's all of them in our area are quality items
Although we are more than happy with our Lifestyle, any of the major SEQ builders trailers would be a pleasure to own, and as Toeball says we are spoilt for choice up here.
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[/quote]
I agree - this is a top buy - you would be hard pressed to get a better deal. Unfortunately we had already ordered the VC
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The VC that would be a vacationer would it?
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VC is indeed a Vacation Camper - we got the off-road Vacationer
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Can't fault the explorer + had our for 10 months now easy to put up and put away, plenty of room for 2 adults and two kids,youngest as old as camper), wouldn't buy a camper without the tropical roof keeps roof clean and cool. Ours was pretty standard have added led lights for tent and awning, Anderson plug, battery & 12v outlets beside taillights chose to do myself as wife works for an auto lekkie.
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Well we just ordered an Extenda last week (delivery early Dec). (And woohoo, my first post!!)
After looking at the majority of manufacturers and models around Brissy, we ended up with the Lifestyle as we thought it had the best features and most standard inclusions for us. (At least according to my massive spreadsheet that I did up!) Also, as mentioned above, Bill is great to deal with!
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Congrats on making the decision...! There's nothing like that massive spreadsheet is there..??!! We did the same thing as it was the only way we could keep a track of everything.
Now the fun begins...!
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My problem now is I wish I'd found this forum before I ordered it. There's so much more I could do looking at some of the other setups......
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We had our first trip with our Lifestyle explorer + in September and everyone loved it, wife and 3 kids included.
Good product & great service.
Mig ;D
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Just got back from our first trip with the Extenda. Love the room, tows great, very usable.
Found a few things that need to be fixed on ours after our first real trip, will talk with the guys there next week (know Saturdays are way busy for them) about getting them fixed. Hopefully shouldn't be an issue to get fixed.
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Hi there,
I was just about the start the process of making out a spreadsheet of what extras and inclusions come with camper trailer makers in Brisbane and if someone else has done the work and doesn't mind sharing I would be more than appreciative if you could perhaps PM me with the details???
Cheers!! :cheers:
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I'll arrange it for you tomorrow. I'm pretty sure its still at work
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I like many others, have and love my Lifestyle Extenda Elite. We shopped around and trawled the web and still came down to Lifestyle and Trackabout (we had a Safari and loved that too) but in the end we wanted the Extenda part most for my wife who is not able to safely climb ladders onto beds.
Just one point if you intend camping in caravan parks, and this was made aware to us by some friends that manage a park in NSW. All powered/slabbed sites are made for caravans, meaning they all have the door on the passengers side of the van. By law in NSW apparently, all sleeping areas must be 6m from the next van. This creates major siting problems if your camper folds out to the drivers side. As such, I didnt even look at any makers that had drivers side tents. At our annual 2 week trip we were next to a drivers side fold out and they spent about 2 hrs trying to work out how to best site their camper after the park managers told them they had to have it in a certain location to maintain the spacing.
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I agree with all the positive comments about lifestyle CT. Both John & Bill are a pleasure to deal with. They bend over backwards to make sure the customer gets what they want. The quality of trailer is great for the price.
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We have just taken delivery of our new Lifestyle Extenda and whilst the overall quality is quite good, we could not believe how difficult it is to open the camper top. My wife & I both tried lifting the lid & assumed it must have been locked but on checking, that was not the case. My next door neighbour came over & gave me a hand & between us, we got the lid up. Surely the Extenda is aimed at the 'average' person so I am amazed there is not a solution to this problem. Bill says it's just the weight of the extra canvas but that doesn't help me! Has anyone else had this problem or have I just got a 'lemon'? :'(
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Nutbag, you are right in saying the camper top/bed deck is heavy, when trying to open it up. When I first got mine, I thought the same thing, that the clips were still clipped up, but then after opening and closing it a few times, it becomes a little easier.
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We have just taken delivery of our new Lifestyle Extenda and whilst the overall quality is quite good, we could not believe how difficult it is to open the camper top. My wife & I both tried lifting the lid & assumed it must have been locked but on checking, that was not the case. My next door neighbour came over & gave me a hand & between us, we got the lid up. Surely the Extenda is aimed at the 'average' person so I am amazed there is not a solution to this problem. Bill says it's just the weight of the extra canvas but that doesn't help me! Has anyone else had this problem or have I just got a 'lemon'? :'(
Nope you are not alone - it certainly is heavy - my wife would not be able to lift it by herself for sure. However there is a lot of canvas, steel and wood to be lifted so its a catch-22. Do you have the innerspring or foam matress - there'll be some weight difference there.
How tall are you? Given the height of the camper that can also play a role. I'm 2m tall and its quite a good height for me to get some "oomph" behind it - if I was shorter I could see how it would be difficult as you are trying to lift something at a bit of arms reach - have you tried standing on something to make you a bit taller?
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Hi Nutbag.
The bed deck certainly is heavy, isn't it! Something you should definitely also do is to make sure that when you want to open it, ensure that the tailgate is open. Otherwise because all the seals are so good, you're fighting against an air lock. Makes a big difference, although it is still heavy....:)
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You can always get the gas struts upgraded! But on a brand new camper you shouldn't have to.
If there customer service is as good as Lifestyle owners say it is, then its simple.
Take it back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Here is one....... http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=9981.msg147999
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Nutbag, you are right in saying the camper top/bed deck is heavy, when trying to open it up. When I first got mine, I thought the same thing, that the clips were still clipped up, but then after opening and closing it a few times, it becomes a little easier.
It wouldnt be the only lemon believe me.
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It wouldnt be the only lemon believe me.
(http://i480.photobucket.com/albums/rr165/Jarrecko/picard-facepalm.jpg)
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......lol