MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Onion on April 21, 2016, 08:37:53 AM
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Hi All,
If you've seen my other threads, we're _still_ looking at camper trailers... I think we've decided on a second hand (maybe new, finances depending) Camel. We're liking them because they appear to be fully Oz made but still reasonable in price. If there are any other brands fully Oz made for around this money in SE QLD, please let me know.
Now the question. We're still tenting and it takes us about 1.5 - 2.0 hours to completely setup. We have done the tarp (18x24) and tent (18x12) only in about 45mins. Then there's beds, kitchen, tables, etc, etc. What I'm wondering is what are your typical setup times for a soft floor CT? One of the appealing aspects to me about a CT is the setup time, but I'm wondering if people can provide real world stats.
What CT do you have and how long does it typically take you to setup?
Are there some brands and/or models of CT that are faster to setup than others?
We'd like to do more overnight camping - but maybe not if it still takes a couple of hours to setup :-)
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Typical set up time for our Outback Tanami for an overnighter without unhitching was about 10 minutes, pack up about 15 minutes, deploying the awning added another 15 minutes to the set up time :cup:
You can have a look at it http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=45000.msg757343#msg757343 (http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=45000.msg757343#msg757343)
cheers Keith :cheers:
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Most manufacturers pretty much crap on about setup times
I would say on average a full camper setup would be somewhere between 20 and 40 minutes as this includes getting onto the site detaching etc. A lot of manufacturers dont count this in their estimated times.
The biggest one that determines setup is the number of pegs that need to be driven in more pegs seems to equal longer setups
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Most manufacturers pretty much crap on about setup times
I would say on average a full camper setup would be somewhere between 20 and 40 minutes as this includes getting onto the site detaching etc. A lot of manufacturers dont count this in their estimated times.
The biggest one that determines setup is the number of pegs that need to be driven in more pegs seems to equal longer setups
agree -0 but would add, there are too many variables to give an accurate figure.. How many people doing it, how many times you done it, what the ground is like, how big the tent is, windy, rainy, too fuggin hot, etc etc
Lifestyle had a video on their site at one stage of <1 minute to setup but the trailer was unhitched, legs down, cover unzipped, and pretty much ready to just go...
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I have a soft floor CT
20 mins to unhitch, take 4 x bikes off the bike rack, unhook bike rack, find kids helmets and send them off, put stabiliser legs down and check it is level
5 mins to empty all of the crap out of the tub
15 mins to raise main tent, lift internal poles and peg
30 mins to make 3 x stretcher beds and bedding, inflate air mattress for main bed and put on bedding, connect 12 LED strip
10 mins to set up collapsable tables, shift eskys / fridge from car and get site as you want it.
Add 30 mins to hook up annexe roof and pole / peg properly with guy ropes for longer stays. Add 10 mins per wall if we choose to use them (zip and peg)
If I'm sitting in a camp chair with a beer in less than two hours and all is done and wife and I and not killing each other after the set up....it's a win. Having said that, after doing it so many times now, it's almost routine and the stress levels are low.
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If I'm sitting in a camp chair with a beer in less than two hours and all is done and wife and I and not killing each other after the set up....it's a win.
man - you need more practice!!
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f9/85/c3/f985c388df938adf6c3acd420747206c.jpg)
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man - you need more practice!!
3 kids under 10 to look after and the missus is quite anal in regards to how the camp site needs to be set up.
If its just me and 1 x kid, its 10 mins to set up the tent, 5 mins for stretchers, 1 min for the chairs and we are done.
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3 kids under 10 to look after and the missus is quite anal in regards to how the camp site needs to be set up.
then tell her to sort the Shit out while you continue to unpack the rest, cause you'd like to sit down this year and enjoy the holiday ;P!
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then tell her to sort the Shit out while you continue to unpack the rest, cause you'd like to sit down this year and enjoy the holiday ;P!
We only use the CT when the whole family is coming.
Else it's the 3 man tent.
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A previous reply suggesting depends, is absolutely right!
Check out Lifestyle Campers. We bought one beleiveing it was far and away, best v alue for money and fell into the Camel category in terms of design, quality, durability, Aus made etc. http://www.lifestylecampertrailers.com.au/model/lifestyle-elite/ (http://www.lifestylecampertrailers.com.au/model/lifestyle-elite/). I'm not one for muking around with set ups, I just want to get in and get it done!
The difference in time of a soft floor CT and Tent, is predominantly in:
- The design of the camper. Does it just fold out and peg down, or does it have a multitude of adjustments, poles, pegs and ropes to keep it upright? The lifestlye is literally a fold out and peg down x4. My brother in-law has an older chinese made camper, and whilst its a copy of AUssie ones, it takes FOREVER - it needs so much adjustment and peripherals to hold it up!
- Bedding, clothes, food storage, kitchen, chairs & tables. For a properly set out CT, all of that mentioned is set up and done and should literally be a fold out our slide out, no "packing" required. For a tent, you ALWAYS have to pack and unpack those things.
If i want to do an overnight stay still hitched to the car, I can have all of the above done and dusted in under 10 minutes, on my own (need my wife to keep the kids out of my way) - beds made, kichen ready and beer open :D
If I want to do a big peg down, level out, awning out, sand floor down, ropes in for high winds etc... Then 1-1.5 hours. Pictures below would show that type of set up.
(https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10274279_10153134102642583_1988437985598864750_n.jpg?oh=8f2a2bba9712a6e8d9ee15a0021d064d&oe=57BCE3A2)(https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/1456591_10153134102667583_8275128602394179663_n.jpg?oh=c65c1689364509f17d4cdc87d4c353b2&oe=57BE466D)(https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlf1/v/t1.0-9/10254021_10153134102692583_1521006875216141681_n.jpg?oh=0d3b2f4f2b85f71bc452b4733c7519d5&oe=57B9F676)(https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/10270699_10153134102987583_2976964724733646643_n.jpg?oh=86cb181af8c635919b9217cd83026c6f&oe=57AC53E7)(https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpl1/v/t1.0-9/1011033_10153134102932583_7991420759651391559_n.jpg?oh=f9aef692f3d8e2d44213b1e30e9f9761&oe=57A787CD)(https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xat1/v/t1.0-9/10653556_10153134103627583_4326261747883298778_n.jpg?oh=ee11a80a6ed372eb6db40a34ee32f9fa&oe=57BC93E6)(https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t1.0-9/971283_10153134104797583_5341847705333100689_n.jpg?oh=14b27d8dd69bf4467339442fa1b421b5&oe=5772A08E)
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Consider hiring some CTs a few times...
Sort out who hires what.. (KK at Caboolture, and Johnnos are a couple I know of)...
Ask the hirers likely set up times...??
Hire the ones who claim to be the quickest - (keeping in mind BS factors) - then put things to the test....
If you like Camel and LCT - give these suppliers a call and ask if anyone is hiring their CT??
I think some mob was getting into the hire of LCT last Christmas?
Then put things to the test - see if they meet your family's expectations.... remembering that once you have bought something you are more or less stuck with it. ...
Sent from my SM-N910G using Tapatalk
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I have a Lifestyle Walkthru. We have had it 4 years and in that time have reduced the time it takes to setup dramatically. Our current setup time is half of what it used to take while we were still getting used to having a camper rather than a tent. It is almost always husband and I doing setup, we politely decline 'help', we have it down and know what each other are doing and what order we do it in.
Unhitch and level - Takes 10-20mins, depending on local terrain and wether or not we have any 'communication breakdowns'. (unhitch camper, move car, put down stabilizer legs, ensure camper is level, take off camper cover/ fold up store away.)
Put up main tent - Takes 5 mins. (main tent up, pegged out) Open tent off camper, we have a 12ft tent so we have to put in extra poles and raise end of tent. Go outside peg down tent.
Put up annex Takes 10 mins - (annex up, usually no sides, tropical roof pegged) Takes 10 mins. We keep our annex roof attached to the main tent to save on time and storage. We have all our poles clearly marked and kept separate from main tent poles to avoid confusion and while husband is pegging down main tent I lay annex poles out in place.
Bedding - Takes 15 mins. (main bed, 3 x kids beds, put on sheets/blankets, bring in pillows, bags, toys.) Main bed is almost always made up, kids beds x 3 depends on length of stay but we usually put up three stretchers and place self inflating matts on top (which we keep stored flat on main bed) Middle child usually takes control of the making of the beds while I go out and help set up kitchen.
Kitchen and dining - Takes about 15 mins (Floor down, kitchen out, table out, chairs out, lights up, tv out, water hooked up, gas hooked up.) We use cgear for floor, quick and easy to roll out and peg down. We changed our kitchen to a drifta DPOR, it takes a couple of minutes to setup and everything alrady has a place so I dont need to worry about unpacking pots and pans ect.
Total time average (keeping in mind that some of these things are being done at the same time)
35 - 40 mins.
Most of the reason that we got our time down is that our camper has evolved with us. When we saw a way to make it easier, then we would do the mod.
Eg. Fast connect water
Kitchen with complete storage
Annex roof kept attached (we never used to be able to do this but after the zipper busted on our cover, we had the cover replaced with a bigger one)
Setting up our electrical so outside lights only needed to be clipped in.
Keeping kids matts on main bed saves on packing/unpacking.
Small things add up to alot of saved time.
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If setup times are an issue, look at a Jayco or a Hardfloor...
But depends on your budget, how many people your taking, what sort of travelling your doing or expecting to do and what tow vehicle.
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I have a Camel and setup time is just over an hour with help from wife.
Level & unpack - 10min
Main tent - 10min (includes kids bunks and putting away personal items)
Annex - 20 - 30 min, includes floor, fly screens and walls if required, lights
Kitchen - 15min (water and gas connections, grey water line) chairs and table
It is usaully beer time then and the first can is finished while doing a walk around.
We have back room annex but this will only get put up if we are staying for more than 5 nights or we have visitors. The visitors can then put it up and pull it down.
Pack up time varies. Can be done in hour, but will usally take two hours
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Typical set up time for our Outback Tanami for an overnighter without unhitching was about 10 minutes, pack up about 15 minutes, deploying the awning added another 15 minutes to the set up time :cup:
You can have a look at it http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=45000.msg757343#msg757343 (http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=45000.msg757343#msg757343)
cheers Keith :cheers:
Ours is similar, just putting up the tent is about 10mins. Its all the other stuff like beds and bedding that takes time but if you arrive at a decent time you can do that at leisure or make the kids do their own.
I have just done some excavating in the backyard ( with the car :) ) so now i can set the camper up in the backyard and get it all ready to go like wifey and my bedding already done so its only kids beds to set up.
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I camp a lot with a mate that has a Camel soft floor. Usually takes him about 45min from unhitch to beer open.
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What about pack away too?
Rear fold Cape York soft floor with two swags - 5 pax. Myself and Wife working in pure harmony..
Quick overnighter kids in camper 5-10minutes.
- pull up, take cover off, get 5 chairs and 2 tables out, pull tent out, adjust two poles, hammer in 6 pegs, unroll 2 swags, youngest in main bed with us.
Longer stays 30 min to 1.5 hours depending on how we feel, how much kid wrangling we get involved in etc.
- pull up, take cover off, get 5 chairs and 3 tables out, pull tent out, adjust two poles, hammer in 6 pegs, drop two stabiliser legs. +5-10 minutes
- put matting down + 5 mins
- Set up two dome swags coz kids are too small to do it themselves + 10mins
- Build stretcher bed for youngest + 10 mins
Ready to rock and roll
- unhitch? +2 mins
- Put awning up? (remains attached) and uses 7 interchangeable poles + no spreader bars - +5-10mins
- Annexe wall? +2mins (Velcros on)
- Add tarp? +10mins - unroll, pull over camper, uses existing awning poles and needs one extra pole
- Get fridge out of car and plug into camper? +2 mins
Pack up 45mins-2hours depending on whether we cook breakfast, wash up and do a mini pack up the night before
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Typical set up time for our Outback Tanami for an overnighter without unhitching was about 10 minutes, pack up about 15 minutes, deploying the awning added another 15 minutes to the set up time :cup:
You can have a look at it http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=45000.msg757343#msg757343 (http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=45000.msg757343#msg757343)
cheers Keith :cheers:
These are actual times, including everything, bed stays made up with 2 adults, for the tent we generally used 8 screw in pegs and that was it :cup:
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My first rule with set up is the wife helps with the travel cover so I can fold it neatly up front.
Then she disappears with the 3 kids, out of sight.
Do not come back until you see me in the position which looks like this :cheers:
Reason, it adds a factor of 3 to the set up time if any of them help. Then if all of them help, it will always end in tears..... ;D ;D ;D
With all that in mind, I'm fully done in 30 min, that is reverse into a spot and stepping the floor plan out on ground all the way to the last of the pillows and bags in place. Everything in between, lights, tables, 2 x bunk beds kitchen.
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It ranges from 15 minutes for a quick overnight with no annex to 90 -120 minutes for a 2 week stay in a remote camp site with shower & toilet tent put up, full annex, kids room, putting together and making beds plus all the toys we take for long trips.
Mind you when I’m doing the big set ups I’m normally taking my time and have been known to stop for a beer and chat with the families we go with.
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I remember someone posting once about the difference between setting up the camper and setting up camp... the former being just getting a bed to sleep on and the later included doing everything up to and including a camp fire.
If you're looking to reduce setup time for softfloor my advice is:
Leave your awning for the next day if it is a awning that takes a long time to setup (more than 15 minutes).
Choose a camper that has a swing out kitchen, with all the plumbing for gas and water permanently in place. Moving jerries and gas bottles takes time.
Choose a camper that has the tent poles built-in - this may mean a smaller size however - anything that needs extra poles or spreaders will give you more size but take longer
It will always take longer to setup in an unfamiliar site or when nomads are watching 8)
Anything that doesn't get used on your current trip is a earmarked for not coming next trip.
If setting a campfire on the first night, pre-cut all your wood and kindling
Have an easy meal arranged for the first night (sandwiches) and last morning (cereal)
Leave all the chair bags at home
I have recently purchased a drifta pantry and going to move towards keeping everything (food, utensils, small tools, torches etc) in it in the tub of the trailer, even when travelling and keep big things like chairs and tables in the rear of the car. Currently its the other way around with all the food and utensils in clear tubs that i am constantly moving around the site and into and out of the car when travelling.
(http://www.drifta.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/specials-camper-trailers-071.jpg)
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Thanks for the comments everyone - much appreciated :-)
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I have a soft floor CT
20 mins to unhitch, take 4 x bikes off the bike rack, unhook bike rack, find kids helmets and send them off, put stabiliser legs down and check it is level
5 mins to empty all of the crap out of the tub
15 mins to raise main tent, lift internal poles and peg
30 mins to make 3 x stretcher beds and bedding, inflate air mattress for main bed and put on bedding, connect 12 LED strip
10 mins to set up collapsable tables, shift eskys / fridge from car and get site as you want it.
Add 30 mins to hook up annexe roof and pole / peg properly with guy ropes for longer stays. Add 10 mins per wall if we choose to use them (zip and peg)
If I'm sitting in a camp chair with a beer in less than two hours and all is done and wife and I and not killing each other after the set up....it's a win. Having said that, after doing it so many times now, it's almost routine and the stress levels are low.
That right there, is about the best description for a soft floor set upthat I have witnessed. We have never owned a soft floor, and you hear all the stories of 10min here, 15min there. It's all crap!
^^^^ That is real for most people that I have sat and watched do there full soft floor set up.
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I think it also relates to how much you want to kill yourself doing the setup also.
Being a lazy fat bstrd I generally just get into the main part (unload cage / rack, get the crap out of the tub etc) and get the main tent set up with the awning and this is normally knocked over in about an hour.
I actually find the time consuming part is the double handling of most things. You get it all out of the tub so that you can set the tent up, place everything on the ground out of the way, set your undercover area up and then unpack relocate everything such as tables, chairs, esky and fridge (depending on how you have stored them in the trailer first - I try to have at rear and pull them out the back), BBQ etc etc
The pack up is exactly the same in reverse.
Easy to see how the time adds up :'( that keeps me away from :cheers:
Maybe I need to have the discussion with the treasurer about upgrading to my dream Forward Fold ::)
Rod
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Our setup starts with pulling in to a campsite, I then grab a beer from the console fridge before exiting the vehicle. It doesn't feel like a chore when your having a beer. Ding, ding, round 1, start fighting.
Our soft floor takes about 1 to 1.5 hours without rushing to setup the tent, annex (without the spreaders) and kitchen. Clothes and bedding are stored in the walkway and its miss 9's responsibility to setup her own bed.
Setup time in good weather doesn't bother me and usually I take my time. Pack up time is more of a concern. When it's time to go I just want to go.
They way I look at it is, if it's thumping down rain and windy, how much time do i want to spend packing up?
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Have look at the Customline also. They are all Aussie made and manufactured. We looked at the Camel and almost got one, but the wife wasn't happy with the angled wall/side of the tent over the main bed. She wanted it vertical and as its her side of the bed, I had to listen (I think it would P me off if that was my side to ;D) That was the main reason we went away from the Camel.
Its such a little thing when I think about it now and write it down, but thats what make the variety available so good, theres something out there for everyone.
We have the Adventure walk up model, and I would say on average its a 45min to set up camp, awning inc. But as its already been pointed out, it varies so much as to what you have, what the kids sleep in, if you need to get bikes of first or not etc. Our bed is always made up, and the kids sleep in swags inside the tent. everything for them is in the swag, mattress, sleeping bag etc, so we lift those onto the floor and put their poles in and they are done.
We have it set up so that everything we need inside the tent (clothes, pillows, toiletries etc) is in the walk up area of the trailer. So once the main tent is erected, my wife stays in there, sorts out the swags, tidys our bed up, sets the clothes up whilst I work on the outside. We have found this works for us. By the time she has done that, Ive done the pegs, tropical roof, kitchen, and she comes and helps with the awning.
We have our fridge in the ute and it stays there. IMO the Drifta swing out kitchen and stirage drawers are the best things ever.
If everything has a place, life is easier. We have found we keep taking less 'stuff' away, as it just takes longer to set up and pack up.
What ever you choose, you'll be happy and you'll find the right set up methods etc that suit you. Everyone is different, everyone takes different stuff, as long as you get out there and enjoy it, that's the main thing!
Now I better go pack the ute, we're off this afternoon for the long weekend..... :cheers:
Maho
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7Vmk_agGeI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7Vmk_agGeI)
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That right there, is about the best description for a soft floor set upthat I have witnessed. We have never owned a soft floor, and you hear all the stories of 10min here, 15min there. It's all crap!
^^^^ That is real for most people that I have sat and watched do there full soft floor set up.
Never a truer word spoken. Watching people set up (their full camp) is usually at least a couple of hours, if not half a day. Not talking about quick overnite stops
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Setup time in good weather doesn't bother me and usually I take my time. Pack up time is more of a concern. When it's time to go I just want to go.
I'd agree with all that, although Im usually casual about packin up too... I never wanna go home!!!!
They way I look at it is, if it's thumping down rain and windy, how much time do i want to spend packing up?
Yep, tilt the bed up and launch all the Shit into the trailer, worry bout it when I get home.
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We had tents for a long time then a Lifestyle Extenda. Now going back to tents.
The trailer is great for an overnighter but otherwise I find it basically the same as tents. If putting the awning up it takes 1 to 1.5 hours total I would say ... and the problem is the awning isn't really a large enough 'outdoor' space for us so we sometimes have an extra smaller tarp/gazebo or perhaps a much bigger tarp over the lot.
Just one thing we found - soft floor camper trailers take a bit more time to find good flat ground ... and aren't as flexible as a tent so we found ourselves spending another 5-10mins positioning the trailer on most trips.
Packing up the hidden hassle for us has been the time to get the canvas underneath the tonneau and the tonneau zipped up. Could easily take 15mins and that's longer than it takes me to do a large standalone tent, I would say.
Also folding up things like awning roof, awning walls and shade cloth floors takes time.
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We had tents for a long time then a Lifestyle Extenda. Now going back to tents.
mate of mines just done this too. Box trailer, with all the goodies thrown inside with a southern cross single pole extender.
he also only managed to get out 1ce or 2ice a year, so was a lot of money sittin in the driveway doing nothing.
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10 Years of tents and 2 hour camp set ups with the kids
Followed by 1.5 years with a soft floor camper trailer, didn't really make it quicker to be honest for a full set up.
Got a little frustrated as pack up day was such a chore. Moved to Jayco expanda now thats quick and easy and still sleeping under canvas (well sort of).
Really interesting that many on the Expanda forum followed a similar path way. Tent - Caper trailer - caravan
Problem of course is the cost.
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mate of mines just done this too. Box trailer, with all the goodies thrown inside with a southern cross single pole extender.
he also only managed to get out 1ce or 2ice a year, so was a lot of money sittin in the driveway doing nothing.
Yes, the depreciation on the camper sitting idle was a factor for me too. (probably $1k per year) Then there's rego and insurance. None of that required with tents.
Even when we had it we found it was left at home because either (a) we didn't want to pay the ferry costs to Moreton/Straddie, (b) we were going somewhere that only allowed tents (bollarded national park sites).
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(b) we were going somewhere that only allowed tents (bollarded national park sites).
... sadly that's becoming extremely common down here too.. which Tim found out which was the last straw for him to sell his trailer.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7Vmk_agGeI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7Vmk_agGeI)
Could've done it 15 seconds quicker if he didn't take his boots off and put em back on again......!!
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Could've done it 15 seconds quicker if he didn't take his boots off and put em back on again......!!
:cup:
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I have a Lifestyle Walkthru. We have had it 4 years and in that time have reduced the time it takes to setup dramatically. Our current setup time is half of what it used to take while we were still getting used to having a camper rather than a tent. It is almost always husband and I doing setup, we politely decline 'help', we have it down and know what each other are doing and what order we do it in.
Unhitch and level - Takes 10-20mins, depending on local terrain and wether or not we have any 'communication breakdowns'. (unhitch camper, move car, put down stabilizer legs, ensure camper is level, take off camper cover/ fold up store away.)
Put up main tent - Takes 5 mins. (main tent up, pegged out) Open tent off camper, we have a 12ft tent so we have to put in extra poles and raise end of tent. Go outside peg down tent.
Put up annex Takes 10 mins - (annex up, usually no sides, tropical roof pegged) Takes 10 mins. We keep our annex roof attached to the main tent to save on time and storage. We have all our poles clearly marked and kept separate from main tent poles to avoid confusion and while husband is pegging down main tent I lay annex poles out in place.
Bedding - Takes 15 mins. (main bed, 3 x kids beds, put on sheets/blankets, bring in pillows, bags, toys.) Main bed is almost always made up, kids beds x 3 depends on length of stay but we usually put up three stretchers and place self inflating matts on top (which we keep stored flat on main bed) Middle child usually takes control of the making of the beds while I go out and help set up kitchen.
Kitchen and dining - Takes about 15 mins (Floor down, kitchen out, table out, chairs out, lights up, tv out, water hooked up, gas hooked up.) We use cgear for floor, quick and easy to roll out and peg down. We changed our kitchen to a drifta DPOR, it takes a couple of minutes to setup and everything alrady has a place so I dont need to worry about unpacking pots and pans ect.
Total time average (keeping in mind that some of these things are being done at the same time)
35 - 40 mins.
Most of the reason that we got our time down is that our camper has evolved with us. When we saw a way to make it easier, then we would do the mod.
Eg. Fast connect water
Kitchen with complete storage
Annex roof kept attached (we never used to be able to do this but after the zipper busted on our cover, we had the cover replaced with a bigger one)
Setting up our electrical so outside lights only needed to be clipped in.
Keeping kids matts on main bed saves on packing/unpacking.
Small things add up to alot of saved time.
How did you set up the outdoor lights? Would love more info on this mod!
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20 mins for me its a 9ft soft floor on a tandem axle no need for drop down legs unless the ground is crap
pack up is about 30 mins
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20 mins for me its a 9ft soft floor on a tandem axle no need for drop down legs unless the ground is crap
pack up is about 30 mins
We'll have the stopwatch out at Knockwood ya know...
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Takes me about 90 seconds for an overnighter now :cup: :cup: :cup: :cup:
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I must admit I find these setup times hard to believe, but maybe I'm just slack and/or don't flog the missus and kids enough. ???
For our Jayco Eagle Outback we are lucky to have it setup with the bag awning out (no walls) roped and pegged, bed fly's are not bagged so they live folded up in the storage side hatch, mats down camp chairs and table unpacked, shore power connected, water and sullage hoses connected in under one and three quarter hours.
And packing up, that is another saga all together, from getting out of bed (not having breakfast) to driving away, we never do it under 3 hours. :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
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If my set up/pack up time added up to more than an hour and a half in total I wouldn't go, I just couldn't be stuffed with all that mucking around. :-*
2 and 3 hours to set up then pack up is just stupid to me, sorry, but your either very inefficient or you're taking way to much stuff .
At 1 of our early days set up we were actually timed ( unbeknown to us at the time ) from parking to set up at 15 minutes ( no awning )
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If my set up/pack up time added up to more than an hour and a half in total I wouldn't go, I just couldn't be stuffed with all that mucking around. :-*
2 and 3 hours to set up then pack up is just stupid to me, sorry, but your either very inefficient or you're taking way to much stuff .
At 1 of our early days set up we were actually timed ( unbeknown to us at the time ) from parking to set up at 15 minutes ( no awning )
Same here , even our old cabin tent may have been 1hr tops and that is why we moved up to a camper trailer.
We needed a trailer anyway for all the crap and now its so much easier to setup.
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We'll have the stopwatch out at Knockwood ya know...
No wuckers mate ;D
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We'll have the stopwatch out at Knockwood ya know...
Don't bet against him Bruce. Brett doesn't muck about...... :cup: :cup:
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Last night setup from unhitch to drinking gin. 3 minutes 10 secs
Starsky
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Last night setup from unhitch to drinking gin. 3 minutes 10 secs
Starsky
So what held you up, were you perving or something ;D ;D
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Wife and I with our old Cape York soft floor.
Everything for an extended stay done (except annex walls) 20 minutes start to finish.
It took quite a few trips to get that quick. Think we were nearly 2 hours, (14 screaming matches, 17 sighs, 12 I'm never talking to you agains and 20 I want to go homes)the first time.
Ahh the memories ;D
Bill
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Don't bet against him Bruce. Brett doesn't muck about...... :cup: :cup:
Hmmm wonder if we could get hold of a proper drawbar scale for towball weights while at it..
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Takes me about 90 seconds for an overnighter now :cup: :cup: :cup: :cup:
Are we still talking about camping ?
😄
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Are we still talking about camping ?
😄
Yes, the other sort takes about 3 weeks preparation just to get ready :D
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This guys from tonights show down on peninsula link wins...
(http://www.birdmansworld.com/myswag/airstream.jpg)
although amongst all the show cars, sleds, mustangs, chevs, this thing was towed by a late model pathfinder ???
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Hmmm wonder if we could get hold of a proper drawbar scale for towball weights while at it..
got a set of crane scales at home. accurate to 0.5kg >:D
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takes me a couple of minutes but takes the bride about two hours
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takes me a couple of minutes but takes the bride about two hours
:cup:
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Takes me about 90 seconds for an overnighter now :cup: :cup: :cup: :cup:
You cheated last time - you didn't use the front stabiliser legs! ;D
....but that whiskey appeared pretty quick! :cup:
Tim
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....but that whiskey appeared pretty quick! :cup:
appeared? or disappeared?
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I must admit I find these setup times hard to believe, but maybe I'm just slack and/or don't flog the missus and kids enough. ???
For our Jayco Eagle Outback we are lucky to have it setup with the bag awning out (no walls) roped and pegged, bed fly's are not bagged so they live folded up in the storage side hatch, mats down camp chairs and table unpacked, shore power connected, water and sullage hoses connected in under one and three quarter hours.
And packing up, that is another saga all together, from getting out of bed (not having breakfast) to driving away, we never do it under 3 hours. :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
I think you are slack!!!! We setup our 2005 Dove pretty much as you do (as per pic) and we are done in <1hr, just cruising along. Record is 35mins when all 3 kids were asleep in the car!!! Pack up including breakfast/dishes etc is ~1.5/2hrs. That includes dealing with 3 kids 6yo and under. Not blowing steam up my bum but very interesting comparing 2 near identical setups that take such different times to setup.
(http://i1380.photobucket.com/albums/ah189/jstanovic/nw14_zps8jkxwrwl.jpg) (http://s1380.photobucket.com/user/jstanovic/media/nw14_zps8jkxwrwl.jpg.html)
Our old soft floor took about an hour from memory, 14ft tent and awning. Including beds/portacot etc.
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb318/nabstud/albany1.jpg) (http://s204.photobucket.com/user/nabstud/media/albany1.jpg.html)
Best thing with the Jayco setup is in fine weather (no awning/bed flys etc) it can be unhitched and ready for sleeping in 15 mins whereas the softfloor took roughly the same time as a full setup. Anyway, going off topic....
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I must admit I find these setup times hard to believe, but maybe I'm just slack and/or don't flog the missus and kids enough. ???
For our Jayco Eagle Outback we are lucky to have it setup with the bag awning out (no walls) roped and pegged, bed fly's are not bagged so they live folded up in the storage side hatch, mats down camp chairs and table unpacked, shore power connected, water and sullage hoses connected in under one and three quarter hours.
And packing up, that is another saga all together, from getting out of bed (not having breakfast) to driving away, we never do it under 3 hours. :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
Surely mate you are having a lend of us ? ??? Many guys have been away with me & even just with me and my 13 year old boy and bed flies over bed, bag awning setup roped & pegged and I'm done in about 15 mins.
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and the kids sleep in swags inside the tent. everything for them is in the swag, mattress, sleeping bag etc, so we lift those onto the floor and put their poles in and they are done.
Are those swags some sort of "all-in-one" setup or just a normal swag with the gear left in them?
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One of the biggest things that had us upgrade from our soft floor was the double and sometimes triple handling of things, that aside, the Cavalier was up for an overnighter with 4 pegs, two poles and two spreaders. 4 more poles and the annexe was up. Some of these Chinese jobs seem to have craploads of poles, we helped a bloke set one up at a camp recently and even with 3 of us it was an hour.
Now I only move things once, and it saves huge time in setup and pack up. Usually it goes like this...
Level camper, 2 mins
Drop stabilisers 2 mins
Throw the lid up 1 min
Wind awning out peg and rope 5 mins
While I'm doing this wife gets the chairs out and a couple of tables and the Weber
Beer in 10 mins or less
For longer camps it's about another 20 mins to do the anti flap and walls, wife does the shower and toilet tents and then all I have to do is dig a hole. Complete setup is 45 tops.
We are looking to camp a lot more now because this ease of setup means we can do quick weekenders without the 1.5 hours either end.
It's tops
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Having a quick camper set up also means night arrivals are fairly easy set ups also. We arrived at camp at 7 p.m on Friday, site was nice and flat so just had to....swing open the wheel carrier, undo 6 latches and flip the hard floor open, push up the u bar at back inside the camper and throw in 2 spreader bars and the misses was then busy cooking dinner. Whilst she did that I did a few more small set up things on the camper, like the front awning that consists of 2 poles and a spreader with 2 ropes going to the drawbar and zipping a few doors closed on the canvas. Within 40 minutes of arriving we had the camper set up and steak and sausages cooked for dinner, and it only took that long because we stopped and chatted with mates who arrived earlier and were already set up. Saturday morning I threw the front awning up which is a 10 minute job, couldn't be bothered doing it when we arrived as there was a fire to go sit around and a few cans of Bundy calling my name.
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For us the windups (Goldstream Storm) gives us a nice compromise between set up time and comfort.
Overnighter - 20 - 25 mins depending on level of ground.
Leveling - 0-5 min
Stabilisers - 4 min
Windup and bed ends out - 5 mins
Moving stuff around off the floor inside - 2 mins (have just got sky tracks storage system which helps here)
Spreader bars for the beds and door setup - 5 min
Camp Chairs setup and Fridge moved - 3 mins
Longer Stay - 1hr 20mins (maybe longer if winds are forecast)
As above - 20 mins
(Before roof is up)
Bed end awnings - 2 mins without poles or 10 mins with poles and guy ropes
Main Awning - 10 mins
Awning walls, and van skirt - 15 mins
Far side awning - 10 mins
Cgear mat pegged - 10 mins
oztrail gazebo and walls - 15 mins
The short stay time is important to us but the long stay one is less so. Its more likely to be longer than this as a few beers will be had etc. Hopefully by this stage we are in holiday mode and time concerns are left back at home.
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What to look for..
Gal dipped
Bed can stay made
When unfolded you can just hop in and sleep
Sure for extra beds you will almost always have more setup time.
Also look at the extra tarps/cover no good saving time on other things if it takes just as long to have a dry meal
Sent from my ZTE Blade Q Lux using Tapatalk
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Not meaning to be a smart ass....but I don't care what time it takes.
Times vary depending on who goes and how much stuff you take.
Our setup time for our recent trip to the Gold Coast took longer because the place was packed and we had to negotiate a narrow road with cars and vans everywhere and also other people's guy ropes, hoses & leads everywhere.....yet our first trip away to Bribie took less time to set up because the sites were more open.
They way we see it is that we are on holiday or away for a long weekend....watching the clock is a work thing....time to chill out.
Just my opinion.
Cheers
Rob
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Well said.
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Not meaning to be a smart ass....but I don't care what time it takes.
Just my opinion.
Well said... and nope not just yours mate
What the **** is the race?? as long as I'm not home, I'm happy to 1/2 setup, have a break, and finish it later
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The OP asked the question how long it takes as they want quick set ups got short stay trips, hence why we are giving the times. They also asked what brand camper we have when doing some, which I forgot to add in the reply.
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Well said... and nope not just yours mate
What the **** is the race?? as long as I'm not home, I'm happy to 1/2 setup, have a break, and finish it later
Typical response from a bloke that takes about 4 hrs to setup :)
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Typical response from a bloke that takes about 4 hrs to setup :)
shhhhh....
One of the appealing aspects to me about a CT is the setup time, but I'm wondering if people can provide real world stats.
Well you have everything from 10 mins on a soft floor (I think he was drunk), through to 1.5-2 hours for a Swan (which I think he was handcuffed to a tree)...
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Geeze, all these times really makes me realize just how good the design of the "Tanami "is. Just roll back the cover, fold out the tent, 8 pegs into the ground, push out 2 frames and that's it, get into bed, oh sorry, forgot to slide out the kitchen/stove/preparation area and connect the gas, another 90 seconds >:D >:D
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What the **** is the race?? as long as I'm not home, I'm happy to 1/2 setup, have a break, and finish it later forget about the rest...
Fixed....
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Fixed....
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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I have a johnnos offroad deluxe and for a basic setup for the tent all that is needed is to unzip cover, pull out tent, lock in the 2 extendable poles and peg the base. DONE. That's the easy part. It's unloadimg and setting up all the other crap for a wife and 2 kids and a dog that takes time. But t I usually have a beer cracked by then and it's no real rush. If the missus helps make the beds and open up chairs, table etc then it's quicker but she's usually keeping the kids busy while I setup and have a few sneaky beers.
I have had other soft floor users amazed at how quick the actual tent part can go up/down. They're usually the ones with the cheapy Chinese campers with 400 poles and fitting to figure out what to do with
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No it's not a race, but the easier the set up is, the quicker it is, so more relax time, whether drinking, fishing, walking or whatever.
This is a perfect example of you get what you pay for . Generally the better the camper, the faster/easier the setup/packup.( ask Peter1 and Lynda )
Example is the "Tanami", you set up the tent( 8 pegs ) ( 15 minutes) slide out the kitchen( 30 seconds) and that's it, everything else is in it's own drawer/compartment/cupboard/pantry/fridge.
Packing up should just be the reverse and if it's not, it's your system or the camper design is wrong.
My suggestion is if your setup/packup time is more than about 40 minutes each way, beg, borrow, save for a better camper or else you're going to crack the sh1ts with it and stop going camping.
Even in my dim dark past as a kid 58 years ago our family had a 10x16 heavy canvas tent, stretchers, kero stove , 12v light run from the battery, and we would have that up in about 30 minutes, driving from Yallourn we would stop and camp at Cann River( 6 or 7 hours then ) then the next day be in Eden for lunch ( 3 hours ) ( road is a bit different now )
And before you all start jumping on me( I wish ) think about this, if you took 3 hours to set up camp , would you have kept on camping, or would you have said " stuff it" it's too hard
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I have a nine foot customline and last week I did the full setup including kids stretcher, chairs, awning the whole bit in under 45 minutes from check in on my own and I wasn't even trying.The key is to do a bit of process improvement each time you setup to work out what's slowing you down and how you can correct it. There are lots of little things that can be done differently that add up to a lot of time saved if you work on it.
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I work on allowance of 24 minutes per 24 hrs. as you can never suggest that someone who stays 1 night is comparable to 7 nights in terms of gear and comfort.
So i found out the 24 for 24 method is about right for us. I am always in front of that but if you cant give 24 mins out of the day towards set up then stay home I say.
Its taken me 8.2 years of living in our house to level out the 24 min per day rule when factoring the man hours that went into build.
I would much rather spend 24 min per day out there than in here.
Grab a beer relax and think of it as part of the freedom not the chore that some people turn it in to. I have been known to take 6 beers just to unhook the camper ;D ;D
Jet ;D
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with my Viper- from unhitch, swing out the foxwing off the trailer, pull the tent over with tent bows then throw in two pillows i look at under ten minutes.
My last trailer- a FF hard floor, with annex took a good 40 minutes.
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15 mins for the ulti. 2 awnings, bed made. In 25 mins fire going and sitting down relaxing.
Grab a beer relax and think of it as part of the freedom not the chore that some people turn it in to. I have been known to take 6 beers just to unhook the camper ;D ;D
Jet ;D
It's all about placement.
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15 mins for the ulti. 2 awnings, bed made. In 25 mins fire going and sitting down relaxing.
It's all about placement.
Your exaggerating a bit Scottie, some of those logs you cut up take at least ten minutes each to drag and roll onto the fire
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We recently (just after easter) had the tent on our camper replaced by the manufacturer. Our first chance to get it out and up was this past weekend.
Our setup time compared to normal was ridiculous, just goes to show how speed and ease corresponds to familiarity!
All the things not relating to the tent took the normal amount of time. The main tent took alot longer than usual, but that was more because we would do a small part and then inspect parts of the tent, talk about it, adjust it, talk about it more ect.
The annex..... well! We thought that the annex would be similar to the old one, but it was a bit different. The manufacturer left all the old poles in and added some new ones, not all the old poles needed to be used and we didnt know which ones, unfortunately they didnt think to put in instructions or include all the extra poles needed - lucky for us we had extra spare poles that we had previously bought (not for use on the annex) that we could substitute.
So instead of setup taking 35-45mins, it took 1.5+ hours.
We do not like the new annex setup and will be modifying it so it takes less poles, less time and less eye to eye poles.
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How did you set up the outdoor lights? Would love more info on this mod!
For ease of explaining I will call the annex poles pole 1, pole 2, pole 3, pole 4. Pole 1 are the edge poles over the kitchen area, pole 2 next one along (next to the window), pole 3 the next one (over the door area) and pole 4 the outer end poles.
We have have 2 solid 12v LED light strips for our outdoor area which we attach using magnets (they give out great light for 40cm strips - thanks to Mr Twine for supplying such great lights!), We place one on the spreader bar between pole 1 and pole 2 for the kitchen area (this one is operated by a light switch hanging down the second pole so I can switch it on and off from outside) and the second one is located on the spreader bar between pole 3 and pole 4 (this one is operated using a switch inside, I could have made an exterior switch or remote but didnt feel the need.)
Our interior lights (helps explain the exterior setup) we have one light permantly setup on the second bow and one on the 3rd bow with all the wiring coming down to the side of the bows where we have light switches setup. The wiring then continues down the bows to a weatherproof light box situated under the rear left hand side of the camper.
Our old annex setup (you may have read in the above post that we recently had our old tent replaced with a new one) the roof poles 1,2 & 3 that joined the legs to the main tent went through holes in the main tent canvas and hooked into the main tent bows (doing away with the need to build a frame and have legs against the main tent.) Our exterior lights have attached leads (and the one for the kitchen also has attached light switch) with a spade connectors on the end. The tent bows on the interior that have the wiring have spade connectors situated next to the hole in the canvas. We simply stick the lights to the spreader bars (using the magnets), take the leads to the canvas holes and then pull the interior spade connectors through the holes and clip the connections together - done, outdoor lights.
The new tent and annex does not setup this way, though we will be modifying the tent/annex so it goes back to the old setup. The new setup takes longer, uses more poles and uses alot more eye to eye poles and one (shudder) triple pole.
We have only been out in the new tent once so the solution we came up with would change from what we did, but it was enough to get us happily through the weekend and we wont change it because we have already made the decision to change the annex setup.
For the light between pole 1 and 2, we took the lead down pole 2 (next to the tent) and fed it through the side area between the tent and the trailer, through the interior zip, up the 2nd interior bow and upto the spade connector.
For the light between pole 3 and 4, we took the lead across pole 3 and fed it through the door, over to the 3rd interior bow and attached it to the spade connector. Unfortunately this meant we couldn't zip down the left side of the canvas door (though no problem with the other side or the fly screen part of the door.)
It would be much easier to show you photos rather than explain, but I dont have any. I hope this all makes sense, my head is a little fuzzy tonight and I cant seem to concentrate :)
I would to take photos next time we are out, but netball season starts next week so our weekends are spoken for till the end of August. Though I might manage to get it up one Sunday so we can do the annex mods!
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Thanks everyone for the replies. I'm setting up alone this Friday so I'll take some numbers down. It will likely take a while as an 18x24 tarp and then an 18x12 dome tent by myself isn't going to be fast. The rest of it is open a beer and do something, rinse, repeat :-) I have a couple of new setup tweaks I want to try out, so we'll see.
Below is a shot from a while ago. We have made improvements since then (ridge poles for one) btu you get the idea ;D
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... as an 18x24 tarp and then an 18x12 dome tent by myself
if I was told to do that I'd stay home.
Why the 18x24 tarp?? Why not just the tent and a 9x9 gazebo for shade.. **** loads easier and about 4 hours quicker.
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if I was told to do that I'd stay home.
Why the 18x24 tarp?? Why not just the tent and a 9x9 gazebo for shade.. **** loads easier and about 4 hours quicker.
a hell of a lot cheaper and lighter as you haven't got all those nasty poles also
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a hell of a lot cheaper and lighter as you haven't got all those nasty poles also
yea.. all those 4 nasty poles
(http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/server1600/f0dd3/products/120/images/691/oztrail_deluxe_gazebo_with_navy_blue_vented_canopy__94475.1376735110.1280.1280.jpg)
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Our set up for the season at Mt Barnett took about 6 hrs. Thats putting up the 81m2 tarp, to unpacking and building shelves, sorting out bags, containers etc. Not the norm but. ;D
Mark
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I reckon it takes more than 1.5 hours but less than 2.0 hours. This can vary depending on how many times Mrs Muz changes her mind on out camp spot :D
Usually leave CT attached to tug but allow 10 mins if taken off.
Unload canoes (if taken) and solar panel from top of CT. 5 mins
Open up hardfloor and push up and tighten the three spreader bars. 5 mins
Unload, fridge, baggage, firewood, esky, 3 tables, two chairs, oz pig, toilet, shower and bucket then sett all these things up probably about 20 mins.
Put up annex roof (already attached) & tie down with ropes the 3 upright poles about 15 mins.
Slide out kitchen and attach gas 5 mins
Setup awning off the side of the Cruza and assemble the four wall (WC & shower room). 20 mins
Run electricals for lights, fridge, phones, shower, solar panel etc. about 25 mins
That's about it. 1.5 hours plus a bit extra for a beer.
I do about 80% of the setup and the Mrs tries to help with the rest. ;D
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I bought a set of 20 screw-in tent pegs at Aldi a while back. I haven't used them camping as yet but I have tested in the backyard with good results.
They have a 13mm nut on the end of each peg and the set comes with a 1/4inch 13mm socket. I use my AEG 200Nm impact driver and they are spun into the ground in seconds.
Hoping this will take some time, energy and noise out of my setup as hammering in pegs is a PITA, as is their removal.
I drilled some into my backyard and was not able to pull them out by hand and i would say my lawn at home isn't particularly hard.
(https://www.aldi.ie/typo3temp/pics/W11_PD_Thursday_UL24_ebfd694b60.jpg)
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I do about 80% of the setup and the Mrs tries to help with the rest. ;D
at least you know its done right buddy....... :cup:
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One thing I love about CTs is that the departure and return home is literally food and clothes. No packing the camping gear in and out of the car, just hitch and go. For us, this is a huge deal as the picking of the car and unpacking can take hours. Now everything stays in the CT and its unhitch and were home. So in terms of set up times, we talk about how much time this save sus
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I have a nine foot customline and last week I did the full setup including kids stretcher, chairs, awning the whole bit in under 45 minutes from check in on my own and I wasn't even trying.The key is to do a bit of process improvement each time you setup to work out what's slowing you down and how you can correct it. There are lots of little things that can be done differently that add up to a lot of time saved if you work on it.
Well said
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We've recently gone from a soft floor to a forward fold hard floor because we got sick of the setup/packup times it takes with a soft floor.... theres littlerally no comparing setup times. The FF wouldn't take an 8th of the time to setup and pull down to our old camper which was a camel tent on my own custom trailer, with 2 second kitchen and all that stuff.
Recently went to Straddie for 12 days, we were in our new camper and our mate in his soft floor - in the past with our old soft floor he would finish packing up about 5-10 minutes quicker than my wife and i could. With our new FF camper we were finished a good 45 minutes quicker than my mate and we were not even breaking a sweat as it takes next to no effort to pack a FF away.
In the end we left camp no quicker than normal as we spent more time helping our mates pack up.
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Rear fold pioneer. 4 clips and flip then adjust one pole. Include unhitch and kitchen gas line about 5 minutes max.
Awning 6 poles ropes and pegs and a painful 15 minutes added. Don't bother for less than 4 nights or if it's raining.
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i have a adventure offroad camper and they are easier and less stressful than my last soft floor camper.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP6VNh9td_4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP6VNh9td_4)
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i have a adventure offroad camper and they are easier and less stressful than my last soft floor camper.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP6VNh9td_4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP6VNh9td_4)
Gezz thats a complicated bit of kit - I got to 1:40 mark where he was still mucking about with loose brackets and bits'n'bobs and stopped watching as my head was starting to spin... by that time our FF is open and and ready for bed.
Miraculously the trailer legs were set at the perfect height when they dropped down, he didn't bother leveling the bed on the bed extension frame legs either which takes time.. nor include the time parking, unhitching and pegging down the ground sheet before the clip started. Fairly typical sales pitch type clip there.
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I work on allowance of 24 minutes per 24 hrs. as you can never suggest that someone who stays 1 night is comparable to 7 nights in terms of gear and comfort.
So i found out the 24 for 24 method is about right for us. I am always in front of that but if you cant give 24 mins out of the day towards set up then stay home I say.
Its taken me 8.2 years of living in our house to level out the 24 min per day rule when factoring the man hours that went into build.
I would much rather spend 24 min per day out there than in here.
Grab a beer relax and think of it as part of the freedom not the chore that some people turn it in to. I have been known to take 6 beers just to unhook the camper ;D ;D
Jet ;D
I too am guilty of having the same attitude as Jetcrew, if it takes me 6 beers or 12 I really don't care. I used to worry about my set up times (and there is of course a few people here that can honestly say they have enjoyed a good laugh at my expense) but now as long as everyone is happy and laughing that's all the counts. Happy camping.
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I too am guilty of having the same attitude as Jetcrew, if it takes me 6 beers or 12 I really don't care. I used to worry about my set up times (and there is of course a few people here that can honestly say they have enjoyed a good laugh at my expense) but now as long as everyone is happy and laughing that's all the counts. Happy camping.
:cup:
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I too am guilty of having the same attitude as Jetcrew, if it takes me 6 beers or 12 I really don't care. I used to worry about my set up times (and there is of course a few people here that can honestly say they have enjoyed a good laugh at my expense) but now as long as everyone is happy and laughing that's all the counts. Happy camping.
Okay - I'll put my hand up for this one now...
Most of the time; (ie: not every time) - I actually enjoy the set up process with my AT-11... Its the whole 'ritual' of it... I get a bit of a buzz out of it; and don't really care too much how long I spend on it.... Its the order and the process; seeing it all 'come together'... (Slightly like that meathead in the Colourbond advert on the telly) - where he and his family appear to be admiring everything he is creating out of corro... omg!
Anyway, it mostly floats my boat...
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Oh...I forgot to mention one more set up ritual....but may not necessarily be environmentally friendly >:D
Sprinkle some ant sand/kill around the van & annex etc.....hate bull ants >:(
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Oh...I forgot to mention one more set up ritual....but may not necessarily be environmentally friendly >:D
Sprinkle some ant sand/kill around the van & annex etc.....hate bull ants >:(
hmmmm I never thought of that.... :cup: :cup:
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Gezz thats a complicated bit of kit - I got to 1:40 mark where he was still mucking about with loose brackets and bits'n'bobs and stopped watching as my head was starting to spin... by that time our FF is open and and ready for bed.
Miraculously the trailer legs were set at the perfect height when they dropped down, he didn't bother leveling the bed on the bed extension frame legs either which takes time.. nor include the time parking, unhitching and pegging down the ground sheet before the clip started. Fairly typical sales pitch type clip there.
So you don't carry anything on top of your camper? With the adventure offroad camper you carry gear or a tinnie on top of the camper and don't need to remove it to set up, also you can access all of your gear without putting your tent up. You can put up your awning up without putting your main tent up. With the trailer legs they just slide down and lock. Also the bed legs don't need adjusting if you have the trailer level.
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BTT for G to go through some other times.
6 hours - I'd never go camping.
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Thanks everyone for the replies. I'm setting up alone this Friday so I'll take some numbers down. It will likely take a while as an 18x24 tarp and then an 18x12 dome tent by myself isn't going to be fast. The rest of it is open a beer and do something, rinse, repeat :-) I have a couple of new setup tweaks I want to try out, so we'll see.
Below is a shot from a while ago. We have made improvements since then (ridge poles for one) btu you get the idea ;D
how did you go?
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It would appear that my Mrs is finally remembering how to do a few things without my help. We had 1 hour 25 min setup over the weekend. That includes unstrapping canoes from top of CT, setting up CT tent, annexe, lights, fridge, solar panel, 3m X 3m gazebo, setting up the oz pig.
Chairs, tables, unpacking all the cooking gear, kitchen, gas, water.
Also setting up the 3m X 2.5 slide out awning on the side of the Cruza that has walls and floor with toilet and shower.
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Why the 18x24 tarp??
Because the tent is over 10 years old and is stuffed. It leaks like a sieve.
We went OK for the setup. Probably about 2 hours. The first 40-60 minutes of that is the tarp. It's a PITA, but it saves us from the weather. It rained most of Sunday and we were good. At one point we had 11 kids and four adults in our tarp and it was perfectly fine. No-one getting wet, everyone enjoying themselves. Dam, 11 kids are LOUD though!
We can get the tent done in about 25 minutes. Up, fly, pegs, etc. The rest of the time it's the kitchen, benches, et al.
We got packed up just as quick as the camper trailer guys (tow other families). We have the teardown pretty much wired. From everything setup to completely packed up in a little over an hour.
FYI - Some friends we go with bought along their newly purchased Camel (ex Demo model). Nice. Bastards :-)
So I'm doing a LOT of reading regarding this. We won't be buying any time soon (damn finances), but hopefully before the year ends.
My main item is setup time. I'm even considering OzTents, but the missus really wants a camper (and to be honest, so do I). I would love to be able to turn up on a Saturday late afternoon (Sat morning = kids sport) and be setup really quick for a single night's stay. As others have said - setup time when we're going somewhere for a week will and does take longer, but it's also not the end of the world. It's the short one nighters I'm aiming to make a lot easier.
PS - I also caught up with DaveR (see post about going to Bigriggen). Was good to meet a fellow MySwagger!
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:worthles:
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Onion. Mine was about 50 mins as you saw it. That included me struggling with 5 x bikes on top, and pop up shower tent.
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Yep. Thanks for the kids footy kick about.
P. S
I know of a camper for sale.....
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I know of a camper for sale....
ya shoulda let him have a go at packing it up infront of his missus ;)
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Bugga, I should a thought of that when he called in yesterday morn.
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Bugga, I should a thought of that when he called in yesterday morn.
;D shhhh... invite him over for a coffee... and strategically have the trailer setup outside ;)