Hi all,
Does anyone have any experience with camper trailers manufactured with aluminium-foam core composite type panels. Emu Adventure campers from around 2020-2022 are an example. Stories, good or bad. I'm nearly past swagging it. So, we're looking to buy a s/h forward fold camper, figuring I should get 5 years good use out of one before I give up on outback/desert travel on corrugated roads (due to our age). I'm wondering how they stand up to rough roads, given steel or aluminium sheeting is what I envisage as traditional construction. Thanks. A.D.
Edit- I note well-known brands such as Cub and Track Trailers (T-Van) use composite panels, so if done well they stand up to plenty of punishment. I'm not sure about other mainly Chinese campers?
G'day ADTradie, I don't know if they are on your radar, but I know several people that have had Vista RV campers for quite a few years, have done heaps of outback travel, and the trailers have handled it all.
The Vistas use a composite panel and I have yet to hear a problem where the panels have given any grief. They are a very strong unit and well built, but not cheap.
Hope you find something.
Our Rhinomax Scorpion Hybrid has a composite body.
It's awesome, no more flapping canvass.
Forward fold, as in composite body and canvas roof/walls?
Check the storage available. My mate had a forward folding Opus and the internal storage was dismal.
Thanks guys. We're still investigating this. Plenty of storage is a common issue with both forward fold and rear fold camper trailers. A lot positive is to be said for the good storage volume in the older style side-fold soft-floor campers. But we know how things have progressed with the search for the perfect camper trailer when people want all the conveniences of home. :)
Quote from: nab on June 22, 2026, 10:56:02 PMForward fold, as in composite body and canvas roof/walls?
Check the storage available. My mate had a forward folding Opus and the internal storage was dismal.
Yes, composite body and canvas roof/walls.
Update. Well, I committed to purchasing a heavier than I'd planned for forward fold camper trailer today (not a composite panel constructed one). A one owner Wild Boar Tuff Grunt. Beautiful camper in great condition for its age. So, if it all goes to plan, I'll update with a few pics in due course. A matter of just getting to an age when sleeping on a nice mattress rather than in the swag on the ground will be nice + the benefits of a kitchen at one's fingertips. Cheers, A.D.
Well done, I am sure you will definitely enjoy not getting up off the ground/having a level under mattress base.
Enjoy the change!
They're not all composite or clad and I know a young couple with 2 young kids with a clamshell-
https://www.kerfton.com/ (https://www.kerfton.com/)
Not cheap being Aussie made but they are pretty schmick for a foursome going places.
Composite panel is structurally strong and thermally more efficient than the aluminium tube frame and aluminium cladding was on my Jayco Dove but unlike the Dove hitting a roo on the front corner it was repairable whereas that sort of damage can write off panel caravans and the like. (One couple I saw clobbered the top corner of their cara on a shop verandah misjudging road camber and front side and roof corner damage was all it took)