Over 55's, no kids at home, in Vic, if any, what type of camper do you have?

[jpak]

We have been researching campers for a while now and still have not come to a decision, we stared by looking at caravans then looked at camper trailers soft floor, hard floor, pop top, cross overs etc... and were wondering about other people in My Swag in our age group, in Victoria, what they have if there are only the two adults and no kids at home or camping requirements for kids necessary, what camper do you have any why, apart from the financial reasons?  We think this might help in our choices. Thanks John

[BigJules]

It's not how old you are, it's what kind of camping you want to do, and your budget, that will determine what kind of camper you get.

The great thing about campers is that the good ones tend to hold their value extremely well, so the cost of ownership is low, if you look after it.

[bobnrob]

Well, we're not quiet at that age yet, but in the blink of an eye, it won't be long 

Minister & I have decided that probably 'round that time, because of worn body parts, we'd be going for either a rear-fold (Cub type) or Jayco (type).
Purely because of what we consider, the ease of setup

[Snow]

Well we're not in our 50's yet and we sometimes have the grandkids with us camping. We opted for the hardfloor style of camper (Cub) with a winch for ease of setup and packup. The winch is handy cause I have a crook back. The hardfloor has north/south bed so there is no climbing over each other and there is no big drop and steps to climb down. The hardfloor has plenty of room to set bunks up for the Myswag munchins or put the camp chairs and table when the weather is rubbish. Any how they are our main reasons.
You just need to list your travelling needs and then add your wants to the bottom. If this all fits the budget, and it seems you've had a pretty good look around, there is not much more to be other than to take the plunge.  

[austastar]

Hi,
 Well we are not in Vic, but further South in Tasmania.

We chose a cab chassis D130 Land Rover and an Innovan slide on camper because-

Vehicle:

LR weighs 1723 kg and can carry 1777 kg, GVW 3500kg.

LR can tow 3500 kg braked with a ball weight of 150 kg (not that we want to tow any thing).

LR 130 can have a 2.4m tray without exceeding the maximum allowable overhang behind the rear axle.

Slide on:

Cheaper on the ferry with no trailer.

Can be left on for town/city use with no dramas except low car parks.

Easier to back out of bush tracks with out a trailer.

Easier to stealth camp in car parks at the start of walking tracks for a day's walking.

Innovan:

All fibreglass - no canvas, so damp pack-ups are a non event.

Double skin composite, so a degree of insulation.

Compact interior but with HUGE storage under.

Locally made although designed in Qld.

We have added 240V inverter and an Airtronic diesel heater.

A link here to see what we like doing with it.

cheers

[jpak]

Hey Snow, we have had a look at the cub and think they are great, our needs are simple, easy set up, definitely no climbing over partner in the night for multiple loo visits, external cooking, room for extra bed on floor/in annex, don't have grandkids (and hope we dont get them for a few years as our only child is only 17,) and space out of the weather especially here in Vic where you get 4 seasons in one day! So hard floor is looking promising. Cheers John

[jpak]

Austastar, we can see why you like the Innovan, and that is our problem, we can see the positives in almost every camper we look at, and a reason to buy one its just making that final decision that is taking its time.  We will be going to Leisurefest Melb/Sandown in a couple of weeks and hope that that helps narrow things down for us. Cheers John

[austastar]

Hi,
  looking and deciding is half the fun. We started with a broad palate, and slowly eliminated (and then reinstated) many makes and models of vehicles/campers.
Some of it was part of 'post vocational training' before I left work.

have fun looking and deciding.
cheers

[morgue]

For ease of set up, considering age and fitness / health, you can not go past a hardfloor / Jayo camper set up...looking at budget, start off at approx 15K and work you way up to about 60k, that will cover the new and second hand market.
You have a lot of home work to do, take your time, kick at lot of tyres.
At present the soft floor will suffice, it does the job...but my camper eyes are elsewhere....
After 4 years looking...when the minister of finance gives the OK(I'm working on that)....I'm getting one of these...www.modcon.com.au/model_details.php?m=4 
It ticks all the boxes that are important to me.

Happy looking.....

[hargs]

Just over 50........how much you want to spend is a big factor........we spent $17,000 on a second hand 2007 Cub Superoo Brumby (hard floor)...with extras and are very happy. Only used it for 4 nights ,,,but have a 2 week trip coming up. Ease of settup...and hope to use it for 8-10 years ..then either nursing home or a small off road pop top. As the women in the twosome I wanted the van now, but it was the offroad and getting to to those free camp spots and the good fishing areas that the male person wanted so........the Brumby it was ...

[jpak]

Hey Morgue, Glad to see that someone else has taken more time researching than we have to date, it s relief to know others have taken the time too.  We have gone down the road of small $$$$ then through would like this that and the other to higher $$$ and back down to reality.  Think we will get something around the $15K mark secondhand if we can, basic and put in the missing bits as we go.  Saw an Aussie swag on the trading post but it was gone before we saw it... some one got a good buy was only $6500 1999 Challenger... looked to be in excellent condition,  we could have done something with it as a starting point. 
Modcon look like a great camper, looked at them at Caulfield show earlier this year. Good choice. Cheers John

[jpak]

Hi Hargs, We started looking at caravans at one of the shows nearly two years ago and stumbled across Complete Campsite on the way out and that started us looking at campers at the next show later that year, then in the earlier show this year we saw Vista RV and thought what a great idea and then realised we had just about come full circle back to vans.  The only downside of a van for us is that although not wanting to go hard off road, there are just some places soft road that the vans would be difficult to get through so back to the drawing board so to speak.  Think we need two campers - one for now and one for later. Will think on it further. Cheers John

[D4D]

I chose a caravan due to ease of setup, you're not going to go that hardcore, more space as you will probably stay longer in one spot etc.

[jpak]

Thanks D4d, Caravan will come in time.  We already have two old caravans, albeit stationery on a block down near Dargo where we have regulary camped for the last 10 years, long drop, byo water, no shower, bucket bathing, so now want to see a bit of Vic to start with and only have weekends and think at this stage I dont want to tow anything as big as a caravan just yet. Cheers John

[morgue]

Hey Morgue, Glad to see that someone else has taken more time researching than we have to date, it s relief to know others have taken the time too.  We have gone down the road of small $$$$ then through would like this that and the other to higher $$$ and back down to reality.  Think we will get something around the $15K mark secondhand if we can, basic and put in the missing bits as we go.  Saw an Aussie swag on the trading post but it was gone before we saw it... some one got a good buy was only $6500 1999 Challenger... looked to be in excellent condition,  we could have done something with it as a starting point. 
Modcon look like a great camper, looked at them at Caulfield show earlier this year. Good choice. Cheers John

Ta,

I looked at all the hard floors, each has good and not so good points, its just a matter of searching, looking and questioning your list of priorities and the budget.

[jpak]

Morgue,  your post says hard floors have good and not so good points, in your opinion, what are the not so good points?

[hargs]

Yes .........like the idea of 2 things .......one off road camper and one van .........come on lotto win !!!!

[GU Rich]

If I was in this postion and planning to travel etc I would consider a Vista RV.

[Muso]

Just turned 63, and I'm still reasonably fit (but starting to deteriorate). Our main criteria for a camper was, had to be small because of restricted storage space, easy setup and pulldown, single beds and reasonbly lightweight.

We did our share of tyre-kicking until I had had enough. We were keen on the Cub Spacematic and right on the 11th hour, a private sale came up $2000.00 cheaper than any dealers. It was in near perfect condition (2006), hardly ever used, so for $10,000 I grabbed it.

The manual winch could always be converted to an electric boat winch if ever it got to hard. I have since set up the 12v solar system and Tuesday a.m. we are taking off for the Flinders for a week, relying on solar power only.

[jpak]

Thanks everyone for taking part in this poll.... seems hard floors are most popular and confirms ideas in that is the way to go at this point in time.  Appears to be a wide choice in campers too so will look them all over again at the show on the weekend and then see if we cant find a good second hand one. Cheers John

[TOPNDR]

Not quite over 55, born in Vic, have camped around the country including Vic, so here goes.

We have an AORC Quantum, having replaced a Platinum Kimberley Kamper in 2009.  The impetus for the change was Mrs T's frustration with canvas, and the fiddlyness of errecting the awning. Watching me do it must have caused more stress for her than I realised.  

The Quantum is a crossover Super Camper.  It looks superficially like a small caravan, is pop-top, but retains an external slide out kitchen, and is more or less an ensuite bedroom on wheels.  It's built like a brick sh!t 'ouse, and will go anywhere the car will fit, except for the perhaps 5 or 10 cm it sits higher than the Cruiser's roof, thus really low overhangs might be a problem.

280 litres of water, gas HWS, diesel heater, inner spring queen mattress, flush dunny and shower, coupled with independent suspension, and a narrow footprint means we can still get to those out of the way places, that take a little effort, and arrive there requiring a very little set up before we have a most comfortable camp site.

For us, the purpose is to be there enjoying the locale, not hammering pegs, holding tent poles, hoping it doesn't rain for the pack up.

Mrs T drove the change from the KK but we're equally happy with our Quantie.  

jpak If you haven't made a decision by next March, we'll be in Melbourne for several weeks, seeing my son get married and Mrs T visiting her newly born, Number 1 Grandchild.  We'd be happy to show you over the Quantie.

[ranger-jules]

My husband and I are also looking for the right one! Just cannot decide yet. We have the problem of being able to get away for the shorter type of trips on and off. We have a daughter who at times is not well and lives with us and has a 3year old. So we pick up the slack at times. However their are times when she is not too bad and we can get away. We are interested in all the feedback we can get also for what is the best camper for us. Our biggest problem is that most of our good friends are still working and will be for sometime. So we do not have anyone to go away with, which can be a bit lonely. Nice to meet up with like minded people.We are bushwalkers and have been all our lives, so tents and tarps have been our thing up to now. We have a Subaru Forester and it goes everywhere as it has been lifted and has a lower range gear box fitted. Done the Simpson 5 times and the old Forester has 10 trips under it's belt and it is still going strong, ready for another few I think. Our son has it now. Hope you find what you want, just like us.

[Traveller]

G'day Jpac,

We fit the criteria you were after (almost), and about 6 years ago we decided to buy a Kimberley Kamper. We had been tenting it while a couple we travel with progressed through a Dingo (soft floor), and a early hard floor that exploded on the Oodnadatta Track. As a replacement they purchased an Aussie Swag. On a trip to the High Country we arrived in Horseyard Flat after midnight, and after watching them set it up in 30 seconds while we struggled to set up the tent for the next 15 minutes, the decision was made.

Positives for us are:-
- Ease and speed of set up. Without awning it is literally a minute or two (our usual way of camping).
- Ruggedness of the chassis and suspension. Very keen to ensure this was strong after the Oodnadatta Track incident.
- Having a trailer that you can look over the top off with the rear vision mirror.
- Being able to stack wood on the top of the closed trailer.
- Stainless steel kitchen.
- Creature comforts such as the drawer under the bed for storage and our bed lights.
- The simplicity of the earlier trailers.

Negatives are:-
- Wet and windy weather make it a pain to cook, even with open walled awning up (don't own any walls).
- No sitting area inside although we do take in our camp chairs.

Overall we are very happy with the way the trailer has gone over the years, and we have covered a lot of outback gravel kilometres.

I can appreciate the Vista RV, the Kimberley Karavan and the new Bolwell trailer, as they make life just that little bit more comfortable.

Have fun deciding, we certainly did.

Ps We live on the Mornington Peninsula and if you want to have a look at the trailer, just let us know.

[best of both worlds]

We have both a Camper trailer and Caravan but can only vote once so it seems.

Cheers JO

[seenthelight]

John
You could look at hiring a soft floor then a hard floor camper to see if this style of camper suits you,
you may end up buying a camper that you wish you had not.
Try before you buy, it could save you a lot of heart ache
cheers
Geoff