Hello All! (Another Newbie...)

[Mil Hanna]

G'day all,

I am pretty new to the camper trailer world, however I have been lurking here for a couple of months gathering valuable information. Let me just say that this is a great forum, and thanks for all the input from those in the know! 

My wife and I have been reasonably keen campers (Me more than her....) and recently did our annual 8-night Christmas/New Year camping trip with friends in the Vic High Country. She has never been keen however on the time it takes to pack the tent and all the camping gear into the back of the Jeep like Tetris and then all the time spent setting up, packing up, storing the gear etc. Also, being a keen cook, she has always been jealous of those camping near us with functional undercover kitchens and annexes where you can sit and enjoy some decent camping grub. We don't have any kids and don't plan to for the foreseeable future, however we were constantly finding that we had no room for all our camping gear in the Jeep and recently the 6x4 trailer has become almost a necessity, which is OK with me as I use it as an excuse to take my KTM 525 dirt bike with me! We thought about running a roof pod for extra storage, but we also like to take the mountain bikes with us on the roof racks, so it was one or the other.

To cut a long story short, the annual Christmas/New Year 8-day long camping trip this year was a little too much for the wife this time and whilst we came back satisfied, we were pretty exhausted and jealous of our friends who packed up in half the time as they were using caravans. We didn't really want a caravan as they are large, heavy and need room to store, can't really be taken off-road (properly) and we have always seen it as cheating, or "Glamping". Then at a BBQ at my neighbour's house ("Jimquinn" on this forum) he showed me the Aussie Jay's camper trailer website as he and his wife had just visited the workshop that day and were about to put down a deposit on a "Big Red".

Well, that was it! The wife and I were keen as beans to get one and after looking online started getting sucked in by the cheap Chinese ones that seemed to have everything for half the price. Well, all it took was one trip to Melbourne where we looked at various cheap Chinese trailers, some well regarded second-hand ones (Tru Blu, Tambo etc.) and finally Aussie Jay's and any thought of getting a "bargain" with the Chinese ones was gone. I was amazed at the quality of workmanship that was going into the Aussie Jay's trailers and when Jason and Rebekah spent over an hour with us running through all the options, the pros and cons and finer details of how they were built we were sold!

We were lucky to have been able to get a quote on a Big Red before the sale price finished in late January and we are putting a deposit down on one this weekend! Now the only decision left to make is whether we get the new quick-setup 9ft tent with gas strut assist and tropical roof or the new 12ft tent or of course the tried and tested Austrack tent, but that's for another thread..... Our neighbours picked theirs up on Tuesday and we got to check it out last night and it looks the goods! Getting excited now.....

Cheers,
Mil 

[Dreama]

G'day Mil and Hanna,
Welcome to My Swag.
That was a truly inspiring introduction, well done.
Those CT's look the bomb, once again well done and really enjoy yourselves out there and here.


Ray

[Mace]

Good Stuff Mil, Welcome.

The Aussie Jays look the goods, there a a few floating around here.

Still getting a kick??   



Mace.

[Swannie]

welcome aboard Mil, Looking forward to seeing some pics when you get it

Cheers
Greg

[jimquim]

Nice work neighbour - good to see you have finally posted (not that I can talk, i'm still under 10 posts I think)!

I'll try and post some pics of our Big Red over the weekend. Will probably stick them on BrickieMatt's Aussie Jay's post under 'My camper trailer' as there is no point setting up another thread on the big red. We are very happy with our new addition, we gave it a test out last night and our girls slept in longer than they normally would at home.

[Mace]

I'll try and post some pics of our Big Red over the weekend. Will probably stick them on BrickieMatt's Aussie Jay's post under 'My camper trailer' as there is no point setting up another thread on the big red. We are very happy with our new addition, we gave it a test out last night and our girls slept in longer than they normally would at home.

Nah, go for it, set up your own thread so we can follow all the mods down the track!!

[Black Diamond]

For one second there i though it was Mil Hanna the Chrome Dome that used to play for Carlton 

Welcome aboard!   

[jimquim]

He is a bit hairier than the real Mil Hanna. He is, however, a tragic Carlton fan unfortunately!

All right Mace you have convinced me, i'll start my own thread in the next few days! 

[gunna]

welcome to myswag Mil & Family
sheeds

[Jenko67]

Welcome Mil..... and GO THE BLUES!!!!!!

[Mil Hanna]

Hahaha.... Love it Jenko!

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!!

I'm looking forward to getting more involved here once I have my own camper trailer to talk about.

Jim is right - I am a Carlton tragic hence my username on here. It's kinda become my alias as my surname shortened is Hanna and as I barracked for the Blues in high school, my mates just started calling me Mil. Truth be told, I did actually love "The Cranium" as a player, so I was pretty fond of the nickname.

Glad to hear that the maiden voyage went well Jim, the girls needed to give you a sleep in by the sound of it!

I'll keep everyone updated as to when the CT is in the driveway and when the mods begin.....

Cheers

[Rural]

Welcome Mil,

From another Blues supporter from Wagga...and also a newcomer to this forum.

It's going to be a good year 2012 - a new camper trailer and premiership all in one....(now I will duck for cover)

Rural

[sol]

G'day Mil
Welcome to the forum and congrats on the new camper.
Happy times ahead 

                                                   

[Black Diamond]

A Blues supporter that lives in Geelong whats wrong with you! 

GO CATS!


 

[Heiny]

Hi Mil and welcome to My Swag

bubba

[jimquim]

My sentiments exactly Black Diamond!

I did see him barracking pretty hard for Geelong on grand final day - might have had something to do with the opposition though!

Geelong has more bald heads than Carlton these days, so maybe Mil will see the light...

[GGV8Cruza]

Welcome to the Forum

GG

[Mil Hanna]

I ask myself that question every footy season Black Diamond!! It can be like living in a bubble here with a 20-page spread in the Geelong Advertiser after every game.....

Truth be told, I don't mind the Cats.

The thing is, I didn't grow up in Geelong so no Cats brain-washing took place. Plenty of other supporters in Geelong makes it easier.

Thanks for the welcome guys! I just put a deposit down on my first camper trailer today - an Aussie Jay's Big Red, so I will be more of a contributor soon... Can't wait!!

[grc]

welcome mil oh the wait let the mods begin

and go the swans

        cheers grc   

[Hairs]

G'day Guys,

To Myswag.
Let the mods begin, well done.
Happy & Safe travels.

[Wandering Tassie]

Hi Mil, welcome to My Swag.
Camping is going to be much easier now, plus SWMBO will be happier, and that is always a bonus.
How much longer is the wait?

Trevor

[Mil Hanna]

G'day Trevor, thanks for the welcome!

We have been told we will have to wait until May for the camper as they had a massive influx of orders last month due to the special price finishing (Their prices went up by around 20-25% depending on the model). It kinda suits us actually as I am currently trying to sell a car in order to fund the CT and free up the space in the garage. It means that our second payment is not due for a couple of months, so a bit of time to sell the car yet.

Anyone want to buy a 1969 Ford Capri coupe in good condition? 

[Wandering Tassie]

May will come around quick enough, think of how many mods you can plan in that time.

Trevor

[Mace]

Anyone want to buy a 1969 Ford Capri coupe in good condition? 

Is it a purple GT V6 at a bargain base price?  Im not a ford man, but they were a stylish unit.
I Remember Moff running about with his Cologne V2 during the late  70's.  Hey, thats not a bad idea for a thread, best touring car you eva saw? (Must have period pic).

[BigJules]

G'day & Welcome.

You've joined at an exciting time, lots of great members down near you, and so many terrific places to go.