Mdc /gic campers
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I went to the mdc showroom in somerton a few weeks back to see in person what they were like. My understanding is they are an Aussie built trailer with import tents. General look of the product is ok but others on the net say they need some tweaking to get them up to a above average quality standard. We looked at the mdc deluxe v3 with the gas stove 2 burner option priced at $6500. Delete the stove and basic package is $1000 less.
Do your research and you might find something better secondhand. Also there will be a few camper trailer company's at the Melbourne 4x4 show in August.
Do your research and you might find something better secondhand. Also there will be a few camper trailer company's at the Melbourne 4x4 show in August.
RustyNav09
Member
I never owned one but would happily put ny money on a mdc v3 or one of the mdc hard floor items. Had a good close look at them recently at the caravan and camping show in Brisbane and they have really shown there quality. With all the options they still come in under par with other brand equivalents.
Wouldn't bother with gic as I have never really liked there campers.
Rusty
Wouldn't bother with gic as I have never really liked there campers.
Rusty
happy john
Member
It is china made assembled in australia spend a bit more on a aussie built you will have no leaking canvas or flogged out bearings ect ect.
DeanFoldi
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Carful mentioning anything about gic that is bad.... The site will end up with letters from solicitors threading to sue them like they did on 4x4 earth. That alone makes me not want to buy one. Bit I won't mention anything about build quality lol.
reel-sensation
Member
Hi,
I build quality campers as my job.
MDC/GIC are Chinese. If you are considering a hard floor:
1. Check canvas fit. All MDC hard floor campers I have seen, the canvas is badly fitted and saggy. In windy/rainy weather the window flaps allow rain and wind to enter. Also it takes a while to fully set up all the annex.
2. Check for gas compliance certificate for stove. (Legal requirement).
3. Electrical fittings are cheap sh!t as is the wiring.
4. Hard floor of camper is stick on vinyl - falls off when parked closed up in hot sun.
5. Awnings and canvas roof catch the water. Tent poles need to be lowered over night if rain is expected. Once rain water has pooled in canvas, it is stretched for life.
6. Check wheel bearings - more cheap sh!t.
7. Check coupling.
8. They use stainless fittings with gal screws and bolts that rust.
9. Take a portable welder with you when camping. You just never know when you'll need it.
10. You get what you pay for!!
Alan
I build quality campers as my job.
MDC/GIC are Chinese. If you are considering a hard floor:
1. Check canvas fit. All MDC hard floor campers I have seen, the canvas is badly fitted and saggy. In windy/rainy weather the window flaps allow rain and wind to enter. Also it takes a while to fully set up all the annex.
2. Check for gas compliance certificate for stove. (Legal requirement).
3. Electrical fittings are cheap sh!t as is the wiring.
4. Hard floor of camper is stick on vinyl - falls off when parked closed up in hot sun.
5. Awnings and canvas roof catch the water. Tent poles need to be lowered over night if rain is expected. Once rain water has pooled in canvas, it is stretched for life.
6. Check wheel bearings - more cheap sh!t.
7. Check coupling.
8. They use stainless fittings with gal screws and bolts that rust.
9. Take a portable welder with you when camping. You just never know when you'll need it.
10. You get what you pay for!!
Alan
reel-sensation
Member
Sorry! I take it all back!
I only know from SIMILAR Chinese campers that I have seen.
Alan
i bought a 2nd hand g?c extreme offroad from a well known forum member
the 1st thing i will clear up is the only "chinese" bits on the camper is the tent
the trailers are built in australia using australian steel (i did my research)
the long drawbar is mounted and welded properly and runs right back to front spring hanger
trailer isnt sealed(is now)
the other issues "in my opinion"
tool box is tec screwed to drawbar (now bolted)
too many pop rivets and tek screws,not enough nuts and bolts(rectified by previous owner and me)
water tank fittings are a bit iffy ,i relocated water tank to inside camper,added 12v pressure pump,directly above axle
the tent itself is quite ok,sofar but i can see where it might have issues later on,big deal,stitch it up or replace it
the 45mm axle had 50mm ubolts fitted,shocky mounts were bent cause shocks were at full travell with trailer unloaded,fixed and reinforced and correct u bolts and fish plates installed
i have since fitted 12" discs and brakes with all new bearings ect
this trailer was modified to tow to the cape this year and i am very confident it would have made it if trip wasnt posponed
to summarise
the trailer build/material quality is quite good
its a shame they dont spend that little extra time and money to properly finish a good product
i am happy with mine after some mods/additions and it only ows me 5k all up
so if you dont mind buying a 2nd hand one and finishing the job properly then go for a g?c
would i buy a brand new one, never
the 2nd hand market is saturated with good 2nd hand trailers
good luck
cheers
the 1st thing i will clear up is the only "chinese" bits on the camper is the tent
the trailers are built in australia using australian steel (i did my research)
the long drawbar is mounted and welded properly and runs right back to front spring hanger
trailer isnt sealed(is now)
the other issues "in my opinion"
tool box is tec screwed to drawbar (now bolted)
too many pop rivets and tek screws,not enough nuts and bolts(rectified by previous owner and me)
water tank fittings are a bit iffy ,i relocated water tank to inside camper,added 12v pressure pump,directly above axle
the tent itself is quite ok,sofar but i can see where it might have issues later on,big deal,stitch it up or replace it
the 45mm axle had 50mm ubolts fitted,shocky mounts were bent cause shocks were at full travell with trailer unloaded,fixed and reinforced and correct u bolts and fish plates installed
i have since fitted 12" discs and brakes with all new bearings ect
this trailer was modified to tow to the cape this year and i am very confident it would have made it if trip wasnt posponed
to summarise
the trailer build/material quality is quite good
its a shame they dont spend that little extra time and money to properly finish a good product
i am happy with mine after some mods/additions and it only ows me 5k all up
so if you dont mind buying a 2nd hand one and finishing the job properly then go for a g?c
would i buy a brand new one, never
the 2nd hand market is saturated with good 2nd hand trailers
good luck
cheers
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i owned a off road deluxe. fitted it out with electrics myself and loved it. first night out was a storm with heavy rain and held up fine. there cheap but you get what you pay for. saying that i would still buy another even though i sold this one...
Navarasteve
Member
GIC aren't opposed to true and factual criticism about their campers, in actual fact this kind of feedback is considered useful and assists in the development of the product.
What GIC do oppose is hear say and falsified statements by competitors and by customers who have had a warranty claim rejected on the grounds of misuse or abuse of the product. It's a well known tactic to try and bully and extort a desired result through forums and social media when people don't get their own way. If you look at GIC's track record at the ACCC you'll quickly see that the ACCC is just as much there to protect the seller as the purchaser. Even after winning the case GIC have come to the party and replaced items damaged by misuse as a token of good will. Very recently someone who had put their tent up incorrectly in a big way, in the worst weather conditions in 10 years had their tent collapse. The photos supplied by the client proved beyond all doubt that they got it wrong and the BOM weather reports from the day suggested anyone putting up a tent was a bit mad. After winning the case GIC STILL offered a new replacement tent AND completely resprayed the trailer AND paid another years rego. Even the ACCC mediator was surprised by the generosity. The offer to replace the tent was made well before any complaint to the ACCC but some people are just unreasonable.
As can be seen in this thread, someone IN the industry flagrantly claimed GIC is a Chinese product but was astutely corrected by a Moderator. Yes GIC manufacture their soft floor camper trailers in their facility in Sydney and use a Chinese manufactured tent. It's a very common claim by competitors to say GIC trailers are imported cheap Chinese stuff most commonly made by importers of Chinese trailer assembled (they say built) here. Pretty common tactics in the offroad and recreational product industry IMO.
To make the same tent as a GIC 18' tent in Australia and from entirely Australian canvas you would pay tens of thousands for the tent and be likely to have a six month wait on delivery.
Soft floor camper tents are a large animal and require a fair degree of hours to produce. A hard floor camper tent is a much easier item to make and making it 100% Australian made is more feasable.
Few people are willing to pay the sort of coin a 100% Aussie made camper trailer would cost when so many cheaper options are available.
Back to the legal letter, it has been proved that comments were being made as first hand bad experiences by people who have never owned the product and more to the point, by people employed by competitors. This was proven by the posters IP address in more than one forum.
Sure there has been cases of less than fast service but sometimes that happens when you produce 1500 camper trailers a year. I defy anyone to show me a company with as many employees producing that much product that doesn't have occassional problems.
Small things like the lack of a few rubber grommets etc were there at the time of purchase as would have been foam rubber seals, it's not like it was a hidden omission or anyone lied. The first time I looked at a GIC trailer I thought "ok it will need a couple of hundred bucks and a few hours work to make it a glamour" but I considered what I would pay elsewhere and it was IMO a great buy. My wife ended up pulling rank and wanted something with the kitchen inside and 2 beds so we ended up with a Goldstream Wing offroader.
So why did I necro post?
I've often referred to information in this forum when hunting down solutions for my D40 and hold the forum in hight esteem. I've never considered myself to be enough of an expert to offer any advice on a D40 so never registered. I now work at GIC and was having a browse to see what was being said where and poked my nose in to read this thread. I figured a quality forum like this deserved a reply from the people concerned. Keep up the good work guys, have a great Christmas and a safe and happy New Year.
Steve
That's awesome information Steve and straight from the horses mouth and welcome to the forum.
I also haven't had enough experience with gic or mdc to comment on there products but i have seen a few Johno's camper trailers that have been kinda dodge like draw bars out of a single piece of steel one side and the other 2 pieces of steel butt welded together to form the correct length.
rear bike carrier mounts(reece hitch style reciever) poorly designed and cracking after normal on road hwy touring use and not just on a single trailer (at work we braced a handful of trailers and repaired a couple for a dealer of them). They did redesign these at some stage with more bracing so shouldn't be an issue on current series trailers.
They had poor battery mounts as in a battery in plastic box with the plastic box screwed to the floor no internal support or external brackets( also braced and fixed some of these at work) not sure if they changed the design on this but wasn't a common fault surprisingly.
I also haven't had enough experience with gic or mdc to comment on there products but i have seen a few Johno's camper trailers that have been kinda dodge like draw bars out of a single piece of steel one side and the other 2 pieces of steel butt welded together to form the correct length.
rear bike carrier mounts(reece hitch style reciever) poorly designed and cracking after normal on road hwy touring use and not just on a single trailer (at work we braced a handful of trailers and repaired a couple for a dealer of them). They did redesign these at some stage with more bracing so shouldn't be an issue on current series trailers.
They had poor battery mounts as in a battery in plastic box with the plastic box screwed to the floor no internal support or external brackets( also braced and fixed some of these at work) not sure if they changed the design on this but wasn't a common fault surprisingly.
terryc
Member
When we were going to buy a CT, GIC was the first place we went to for a look see. Our luck was in and the yard was full of various models about to be shipped out. I wasn't impressed by the build quality and have posted elsewhere my points about it.
By the time we had been around three similar/assemblers that day, it was motivation enough to find a few more dollars and look at fully Aussie built.. However, we lucked in and found a secondhand Aussie built for a hard to ignore price.
I have since met one person who owned a GIC and he was "Well it was what we could afford and I can fix it up".
If this is your first CT, have a look through. http://www.caravancampingsales.com.au/. You might find something that lets you get a first taste for the better CT to meet your need.
By the time we had been around three similar/assemblers that day, it was motivation enough to find a few more dollars and look at fully Aussie built.. However, we lucked in and found a secondhand Aussie built for a hard to ignore price.
I have since met one person who owned a GIC and he was "Well it was what we could afford and I can fix it up".
If this is your first CT, have a look through. http://www.caravancampingsales.com.au/. You might find something that lets you get a first taste for the better CT to meet your need.
I just spent a week living in my gic
I saw other campers there and spoke to other owners and reckon the gic are good compared to other similarly priced campers
one poor guy I spoke to just signed up for his m*c camper, over 4 yrs it will cost him $14k , thats 2nd hand jayco money
my modded gic is now 4 yrs old, took it to qld last year, towed and performed flawlessly
the tent has seen good rain at both musters and hasn't leaked a drop
its easy to setup ,versatile and all works well for a $5k investment
I saw other campers there and spoke to other owners and reckon the gic are good compared to other similarly priced campers
one poor guy I spoke to just signed up for his m*c camper, over 4 yrs it will cost him $14k , thats 2nd hand jayco money
my modded gic is now 4 yrs old, took it to qld last year, towed and performed flawlessly
the tent has seen good rain at both musters and hasn't leaked a drop
its easy to setup ,versatile and all works well for a $5k investment
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ant
Member
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- Dec 6, 2009
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We have recently purchased an MDC Deluxe offroad with the smaller tent (7 foot I think). Although we have only used it a few times so far, the last trip was a week long stay and we love it. Being the smaller tent its easy to set up and pack away, I can completely set the tent and awning up on my own which leaves the missus free to watch the young fella. Tows great and is comfy. I have added my own basic 12v system and replaced the hand taps with a better quality tap and so far thats it.
Boof2805
Member
Hi Guys
We own the Off-road gal extreme.
We have had a few minor problems like the main tent middle pole locking screw snapped off, broken gas cylinder mount and the major issue for us is that the fly doors (both sides) are tearing away from the stitching.
Otherwise we have been very happy with the camper trailer, the way it tows, tent etc etc, even have a good storm up North and no worries there either.
The one thing we are not happy about is that there 12 month manufacturing warranty doesn't cover zips, flys. We believe that it's the fly tearing from the stitching and in my view a manufacturing flaw.
I contacted MDC via warranty email form posted pics of the fault and got back we don't cover fly doors.
We where not still happy with this, and this is where I have a totally different opinion of MDC now, the person I got in warranties after contacting them via phone was not at all interested and just said refer to the warranty conditions, we don't cover flys (in a very non helpful tone.)
The concern now my missus and I have is that we also purchased the extended warranty from MDC for 48 months for $2150, I know what you thinking, it's only a camper trailer.
Which starts on February.
What won't that cover as well??
We own the Off-road gal extreme.
We have had a few minor problems like the main tent middle pole locking screw snapped off, broken gas cylinder mount and the major issue for us is that the fly doors (both sides) are tearing away from the stitching.
Otherwise we have been very happy with the camper trailer, the way it tows, tent etc etc, even have a good storm up North and no worries there either.
The one thing we are not happy about is that there 12 month manufacturing warranty doesn't cover zips, flys. We believe that it's the fly tearing from the stitching and in my view a manufacturing flaw.
I contacted MDC via warranty email form posted pics of the fault and got back we don't cover fly doors.
We where not still happy with this, and this is where I have a totally different opinion of MDC now, the person I got in warranties after contacting them via phone was not at all interested and just said refer to the warranty conditions, we don't cover flys (in a very non helpful tone.)
The concern now my missus and I have is that we also purchased the extended warranty from MDC for 48 months for $2150, I know what you thinking, it's only a camper trailer.
Which starts on February.
What won't that cover as well??
johnno48
Member
Yes My Swag site had that trouble with GIC, bloody pathetic, if they are crap what happened to free speech & unbiased reviews. These people pay for ads in the likes of Camper Trailer mag and get away with their garbage.
Navarasteve
Member
There's nothing wrong with free speach Johnno, there is a great deal wrong with unsubstantiated, unproved, defamatory and untrue statements about a product or company. Most forum owners are good guys and very astute in enforcing rules and weeding out suspect posts however a small number think it's ok to let threads turn into a cespool of name and shame. That letter should have been a wake up to a small number not doing it right but unfortunately a few others soiled their nappy in a panic and deleted everything.
If someones done nothing wrong then they have nothing to fear don't you think?
