camper trailer thoughts

Hi,
Just wanted to get some thoughts from those in the know about camper trailers. I am looking at the 7X4 type, with fold out tent, annex, hinge kitchen, water tank tool box and spare etc. It needs to accomodate my wife and I and our two boys age 5 and 6. I'll be towing with a new D22. I am basically seeing the 'same' thing (new)for between $6000 and $10,000. There seems to be a few suppliers in the sth east suburbs. What am I looking for in the difference? i.e. where are the cheaper manufacturers saving? The only explanation that the dearer ones are giving is that they're locally made and the locks are better quality. Any other tips would be greatly appreciated.

trackabout

had a bit of a look around melbourne a couple of years ago at a couple of brands then still went for a trackabout does myself the wife and 3 teenage boys. spent a bit on extras like a front side door then went for drifta slide out 2 drawer box drifta slide out kitchen front toolbox overall the family as a whole is happy with it havnt had a chance to tow it with the nav yet but was towing with 2.8 hilux but didnt really leave anything in reserve

Heata -3 yrs ago purchased a oz trail camper 9 top and fitted to a 7x5 trailer .oz trail quality is good for the $$ paid about I think about 3 grand with annex but don't quote me we have been fromToowoomba to darwin ,kakadu ,the rock ,great ocean road as well as your normal weekends .Easy to set up handles the rain and you then can build your trailer around it .I just built a trailer with longer pull and swing out tailgate and each year slowly add to it kitchen false floor storage etc works for us
Chris

There are so many types around now, quite a few with imported bits.

My only tip is don't skimp on the tent/canvas.

We made a camper trailer for my bro a few years back, it's by no means one of those one you see in all the 4WD mags but it fits mum dad and the two kids in fine for camping. Even on the back of a dunnydore sedan they can get enough provisions in both to be fairly self sufficient for 5 or 6 days (until his kids get older anyway).

It's built around a standard 6x8 box trailer, we manufactured a steel framed box which sits in the trailer and comes up to about 5 foot high, on top of the box we welded a rack of sorts (4 legs and cross bars) to hold the tent and inside we made different compartments, some slide out some cavity, which hold things like food, fridge, gas stove etc etc.

Can't remember what sort of tent he ended up with but it was brought and modified to come off the top of the trailer and allows each side panel of the trailer to remain open while the tent is up. We also carpeted the trailer in parts to make things like the fridge ride easier.

As I said it's by no means a 4WD trailer but it tows easily, is relatively light and looks a bit like a builders trailer with a tent on top when traveling. With a bit more engineering in the initial stages it wouldn't be hard to put bigger springs and tyres on it for a 4B weekend but that wasn't what my bro wanted so it didn't get it.

with the cheaper camp trailer's look at the size of the chassie compared to the dear ones, look at the size of the springs. make sure you get the shock absorbers on your trailer. and the stablizer legs, they are great when you can't find a flat spot and want a flat bed.
my personal recommendation would be to buy a track-a-bout tent, a few mates have had them and they set up really nice and there easy to set up.

other tips i found, with the stone guard look out for what material it is built out of cause mine was covered in a strong shade cloth material which bounced the stones back and hit the back of the ute. also below the stone guard put some mud flaps there so stop rocks sand blasting you trailer chassie.

Thanks for some really usefull tips. I reckon these are the type of thing that look great in the show room, but its not until you use them that you really know what you want! there are some hire places around, I'm thinking that might be the way to go first off.

One other thing we found when we were building the trailer for my bro that might be worth noting if you are following a build your own path. Be careful when buying the trailer.

We only looked at new trailers and having made trailers ourselves over the years are slightly picky when it comes to what we want but what we saw was terrible. Bad welding, poor workmanship and one of the biggest problems was the terrible paint jobs which looked like they had one coat of hammer tone sprayed over weathered steel and aluminum during a hurricane.

We did have a request to build up a trailer similar to my Bro's for a mate but gave up in the end because we didn't have time to make the trailer from scratch and so many of the new ones out there were just not worth the dollars people were asking.

I have a Cape York softfloor.
I have done many mods on it over the years to make it more comfortable.
If your serious about a c/t have a look at MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum - Index. it is an Australian camper trailer forum.
There is as much info on there about all the different camper trailers as there is about Navaras on this forum...
Bill

Thanks bill! There is heaps of info here, this is a really complex choice, since I am a subscriber to the philosophy, of getting what you pay for (when you're lucky!) But I am struggling to find any difference between base models of various brands, that vary in price by from about 6k to 10k. hopefully your link may have some answers! And Krafty thanks for your advice. Not sure that I will go the build your own option, from scratch. I'd be more likely to add extras myself.

Heata
I have a PARAMOUNT camper trailer (from qld), but i cant find them on the web, so dont know if they are still around.

But it is a great 7x4 Aluminium tray on a Galv trailer, with extended draw bar that fits 2 tool box's, 5 leaf springs, 70 litre water tank, queen bed and very good quality canvas with awning and sides - sewn in soft floor to the main part of the tent.

Tows very nicely behind the D40 at highway speeds.

I will be replacing the original hubs shortly so i can fit the Navara rims on the trailer, and i'll be adding electric brakes to it as well. Whilst the trailer is only rated to 750 kg due to there being no brakes, i'm sure i'm overloaded everytime I go on holidays - so i want the added safety fo brakes (so i'm covered for road worthiness and insurance reasons)