The Camping Thread

[Trevor 57]

Dargo Pub for lunch, bikes are all our blokes, me and another traveled there in the Isuzu

[Pedro]

Haven't been in this room before so it was interesting reading your stories.
I was on one of the American forums I frequent and thought you guys may get a laugh out of this anecdote ...

"Ended up in Browning once that won't happen again!!
Here we are at a gas station around midnight in a Subaru outback with California plates and 3 Blackfoot Indians that want us to just walk away or bad things are going to happen. That is all they are telling me!! Wish I had a picture of the looks on their faces after I pulled a hand cannon out from under my jacket
Wish someone would of warned me before I ended up there! That it is not a tourist friendly town."

Things can be a little different over there! LOL

[sgt_doofey]

11 days out from our trip, but who's counting?

Looking forward to the camping. Not looking forward to the 6.5hr (plus stops) drive to get there with a 5 year old and a 2 year old! Early departure and tablets to save the day me thinks.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

[prydey]

Originally Posted by sgt_doofey

11 days out from our trip, but who's counting?

Looking forward to the camping. Not looking forward to the 6.5hr (plus stops) drive to get there with a 5 year old and a 2 year old! Early departure and tablets to save the day me thinks.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

Hey, if you want to borrow my stove (see link in post #193) just sing out. Now that we have decided to move to a jayco, it will spend a lot of time gathering dust from now on.

[sgt_doofey]

Originally Posted by prydey

Hey, if you want to borrow my stove (see link in post #193) just sing out. Now that we have decided to move to a jayco, it will spend a lot of time gathering dust from now on.

Thanks Rob. We'll see how we go with the one we've got. I've also got a 3 legged round BBQ that I might take as well.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by Pedro

Haven't been in this room before so it was interesting reading your stories.
I was on one of the American forums I frequent and thought you guys may get a laugh out of this anecdote ...

"Ended up in Browning once that won't happen again!!
Here we are at a gas station around midnight in a Subaru outback with California plates and 3 Blackfoot Indians that want us to just walk away or bad things are going to happen. That is all they are telling me!! Wish I had a picture of the looks on their faces after I pulled a hand cannon out from under my jacket
Wish someone would of warned me before I ended up there! That it is not a tourist friendly town."

Things can be a little different over there! LOL

Not just over there either.
10 years ago a group of us did a 3 night paddle around the back creeks of Chowilla up near Renmark in SA.
About an hour into the first stretch upstream from the old Customs house at Murtho to the entrance to Chowilla creek on the Murray and this bloke in a tinny comes screaming up to us, pulls a shotgun and asks us what we're doing there.
We were ****ting ourselves and just said we were going camping around the area.
He said to make sure that's all we were doing and left us to it.
This was at the height of the drought we experienced 10yrs ago, turns out the local farmers were a little sensitive about their illegal pumps drawing from the Murray in the area.

[Sox]

All around the top end of the NT, Katherine, etc.

[sgt_doofey]

Gee, the list of things to take is getting quite long! The wife hasn't even started looking at packing yet either!

Edit: Not quite as long as this list though!
https://www.snowys.com.au/Content/files/Checklist.pdf

[BENT_8]

Lol, yes it is a bit of trial and error and quite often depends on where you're going, the weather conditions and who's with you, there is no one correct list.

What I do is start from the ground up with the basic necessities, so drop sheets is first on the list, then the tent and pegs, a hammer to apply the pegs, a sleeping mat, sleeping bag and pillows for each person.
They are the basic things I need on any given trip, then I consider cooking and food requirements and lastly luxuries and equipment for activities.

If I was going to a place I've never been to before I make a list of all the things I think I'll need, when I get back I alter the list, removing what I didn't need and adding anything that I might have overlooked and then print and laminate it for next time, I've probably got a dozen lists specific to different scenario's.
I also work out a menu plan for each meal of each day and then allow an extra meal each in case something happens and we cant get out of where we are etc.

A number of years ago a group of us did a week in Wilpena pound. On the second last day, way up at Aroona Hut where Hans Heysen did some of his best work, we ran into some of the worst weather conditions I've ever experienced. There was no chance of getting out as the roads were washed out, so we had to stay put.
We saddled up and did a 10k hike around the area as there was nothing else to do and by mid afternoon everyone else had used up all their food supplies and we're cold, wet and hungry.
There's me with my Trangia out boiling up the Potato, parsnip, carrot etc. with a packet of chicken noodle soup that I'd set aside for just that occasion, I wasn't hungry, but I had plenty of envious friends.

I camp by the motto, Proper preparation prevents pizz poor performance.

[sgt_doofey]

Well, we're back now from our camping at Halls Gap.
Didn't manage to get out to see many sites due to the weather being poor and having young kids. We couldn't tackle the larger walks to see things. It's definitely a place we'll go back to in a few years time when the kids are older and can walk longer distances.
Got to the Boroka and Reid lookouts along with McKenzie Falls.

As for the camping side of things, the camper trailer was a god send, especially with the weather. Had some shelter we could use when it rained and could put the kids inside with a movie on to keep them entertained and warm due to us packing a little blow heater. (powered site for the win!)

Cooking wise, our little Wanderer camp stove did the trick. We used that most of the time and it never missed a beat. Is a little on the small side, so to accommodate the crockery properly, we just put the wind shields down and it was fine. Would be nice to have a bigger one, but it'll do for now.

The Halls Gap Caravan Park itself was a pretty good facility. The site we had was a powered site which was meant to be grass but was mostly dirt/mud as the grass coverage wasn't that great. The facilities themselves were pretty good, albeit a little dated, but most of Halls Gap looks pretty dated these days. Showers were nice and hot and had great water pressure. It would have been good if the toilet/shower block was heated, but we didn't freeze.
They have designated fire pits where you can have fires. Ours was across the road near the creek, so wasn't on site, but as we were the only people camping in our area, there wasn't any traffic that we had to worry about.
There is a public playground nearby that the kids enjoyed playing on and we were right across the road from the shops.
We saw heaps of Kangaroos. They wandered around the caravan park and would come right up to you in the evenings. Just be wary of leaving food out, as they do tend to scavenge a bit.
It was a great location to base ourselves in for a family camping trip. We would go back there again.

Things learned:
- check to make sure pegs and guy ropes are packed. Turns out that we didn't have the guy ropes for the annex so I had to go buy some. I had also packed some spare pegs, so ended up using those.

- If you want good, cheap cooking utensils for camping, then check out KMart. I grabbed tongs and spatula from them for $1.50 each and they're brilliant!

- if you're camping in a group then you need shelter. We had a gazebo that our friends bought and we put up a tarp all off the annex of the camper trailer which gave us reasonable shelter from the rain. It would have been great to have another tarp that we could have extended out to make a floor to help stop the mud and dirt from getting in to the camper trailer, but the kids were reasonably good in taking their shoes off before going inside.

Even with the bad weather we had, we all had a good time and we've vowed to try and make this an annual event at least. That is, us friends catching up via camping as we're in Adelaide and they're in Melbourne, so Halls Gap was half way. The wife and I enjoyed it, the kids had a great time, so we'll definitely do that again.

[prydey]

nice one. the weather can't be controlled but if you are half prepared then its able to be dealt with fairly well.

sounds like you did the same sights as us. Pinnacles will have to wait for next time.

we will go back. i didnt mind the datedness (is that even a word) of the place. If you didn't get to the zoo, i would highly recommend that for your next trip.

good to hear you were able to have some space in a caravan park. the benefits of going outside of peak times! unfortunately those days are gone for us, but we did enjoy many holidays like that when our kids were younger.

I sold my brand new tent already, and am likely to pick up a 2009 jayco swan this arvo. i've warned the mrs that this sort of expenditure means it has to be used, so looking forward to a few more shorter weekend getaways, which weren't really possible in a tent.

long weekends tend to get full pretty quick in the popular spots though. here in SA, mambray creek and deep creek are all fully booked for june long weekend.

any of you SA guys been to wirrina cove holiday park (not the resort)? it looks pretty good online, but we've been sucked in by online pics before.

[sgt_doofey]

We didn't bother with the zoo. We'd recently been to both Adelaide and Monarto Zoos as we've got zoo membership, so thought that seeing yet another zoo would be a bit much

We're hoping to do a trip like that a couple of times a year if possible, but we're about to start building a house soon, so might be a little way off for now.

As for going outside of peak, yes, there is plenty of room but those days will be numbered for us too with the eldest about to start school. With my wife being a winemaker, the months of Feb - April are basically ruled out anyway with vintage, so it'll later in the year for us in the future.
We were saying though that we would aim to make our catch up with friends in early May (post vintage) as my mate also works in a winery in Victoria, so May works for both of us. We'd aim for a little earlier in May next time and try and avoid some of the weather if possible.

[naddis01]

Well guys, I'm after some advice...

Has anyone had any experience with these camper trailers? I assume you get what you pay for but I was hoping someone had some first hand experience with them.

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/milp...ler/1148542738

[prydey]

Originally Posted by naddis01

Well guys, I'm after some advice...

i don't have any first hand knowledge to pass on, but before buying the jayco (bought it today), we were set on buying a forward fold camper trailer.

2 things stopped us.

1. forward fold campers are heavy, and esp heavy on the ball. Given i have a falcon with only standard tow pack, it ruled out all but a handful of lightweight versions.

2. size of the 2nd sleeping area. these are fine for parents with young kids, but my eldest is 17 this year and up around the 170cm, give or take. the sleeping config of the forward folds, is the double or queen is long ways on the trailer section, and the kids sleeping area is east/west, meaning the width of the trailer determined the length of the bed. this just was too small for us. you could get larger ones, but this impacted on the weight, and the price.

If you aren't limited by either your tow vehicle or the sleeping size, then they are great trailers. personally, i wouldn't buy anything other than a forward fold. they just utilize the space a lot better. they set up extremely quickly and the kitchen etc is available as soon as you pull up.

Like you have mentioned, as with most things, it certainly is a case of 'you get what you pay for', but it doesn't mean you have to pay the top dollar. as long as you are aware the cheaper ones are built to a price, they may still suit your purpose. even the chinese ones like MDC are becoming increasingly better built, and actually won camper trailer of the year.

this style of camper trailer will go where others (esp caravans etc) will never go, providing you have the tug (tow vehicle) to get them there. they are heavy because they are built extremely tough. the ball weights are high though because pretty much all the weight is in front of the wheel.

if you need to sleep more than 2 adults and 2 young kids though, they probably aren't the best suited type of trailer. they are all about full on off road stuff mainly.

the annoying thing is, the choice is almost too much. there are so many brands and different setups out there it becomes impossible to try to narrow down any sort of shortlist. it became easier for us because we had to find something with a ball weight less than about 130kg which massively narrowed the field.

good luck with your search. if you didn't spot the link earlier, a good forum for all things camper trailer is http://www.myswag.org/

[naddis01]

Thanks for your input Prydey. The two issues you raise with this style of camper aren't of great concern to me as I have a Ranger and 2 kids under 8yo.

My main concern would be the structural integrity of the thing. Is it going to fall apart if I take it down some corrugations?

From researching on the net (there is no where to view them here) most of the Chinese sourced forward fold campers look like they come from the same factory. So is the quality, or lack of, similar between the different brands?

[prydey]

get on myswag. there is heaps of knowledge on there. mind you, wherever you go, there will always be those that just blindly disregard anything from china, but as long as you go in with eyes open, they can still be as good as you need them to be.

one of the differences is in the weight of the canvas used. aussie ones tend to be a bit more heavy duty. also the thickness of the steel in the chassis is mostly thicker (4mm v 3mm) in the aussie ones.

as for durability, from the research i did, these things have it in spades over any other sort of trailer. the good ones are really good, but you pay for the privilege. we had a budget of $20k so believe it or not, thats pretty budget.

[prydey]

so, goodbye tenting.

bought this yesterday. 09 Jayco Swan.

[BENT_8]

Theres nothing wrong with the Chinese gear, the tent on my camper trailer is Chinese and has been through heavy winds and torrential rain and never let a drop of water in, had 3" running through the annex at Victor early last year but not a drop got into the sealed area.

When we went looking for a camper it was really only because the missus wouldn't sleep on the tent floor and with 4 kids the alternatives were beyond our budget for how often it would be used.
We hunted around for a while and then one day I found a bloke on Gumtree who was importing Chinese tents and fitting them to locally made 7x5 trailers for $3k, half the price of the cheapest alternative.
I went for a look and realised it was just a tent on a trailer with nothing else I thought it was a great idea as it meant I could fit it out my way so I grabbed it.
Bets place to go to compare brands and fitouts is the upcoming caravan and camping show, we go twice a year and go through everything on offer.

https://fordforums.com.au/attachment...1&d=1460264897

[sgt_doofey]

Any chance you know who the bloke is and his contact details?
That looks like a reasonably good camper there! Is that on a 6x4 trailer in your pic?

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by sgt_doofey

Any chance you know who the bloke is and his contact details?
That looks like a reasonably good camper there! Is that on a 6x4 trailer in your pic?

Unfortunately, no, I don't have any contact details for him, not even sure if he still advertises on Gumtree, I bought it 3 years ago now.

The trailer tub is 7x4, not sure why I wrote 7x5 before, but the tent packed away is on a 7x5 base.
It has a full annex with all skirts, walls and floor.
Like I said, its basic for what it is, there are no gas bottle or jerry can holders, no water tank or plumbing and no fancy kitchen, but I didn't need there to be as I had all that from the tent camping days.
And really, what can you expect for $3k brand new, I figured when the kids grow up and move on we can buy a Jayco and either trade what we have or rip the tent off and keep the 7x4 deep side trailer, wont have lost much either way.

I put a big poly box on the front to put the Arkpak in which keeps us powered up for days.
Plan is to wire it up with 12v strip lighting and fit a water tank and plumbing but its been on the back burner for a while as most of our recent family trips have been interstate up the east coast due to my Daughters sporting events and not worth towing it that far for 3 or 4 days.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Theres nothing wrong with the Chinese gear,

i wasn't saying there was anything wrong with products from offshore. just that be aware when doing research that many people will badmouth these products simply because of where they are from without actually giving any reasons why. i say, just go in to any decision with both eyes open. its good to get lots of ideas, but at the end of the day, the only person that knows what will suit you, is yourself.

i'm all for supporting home grown, but at the same time, i have to look out for myself and family as well, and sometimes that means sticking to a budget and buying whatever you can afford.

when we were looking at camper trailers, we didn't rule out any based on where they were made, or where the materials came from.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by prydey

i wasn't saying there was anything wrong with products from offshore. just that be aware when doing research that many people will badmouth these products simply because of where they are from without actually giving any reasons why. i say, just go in to any decision with both eyes open. its good to get lots of ideas, but at the end of the day, the only person that knows what will suit you, is yourself.

i'm all for supporting home grown, but at the same time, i have to look out for myself and family as well, and sometimes that means sticking to a budget and buying whatever you can afford.

when we were looking at camper trailers, we didn't rule out any based on where they were made, or where the materials came from.

Yeah I think you might have misinterpreted my comment, I wasn't implying that you were knocking it, I was just agreeing that some people refuse to acknowledge the stuff out of China, whilst throwing my support behind it.

From what I could gather, most of the lower end of the market source their tents from China anyway.

Now, those Jayco's are a great piece of kit for what they retail for, been sussing them out the past 2 caravan shows with the intention of buying one when the time is right.

[NTF6]

Camping is easy and virtually requires no equipment.

Buy a 40 pack of beer (no fridge required).
Drink as many as you can before they get too hot to drink.
Fall into a coma in the dirt.
Wake up next morning and drive home.

[prydey]

Bought some Milenco Grand Aero 3 mirrors. Definitely function over form, but short of getting clearview ones (which look like dumbo ears), these are the best there is.


some more shots of my new camping accomodation




planning on giving it a bit of a trial next weekend (long weekend) back down in narracorte caves national park. thought we go back to somewhere we have been before, and its a great little spot with a handful of powered sites in a bush camp setting. Powered was only $2 a night more than unpowered, and in these temps its a no brainer as we can take 240v heating!

[Tassie f100]

[QUOTE=prydey;5944164]Bought some Milenco Grand Aero 3 mirrors. Definitely function over form, but short of getting clearview ones (which look like dumbo ears), these are the best there is.

Not sure I agree with you re mirrors.I had a pair which clamped to the existing mirrors like those but they vibrated too much.Finished up with apair from Supercheap which mount into the top and bottom door frames and have ratchet straps to keep them tight.About $60 odd each and work well,extend as far as you want, and don't vibrate

[Beastie]

Originally Posted by Sox

All around the top end of the NT, Katherine, etc.


image
image
image
image

Two questions from your second pic...

1. Who did the circle work?
2. Is your dog taking a dump?

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Tassie f100

Not sure I agree with you re mirrors.I had a pair which clamped to the existing mirrors like those but they vibrated too much.Finished up with apair from Supercheap which mount into the top and bottom door frames and have ratchet straps to keep them tight.About $60 odd each and work well,extend as far as you want, and don't vibrate

No way i was buying mirrors that attached or touched my car in any way, shape or form.

I haven't come across too many people that speak negatively about the milenco mirrors. there will be some vibration, but its from the slight wobble from the car mirrors, not the attached mirrors. The attached mirrors are very firm. Reviews of these mirrors from caravan forums, google sites and product review sites are almost exclusively positive. i guess i will find out next weekend.

[Sox]

Originally Posted by Beastie

Two questions from your second pic...

1. Who did the circle work?
2. Is your dog taking a dump?

That was us, but we weren't chucking skids, we were just circling a few times looking for a good spot.
OZ was playing.

[ebxr8240]

Camper trailers have their place when camping in higher states . Due to distance and the availability of going over rough roads or ground . Lightweight as well . I didn't particularly like them . Till we went WA / NT etc ideal . The good campers are not cheap though !!

[Big_Daz]

Originally Posted by ebxr8240

Camper trailers have their place when camping in higher states . Due to distance and the availability of going over rough roads or ground . Lightweight as well . I didn't particularly like them . Till we went WA / NT etc ideal . The good campers are not cheap though !!

We've got a Modcon FF1 Camper and love it... Given we don't do any hardcore off roading with it but its been fine with the 4WD we have done and on the beach... Ours was a tad over $20k though so not sure where that sits in the scheme if camper trailer pricing... Will have to pop some photo's up of the last trip... Its a really nice thing and all we have done since buying it was add a head of LED strip lighting and USB Chargers run off the Batteries/Solar