my wife and I are looking at buying a camper trailer but we have no idea what to get. we are looking something like a jayco swan or eagle off road. I know people call them junkco, so I need peoples edvice on there campers please. our buget is around 10-15k for a new one. that do you recommend?
camper trailer recommendation
- Thread starter wes570
- Start date
Help Support Nissan Navara Forum:
fourocker
Member
10 - 15 K Will not get a new Jayco, talked to a couple on our last holiday and their new Eagle cost them 28 K. I do remember talking to a camper builder (Central Coast Camper Trailers) at a show and they did a really good soft floor Aussie made canvas with drop down bed end access (15') for around 14 K, I think this included annexe walls, the workmanship was very good, if I wanted another soft floor I would order one for sure. Sorry jusr realised you're in Victoria so no help.
Last edited:
happy john
Member
The coromal you see in my signature cost me 16k i have dragged it everywhere 200ltrs water instant gas hot water and shower enclosed annex sleeps 6 bloody good bit of gear.
fourocker
Member
Is that a Silhouette or F400 Happy John ?
happy john
Member
Hi mate it's a magnum 440 ralley xc with the works it is the largest model 14ft 4 unextended that model was the only true off road one they made the build quality is superb as is the attention to detail and 15 ounce canvas.
John
John
nao
Member
i had a jayco eagle, was stolen and I'm just about to buy a new jayco flamingo outback.
they are not the toughest van around but if you look after them they will last, they are comfortable, well featured and supported wife and I and two rough nut boys very well.
we did a lot of extended long range trips with the eagle and it never missed a beat, didn't notice on the back of the car and they are not heavy so fuel economy was good as is storage capacity and beds are comfy. being self sufficient, battery lasted us around 10 days mainly lighting, gas fridge/some cooking lasted about a week with one 8.5 kg bottle (I had a sep bottle for the webber & i did have two bottles on the van)
id have no hesitation in recommending one but I would say if your planning off road trips like the birdsville, oodnadatta where you have long klm's of corrugations, it will suffer, my father in law borrowed mine, took it to birdsville and it took a bit of a toll.. draws/cupboards etc never fitted as snug as they use to and, it won't take anything serious. very weatherproof.
for info too.. we have a webber Q2 so all our cooking was outside apart from boiling water or some toast in the grill which meant we didn't have much issue with keeping the kitchen clean and the van smell free. If you get a 'road' model and simply want a bit of extra clearance jayco can lift them for about $200 though its simply a lift..
id say you can probably get a good 2005 eagle for around $15 privately but you won't get that through a dealer. Consider too, brand new eagle $21 ..if u can get a few bucks more, go a newy..
if your in melbourne and want to go the new way, PM me, id be happy to refer you to good dealer..
bang for your buck, i don't think you can go wrong..
they are not the toughest van around but if you look after them they will last, they are comfortable, well featured and supported wife and I and two rough nut boys very well.
we did a lot of extended long range trips with the eagle and it never missed a beat, didn't notice on the back of the car and they are not heavy so fuel economy was good as is storage capacity and beds are comfy. being self sufficient, battery lasted us around 10 days mainly lighting, gas fridge/some cooking lasted about a week with one 8.5 kg bottle (I had a sep bottle for the webber & i did have two bottles on the van)
id have no hesitation in recommending one but I would say if your planning off road trips like the birdsville, oodnadatta where you have long klm's of corrugations, it will suffer, my father in law borrowed mine, took it to birdsville and it took a bit of a toll.. draws/cupboards etc never fitted as snug as they use to and, it won't take anything serious. very weatherproof.
for info too.. we have a webber Q2 so all our cooking was outside apart from boiling water or some toast in the grill which meant we didn't have much issue with keeping the kitchen clean and the van smell free. If you get a 'road' model and simply want a bit of extra clearance jayco can lift them for about $200 though its simply a lift..
id say you can probably get a good 2005 eagle for around $15 privately but you won't get that through a dealer. Consider too, brand new eagle $21 ..if u can get a few bucks more, go a newy..
if your in melbourne and want to go the new way, PM me, id be happy to refer you to good dealer..
bang for your buck, i don't think you can go wrong..
terryc
Member
Two places that might help you with info;
http://www.campertrailers.org/ (sign up and search their messages[needs yahoo id] and
http://www.myswag.org/ (tilted towards building your own).
Jayco, Corrimal, Goldstar & ??? are similar, but I doubt if you'd get a new one for budget.
Both places above have for sale sections.
Also, http://www.caravancampingsales.com.au/ is an excellent places for pre-used.
SWMBO wanted a Jayco, but I didn't want it as we like to go to out of way places and it is wider than the Navara. We ended up with a pre-loved Redback Explorer (off road, soft floor, walkway). I figured $6.5K was enough for our first one whilst we figured out exactly what we wanted.
http://www.campertrailers.org/ (sign up and search their messages[needs yahoo id] and
http://www.myswag.org/ (tilted towards building your own).
Jayco, Corrimal, Goldstar & ??? are similar, but I doubt if you'd get a new one for budget.
Both places above have for sale sections.
Also, http://www.caravancampingsales.com.au/ is an excellent places for pre-used.
SWMBO wanted a Jayco, but I didn't want it as we like to go to out of way places and it is wider than the Navara. We ended up with a pre-loved Redback Explorer (off road, soft floor, walkway). I figured $6.5K was enough for our first one whilst we figured out exactly what we wanted.
happy john
Member
Also look at the weight when loaded mine sits on 1.7 tonne loaded with the tanks full not much less than old Tonys van pulling behind a standard 22 it's an anchor in soft sand
Hi Wes570,
We did extensive research and even went to a few caravan & camping shows to climb in sit down and test (with our 3 young boys) the products. We were looking at a jayco swan or an eagle but we thought the Camprite Tx6 was the camping setup for what we wanted to do. Pricy but well worth it. And we love it.
We did extensive research and even went to a few caravan & camping shows to climb in sit down and test (with our 3 young boys) the products. We were looking at a jayco swan or an eagle but we thought the Camprite Tx6 was the camping setup for what we wanted to do. Pricy but well worth it. And we love it.
75 GRC
Member
Pic's please
Keen to upgrade!
Cheers
Geoff
YEP!GOT A V6 'BUT I LIKE TO CUSTOMISE.
Keen to upgrade!
Cheers
Geoff
YEP!GOT A V6 'BUT I LIKE TO CUSTOMISE.
75 GRC
Member
Wes,
We have a 18foot Gic camper trailer,
We're looking at maybe upgrading to a caravan!
No problems with the camper trailer at all.
Just looking around at what other people have.
Cheers Geoff
YEP!GOT A V6 'BUT I LIKE TO CUSTOMISE.
We don't own one, nor are we connected with the business in any way, but we recently looked very hard at the pop-up Jayco style campers with a view to maybe buying one & quite by accident we received a full briefing on "Quest" campers from a guy with 40+ years in the game having a slow day; he had many brands of vans in stock. His detailed insight into the build quality differences was very enlightening. He didn't put any brand down, he just showed us how Quest was made & then showed us how the others were made. I'd seriously recommend anyone thinking of buying this type of camper get the sales pitch from Quest & then ask for the same info from the other players. The difference was quite remarkable! (we ended up buying a hard floor CT instead, not because it's better, but because it more closely suits our needs)
here's a link to a quest camper review
I like
http://www.campertraileraustralia.c...t-rv-timbarra-spirit-5-camper-trailer-review/
I like
http://www.campertraileraustralia.c...t-rv-timbarra-spirit-5-camper-trailer-review/
kevinm1962
Member
14 or 15 g would get you into a late model one they are ok all brands of these poptops only thing I would do is add a set of shocks that will help heaps
thanks for your advice. my wife and I have decided to buy a soft floor camper. that will suit our needs for now. im just not sure what to look for when we buy one. can anyone advise me leaf spring or independent suspension? and what else I need to look out for. thanks
Independent suspension is top shelf stuff. Cruisemaster is generally viewed as the best, carries the appropriate price tag, and is made up of a trailing arm with coil springs and either one shock (lighter vans) or two shocks.
One of the main advantages of independent suspension is clearance. Axle beams sit quite low, particularly on the smaller wheels you often see on vans.
However, there's nothing wrong with a beam axle and leaf spring suspension if you're not hitting the rough stuff all the time. Shocks are good to dampen the motion - if the trailer starts to get a bounce going, not only will the goods on board get a hell of a shaking, but it'll be like driving a very happy chihuahua-sized car with a labrador-sized tail.
One of the main advantages of independent suspension is clearance. Axle beams sit quite low, particularly on the smaller wheels you often see on vans.
However, there's nothing wrong with a beam axle and leaf spring suspension if you're not hitting the rough stuff all the time. Shocks are good to dampen the motion - if the trailer starts to get a bounce going, not only will the goods on board get a hell of a shaking, but it'll be like driving a very happy chihuahua-sized car with a labrador-sized tail.
