A couple of days ago I posted some images and text about the Flinders Ranges and I was asked to elaborate on my camper trailer some more. So here’s a few pictures I dug up.
See the previous post here: https://steemit.com/travel/@galenkp/images-from-flinders-ranges-south-australia
The camper weighs in around 1250kg (2755lbs) dry; Not loaded, I mean. That includes all standard-fit accessories. Once loaded fully it's around 1450kg (3196lbs) or thereabouts. Of course overall weight depends on the trip I’m going on. A shorter trip means less water, food and equipment naturally. The trailer tows well behind both my vehicles: 2007 Holden Rodeo 3.0L turbo diesel and 2016 Ford Ranger 3.2L turbo diesel both of which are heavily modified from standard.
Confident towing is important both on the black-top and in off-road and low range 4x4 situations. The trailer follows nicely in the wheel tracks of both my tow vehicles so I can confidently place its wheels when doing low range or sand work and I don’t have the issue of the trailer needing to trail-blaze a new path for itself which relates to fuel saving and less stress on the tow vehicle.
Features and capacities
Water storage: 130L over two tanks, both with 12v electric pumps. Both drainable. Front tank feeds main (rear) tank and also provides an available water source for on the road, (hand washing, drinking, etc.)
Battery power: 120Ah (Amp Hours deep cycle) The system includes a DCDC charger to ensure full charging via anderson plug from the cars alternator and feeds all the pumps, lights and 12v outlet plugs.
Kitchen: Fully stainless steel marine-grade with single gas burner and BBQ plate cook top which also converts to a BBQ grill or oven for baking. Cutlery draw, spice rack and storage locker is also included as is a sink and running water.
Gas: Fully plumbed gas system to kitchen via 9kg cylinder stored within lockable compartment.
Storage: Front checker-plate box on gas assisted struts for easy opening, under-bed storage in box trailer, external storage compartments. All storage is lockable.
Fridge/freezer: 85L fridge/freezer on slide from passenger side. (LHS of trailer).
Canvas: 18oz Australian canvas tent, annex roof and walls.
Bed: High density foam queen size.
Fully submersible LED tail lights.
Rear recovery points.
Twin portable/deployable solar panels (120w each)
Hi-lift jack mounted to front.
Mounted recovery shovel.
Mud terrain off road tyres.
Mounted axe
Maxtrax recovery boards
The power system gives me enough power to run the fridge, pumps and lights for about a week. Obviously in hot weather the fridge cycles more and drains the power more rapidly however with a solar panel plugged in over the course of the day I harvest enough power to maintain full battery charge. If charging phones, gopro, laptops etc. the battery works it’s way down to around 50% charge so requires solar input. The longest we have been away camping in it is 3 weeks however we were moving from place to place every 4-5 days so were able to replenish water and food stores.
The trailer is extremely tough and has handled many rugged and corrugated outback roads, beach work and even some rock-crawling. It's super-capable and certainly touger than anything I'd throw in its path.
So, that’s pretty much my camper trailer. It’s pretty cool and I’m pleased to say it's 100% Aussie made which was one of our purchase criteria. At some stage we may transition to something requiring less set up, or not. This one sets up in basic ready-to-sleep-in condition in about 8 minutes and a full set up would take about 30 minutes including annex roof and walls. (I don’t ever do a full set up though). For now it certainly suits our needs.
Thanks for reading.
G
That's a pretty sweet trailer.
Cheers @guiltyparties we're really happy with it and get loads of people coming over to ask about if we happen to camp near others (which is rare). Thanks for your comments and for reading my post.
That trailer is a beauty, I would love to get one later on in life... It's got everything you need in the bush and more.
Thanks for sharing :D
Hi @tomekkk, thanks for reading and your comments. It's a great bit of kit. We've had it for almost 3 years and have used it about 20 or so times for periods of between 5 days and 3 weeks. It includes everything we need. I'm no grey-nomad roaming around the Aussie countryside just yet so not ready for a carvan. Not sure I ever will be. :)
Personally I rather have that trailer then a caravan. But I guess the older you get, the harder to set this up every few days.
That's true I guess, some people don't like packing away wet canvas or the noise of canvas in the wind etc. so prefer a caravan. For me a caravan raises other issues like huge cost, generally around +$80,000AUD for a decent off-road van, and then additional fuel usage, towing complications and access issues. Vehicles these days are not designed by the manufacturer to cope with the loads of a modern-day caravan which can weigh up to 3500kg. Consumers want more and more features so caravan manufacturer's load them up adding a lot of weight. Caravan-users are having to go for increasingly larger vehicles to handle the weight. Toyota Landcruisers etc. I can see the attraction but I agree with you, the trailer is better fit for me.
Spot on, couldn't say it better myself. :)
Keep on camping...err I mean Steeming.
;)
Looks like a great setup. My wife and I bought a Black Series Alpha a couple of months ago and we love the hell out of it. Nothing like a fire and a beer next to your camper trailer. Thanks for the pics.
Mate, it sounds like we enjoy the same things; Poking the fire with a stick and a beverage under the stars...Just awesome. I love my camper. The Black Series Alpha is nice too. Great features. You'd have independent suspension where mine is leaf sprung. Either way though, as long as I can get where I'm going it's all good. :) Thanks for reading and your comment.
Thank you for your good post. The world is beautiful. I want to know about all the corners of our planet and everything that happens on it. Who owns the information is that strong.
Thanks for reading my post. I really appreciate your comment also. 🙂