Camper Trailers

So, you’ve made the decision to upgrade from a swag or tent to a camper-trailer, but the sheer volume of makes and models from which to choose is giving you a massive headache? No fear. Because to cut through all of the confusion, and to help make sense of the dizzying array of campers available, here are our top-five ways to buy the best camper-trailer for you. Read on so you can head bush as soon as humanly possible.PriceThis is an easy one. As for any major purchase, if you work out how much you’re willing and able to spend before you start looking and researching in earnest, that will help no end to narrow your search and thin the field of potential buys, thus making your job of tracking down one of the campers you’ll likely buy so much easier.If your budget tops out at $10,000 you’ll be mostly looking at used camper-trailers and a few rather basic new campers.Above $10,000 and your camper options grow quite a bit more, with many new models available across a variety of styles and equipment levels. The bonus here is that you’re safe in the knowledge that your camper has never been used before.From $20,000 and beyond, your camper horizon expands a great deal with regards to build quality and standard features – and there are plenty of campers stretching past $40,000 with unreal attention to detail, fantastic design, supremely practical features and hard-core off-road suspension.SuitabilityBuy to suit your lifestyle and your current family set-up, whether it be as a couple or family. And buy a camper to match your tow vehicle. Think about it: it’s no good buying a 2500kg off-road caravan if you have a Yaris hatchback. If the most challenging trip you ever plan to do in your camper will be driving in dry weather along a well-maintained gravel road to a national park campsite, which has a bitumen carpark, then there’s really no need for you to buy a bush-ready camper with stone guards, chequer-plate everywhere, and dual-shock, airbag suspension. You should aim for something like a pop-top touring-style camper with road-suited tyres and suspension.However, if you do intend to take your camper on anything tougher than dirt roads, then it’s a great idea to make sure you’re as prepared as possible, so get something purpose-built for the rough and tough trips you have in mind: think off-road tyres and suspension, as well as a greater degree of dust-sealing efficacy, robust build quality and extra ground clearance.In other words, buy a camper that will suit you and your intended purpose for it.Same goes for accommodation; it’s no good buying a camper that comfortably sleeps four people (two adults, two kids) if you’re a happy couple with no plans to have children just yet. In that case, an entry-level lightweight camper which sleeps two people will suit you both well for a fair few years to come. You can upgrade when the time is right.Build QualityThis is of the utmost importance, even if you don’t intend to take your camper on any rough roads. High-quality fit and finish, design, engineering and build quality are worth the extra money, no doubt about it.While it’s tempting to buy a dirt-cheap brand-new camper and then shower yourself in the money you’ve saved not buying a more expensive version, that decision will likely come back to bite you on the arse. The same principle applies to buying a camper as it does when making any purchase: spend more cash to buy something that’s been well designed and made and you’ll ultimately spend less cash – on maintenance, repair or replacement of parts – during your period of ownership.Standard FeaturesYour potential new camper purchase should be chock-full of standard gear already onboard in readiness for your first trip away, rather than you having to rely on buying a stack of options to make your camper life do-able.Don’t get me wrong, it’s great for a camper-trailer to have an extensive list of extras because that gives you the flexibility to modify and add-on to your adventure set-up as you see fit and as your finances allow, but you don’t want to head off on a family trip only to realise 500km away from anywhere that you didn’t opt in for the very thing you assumed was a standard feature anyway, such as a tropical roof, canvas walls for your awning, folding solar panels, or even hot water.Before your throw any money down, do your research, ask around, ask the sales person and check, check, check.After-sales SuportA camper-trailer can be, to the novice at least, quite a sophisticated bit of kit. There are many moving parts - sometimes winches, sometimes winder handles, slides and drawers and electrical wiring and much more – and the operation, maintenance and repair of a camper can be a little daunting at first. As well as a decent warranty – five years structural warranty is good; a lifetime for a winch – and roadside assistance, your camper-trailer purchase must have strong customer support. The people you buy from need a solid knowledge of their products and ready access to the mechanical and technical expertise to get you back on the road if something does go wrong with it after you have bought it. Common sense? Sure, but something people tend to forget when they become dazzled by new gear and the potential for grand adventures.Take your time to ask questions and demand high-quality after-sales support. Chances are you won’t need it – well, much – but better to have it and not need it … etc etc. You know what I mean.

Beyond the realm of swags, tents and any manner of DIY shelters, camper-trailers provide a comfortable way for you to enjoy the outdoors in all their glory - to become at one with nature, even. Sounds like a bunch of bollocks, doesn't it?But it’s actually true. A camper-trailer is a low-cost, low-impact way of experiencing the beach and bush as much as is possible. So, in the spirit of that philosophy, here are our top-five reasons to buy a camper-trailer.Low CostCompared to the purchase price of some off-road caravans, or the cumulative costs of staying at a hotel, resort or in Airbnb accommodation, camper-trailers are a relatively low-cost option. There’s the initial outlay (anywhere between $5000 and $60,000, depending on your budget), plus any maintenance and repair costs you’ll be obliged to pay during your years of ownership.But think about it, you may use your camper-trailer on numerous memorable trips in the foreseeable future. And you can take them when and where you want. So a camper-trailer is well worth the cost, which works out to be not too much at all anyway.Low ImpactAlong with taking your campsite rubbish back home with you when you leave, minimising the extent of damage you might do to tracks on the way to your campsite and back are crucial aspects of responsible use of the outdoors. Camper-trailers are, by their very nature, designed to be low-impact vehicles, and towed well, they will have very little, if any, impact on the environment through which they’re hauled. They are light and narrow, especially when compared to bulkier, heavier off-road caravans, and they generally have track-friendly wheel tracks and tyres, as well as purpose-built suspension – all resulting in less of an impact on vegetation at the sides of tracks and at campsites.They are also self-contained units with plenty of storage space, so there’s no need to discard anything when used or emptied; it can be neatly packed away into the camper.VersatilityCamper-trailers, especially those built for off-roading, can be towed through a great variety of terrain, but be aware of your camper’s limitations. Touring versions of campers are generally set up for mostly road driving, while adventure-styled models of some campers are engineered for dirt or gravel roads, but nothing more punishing than that.There are, however, purpose-built off-road campers with, among other things, better dust-sealing properties and greater ground clearance than regular campers, as well as bush-ready tyres and suspension and an overall build quality that's more robust than any mainstream campers. These go-almost-anywhere campers are regularly seen on adventures in places such as Fraser Island, the Simpson Desert, or on the way to and from Cape York.Please note: As always, read your warranty and/or owner’s manual because some manufacturers, for instance Jayco, make it very clear that even their Outback range of campers is only intended “for limited unsealed road usage” and “under no circumstances” should those campers “be exposed to water crossings at, or above, body floor level”. The warranty goes on to state that those campers “are not designed for hard impact or heavy landings or severely rutted roads or tracks”, and they “are not designed for use on four-wheel-drive-only tracks”.ConvenienceMany contemporary camper-trailers are equipped with all of the mod cons – well, most of them anyway – that you could ever wish to use when you’re out camping. Sure, some features are optional extras but camper-trailer owners can have access to hot water, drawers for everything, slide-out stoves and fridges, a stainless-steel kitchen and sink, bedside lighting, and even stuff like a Weber BabyQ barbecue on a swing-out arm.Easy to TowCamper-trailers, generally small, light, narrow and not so tall, are easy to tow by a variety of vehicles, small SUV or otherwise. The modest dimensions and weight of the majority of camper-trailers give them enormous appeal to, well, everyone, but especially those who care about the impact they have on the environment and those who may not be so comfortable with towing responsibilities.Camper-trailers in Australia range from about 400kg (for a pod-style roof-top camper) to about 1400kg and then some.Its light weight means a camper places less cumulative stress on a tow vehicle, and because its dimensions are not gargantuan, a camper is also easier to maneuver anywhere.All in all, a camper-trailer makes for an attractive towing proposition.

How do you decide which one is right for you? Read on.

As with the choice between a soft- or hard-floor camper, whether it is rear- or forward-fold is not really a deal-breaker in the grand scheme of things.

Brendan Batty takes a Lifestyle Camper Trailers' Reconn R2 Hypercamper out bush for a comprehensive real-world test.

Brendan Batty tests Patriot Campers' X1 GT to see whether good things really do come in small packages.

I drive a Hyundai ix35 FWD petrol and would like to tow a Jayco Swift camper. These come with a tare weight of about 800 kg (or lighter) and a tow ball weight of about 80 kg. The ix35 is rated to tow 1600 kg and has a maximum tow ball weight of 120 kg. Do you think my SUV would tow it comfortably?

Brendan Batty takes the Avan Cruiseliner Adventure Plus out bush to review it

Marcus Craft takes a Jayco Swan Outback out bush to review it. Is the news good or bad? Read on

Are Jayco's Outbacks all they're cracked up to be? Marcus Craft dirt-road-tests a Jayco Hawk Outback camper-trailer.