we pondered this exact question a million years ago and settled on a tent to begin with, now in comparison to todays tents it was massive, it took two wheat bags to cart all the gear, the posts and rails were 1 1/2"  wood, the tent itself was ex army and about 18 feet long by 8 wide it was huge, it took about an hour to put up, 

in todays standards it was absolutely ridiculous a bit like the price of todays off road camper trailers we toured for a while like this but would not consider an overnight stay, if we put it up we stay for at least a couple of nights 

when that trek was finished we immediately destroyed the tent, bought a reasonable secondhand trailer and made up a self erecting camper trailer out of the heavy canvas tent, the difference was chalk and cheese, all the stuff that we needed to carry (and it is a lot) went in the trailer, the lump of foam that was our mattress got retired and we bought a "proper" innerspring, oh the joy, and as for erecting the thing well undo the ropes (later replaced with cable strainers) and stand back, it erects with just a little tug, (that brings back a strange memory that I just cant clarify) we could stop for one night without a divorce,
 
the campers that one sees now, compared to ours, are fantabulous having absolutely everything on board, but the price reflects that if you dont want to tow and you are happy in a tent with only primitive surroundings, and a hell of a lot of people are, then do that, its a personal decision and one that you will make over time 

if left up to me it would be a reasonable camper trailer, but it doesnt have to have all the bells and whistles

-- Edited by dave06 at 17:10, 2009-01-07

Camper trailers don't have to be expensive.They start around $5000 and go up to about $40000 depending on what you choose.

Ours cost around $8500 with full annexe and good annexe flooring. ours is a light 4x4 ie extra ground clearance but not the treg coupling etc. as we don't intend going too far off the tar.
We have had ours for 2 years and hubby put slides in the trailer part and we have varying sizes of plastic containers to hold everything.
Hubby is now building the kitchen as it is much cheaper than the ones you can buy. You also get it the way you want it.
After camping in tents with air beds it is lovely to sleep off the ground in a proper queen size bed.
It takes us about 1/2 hour max to be fully set up and about 1 - 1 1/2 hours from falling out of bed to hitting the road the next morning.Pack up can be quicker if you need it to be by pulling annexe down the night before etc.

If you don't want to tow a camper perhaps you should go to the camping shows and look at the other options such as slide ons or roof top ones.
There are many to choose from these days.

good luck with whatever you choose,
Pam

Hi there all - haven't been around too much over the last couple of days - dying of heat exhaustion

We have done the rounds - we sarted with the tent- upgraded to a wonderful, wonderful campertrailer which we had for 5 years and travelled the length and breadth - did over 10,000 on one trip alone without so much as one iota of any problems. 

It comes a time in your life when the need arises -(in our case anyway - the inability for me to help Barry too much with the set up even though it was was of the simplest of its kind) - so one of the biggest considerations for us was the ease of use and access and as time went on and my physical limitations became more apparent it came time to upgrade.  So we now have a little 12 foot - custom built  off road van - with everything we need - solar panels, extra battery etc etc.

But now with us just waiting on the sale of the house to retire we have purchased a Kedron Van - This decision was made taking into consideration that our initial plan is for 5 years, then all going well try and make it to 10.

The van - being seriously off road will allow us to do all the off road stuff first, in a few years we will assess where and what we want to do and at this stage we may upgrade to a mobile home - afterall it is going to be our home for quite a while...so I guess what I am saying is ...that it depends on what you really want, and how physically able you are and how long you think you will be on the road.

Had a camper a few years back,good as gold for the time I had it ,Buuuuut
Was down at the corner of this big country one windy day and the wind got it from the side as I was pulling it open, twisted the frame really bad
ever been in the CP at Malacoota,
make sure your back is to the coast, the caravan offside or the camper offside I mean
If the wind comes up it will blow you inside out, also saw an annexe from an old van go flying
Another good spot for a break, make sure the school hols are not on is the small inlet near the Nambucca river, called Boultons crossing, turn right heading north on hwy 1just before the bridge at Macksville M& J

enjoy your sunrises

Hey, Dave, if ever I wanted a persuasive argument about a CT instead of a tent, I found it in your post on the Solo GN form about being chased by the snapping handbag.
I'm sorry to say I laughed at the way you wrote it (I can't imagine for one second that it was at all amusing at the time. Certainly need a new pair of jocks!)
People do seem keen on CTs, so I've decided it might be a good idea to hire one and take it off for a week or so. Could be a good investment of a few hundred bucks. And you're right. It doesn't have to have all the bells and whistles.
I have sourced one (oddly enough in the suburb next to where I live in Perth) that sells for about $9000 new, so s pre-loved model can't be too dear.
Cheers, Tony

yep I laugh at it now as well and it would have been as funny as a hat full of backsides to watch but I swear to all and sundry I wasnt laughing at the time

I would imagine if you kept an eye out in the paper or on ebay, you would pick up a good second hand one for between $3,000 and $5,000

another one to consider if you dont want to tow is the rooftop models, I seen quite a few of them up north and they seemed happy with them

I have a CT....cost about $6,500 plus a larger annex and walls..I dont have a 4x4 so I'm restricted on where I can go.....2 of my friends have Ultimate CTs.....full kitchen...set up time is very quick.but they arent cheap new.


Dave

dave06 wrote:

---

if memory serves me correct, the ultimate was either originally constructed by ex boat builders or someone out of the boating industry, I think they are the only ones that actually "float" being fully sealed underneath

a very good unit but like all of the top of the line units cost not only an arm and a leg but, as two bob said, your first born as well

I love the little stove in photo number two, is it a home built one or shop bought, seen a similar one at arkaroola but not as sophisticated

---

Yes they are built now at Moruya I think, they are a good unit but now very expensive and the basic model when compared with the tent in a trailer style is a tad confined. My mate has the fully optioned version complete with "nookie" pole cost him around $45,000 and takes about 2 hours to get set up. Horses for courses I guess, they will go where many won't but the limited fridge and cooking facilities mean they are suitable for 2 people at most.....You' need a seperate fridge to cater for happy hour LOL
I wonder when someone is going to cross Bass Straight in one?

dave I think they called the lil fire thingy a *piggy*...hot plate slides over the top for cooking on.....Our CT all up including new annex.and lots of gear.including waeco fridge set us back.
$13,000.also included Solar Panel.battery etc..My mate bought a offroad version side over for around $3,800 new.box type campertrailers are the way to go for cheap accomedation



Dave