Glenno replied:

Ive heard some shocking stories about how camper trailers are made. From what I can tell there are no standards to adhere to. I know one company in Qld is owned and run by two guys who have never welded a gate in their life, let alone a camper trailer. My view is you need some engineering knowledge when it comes to building a camper thats going to be dragged over a couple of thousand km's of road per trip. Its more then just picking the biggest piece of BHP steel and making a box trailer.

After hearing some of the stories if i was ever to buy one I would make sure its a reputable brand that has been reviewed and stood the test of time. Im a bit worried when some of the backyard guys have their order books full. It must be based on price and the nice bright colour they are painted!

I remember one argument based around why one mob paint their campers rather than galvanise them. They claim the gal chips off and then rusts. My argument of its easier to chip off paint rather than gal just didnt seem to sink in. Ohh Well.

Cheers,

Glenn.

Tony replied:

I would have thought being a Mechanical Engineer you would have crawled all over and under the camper before you took delivery. But that doesn't excuse the manufactures of not doing the job properly in the first place.

crfan replied:

I agree with you some of them look very flimsey but the other end of the stick is to keep weight down so it is a bit of a rock and hard place situation.

Mick n Sal replied:

Donald,
You're not on your own. Last year, on a trip up the cape, my in-laws brought their new camper trailer. All went well until the Pascoe river crossing on Frenchman's Rd. It suffered the same failure for a similar reason. The front shackle mount tore clean away from the chassis. After several roadside repairs, we made it to Moreton telegraph station, where we left it while we continued to Seisia. All thanks to Steve at Moreton who did a wonderful job of strengthening the area before reattaching the mount.

To the credit of the trailer builder, he was surprised when shown the damage and repairs, and has made changes to his design. He also coughed up for the repair.

Max replied:

Donald - I appreciate the problem of limited budgets, but sometimes wonder if renting a top quality trailer for each trip might add up to a lot less dollars than buying a cheapie.

We researched for several years at the Caravan & Camping Shows before buying our retirement special, and ended up getting an Aussie Swag. High ground clearance, heavy sections (viewed from flat on my back on the showroom floor), treg coupling, independent suspension, hot dipped galv.

Its done about 80 000 clicks on roads varying in quality from bitumen to the Kalumbaru Road with no problems at all - not even a puncture. (The only exception is the day we forgot to lock the kitchen in properly and spread it along 10 kms of the Steep Point track - but total repair cost was $80, and it was not a design problem!)

A great way to see the crook roads, and we're off to the Kimberley again in ten days time - can't wait!