How's this for a first camper trailer purchase?

[Aussie_Dan]

Last time I had my camper out (Cavalier Offroad) I backed it into my driveway in the dark and clobbered my wooden gates with the L/H wheel guard. Whoops. I didn't realise, the Mrs heard the noise from inside the house.
It took off the orange reflector that was stuck to the guard (with double sided tape) and I had cream coloured paint marks (from the gate) on the camper but there was no damage whatsoever...
The paint from the gate polished off of the powdercoated surface on the trailer and I ripped off the reflector from the other side so it looks even on both sides
Cavalier is one of the fully Aussie made brands that can be had for well under $10K on the second hand market depending on age, condition and features. A great locally made product at a good price.
(Disclaimer: Challenge Camper trailers bought Cavalier 12 months or so ago, so I now have no idea what Challenge are doing to the Cavalier brand?)
Dan.

[Peter Aawen]

Challenge Camper Trailers are also an Aussie business, making their trailers here in Adelaide SA - and some pretty good campers at that!

http://www.challengecampertrailers.com/welcome.html

[gqjay]

For the amount of times some people use a camper it maybe best to hire. Johnos camper trailer for me are the best in the market. Built here and all over Aus. And johnos rates are bloody good.

[monkeybucket]

We will be hiring from them later in the year just to see how the trailer feels loaded up behind the rig.
Great to talk to and they have support (pty ltd) nationwide.

[gqjay]

There a great build, and still the leaf sprung trailers, So easy fixed and cheaper.

[jasonbenson]

Hey guys thanks to everyone that has posted. There are some real good points to here. Rob, thanks for your above post I think I have been sold on the GIC crew as the trailers are much tougher! Australian built and welded together not just bolted like those market direct guys. I also found this website on another forum which helped me make my decision hopefully it can help many others as there are alot of trailers out there and you want to get it right the first time! Happy hunting all. www.aussiemadecampertrailers.com.au

[Boxhead 71]

Umm... You say you're "sold on the GIC" ???? Rob wasn't recommending them, cobber...

[stevezammit]

If you go into Market direct campers. They wont even let you stand on the wheel arch. No quality there. Most fixtures ar screwed on with 8 gauge pan head screws, inlcuding the gas bottle holder. Have a good look at the web pics. They even show you how the welds and fixings are.

I just saw that, I gave the gal one they had at their show a good going over at the Penrith show and I thought it looked well put together. I test welds on equipment pretty often and the particular trailer I looked at I thought was welded very neatly with good penetration etc. I agree an 8 guage screw doesn't cut it but it would be my intention to weld all that stuff, get it how I want and give it a pretty coat of gunmetal grey. I did however put my full weight (115kg) on the guards and never looked like bending it.

[Foo]

I have a Market Direct and the trailer was made in Sydney and everything is pretty good as far as welding goes. Tows nicely and the only thing that is not welded on is the toolbox.

The seal between the tent and trailer is good as is the tailgate. Must have changed things from when I got ours. I personally don't care if the welds are not all neat and dog turd free, so long as they have penetration. I've seen worse on $250k stag trailers than on these and besides...it's a dam trailer not some show pony thing.

As I said somewhere else, it may not be the flashest camper around but it works for us.

Foo

[RODEODAVE]

look here : viewtopic.php?f=134&t=93487
i have one of these too never had a problem with mine

[micks60series]

We just bought our first camper trailer, made by Bayside Camper trailers. We looked at MDT, but even though ours is second hand, I reckon it was a far better buy. We paid $6300 for our second hand camper; 4 years old, but really good nick, and lots of extras, was approx $16000 new. I would suggest looking around for a good second hand one, they are out there, just got to keep looking and be ready to buy when one comes up.

Mick

[craigar]

Hi I Have a Market Direct Camper , Extreme Off Road, you do get what you pay for, with something this cheap you no that you are going to have to put your own mods in to it to make it yours.Its a good platform to start with. I towed mine from Cairns to Lorellaa Springs NT much more harder than the cape york tracks. The 2 things that broke were a shocky and a gas mount.
My mate that had a 30K trailer had endless amounts of breakages. We were not travelling at slow speeds ethier , so all up i think its a great strarting point for a camper, and to guy who bags re one post i have pics if you need proof. This is a place for all of us to put forward our veiws and not be be bagged out by a know it all.
Cheers Guys

[BennyT50]

I have a Market Direct Camper and it is excellent. Have had no problems with them. The trailers are made in australia but the top may be made overseas, not sure. Have had no problem with them and been away on many trips.

Taking it to the Cape next year and have no worries. Had a few problems (normal running in problems) and they were fixed with no worries. Would recommend them to anyone, if my camper is the example.

BennyT50.

ps. I am going to get a few upgrades done for the next trip and have no concerns with them do it. To me, they are cheap. but for me the quality has been acceptable. As for comparing them to GIC, not in the ball park.

[craigar]

Hi Benny T50 make sure you change the water filler to one that can be locked or tied down as up here the red dust will get into your drinking water, found out the hard way.
Cheers

[jasonbenson]

Benny, If you say the trailer is "Australian made" why is it that the exact same trailer is being sold by other companies who import their product? Companies like Leisure Matters, Top Trail, and Ezytrail campers all told me they import the whole product, trailer and tent.

I'm sorry, I think what has happened is that you have been told by the "salesman" that your imported Chinese trailer is "Australian built" because they assembled it here. There is a big difference from putting a couple bolts in here & assembling it, to cutting and welding the steel like should be done. After all, we're trying to keep jobs here, right? It looks like some are even hiding the fact that their trailers are bolted together here by removing the bolts where the draw bar meets the trailer, welding them and spraying them with a can, you can see what looks like scuff marks after that's done!!

All I'm saying is make sure you're not being lied to when buying a Camper Trailer about where it has been made! I urge customers to do their research properly, & not just take a salesman's word; the last thing you would want is to find out 6 months down the track that you were told lies and can't source any parts locally, right?

Happy camping!