Showcase-Sunday: The G-man's offroad camper trailer

A couple of days ago I was asked about my camper trailer which I had mentioned in a previous post and so I decided to dig up a few images of it and explain a little about it.

My camper is what's called a soft-floored camper; Essentially it's a tent on a trailer...But it's also so much more which you'll see if you read on. IT was made by Johnno's (now CUB). It is a full-off-road unit and will go everywhere my vehicle dares to go, with a lot of ease. It's very tough, has loads of ground-clearance, is rigid and tracks along in the same wheel-ruts made by my vehicle so is simply ideal in any terrain.

The camper weighs in at around 1250kg (2755 lbs) dry; Not loaded, I mean. That includes all standard-fit accessories. Once loaded fully it's around 1450kg (3196 lbs) or thereabouts. Of course overall weight depends on the trip I’m going on. A shorter trip means less water, food and equipment, and so the trailer will be lighter naturally. The trailer tows well behind my vehicle, a 200 Series 4.5L twin-turbo V8 diesel Landcruiser, which barely feels the trailer behind it at all. It uses a little more diesel of course, but not too much. My ranger, pictured above, also tows it very well, and with ease.

Below you can see it both packed up and also opened up and being used. These images give you an idea of how compact is is when towing, and what it looks like when erected. (The tent tilts off to the left of the trailer and the kitchen and annexe sits off the rear.)

Confident towing is important both on the black-top and in off-road and low range 4x4 situations; There's nothing worse than a trailer tat dives around behind the vehicle. My trailer follows nicely in the wheel tracks of both my tow vehicles so I can confidently place its wheels in the right place 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.

On the road is a joy to tow and it stops well also as it has its own electronic trailer-braking systems that applies the same brake-force to the traiiler that I do in my vehicle.

Above you can see the left side of the trailer where the axe is housed, and in the compartment the double batteries, DCDC charger and inverter system.

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. Also, hot water.)
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, chainsaw compartment, jerry can/firewood storage. 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

Above is the slide-out fridge/freezer and the right side of the trailer where the entrenching tool is stored. The right side compartments hold the hot water system (front compartment above) and the rear holds the 9kg gas bottle.

The power system gives me enough power to run the fridge (pictured above), pumps and lights for about a week without injecting more power. 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 but I'm pretty good with power usage so I never run out.

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. Whilst on the road my vehicle provides power to the trailer and restores the batteries also; This, and the solar input means power is never an issue.

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 tougher than anything I'd ever be able to throw in its path.

Above shows the front storage box section which lifts on gas struts and the spare wheel and tyre plus you ca see the high-lift jack which is used for recovery and wheel changing if or when required.

Below is a series of images showing how the tent-section works. It takes about 8 minutes to do a partial-set-up which is what I would do for a single or two night stay. A full set up takes about 20-30 minutes depending on configuration: 20 minutes for annexe only and 30 minutes for annexe and annex-walls. I would only do this if I was planning on being in the location for five or more days I guess, depending on weather also I suppose.

Undo the travel cover, fold back and out of the way. This is a snug-fit cover which ties down with elastic straps to the trailer. It also zips up all the way around and is remarkably dust-resistant, a good thing here in Australia.

The travel cover stows into the front section of trailer so it is out of the way.

Fold out floor section...

Pull frame-work over. One person can do this but with two it is a piece of cake. Here I have Faith holding it from behind for the photograph.

Straighten up the floor section on the ground. By getting it all straight at this stage it makes the next step easier.

Go inside and extend stabilisation poles and tighten (All poles remain in the tent at all times, stitched into it.) This is why straitening out the floor is best...Makes it easier to get in and extend the poles as Faith is doing here. This essentially ends the basic set up. It's easy AF!

This is a basic 8 minute set up. It does not need pegging down unless very windy - The internal framework holds it all up nicely. Over the top, the grey roof you see,is actually the annexe that flips over to create a roof over the outdoor living and kitchen area to the back of the trailer. Here it is with the external external window-covers rolled down.

Here it is with those covers rolled up. There is also internal roll-up window covers as well which I have rolled in this shot. The mesh is midge, fly,mozzie-proof so none of those little annoying buggers get in.

The entrance to the interior. You can see the bed which sits over the trailer. Tha annex is permanently attached to the tent and swings off to the rear for erection. (That light grey ting at the top edge of the tent as mentioned earlier.) The kitchen swings out of the tailgate. The annexe walls completely close this area in for long stays or inclement weather.

The kitchen has plumbed-in gas and water (hot and cold), a gas burner, grill top, storage, bench top and a sink. It is also able to be used without putting the tent up so if we pull over mid-trip we can cook some lunch or whatever.

Here you see the queen-sized bed which has a ladder access. Sorry, this is a shit picture, but it also shows the internal frame-work. You can see the two zipper compartments, which zip open to reveal the left side of the trailer and provide access from inside the tent to the fridge'freezer (left) and the power bank/bateries/accessories/inverter (right).

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; No Chinese-made rubbish for me thanks. We wanted a tough unit, one that would follow behind through the outback terrain we travel, and would take a battering...This one has certainly been there and done that and whilst it was certainly not cheap we've had it since 2014 and it still looks like the day we bought it, even after the abuse it's taken. A testament to it's build-strength and quality...And the way I treat my equipment I guess also.

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 though, as I said earlier, and a full set up would take about 30 minutes including annex roof and walls so it's not that bad and we are still capable of doing it so I see no reason to change. I'm still pretty young and am strong as fuck, yeah. it's all good. I also like that it's light-weight and manoeuvrable by nature and also that it's rugged and robust in construction.

We use it a lot and are planning an extended road-tip for 2021 from here to the very north of Australia so are looking forward to rolling out the trailer for that! Our trailer will perform well on that trip and will keep us comfortable and dry. It always get's a lot of looks as well, and has been a great conversation starter around campsites if others happen to be around. Who doesn't like talking shit about places we've been and equipment we use over a brew right?

So there you have it. I have basically done this post for @janton as he asked about it but it works also from a showcase-sunday perspective so, thanks for reading. I'm open to questions if you have any as I have left loads of information out.

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Tomorrow isn't promised - Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default
_{An original post written by a human
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The original post was written and posted by me in 2017 and consisted of around 650 words. This post has been reworked to 1827 words and reposted for the @nonameslefttouse #showcase-sunday concept.