| Author | Message | ||
     Jeff Mclaird (Granitedisco) Member Username: Granitedisco Post Number: 182 Registered: 08-2003 |
I'm in the process of kitting out for a month long family vacation - The choices so far are tents (TNF Himalaya/base camp $800 - $5000) or something similar to this. http://www.tracktrailer.com/AllTerrain.html Apparently they are somewhere in the region of $20k (yikes) Does anyone have any experience with the AllTerrains. Are they worth the hefty price tag ? TIA Jeff | ||
| Jack Leitch (Liveattheedge) Member Username: Liveattheedge Post Number: 96 Registered: 12-2003 |
That looks cool, bit expensice tho. I think i'd go for roof rack tent. Less hastle. Cheaper too! Cheers Jack | ||
| Jeff Mclaird (Granitedisco) Member Username: Granitedisco Post Number: 190 Registered: 08-2003 |
Jack - I originally thought the same thing - but haven't been able to find any data about how well any of the roof rack tents stand up to high winds and cold  Jeff | ||
| Jamie (Rover_puppy) Senior Member Username: Rover_puppy Post Number: 811 Registered: 05-2003 |
Jeff, Land Rover World Magazine April 2003 has a great article in it comparing popular roof tents by the users. Very practical article which brought out all the pros (safety from wildlife) & cons (like storing muddy boots). Good Luck, Jamie | ||
| eric w siepmann (Cdn001) Member Username: Cdn001 Post Number: 64 Registered: 12-2003 |
Jamie, For $5.5k some close friends got a pop-up trailer new and like it (Heat, AC, and shower). I joined my buddy and his wife when they were looking and $20k could get you a lot of RV or trailer. As far as the TNF, why are you interested in such a technical climbing tent? You're looking for a trailer, roof top tent or mountaineering tent? What are you doing on your vacation? I mean if you were driving to Alaska to climb then the TNF would be a good choice. Otherwise that tent would be wasted in a Jellystone. If you're going to be car-camping, don't waste you money on the TNF. It definetly is the wrong tent for the job. | ||
| eric w siepmann (Cdn001) Member Username: Cdn001 Post Number: 65 Registered: 12-2003 |
Whoops, too much beer after the game. My last post was in response to Jeff, not Jaime. Sorry for the confusion. EwS | ||
| Jeff Mclaird (Granitedisco) Member Username: Granitedisco Post Number: 194 Registered: 08-2003 |
Hi Eric - yes we are planning on going waaaay north. Either NWT or Nunavut or both if the time allows. I had a Vango Force Ten a few years back and have always bought four season + gear. With a wife, two kids and the dog - we'll need some space - Hence either the large TNF or a trailer. I've looked at some of the pop-up trailers from Starcraft - but I wasn't that impressed with their durability. Jeff | ||
| Ray Gerber (Raygerber) Senior Member Username: Raygerber Post Number: 259 Registered: 09-2002 |
A slightly more compact version, if you're going down the trailer route, would be something like this: http://www.conquerorcampers.com.au There was a U.S. distributor of these at MAR, and I crawled all over both sizes and they seem pretty sweet-although pricey. I can get you the contact info for the U.S. guy if you have any interest (no affiliation, I just kept his handout b/c it was cool) r- Ray | ||
| Jeff Mclaird (Granitedisco) Member Username: Granitedisco Post Number: 195 Registered: 08-2003 |
Thanks for the link Ray - that's a pretty slick looking trailer too - I can see this one isn't going to be an easy decision to make Jeff | ||
| Ray Gerber (Raygerber) Senior Member Username: Raygerber Post Number: 260 Registered: 09-2002 |
Jeff- It was a pretty sweet rig, and if you're into doing the vehicle based stuff like it seems like you are (I can't get my wife to ante up to multiple days outdoors, so its a non-starter for me ) I would think about it b/c they seemed rugged but easily expanding into a comfortable and robust camping setup. Last time I checked the US listed website is down (www.conquerorcampers.com) but the guy was with someone called Jurassic Cars Incorporated, working out of Atlanta, Ga. The #'s on their flyer were (678) 557-1008 and (770)858-0328. He was very friendly and outgoing, made mention of traveling all over the states to show the product, and in fact said he would meet people and tell them to camp in one for a weekend or something so they could experience it...really an outgoing guy and well-versed in his product and issues like durability and such. One other thing, they can get the same financing as RV's for those things, so that is a plus if you have to go that route. Have fun if you go, I'm jealous! | ||
| Garth Petch (Garth) New Member Username: Garth Post Number: 32 Registered: 02-2003 |
Jeff At a recent (Australian)camping/4WD show I did some crawling over lots of off-road campers and caravans. Personally, I think the best off road van is the Tvan (also advertised on the same site)...better off road capabilities, departure angles, dustproofing etc, and built to take a few thousand kilometres of corrugated dirt road. However, there was a really nice South African van, which cost an arm, leg and at least a couple other parts of your anatomy. I own a Jayco camper trailer (not an off-road build). To me this is the best compromise as I use it as a comfortable base to explore an area. Of course, I can't go into real offroad areas with the van and it would surely shake to bits on any of the major Australian 4WD treks, but I can get it into areas where a soft offroader can go. A couple of times we've also taken the hiking tent, sleeping bags, basic cooking stuff and lots of non refigerated food; left the van at a park and gone for a couple of days with everything chucked into the back of the car. If you want any further info on this van, the manufacturer is only 15 minutes drive from here. Garth |
