Camping, glamping, utes, vans and not showering.

July 20, 2015 by ramblingsofanextrememan 3 Comments

A few years ago I bought a slide on camper which attaches to the back of my ute.

I decided that this was the way to go after doing much research during an 18 month trip around Australia. This research usually involved me standing awkwardly close to other peoples camp-sites in silence with the characteristic facial expression of a socially awkward engineer trying to work out how something works and if he could build it himself. I saw all kinds of contraptions, but decided the tray-on type of slide on camper was the bees knees, but a little pricey for the average man.

I ended up buying something similar to a tray-on camper that I found on gumtree for a steal.

The main reasons for a slide on camper on the back of a ute over other methods of camping/touring were:

1. I could still tow a boat on a trailer.

I’ve previously had a boat on the roof, and found the added overhead to put the boat in the water meant that it didn’t get used anywhere near as much as it should have. The number of grey nomads with a 12ft tinnie on the roof of their 200 series Landcruiser that has only been used a handful of times is ridiculous.

2. It could be taken off reasonably easily to leave at a campsite while going to put the boat in the water or go into town for supplies.

I used to have a van for camping and although awesome for a sneaky getaway, it proved frustrating having to pack up camp completely whenever I wanted to drive somewhere.

Out with the old:

In with the new:

The camper has definitely served me well over the last few years, but it has has degraded to the point that there is quite a large plywood rot hole in the floor. On the positive side this has at least helped to keep the damp musty smell that emanates from within under control.

With a trip up north planned I’ve decided that a camper renovation rescue is in order. More on this to come.