4WD slide-on ("truck") campers for hire in Oz?

Submitted: Thursday, Aug 17, 2017 at 00:59
ThreadID: 135412 Views:5956 Replies:6 FollowUps:5
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I'm researching options for 4WD hire vehicles. I'd prefer to have a vehicle 1-2 people can sleep inside. But these days, it appears 4WD hire options are either rooftop tents or expecting you to set up a ground tent.

You can still find the old Troopy-mounted bush campers, similar to the one I hired in the past from Britz. For example, Travel Car Centre still offers them. But I'd appreciate a, shall we say, more refined vehicle while I'm in the driver seat. :)

I know slide-on campers ("truck campers" in the US) do exist in Australia. I've seen online pictures of them, mounted on utes and "yank tank" pickup trucks. But does any company offer them for hire? On a 4WD base vehicle?
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Reply By: rumpig - Thursday, Aug 17, 2017 at 08:13

Thursday, Aug 17, 2017 at 08:13
A quick google of "4wd motor home hire Australia" shows Apollo Campers appear to do sort of what you are after, they call it an Adventure Camper..,, but I guess it depends on where you want to go if they allow that or not. It's not really a slide on though in the true sense, but maybe what you are thinking? APOLLO
There's also another mob that appear to do similar CAMPER HIRE
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Follow Up By: Candace S. - Thursday, Aug 17, 2017 at 13:02

Thursday, Aug 17, 2017 at 13:02
rumpig,

I did see Apollo's Adventure Camper. That definitely is a possibility. I was hoping to get away from the manual transmission. But that's not a deal-breaker. I also would need to contact them to see if there are more restricted roads that don't show up on those two maps. In particular, farther south which is mostly where I'm looking to travel.

The other link revealed to me that Apollo and Cheapa Camper offer a Trail Finder camper. That's also a manual transmission but I see it also has the full 180 liter fuel capacity.

Thanks for the links!

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Reply By: Member - Christine and Lindsay - Thursday, Aug 17, 2017 at 09:57

Thursday, Aug 17, 2017 at 09:57
Just make sure you read and confirm the fine print. We hired one through an online site which 'confirmed' it could be taken off road. When we got to Darwin the actual rental place insisted it could only be taken on sealed roads. It was a hilux with a small pop up internal camper.
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Reply By: Tomdej - Thursday, Aug 17, 2017 at 10:52

Thursday, Aug 17, 2017 at 10:52
Whatever company you purchase from make sure you read all of their conditions before hiring.

One example is at:
http://australian4wdhire.com.au/forms_file/Australian_4WD_Hire_Terms_and_Conditions.pdf

Carefully read section 20 d.

There may be others but that section may account for fewer comments regrading this particular company.
AnswerID: 613129

Follow Up By: Les - PK Ranger - Thursday, Aug 17, 2017 at 12:02

Thursday, Aug 17, 2017 at 12:02
Secton 17 too, hire company limit of 60km/hr on unsealed roads, gps tracking and reports, etc.
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Follow Up By: Member - peter_mcc - Thursday, Aug 17, 2017 at 12:30

Thursday, Aug 17, 2017 at 12:30
And 13c - min tyre pressure on a beach of 28psi - I can see a lot of bogging happening!

Actually, now that I read it more there is no way I'd hire one from them. Under clause 4d they can elect to not claim on insurance if there is any damage where you can't name & blame someone else. In my reading (it isn't clear) they can then charge you for the full replacement cost of the vehicle no matter what (the greater of the repair, replacement or finance payout)

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Follow Up By: OutBack Wanderers - Saturday, Aug 19, 2017 at 22:06

Saturday, Aug 19, 2017 at 22:06
Struth, after reading 75% of the rules, I'm running the other way, you'd have to be an idiot or very rich to hire their camper adventure, no driving after sunset or before dawn, that's the one that changed my mind

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Reply By: duck - Thursday, Aug 17, 2017 at 11:46

Thursday, Aug 17, 2017 at 11:46
Check that when you hire one that it is covered above the windscreen most are NOT
there is a Group of motor home / slide on, owners that rent there's out when not in use I don't have there info anymore but should be able to google them

remember a full off road motor home is a hand full in the bush & it will limit you (I own one Isuzu NPS 300 with warrior conversion with A grp slide on all 6500kg of it)
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Reply By: Candace S. - Thursday, Aug 17, 2017 at 13:23

Thursday, Aug 17, 2017 at 13:23
Yes, definitely important to read all the fine print!

Indeed, that Australian 4WD agreement sounds rather onerous in some places. :o And when all is said and done, it might be risky to write a negative online review about them!
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Reply By: Ron N - Tuesday, Aug 22, 2017 at 12:38

Tuesday, Aug 22, 2017 at 12:38
Candace - The only slide-on camper that I know of for hire, is the one listed below - but you would need to hire a ute (pickup) separately.
This is a fairly compact unit, only 1950mm long (6' 5") - and I don't think it could be described as "refined", or offering luxury comfort.

Mini Motorhome hire

There are sites offering private caravan hire - but I'd have to guess, that no private owner of a ute with a slide-on fitted, would offer it for hire.

Private caravan hire

There is one slide-on camper for hire on the above site, but it appears it may be the same unit, as in the first link.

Slide-on camper for hire

There is one privately-owned Hilux 4WD with an integrated Talvor camper for hire in Perth, W.A.
However, this is the same unit as available from the commercial hirers.
The private hire rate on this rig may possibly be a little lower than the commercial hirers, and the contractual conditions may also be a little less onerous, this would depend on the owners attitude.

Hilux camper for hire privately

The greatest single problem with what you are looking for, is that slide-on campers rate as a personal accessory extension for 1 tonne or larger utes, and they're not the kind of thing that hirers would be interested in, because of their much higher overall cost, as compared to the "unitised" (factory-built, dedicated) campers.

Any slide-on camper hirers would essentially be looking at having to separately purchase both a ute and a slide-on camper - and then there's the problem of hirers being careless or lacking equipment knowledge, when potentially uncoupling and re-connecting the slide-on, with potential hirer damage.
Cheers, Ron.
AnswerID: 613239

Follow Up By: Candace S. - Thursday, Aug 24, 2017 at 06:36

Thursday, Aug 24, 2017 at 06:36
Thank you for the links and information.

So far, looking like the Apollo trailfinder might be the best bet. It's similar to the troopy-based Bushcamper I got from Britz last time I was over. And that worked out quite well for me.

But the issue I've encountered with Apollo is this: they basically want 24-48 hours notice before driving on any particular track, so they can check conditions and give approval. So sounds like I'd be contacting them an awful lot during the trip!

I wish someone could build something similar on, for example, a Prado instead of the old troopy. An automatic transmission, cruise control, and radial tires would be nice upgrades. :)
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