In Desert Sky's new Outback offroad trailer, the company has come up with an affordable option for campers wanting to get off the beaten track with enough cash left over for beer and snags.
Based around a simple 7ft X 4ft (2.1m x 1.2m) trailer, the guys at Desert Sky have included a few handy features that make this one stand out from the trailers already available. Utilising clean lines and a gunmetal grey 1.6mm hot-rolled steel body, the trailer looks smart in the bush or on the highway.
Desert Sky has engineered the trailer tent top so that the huge storage space this box trailer design affords.
One way is the traditional tailgate access, which is handy and works well when you're already pulled over for a quick cuppa.
The problem with that is quickly		 apparent to anyone who has accidentally packed the nappies, extra batteries or wallet right at the front of trailer.
With the outback, you simply unclasp two lockable latches on the offside and the whole bed base lifts up for unencumbered access to the whole storage well, whether the tent is set up not. This is so you can get to everything on the side of the road or at your campsite.
Another access area is via a separate lifting panel in the bed base, so you can get to everything from inside from inside the tent as well. It's a great way to provide a few different options without adding much weight or cost to the unit.
By incorporating the affordable 'bolt-on' Oz Tent canvas into the design, Desert Sky has managed to provide a great canvas solution without undue expense. 		 And to tell you the truth I like the company's bright colours and the tent fits the trailer well. The canvas is taunt and the tent goes up quickly and easily.
The tent is a side-fold off the nearside. It has six large windows and two doors, and a standard 8ft (2.4mm) awning. An extra sun room is available which can be attached to back door quite easily.
The basics are provided for well on this unit, with a single 9kg gas bottle mounted right next to the tailgate on the offside for quick gas hook up when cooking.
Up front on the same side is a jerry can holder. on the nearside, you can store two jerry cans, or an optional 12v battery. It's worth noting that the base of each jerry can slot has checker plate aluminium sheeting mounted for extra durability.

The Outback is available with a wide range of options, from 12v batteries and lighting to an onboard fridge, water tank, battery charger, power inverter and even solar panels, but comes as standard quite basic, so that you can buy in and upgrade later if you just want to get on the road quickly, and move up when you can afford it. If you're like me, and I'm rather conscientious when I'm spending more than I make in a year in one sitting, then you'll agree that the smartest way to get into a camper trailers is to start off basic. That doesn't necessarily mean getting an of-road trailer though, because you can't essentially 'upgrade' the same trailer from on-road to offroad. A camper trailer is like a house in a way. You will be living in it, albeit maybe not as much as you're home, but it's the kind of thing you want to do right from the beginning so you can grow with it.

With a ride like this, you can effectively get yourself into the tough built offroad game at a bargain price, and then add options as you go. It's for easier to bolt on a fridge or a new kitchen than it is to upgrade items like suspension. And if you don't have a well-built chassis to being with, anything you add on the the unit, any time you spend making the top end better, is the equivalent to polishing the proverbial.

INSIDE OUT
So what's underneath that cool grey exterior? The unit weights 460kg empty. and 749kg loaded, so you've got around.
Clockwise from left: Plenty of under bed storage; slide out kitchen with cook top; tent can be raised to access the trailer; 12V battery is optional; 9kg gas cylinder and jerry can attached to offisde; strong offroad leaf spring suspension. 300kg of payload and fully loaded a b weight of around 70kg depending on how you load it. That means you don't particularly need breaks or a fancy weight distribution mechanism, and you can tow it with anything, even your family station wagon (Check your vehicle's towing specifications). The chassis built from 75mm x 50mm x 2.5mm steel, with 50mm crossbeams. Suspension is comprised of seven leaf offroad rebound leaf springs that connect the body to the two 15inch Sunraysia rims with new offroad tyres. A spare is mounted on the A-frame as well, right in front of the toolbox which can hold all of your dirty bits without mucking up the storage underneath the bed. A treg hitch ensures you won't ever have to upscale your coupling, as these are built about as tough as they can get.

SUMMING UP
There are offroad trailers for as cheap $5000, and you can spend as much as $50,000 quite easily on a camper trailer these days. What's interesting is that the median price, somewhere around the $27,000, is a far cry from what most people need to spend on a trailer to get a solid base, or something they can go out and use every day without worry.
The outback is about a third of the trailer you could buy, at a seventh of the cost. As photographed this model includes the optional 12V battery, which comes with three fluorescent lights, battery charger and wiring to the vehicle for charging via an Anderson plug, and the optional front tool box.

Campertrailer Australia Magazine Issue 7 Page 38

Desert Sky Camper Trailers,
476 Main North Road,
Blair Athol, SA 5084,
(08) 8262 5500 or 0409 288 895,
rvester@bigpond.com.au

 

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