Following our first trip together in the old Bush Hopper camper, we decided to upgrade to a new camper trailer with a bit more room and creature comforts.

One thing I was not keen on doing was going to a camper that was more difficult to set up than the old one, so ease of setup and pack-up was high on the priority list. I also wanted something that was well engineered with high quality steel, proper welds, robust fittings and good dust sealing.

We did a lot of research and narrowed down our search to 3 brands. Lifestyle, ModCon and Trackabout campers. All of these brands got good reviews from owners on the MySwag camper trailer forum and, where I could find them, in the magazines.

First we looked at a Trackabout at a local dealer in Melbourne. Unfortunately it didn’t live up to expectations and to be honest, the dealer didn’t seem too interested in assisting us.

The other 2 were sold direct from their individual factories in Brisbane so we decided to take a weekend trip up there to have a look. This was a great idea as we were able to tour both factories and see how they were made. I have to say right from the outset, both offered us unbelievable service and assistance during our visit. It was nice to be treated like a valued prospective customer. Both products were obviously very high quality and the final decision was difficult.

In the end the Lifestyle 360i was our choice. While the ModCon was beautifully made and well designed, the Lifestyle was just a bit stronger and more robust. Everything was either steel or aluminium and all the fittings had a real utilitarian feel about them. You could see that someone that does a lot of outback touring had put some thought into the design. Little things like the aluminium checker-plate door on the kitchen that cannot be damaged by anything in the storage area, the heavy duty greasable hinges, quick connect gas fittings all pointed to a well thought out unit. The canvas was heavy duty Australia Wax Converters which is the best money can buy. Setting up the main tent was a breeze and it could be erected in less than 5 minutes. The annex was huge and made with the same high quality canvas.

Best of all we were able to get the Vehicle Components independent coil suspension as standard. While I was not really looking for this, I was so glad we got it as it transforms the towing ability of a trailer.

Overall, value for money with the Lifestyle unbeatable.

These are the other options and features we got…

• Tropical roof
• Extended draw bar additional 300mm
• Front boot hi top conversion
• Fridge box conversion to front boot including HD 12v socket and Chimney
• 12v system comprises 2x 100ah batteries, battery box, 3 x 12v outlets and Anderson plug charging lead to car
• LED tail and plate lights
• 12v hi-flow water pump and tap (shower)
• Full ocean view annexe with fully screened windows with awnings and windbreak
• 2 x Sand mats
• 16” wheel conversion (tyres matched to Patrol)
• New mud terrain tyres
• 2 x spare wheel carriers. 1 on tailgate and one on drawbar. 2 x spare wheels
• Pneumatic jockey wheel
• Large mud flaps to stone guard
• Additional poles, pegs and ropes