Australian Off Road Camper Testimonials

 

 

Well, the wait is finally over!! Picked up our new Q 1st May & are rapt!! Full marks to AOR for putting together a top product - so refreshing to see a company where everyone is so proud of what they produce. A huge thankyou to Clay for his patience over the past year and to Jane for a very comprehensive handover. Haven't gone far yet but have experienced torrential rain & strong winds - so nice to be able to crawl in side & be warm and comfy!! Will take a while to get everything sorted but am ecstatic re build quality & attention to detail - can certainly see where the dollars go!!

We are wandering up the coast to rendevous with friends in Pt Douglas late May and are looking forward to many nights of 5 star accommodation.

 

A PAT ON THE BACK!! - Garry and Liz Bryant

In the company of my eldest son and 2 grandchildren, I left home at Inverloch Vic to travel via Melbourne in an NT Pajero with my AORC Quantum in tow. The goals were to travel via the Barossa Valley for a collection of our favourite reds, through the Flinders Ranges to sight flooded Lake Eyre by air. Thereafter via the Srezlecki Track to camp at Innaminka on the Coopers and see the Dig Tree and Burkes Grave. This was the time of the 160th anniversary of the ill fated adventure.

 

The trip was mostly on bitumen with no real dramas aside from continual crowds wherever we stopped. The Quantum was a real magnet and not just the chick type, although women were mostly impressed with the total kitchen concept. The heater proved most valuable on several nights as we got the grandkids down for bed at 0 deg.

 

The Quantum has handled everything we came up against and was everything I anticipated in performance.

 

Thanks to Steve and the AORC team for the design and manufacture of a true off-road Camper in the Quantum.

 

 

"Last Christmas in very hot (but sadly overcast) weather my CTEK died - with my batteries gradually decaying we limped into Alice and managed to buy a newie. I was fully aware that the unit was two weeks out of warranty, however I contacted CTEK in Sweden via email to see if they had an agent that could look at it and maybe repair it. They came back and said they can't be repaired however it wasn't out of warranty?? Shock! It did say two years on the box of the new one! Not one to argue and with Scott at AOC helping, Bainbridge replaced it with a brand new model!! I'm beginning to think that Australia's premier customer service business community resides in Caloundra - thanks Scott and Bainbridge! To top it off Katie from CTEK had today read of the failure on another blog and contacted me directly to see if she could help. When I told her it was fixed she said she'd send me a free battery connector as a gift"!

 

Mr. Jarrod Bleijie the Member for Kawana formally recognises Australian Off Road Campers achievement at the recent Caloundra Chamber of Commerce Business Awards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clay, Rhonda, Nigel,

Janet and I want to thank you for the incredible attention to customer satisfaction displayed by all your staff at all stages of our recent purchase of our new Odyssey . Your customer service before and after the sale is second to none.

 

From our initial visit when Clay attended to Janet’s questioning with an answer to every enquiry through our purchase process right up until Nigel ran us through the setup and pack down of our new camper your attention to our needs was exceptional. Nigel was even down on his back rewiring our trailer plug on the day we picked up our camper.

 

After we collected our Odyssey we headed up through the Lockyer Valley in the dark through all the recent flood detours into Toowoomba where we spent a couple of nights in a friends backyard. It rained heavily on one of those nights though the we stayed safe and dry.

 

After packing up wet we headed off to the Warrumbungles. Our first night had us tying down our overnight awning to help weather one of the worst storms Coonabarabran had seen for some time. Again we stayed absolutely dry.

 

Unfortunately for various reasons I ended up in Coonabarabran Hospital for a night while Janet spent a night in a motel and our new camper spent a lovely night all set up in the campsite alone.

 

The next day we packed up the Odyssey and headed for home in Canberra. The Odyssey tows like a dream and its quality becomes more and more evident as we become more familiar with it.

 

Thank you for an experience we will recommend highly to others.

Bryan and Janet Cossart

We chose the Eclipse because of its storage space and usable outside space. When we head off our car is full of people so we cannot store much in it. We already use a roof pod for extras. The Eclipse has the back boot which is substantial holding all the canvas, the annex mat,the buckets, the two bags of cooking equipment and bowls, the bag of tent pegs, ropes and various "hardware", the battery drill for the legs, the hose reel, the power lead real and usually the spare slab of beer.... The full size drawers inside usually hold clothing and odds and ends, one drawer always being dedicated to food storage. The under bed storage is extremely substantial (600 lt), then there is the front boot holding the petrol stove, the tables, some chairs, the chocks, the spare matting and on it goes.

The under seat storage holds the bread machine, electric knife, electric beaters, tins of fruit, and on it goes. We are amazed at what we can fit in. There was not another van on the market that addressed our needs.

Of course the build quality, the people we were dealing with and the fact that it was a reputable company also had a lot to do with it.
Vonda and Greg

 

We are pleased to offer this reference to Australian Off Road Campers in appreciationof their excellent efforts in not only building an excellent off road product but by backing it up with after sales service and a personal relationship with their customers that we have found to be second to none in today's industry.

 

Our Odyssey Export was ordered in March 2006 and has given my with and I absolute trouble free marvelous service up until the time of its sale in August 2011, during this time Steve and Rhonda Budden and their staff have been extremely helpful and attentive to our needs regarding our trailer, even after 5 years when we had a legal hick up with the gas set up on the trailer, it was rectified without hesitation and at no cost.

 

Australian Off Road Campers offer a beautifully built reliable and solid product that in my opinion is second to none. We have had to move on now but will surely miss the relationship that we have had with this great company over the past 6 years and we will certainly miss our go anywhere trailer that has given us so many options and so much enjoyment in the great outdoors over the years we have owned it.

 

No Hassles,

Paul Boulton

  

  

  

  

Steve and Rhonda Budden

Australian Off Road Campers

We would not have envisaged that after visiting your AORC showroom at Caloundra to consider purchasing an Odyssey camper trailer, that we’d come back a short time later to place an order for the top-line Quantum ZS  and that only a month after taking delivery of the Quantum in late April 2009, we’d head off in our Prado, Quantum in tow, to cross this great country of ours – through Western Qld, to Winton, Boulia, and via the Plenty “Highway” to Alice Springs. 

 

Having by this time developed a taste for wide open spaces, flies, dust and corrugations, we continued north-west, to tackle the Tanami, branching off to check out Wolfe Creek Crater (second worst road of our trip – some would have preferred to have taken their chances with Mick from the movie of the same name rather than tackle that road again!), and on to meet friends at Halls Creek, before continuing on to visit the Bungles.  Further westward yet we travelled, on bitumen now, to Broome, our turnaround point.  Finally eastward bound now, the Quantum pushed the Prado across the Gibb River Road to Drysdale River Station. 

 

Discretion being the better part of valour, and amid reports of many broken and destroyed camper trailers and 4wd’s, we parked the Quantum at Drysdale, and ventured north in the Prado for a couple of nights tenting on the Mitchell Plateau.  Spectacular country, but even more spectacular Aboriginal art. These were the worst roads we encountered, and as tough as the Quantum is built, we’re glad we didn’t have the courage to subject it to these rigours.   We were grateful, however, to come back to Drysdale, and our Quantum, for the luxury of the shower, and the bed!

 

Continuing east, Prado and Quantum enjoyed a dunking in the Pentecost River below the majestic Cockburn Range, and on to El Questro for a few days R&R.  Then blessedly, bitumen again! Kununurra, Wyndham, the NT‘s Top End, Darwin, Litchfield, and Kakadu.  And eventually, we moseyed on home to SE Qld.

 

Our Prado and Quantum proved a well matched, solid and reliable combination.  Excellent and easy towing, with very reasonable fuel consumption, particularly when compared to what others were telling us they were achieving with their rigs. The Quantum proved a very comfortable home away from home for two.  Sufficient space to move around inside, with excellent storage capacity for all our stuff.  The external kitchen was the envy of many other travellers.

 

Drawbacks ? Really only one. The Quantum  attracts a lot of attention, and it wasn’t uncommon to be disturbed at all hours by folk wanting to check it out (at least we were encouraged to keep everything  tidy and the bed made!), or to return to camp  to find some strange bloke crawling around underneath checking out the suspension! If it’s privacy you want, don’t get a Quantum.

 

Problems? One puncture, and a failed wheel bearing (fortunately another bearing set is supplied with the Quantum). No big deal. 

 

Our travels so far have most definitely proved the capabilities and toughness of AORC’s Quantum.   We’re keen for,  and planning more adventures with ours.

Ron and Deb, Delaneys Creek, Queensland

Off Gibb River Road, Western Australia

 

 

 

  

  

To:  Australian Off Road Campers

When we set out on our trip with the Quantum all our travelling companions were sceptical and offered to travel behind us to pick up the pieces!! As we all had previously travelled with camper vans (as we like to get off the beaten track) and didn’t believe that such a vehicle as the Quantum would survive the outback. However after travelling several thousands of kilometres, most on dirt, (see below) we were the ones picking up their pieces!!!! 

 

The Quantum was fantastic – comfortable with all the mod cons which made the trip most enjoyable.  The kitchen worked very well and the lovely hot shower at the end of the day with no set up hassle was great.  We were very happy campers and could relax knowing set up was quick and easy and we often relaxed sipping a champagne watching the other campers struggling with their tents etc.

 

Many thanks to you Steve and Rhonda for your great service and back-up with the purchase of our Quantum.

We loved the Quantum and are looking forward to our next adventure somewhere in the great outdoors.

 

Shane & Lynn – South Australia

Route travelled:   Coober Pedy, Dalhousie Springs, Mt Dare via the Finke Track, Chambers Pillar, Alice Springs, Plenty Highway, Boulia, Diamantina, Old Cork, Winton, Longreach, Barcoo River, Canarvon Gorge, Texas, Copeton Dam, Moree and home to Port Augusta

 

  

 

  

  

Fraser Island, Qld
 

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

In short we were very happy. This trip was the first “real” test or shake down of our new trailer apart from the weekends away. We tend to travel on our own, with our young family, in remote areas so reliability and being prepared is an important consideration for all our equipment.

Ideal conditions, ideal position and an ideal camper. Thanks for a well designed and well built unit. While we cannot always have ideal conditions and positions, it’s good to know that we always will have the ideal camper.

Peter and Jackie.  Carseldine, Qld
February 2008

Our Odyssey handled all the dirt roads around Litchfield National Park without any problems. We did the Wyndham area before going into Elquestro along the Gibb River Road. The Odyssey stood tall on all the corrugations. From there we travelled back to the Bungle Bungles, Echidna Chasm and Cathedral Gorge. The road was rough and we had seen another make of off road trailer with smashed suspension but we were able to travel comfortably with the Odyssey and found that we were actually catching up to other travellers towing camper trailers which seemed to be doing it tough!!!

We travelled approximately 20,000km over which the Odyssey performed faultlessly. Yes we would do it all again, and in the Odyssey!

Jeff and Julie
Buderim Qld

Rhonda and Steve, just a short note to thank you for building us a fantastic camper trailer. The Odyssey is the best trailer on the market with all the features you would want or need for an off road camping experience. We traveled about 2700 kms on some of the roughest dirt roads in Australia. The Odyssey lived up to our expectations and performed even better than expected.

Whilst traveling no dust or water got into our trailer, which is a testament to the great dust and water seals of the Odyssey. Given the extreme conditions that we placed the Odyssey under, this is a fantastic result. It is great to be a part of the Odyssey family and look forward to meeting up with you both and other Odyssey owners in the future.

Best wishes,
Carol Farmer & Scott Saggs NSW

 

 

ODYSSEY ZR

‘…….these trailers represent pretty much the pinnacle of camper trailer development. They’re exceptionally comfortable, very well thought out, designed and built to handle Australia’s extremes and to last while doing it.

There’s plenty of camper trailers to choose from and most offer some benefits to suit a particular task. But the Odyssey ZR is that rare beast that does it all well.

For the dedicated off-road traveller the ZR isn’t just good, it’s brilliant.’

JOHN ROOTH,
4WD Monthly February 2005

 

Lisa and I just completed our first major trip (13,375klms) with our Off-road Camper. I was astounded that the camper not only completed the trip in one piece but did it with ease. We purchased the XR because of its construction and suspension after doing months of comparisons and we are extremely pleased with our decision.
We crossed some of the harshest country in Australia and the camper came through with flying colours. Lisa and I make every attempt to truly stay "Off-road" and go where few tourists venture. We have been travelling outback Australia for the past 16 years and towed many types of trailers but nothing compares with our Camper in the places we go.
It is comforting to know that one can take an Off-road Camper with little luxuries like, queen-size bed, fridge/freezer, 140 litres of water and a beautiful kitchen into such remote areas and still be dust and water proof.

Please pass onto Adam and your team, our appreciation, for building such a truly "Off-road" camper.

Regards
Ian & Lisa SELF

Dalhousie to Mt Dare
- not a Speck of dust entered the
camper and that’s no bull

Basically a brilliant trailer that never hesitated to follow the Patrol.

John Coventry

We had such a wonderful adventure travelling over 20,000 Km around Australia with our three children from Sydney, through outback NSW, the Red Centre, Top End, the Kimberley, Pilbara, WA coast, the Nullarbor and the Riverina thanks in no small part to the professional team at Australian Off Road Campers..

The Odyssey Export is rugged, reliable, comfortable and quick to set up and pack up. It dealt with everything from the mud in outback NSW, rough tracks up the Fink River NT, the Gibb River Road in the Kimberley, the fine red dust of the Pilbara, constant river crossings and all the long hauls.

The convenience of the drawer kitchen and the rapid hot water together with the luxury of a shower made our trip a breeze even in the most remote areas. To have accommodation for a family of five in such a compact, neat and rugged package is remarkable.

I have total confidence that the Odyssey Export will go anywhere we could possibly take the 4WD. Next is Cape York and the Gulf country - we can't wait! Thanks again.

Mike Curnow,
NSW

The camper has done exactly what we have asked of it, no problems whatsoever, though I have added a few stainless steel tie downs to the roof/floor of the camper to tie down our fishing rods, peeerfect. We found the camper quite cool to sleep in when hot and that extra roof really makes it.

By the way on the way home we had a rear tyre blow out at 100kph whilst rounding a bend and crossing a narrow bridge (this tyre had a tube in it due to a microscopic hole in the rim and the tube gave up the ghost), well when this tube blew I had no warning and very gently touched the brakes to slowly pull up and I noticed that the camper braking system was braking beautifully with this light braking and actually stabilising the Landcruiser as it was tending to slide sideways in the bend in the road leading onto the narrow bridge. This was a real live emergency for us and I now know that this camper is so stable that it has enhanced the overall safety of the vehicle and camper combined. The Prodigy control unit is fabulous too as with the voltage readout changing whilst braking you know exactly what is going on with camper braking especially when braking lightly. Also the Goodrich AT Ko tyre was not mangled running for 50 to 80 metres flat, they are so strong in this sort of situation as the road was hot and nearly at melting point

Thankyou for building such a high quality camper .
Regards
Peter Mills

We recently completed our first major trip with our Odyssey off road camper covering over 13,000km. Our route took us from Gladstone to Karumba across to Darwin via Hells Gate and Roper Bar, down the center to Alice Springs, on to Marla and across to the Oodnadatta Track, back to Coober Pedy, then across to William Creek and Lake Eyre. From there to Port Augusta, through the Flinders Ranges and up the Strzelecki Track to Innaminka, across to Brisbane via Thargomindah and back to Gladstone via the coast.

During the trip we experienced all types of road conditions, including bad corrugations, rocks, bulldust, sand, washouts and river crossings.

On board the camper, on the specially designed racks, we carried a 3.7m Stessl Edgetracker, 15HP Yamaha outboard and a folding boat trailer, not to mention 100 litres of water.

The Odyssey performed faultlessly throughout the entire trip. It was a pleasure to tow and set up. We have found the pre and after sales service of Australian Off Road Campers to be first class and would certainly have no hesitation in recommending your product to anyone seeking a camper that is quick and easy to erect, built to a high quality standard and able to handle the rigours of off road.

Evan & Glenda, Gladstone Qld

AMATEURS IN CAPE YORK
After purchase our first trip was to Cape York via the Old Telegraph Track. All creek crossings were successful, including the famed ‘Gunshot’. The Odyssey followed our Landcruiser perfectly. This was gratifying considering some of the tight squeezes between trees, washouts etc.

We followed the Old Telegraph line as far as Cannibal Creek then proceeded to the northern bypass road to Cape York. The bypass road was extremely corrugated and dusty. Each night while ‘roughing’ it in the Cape York area we enjoyed a dust free camper and hot shower. Throughout the trip our Odyssey proved to be worry free.

The quality and workmanship of the Odyssey can only be described as first class. After sales service is superb. It attracted admirers the entire trip, all of them spending time asking questions and checking out the facilities.

We would like to thank Steve, Rhonda and the team at Australian Off Road for providing us with a top quality product that continually survives a pair of amateurs. West Australia here we come!

Jim & Dianne Nicholls,
Brisbane

 

To say we were pleased would be an understatement. It’s the most comfortable camp we have had. After a long day in the sun it was an absolute pleasure to enjoy a hot shower and lay down on a comfortable bed.

The Odyssey is very easy to tow behind the Cruiser ute and rode magnificently. Towing the Odyssey increased the fuel consumption by a mere 0.5L/100kms (from 12L/100km to 12.5L/100kms.

What do we like about our Odyssey? Simple. Everything.
What do we dislike about our Odyssey? Going back home.

Ian and Kate,  Grasstree Beach, Qld