Nissan Australia
 

Our Aussie Swag Camper

Happy Camper

Well we've finally scraped enough cash together for a camper. After using a Kimberley Kamper for 18 months in the late 90's, we knew what features our new camper needed to have. It had to have a hard floor, stainless slide out kitchen, independent suspension, plenty of storage space and be comfortable for 2 adults and 2 kids so this narrowed it down to two which we considered the best - the Kimberley and the Aussie Swag. It was very close between the two but at the end of the day it was the Aussie Swag Camper that came out on top. Main reasons were its great build quality, more storage space, great looks and the fact that the factory is only 20 minutes from where we lived.

With the manufacturer settled on it was down to Brendale to go through the options we wanted. The Rover LX fitted the bill nicely so with only a couple of minor alterations we signed the papers. We decided to match the wheels of the camper to that of the Patrol however AL-KO would not warrant the use of alloys with their wheel studs so I had to source some Patrol ones so the hub could be set-up to suit. Genuine Nissan ones turned out to be $15 a stud which was way too much so a search on the internet revealed aftermarket ones for $4 each (bought the rear studs which are longer than the front). These were dropped off to Aussie Swag who then organised for fitment. All up construction lasted 9 weeks which seemed to take forever to go by but it was with great relief that we finally picked up our new baby on 20th August.

After much consideration on the design the 12 volt system I wanted, I have come up with what I believe is the ideal setup for our requirements. You can see what I have designed by going to my 12v System page. I have also explained in detail my Solar charging system exploits and how I worked out what we needed to be self sufficient for a week.

NEW! Aussie Swag Forum

Our 2004 Aussie Swag Rover LX Camper came standard with:

  • Slide out stainless steel kitchen with 4 burner stove, grill and storage,
  • Electric water pump,
  • Slide our stainless pantry,
  • Electric off-road brakes,
  • Handbrake,
  • 127 litre water tank with water level indicator,
  • 240v power with earth leakage circuit breaker and 1 outside / 2 inside power outlets,
  • 12v power with 1 outside / 2 inside power outlets,
  • Independent trailing arm suspension ,
  • 2 x 4kg gas bottles
  • 2 jerry can holders,
  • Pole holder located inside camper,
  • Stone guard / deflector,
  • Treg coupling,
  • Zip on annex roof with 2 end walls and fill in wall above kitchen pantry,
  • Reversible offside flap,
  • All weather carpet inside,
  • Lift up bed on gas struts with high density foam mattress,
  • Heavy duty Australian canvas with 3 screened doors and 3 screened windows,
  • Tropical roof,
  • Slide out carpeted storage drawer under bed,
  • Large front storage box,
  • Outside fixed kitchen light,
  • Lifeline 33 Ahr battery and automatic battery charger,
  • Electronic charging system including isolator and heavy gauge cabling.

Some changes and additions we've made since purchase:

  • Quintrex 3.70 Traveller,
  • 15HP Mercury (US Made),
  • Flip-n-Easy folding boat trailer,
  • Aussie Swag boat loader,
  • Goodyear Wrangler 285/75R16 MTR's,
  • CSA Scorpion RV 16X8 alloy wheels,
  • 4 x 100AHr Dynasty AGM batteries (400AHr Total),
  • 4 x 120AHr Concord PVX-1040T AGM Batteries (480AHr total),
  • Manson SBC-7120 20A solar regulator with LCD readout,
  • Solar panel Anderson plug input,
  • Battery charger Anderson plug output and 8m cable (second bank for charging the car),
  • 2 x 80W BP solar panels built as a suitcase arrangement,
  • Custom made stainless solar panel mount with lockable latches mounted to the pantry box,
  • Solarforce BC-012-30A 3-stage battery charger with dual outputs (charges 2 separate battery banks),
  • Digital Amp and Volt Meters,
  • NASA BM-1 Battery Monitor (Volt, Amps, Capacity, Time remaining etc)
  • Twin checker plate carry racks for firewood and bikes,
  • Honda EU10i 1000W Generator, and
  • Chain Saw
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I have finally gotten around to taking some photo's of the inside of the camper to show the way we have it set up.

Here we have a our snug bed. Flannel sheets and a pure Wool doona mean we are never cold or hot. In case of extremely cold weather, we have 2 blankets in a side pocket. The kids sleep on bunk beds with -5° sleeping bags to keep them warm. When it is time to pack up, we lay the semi assembled bunks on the bed with the sleeping bags on top followed by our pillows and a tarp to keep all the dirt and any moisture off.

The photo's above are of our 12V DC system setup. A more detailed description of the setup can be viewed at our 12V DC system page.