Planning a great Aussie Road Trip? We spent years researching everything we could possibly need before leaving for our 2 year road trip around Australia. So we think we have a pretty good idea of what’s good, (and what's not) so you can save your time and money.
We also embarked on many small scale camping trips and weekends away in the lead up to make sure we had all of the correct and best equipment for a life of the road.
Here is a breakdown of everything we have, and recommend for an extended road trip around Australia. We also put together another blog, listing all of the items we love (that are not necessary, but make life that little bit more luxurious and that little bit easier. This is coming soon - so keep an eye on our website.
Camper Trailer
Our Camper Trailer is a Frontier from Cub Camper. We took about 2 years to decide on what kind of camping setup we wanted, and then 2 years after that deciding what brand.
A note to keep in mind when looking at the different brands - some say Australian made as they are assembled here, however all the parts are made elsewhere, so there is no guarantee of the quality that comes with Australian products. We found a lot of brands were misleading with the source of the products and advertised Australian made, when really the parts are sourced elsewhere and assembled in Australia.
Another thing that helped steer us into this decision was contacting people online to ask what they thought of their campers and the brand (not just the Cub, but all brands). There was an overwhelming positive response from Cub Camper owners, compared to other brands. To do this we simply looked at the brand pages tagged section, or finding hashtags relevant to the products.
At the end of the day we chose Cub because it had everything we needed, it was Australian made from design to manufacturing and they had amazing warranties when compared to other camper trailer brands. They were a lot more expensive than most other brands, however the quality of the product was far superior to all the others we looked at, so it was an easy decision.
So why did we pick a camper trailer over a caravan or van set up.
Low weight - easier to tow with a lower weight then caravans, our car helped determine this as we only have a tow rating of 2.5 tonne
Portability - completely off road with the ability to go anywhere and everywhere, some caravans, while advertised as off road, struggle in the Aussie outback and on corrugated gravel roads.
Comfort - has a full lounge area with seating, queen bed and all the comfort we were looking for. A caravan obviously would take that to the next level, however the camper has everything we could need. In saying this, we fully plan to buy a caravan later in life and it would be a lot easier to travel in if we had kids.
Storage - plenty of storage under the seats, under the bed and external draws. It fits everything we need.
Can leave anywhere and go - we love that we can detach the trailer (of course locking it up) and go on our way. We like that we don't have a large vehicle when it comes to food shopping etc like you would with a camper van or motorhome. And means we can park anywhere. This is especially handy in cities and is the main reason we decided against a bus.
Now, while we absolutely love our camper trailer, there are a few downsides. We want to be completely honest with our reviews, and while we were happy to go without or deal with these things, we understand that they may be a dealbreaker for some.
Dealing with the elements - cooking outside means that we have to deal with whatever the weather throws our way - from frost and snow to 49 degree heat we have done it all. Some cold nights I do wish we had an indoor kitchen.
No showers or toilets attached - we get around this by using a portable toilet and a shower hose, however these are less luxurious and are not everyone's cup of tea.
What extras did we get - obviously this adds to the cost, but we are so glad we purchased these extras. these include a second water tank (Total of 200L) and a second lithium battery.
Our Vehicle of Choice
We have a Toyota Landcruiser Prado 120 series, we purchased this second hand when it was appox. 8 years old with 180000 kms on the odometer. We were lucky to know the previous owner, who we knew looked after the car very well so it was a no brainer when it came up for sale. We jumped on the opportunity to purchase it and are very happy with our decision.
It is a very stable car to drive and perfect for us, big enough that we can take it offroad comfortably but not so large that it becomes difficult to drive if we are in the city, It is really good to drive both on and off road.
We love that it has a stock dual tank (175L) which allows us to get some serious mileage between fueling up and also allows us to be off grid for longer. We found it really helped when we were in places like Fraser Island, where fuel is extremely expensive, we were able to go almost a week on the island driving all over it without needing to fuel up.
We have a dual battery setup that allows us to run our Engel fridge in the back of the car permanently without serious battery drain, our setup has most of the car accessories run off the second battery that gets charged by the primary battery whilst driving, we can also charge both with solar panels if we choose to.
The Gear & Equipment We Recommend
Roof Rack
Our roof rack is from Tracklander, when deciding on what brand to go with we did a bit of research into the configuration and also load capacity of various roof racks. A lot of the solid racks from ARB or Rhino are quite heavy and if properly rated this doesn't leave you with a lot of weight to be able to utilise for storage.
Another benefit of the Tracklander is it is designed to fit into where the factory roof rails are installed on the car and its design means it can flex with the roof, meaning if you even have an accident there is a lower chance of damage to the rack.
Max Trax
A key piece of equipment for anyone planning on going off road during their travels. We have lost count of the amount of times we have had to pull these out to get ourselves (and many others) out of a tricky situation.
We highly recommend investing in 2 sets (4 in total) as we have often needed them for both sets of tyres. We haven't had to use them whilst towing but we also got a total of 4 if we were ever in the situation where we got bogged whilst towing the trailer. We purchased ours from Anaconda for $200 a set but you can get them from any decent 4x4 or outdoor store.
Air Compressor
We purchased our air compressor from Kings 4x4 Store, we got the Thumper Max Dual version as at the time it was on sale and just as expensive as the single pump version. We use it quite a lot after we have been 4WDing in the sand and have never had any issues with it.
Draws in the Prado
We installed a pair of Kings Titan draws into the boot of our Prado and used them to store so many things. We have found them extremely useful for storing tools, car accessories and fluids (Coolant/Wiper fluid etc.).
The draws also come with a built-in fridge slide on top which was perfect for our Engel, the slide fits up to a certain size fridge depending on the drawer size that you get, make sure you look into this before purchasing. If you have the room for them, we would highly recommend the drawers as they have been great for expanding usable storage in our car.
Spotlights & Light Bar
We installed x2 spotlights on our bull bar and a light bar on our roof rack - both from Kings. These are vital if you are planning on doing any driving in the late evening or at night - especially in the bush.
We did loose the spotlights at one point due to some rough corrugations on the Oodnadatta track - so make sure they are screwed on really really well.
Tool Box
We recommend having a fully packed tool box because you never know what's going to go wrong and what will need fixing. We always have ours within easy reach as it's used at least once a week - tools we would not leave the trip without - Pliers, screwdrivers, our drill, allen keys, spanner and socket set.
Other items you should always have on hand - Cable ties (of all sizes), Duct Tape, Ratchet straps.
Shade Awing (car)
While we 100% recommend getting one - we wouldn't recommend the one we purchased. We got ours from Kings 4X4 (like most of our gear) however unlike lots of our other products from them, this one shows that you do get what you pay for. After a few uses there has been some tearing of the fabric near one end and after seeing some others on the road we do have regrets about choosing this cheaper option.
It has been perfect for beach days or picnics where you need a little more shade. We went with a 2x2.5m awning but we wish we purchased a 270 degree bat wing style one for more coverage.
Car Fridge - Engel MT-V45F
We have a 40L Engel that we keep in the boot of our car. We have used it on many camping trips when we were still camping in tents. It is expensive but you buy Engels for their reliability and brand recognition, they are worth the price you pay as they are very efficient and durable. It is a fridge/freezer meaning it is capable of very low temperatures but it only has one compartment meaning it can only be a fridge or a freezer.
Trailer Fridge - Dometic
Once we had decided on the camper trailer, we looked at what fridges we could get that would fit the fridge slide/compartment in the trailer. We bought the largest fridge that we could find that fits the dimensions and this was the Dometic CFX3 75DZ, a 75L Fridge/Freezer with 2 compartments. In cooler environments we run it as a fridge/freezer combo, with the larger compartment being the fridge and smaller being the freezer.
We found however that in the warmer parts of Australia, when the trailer was in direct sun the fridge was struggling to maintain temperature in the freezer. Due to this we switched to using both compartments as fridges in high temperatures. We also found that when camping without power the freezer would really drain the battery of the camper trailer to the point that it would stop running the fridge after about 2 days off grid. When both compartments are on fridge mode we were able to get a week of usage off grid before needing to charge the battery.
When running a fridge/freezer combo we would be able to get 4-5 days of meals to easily fit with some frozen foods for lunches/dinner. When we changed it to be one large fridge we could fit enough food in for almost 2 weeks of meals.
Solar Panels
A necessity if you are planning on camping in places other than caravan parks. We recommend the soft folding solar panels as they are easy to set up anywhere that gets the sun (and easily movable) and are also way easier to store as they fold into a small A3 sized bag. We have two 200W solar blankets purchased from Kings for $250 each.
Camera Gear & Drone
A trip around Australia needs to be captured. We have a huge list of photography equipment we use on the daily including our drone, mirrorless camera and GoPro - its too long of a list to add here so we will be writing a whole blog on all of our camera gear - coming soon!
Equipment we wish we left behind.
Shower Hose
We have been on the road for a 2 years and never use it. If you're someone who cant go without a shower, it's a great product but we just don't see the need for it. We can easily go a few days without a shower and find ourselves opting for a refreshing swim instead of using this.
Double Ensuite Tent
Putting this back into the bag after the first use made us never want to take it out again. It was not as easy to set up as it looked and blew away with the slightest wind if it wasn't super secured down to the ground. We regret spending so much money on it as we have used it once, and don't want to use it again.
Portable Toilet
Something most people can’t deal with - but if I'm being honest, I would rather squat in the bush than clean the thing out. We use it when we are camping super remote, but it fills after a bit more than a week, so you can’t get too long out of it.
It’s important to note, a lot of campgrounds won’t “allow” you to camp in National Parks or on private properties without a fully self contained set up - they don't want you to leave human waste in the areas - fair enough. So in some cases you need one to be able to camp there.
Overall we couldn't be happier with set up. It took us a long time to get it perfect and we are proud of what we have created. In saying this there is so much more we would love to add and have a wish list of items we will add once we have the money to make upgrades for our next big trip.
Any items you recommend or cant live without? Let us know if the comments or reach us on our Instagram - @outoftheblue.travel.
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