Set up speed

[Dakemela 1]

Welcome to the forum, Darrin. You wont regret the upgrade as many of our members will verify, set up time is negligible unless setting up for extended stay.

Now begins the wait for delivery but at least by the time it arrives you will have a long list of mods, courtesy of the members here.

Keep us updated with some pictures and a bit about yourself.

Cheers chartrock,
its going to be a long wait ,i'll get back to you shortly , Darrin

 

[Dakemela 1]

Welcome Darrin. Set up/pack up will be a breeze compared to the Swan. I well remember that crawling inside with the lid just cracked open enough to open door...had to be an OHS issue. Started a few trips with a sore head in our Swan and our Flamingo.

Thanks Xpandafan ,i laughed when i read about you crawling throught the van and leaving the lid up a bit for the door, i remember once about to hook the van on after a pack up and left the lid open on the vent , managed to wind it down from the top , Take it easy , Darrin

 

[Dakemela 1]

I went straight from a soft-floor camper trailer to an expanda caravan. Setup and pack-up used to take about 2 hours, now it takes about 10 minutes

This was one of the main reasons why we upgraded.

Mate , i hear ya ,we should of done that after the tent thing , take it easy , Darrin

 

[Dakemela 1]

Welcome to the forum, Darrin. You wont regret the upgrade as many of our members will verify, set up time is negligible unless setting up for extended stay.

Now begins the wait for delivery but at least by the time it arrives you will have a long list of mods, courtesy of the members here.

Keep us updated with some pictures and a bit about yourself.

Hi ,
Ive been blessed , two kreat kids , boy and a girl , both love soccer , great wife of which we have been married for 20 years next year , we both work, nice house , a boat and a golden retriever .Cant complain about that .Im a shopfitter by trade and traveled the country and overseas fitting out what ever needed to be done . ive worked with a tier one builder for the past 8 building high rise . Gets a bit stressfull , but this is my getaway. We love it. we use the Swan at least once a month ,

Cheers , keep intouch

 

[blacky]

The turning point for us, was last year camped at Pambula beach caravan park, packing up our soft floor.

It was bloody freezing, blowing a gail, sleet coming in almost horizontal, and the kids all crying, fighting and carrying on, and then just up from us was a family with an expanda.. well bugger me, packing up took forever, but like it was said before, the expanda family were packed up and gone in about 5 minutes flat!

We eventually left and decided we too had to have an expanda!

 

[Stan Lee]

Hi and welcome

Seriously there is NO debate!

I had an old wind up windsor and upgraded to a 14.44.2 OMG soooo much easier!!

My next dream van is the Sterling 21.65.2 with rear side 'garage' door access and fold up bunks! Will give greater flexibility with storage and the new dog joining us on journies BUT this will b some time and $$$$$ away!!!

 

[Soaring]

I timed my full set up on the weekend for my 17.56.
Without rushing, it was 20 minutes from engaging reverse to back into the site, to sitting back under the awning with a pre-chilled Corona in hand.
And even then there were a few things I that took longer than they should have due to my inexperience with this van.
I watched a family pull up on Saturday with a Swan.
They looked reasonable seasoned as both mum and dad had jobs to do.
They were at it for about and hour and 15 min.

 

[Bank of Dad]

If we don't set up the annex it takes about 20 minutes. Annex adds about 15 on top of that.

 

[macca]

I am happy if I can get my van on site without taking out any poles or trees in 20minutes.

 

[DRW]

it takes me as long to setup as it takes the bride to make the bed, the longer she takes the longer I take ( never talk to a woman when she is busy )

 

[Stan Lee]

@DRW i take it she (the bride) doesn't have access to this site??

 

[DRW]

@DRW i take it she (the bride) doesn't have access to this site??

ah NO!

 

[Frosty]

Best part of half an hour for us but we've got the older style expanda with bed flies to pole out. This includes the chairs, table & BBQ, etc. Probably an extra 15 if we include the annex walls. Heaps faster than the old soft floor camper we had. Have friends with a Coromal camper trailer & we typically beat the pants off them :whoo:

Frosty.

 

[Flanders]

Between the 2 of us and the kids, we can have it set up in 1/2 hour. This includes a floor mat in the awning and a couple of shade screens. It all depends on how much stuff you carry. We have bikes, weber, fold up table, fold up chairs. If I set up the portable toilet, add another 10 minutes. Could probably do it quicker, but I like to crack a beer and do it with no stress :encouragement:

 

[relgate]

I've been thinking about this thread, and I reckon the big thing is that the set up (and more importantly pack up) are stress free. I never rush at either end, and I'm never too worried about the order of thinkgs as pretty much everything is accessible at all times. It's also easier because the wife and kids have their 'areas' to look after and we aren't relying on each other to get it all done in order with military precision. In the case of a tent or trailer, everything must be done in order and packed perfectly and if it's not, this is when I used to get cranky! These days I really enjoy the process.

 

[Soaring]

Spot on @relgate

 

[Frosty]

Yeah, Your'e right there @relgate . The only times I find you really need an extra set of hands are with pulling out our awning as we need someone at each end to control the arms & in our case rolling up the bed flies at each end. No flash hard bed end lids for us..... well not yet anyway! the rest is easy. I well remember a particular pack up of our old camper trailer, rushing in the rain - finally had it all done, lock it & start the car & remembered I'd left the bloody car keys tucked away safely beside the mattress. The Mrs was not happy & I spent the next 5 hrs driving home soaked to the skin. Never again.

Frosty.

 

[Soaring]

I did the exact same thing @Frosty, but lucky for me it was the spare set.
Unfortunately I didn't reslise they were then until after we got home, and I had already set up to dry out, then packed away again.
Come to think of it, that was the straw that broke this camel's back. I bought the Expanda a month later.

 

[relgate]

It's a little off topic, but it wasnt the set up alone that 'did me in'. For me it was more about the mattress! We spend 2 weeks in one spot at Christmas time and I was getting a sore back. I dont know how my friends in a tent put up with it. I guess they're tougher than me. One year I decided I'd had enough and would not spend the next year in discomfort. Boom.
Sub note: We recently had our mattress replaced under warranty but yet to fully test it...

 

[Adam G]

@relgate I think you've nailed it, it's the reduction in stress more than the reduction in time.