It’s always worth trying to pitch the unit before you commit to buying. In this traditional trailer tent the two beds fold out from the trailer and the unit can be used in this form. The awning extends the living area and has a separate section for storage, a kitchen area or washroom.
Ensure all the moving parts work smoothly
Luckily, such is the established design of most trailer tents and folding campers, there’s not a lot to go wrong. However, since they are road vehicles you are responsible for keeping them roadworthy, so a minimum of an annual service by a recognised service technician is recommended. The larger units with more sophisticated electrical and gas systems will also benefit from an annual service of these systems, again by a recognised service technician. You’ll find more details in owners’ manuals (and sometimes on manufacturers’ websites), but generally you need to consider:
- Brakes, wheel bearings and suspension – keep in good working order and properly adjust or grease as appropriate
- Tyres – keep inflated to correct working pressures, including the spare, and check for any uneven signs of wear. If the unit is stationary for long periods, turn the wheels occasionally so it doesn’t rest on the same patch of tyre
- Tow hitch – check for easy operation and grease where needed
- Breakaway cable (braked trailers) or secondary coupling (unbraked) – check in good working order
- Jockey wheel – check for smooth running. Apply grease as needed
- Lights – check and replace as needed.
- Rubber gas hoses – check condition and the date marked on it. The recommendation is to replace within five years of any such date, or earlier if there are any signs of abrasion or cracking.
You won’t find any newsstand publications devoted solely to trailer tents and folding campers but the Club magazine, Camping magazine, Motorhome & Caravan Trader and Caravan, Motorhome and Camping Mart can be useful sources of information.
The Camping Manual, by Peter Frost, devotes a whole chapter to trailer tents and folding campers. It’s published by Haynes, ISBN 9781844253197.
Finally, do look for advice from the Club’s own Special Interest Section, the Trailer Tent and Folding Camper Group (see also www.ttfcg.co.uk).
There are also a number of owners’ clubs for both existing makes and those that are now no longer in production, for example Pennine (www.pennineownersclub) and Dandy (www.dandyowners.co.uk).
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