Great review Wayne. One thing I always recommend is get the water tank out of the canopy and fit it under the tray. The positives are - more space in canopy, weight kept lower and when you remove canopy and drive anywhere you have water with you. Water is always handy even when you're not camping and just driving around. Marty from Perth
Good advice. Thanks. I do carry a small jerrycan of water in the vehicle. With the long range fuel tank, the under tray sliding drawer, spare tyre and side tool boxes there is limited space.
Speaking as someone who has owned one for nearly 3 years, a couple of points I think should be made here. The Tommy is available in bargain basement form for anyone who has their own ideas on fitout. I used some of the supplied products and either modified them to suit my situation, or added to them to achieve what I wanted. The ability to customise them is one of their attractions in my opinion. I do agree with Wayne regarding the dust sealing, and entire canopy integrity. The single longest trip I have done in mine is 8 weeks to the Cape and Central Australia. No dust, no rattles. I am about to do 4 months in WA and am completely confident that I won't have any issues. I disagree with your comments re the upright fridge. Mine (same but 85l) doesn't use noticeably more than my old chest, weighs infinitely less than chest + slide, and means I don't have to unload the entire fridge to find what I want (which is always on the bottom!) I have 2 solar panels on my roof and can see the day will eventually come when raising it will need some assistance. In retrospect, I should have looked at an electric option when first commissioned (although don't think it was an option then.) Bear in mind too, that the position of the solar panel impacts on the effort required to raise/lower the roof. All in all, there is VERY little I have to complain about with mine. It has done upwards of 20000km on the back of my DMax and is about to do similar in the next 4 months, although my plans for the Canning Stock Route are looking a bit shaky! The only thing I would change about my setup, would be to use a space cab, rather than a dual cab, which would improve the weight distribution situation.
Good review Wayne you asked about a cutery holder idea l lived on my yacht for 7 years and you can buy or make a bulk head cutlery box items stay vertical and don't fall out would fit in your space easily. A tip to camper people go get a catalogue at a ship's Chandler much better quality gear and ideas then caravan shops they have been doing boat stuff for centuries.
Great, honest feedback after months of ownership of the camper. A good resource for people in the decision-making process for travel and camping in Australia.
Hi Wayne, I have just viewed your RU-vid video and has been very informative! A simple solution to retain the door seals from sliding out from the lip is to apply a thin film of clear silicon on the lip before pushing the rubber seal onto the lip. The silicone provides additional grip and the seal can still be removed if necessary. Using an adhesive would be too strong a bond and most likely you would damage the seal when trying to remove it. Worth trying first on a small section to see how effective it is. Regards Tom.
gee not much room in the foyer, if you want to see the ultimate design of a dual cab slide on, have a look at an Active Camper Optima, not made any more but just perfect. Seating for 4, sleeping for 3, cooking and sink etc inside if you want, and heaps more storage.
Great honest review Wayne that gives us all a real person view in real time. Answers a lot of questions for me, thank you. I'm based on the Sunshine Coast and we would love to have a look at one in person before committing to buy one. Do you know anyone who might be able to help us out. Cheers
Thanks Elite Tackle. Confused me for a second. Spotted the comment notification and figured by your name your comment related to a video on my fishing channel. Thanks Elite.
velcro is great for mounting items direct to carpet walls, just use the hook/loop velco stuck to any item and your set, I even use velcro on flat surfaces to keep slippage down
Love the video, thanks. Could you give me a little more info on those quick release brackets to jack the canopy off the ute? Would be much appreciated.
FYI 30 second awning means 180 degrees or 30 seconds on a clock shape. But that made one good joke even if it wasn’t intentional haha. Great review and your videos and trips are awesome!
I’m surprised that the camper wasn’t fitted with turnbuckle quick-release style mechanisms as standard from the manufacturer. Most slide-on camper makers has been using them for the past 20yrs, at least.
when you say that you have changed a few anderson plugs is it because they are awkward to get apart (pointing down) or that they just broke? very good video, informative and honest. well done
Thanks Tom. I had really out of focus footage during that part of the video and I didn’t notice until I got home so the full explanation was cut. There were a couple of issues. The soldering was shallow and poor in some connections. There were loose nuts on two of the larger fuses. Things like that.
It’s a great bit of kit. You won’t regret it. Make sure you look into suitable suspension. Possibly a GVM upgrade depending on your vehicle. Suggest you consider having the Water tank beside the fridge improving the use of space. Keep an eye on weight.
Can you put up a close up of them. I am using their brackets and legs and looking for something to lock it down. I would like to see if they would fit.
Hi Wayne, Thanks for the review. How do you think the Tommy camper would go if you were travelling Australia for a year and living out of it whilst towing a boat? Would it be a pain if you were taking it on and off the tray regularly such as every 5 to 7 days? How stable is it to sleep in and use when it is free standing on legs alone?
My plan is to do the lap in the coming years. It come off and goes back on very quickly and easy. My wife and I have slept in it a number of times while off the tray and it’s been fine. I do lower it and level it though.
