A common question we get at Trayon is: How much does it weigh?
This is exactly the right question to ask when you are in the market for a slide on camper! We want to emphasize that this should be the first question you ask any manufacturer. Understanding how the `dry weight` of a slide on camper is calculated gives you a better idea on how to avoid exceeding your payload.
To explain what Trayon camper weights are and how they are calculated, we need to dissect the slide on camper industry and Trayon campers themselves, bit by bit.
People these days aren’t really comparing “apples to apples”. While there’s people out there saying that a Trayon camper is “390kg dry weight, you can’t beat that!”, there’s others saying “yeah but my camper is 300kg!”
That may be so, but what does that 300kg camper come with? This kind of comparison is definitely not comparing spec for spec, apples for apples.
Spec for spec, Trayon is the lightest class 2 slide on camper. It’s a mantle Trayon has been holding for 26 years, and in this article we explain how Trayon camper weights work, and why Trayon consider weight the most important aspect when choosing a slide on camper.
Why are Trayon Camper Weights so important?
Weight is the most important aspect of an off road slide on camper. For this reason, Trayon has made a conscious effort to educate the community about the importance of weight and what it all means when on the hunt for a slide on camper.
The importance of Trayon camper weights comes down to your vehicle’s payload (i.e. the amount of weight the vehicle can carry before its maximum legal weight is exceeded), and the common misconceptions about payload.
Payload
Weights on vehicle websites often don’t include the tray. Let’s take the legendary Landcruiser 79 series for example. On Toyota’s website for the cab chassis model, the available payload works out at about 1210kg to 1235kg (depending on the model variant), and that doesn’t include a tray! Many customers fall into the trap.
While the components of a Landcruiser ute may take the weight of a full off road camping set up, the legal limits often won’t. In fact, you can easily, illegally overload even the mighty Landcruiser based on the numbers alone.
Calculating the remaining payload
This brings in the issue of whether you go for a steel tray or ally tray. Steel trays can be up to half a tonne!
A half tonne tray takes a huge chunk off your payload. Add people in the cab and 130L of diesel (which works out at around 100kg), and you’ll only have a couple of hundred kilograms of payload left! Throw in two bags of luggage and a meat pie in the belly, and you’re legally overweight! Not to even mention that it doesn’t even include a bull bar, roof racks, spot lights, winch, auxiliary batteries etc. For example:
Note: Every camping setup is different. In this example the weights are just approximations. But you can see how the vehicle's payload capacity can quickly be used up once you include accessories, people, food and so forth.
What are the risks of exceeding the legal payload limit?
If you were pulled over by the men and women in blue, you’d be gone. Not only that, but the safe operating weight of your vehicle may be compromised, putting the life and limb of you and everyone around you at risk. In the case of an accident, the insurance companies wouldn’t have your back either.
These are the reasons why knowing the weight of your camper is so important. And why it’s so important that the slide on camper industry works together with the community to ensure everyone knows how crucial it is.
What should you do?
Look up your vehicle’s payload. Pack it as if you were going away and take it over a weighbridge. Do your research, be thorough! If you need a suspension upgrade to increase your vehicle legal limits (GVM), get one. We explain more about what suspension upgrades you might need in a recent article called “Slide on Campers: Do I need a 4WD Suspension Upgrade?”
To support the process of calculating your vehicle’s safe payload limits, Trayon provide weight sheets and price lists that break it all down. We provide the weight of every optional extra along with the price, so customers can make a justified decision. No hiding, no misleading, pure truthful, transparent advice.
No other slide on company in Australia currently does this for every single part of their campers.Trayon continue to set the standards.
The Slide on Camper Weight Trends
Slide on campers don’t go under any kind of government regulation.
They don’t get registered, there’s no redtape to try and get through to make sure they are road worthy, or the weight distribution is right, there’s simply no tests. Unlike caravans and camper trailer that have to be registered. Their length, size, wheel axle position in relation to car and tow hitch, tow hitch weights, tare weight, suspension type, all of that gets regulated before registration.
Slide on campers simply don’t.
For this reason. Knowing that the slide on camper is within the weight you need is extremely important, because no one else is going to tell you before you take it on the open road. Only the driver is responsible/liable for the weight they carry on their vehicle.
More recent Slide on Camper weight trends
Trayon have been the ambassadors for lightweight slide on campers since 1994. We’ve watched the industry ebb and flow and witnessed the trends. Strangely, in around 2012, there was a resurgence of big heavy campers.
People started buying heavy campers, made by companies who had no clue about the importance of weight, or the impact their overweight campers were having on their customers. Insurance problems, accident risk, and car damage were a real risk.
But why is it that people started buying heavy stuff? We identified that it is because they don’t go under any regulation! What does this mean? The onus of ensuring you don’t exceed legal limits is not on the slide on camper manufacturer, not even the dealer, it’s on the customer.
Trayon’s mission is to ensure people understand just how important this is. So, Trayon takes a stance, and our prerogative is to educate the public on weights and weight distribution.
The campers weight distribution is just as crucial and should be your second most concern after the overall dry weight of the camper. Trayon has always endeavoured to keep the majority of our campers weight as far forward and as low down as possible to ensure the weight is positioned in front of the rear axle of the vehicle when it is loaded..
Trayon’s Camper Weight Mission
Our mission is to change prospective customers’ first question from “hey mate what does that camper cost?” To: “hey mate, how much does that camper weigh?”
For the last 7 years we have been trying to increase customer awareness about this topic through customer service, magazines, articles for Google, videos, interviews, you name it. We believe people are now much more aware these days about the issues surrounding slide on camper weights.
Now we’re confident that the researching customers will ask the right questions first.
“Hey mate, how much does that camper weigh?”
Trayon weights and specs
Now we know why those questions are so important, let’s answer the question:
“Hey mate, how much does the Trayon camper weigh?”
In the slide on camper industry, camper weight is generally expressed in ‘dry weight’ and this is an important concept underpinning Trayon camper weights.
What is dry weight?
Dry weight is the weight of the camper including all features which make up part of its core functionality, but may not be fully functional.
For example, no water in tanks, no gas in bottles, no beer in the fridge freezer, no food in storage, no clothing or crockery in the cupboards and so on.
In the caravan and camping industry there is some different interpretations of the meaning “dry weight”. For example, diesel hot water systems have a fluid inside crucial to their operation. Some companies remove this from the overall weight, claiming that it isn’t dry weight.
The diesel hot water system won’t run without it and it’s not refillable. This means that it is part of the systems functionality and should be counted as dry weight (the diesel in the diesel tank on the other hand is wet weight).
Further, many manufacturers don’t include the camper’s legs, which allow a slide on camper to free stand off the tray, in dry weight specification. Even though they are a critical part of the campers functionality!… it is after all a ‘slide on camper’ and you can only do that if you have legs for it. That’s why Trayon provide a weight breakdown for ever part of the campers functionality (Trayon legs weigh 27kg for all four and they are included with each camper as part of the Standard fitment and stated dry weights).
How do Trayon camper weights work?
When it comes to weight and comparing weight across slide on camper brands, spec for spec, apples for apples, Trayon has set the standard, and have maintained it for 26 years.
Trayon camper weights depend on the Trayon camper model. These come in single-cab/extra-cab and dual-cab models with three different dimensions to suit the large range of trays available today.
Single-cab Trayon models include 1980 (this is indicative of the width). The 1980 suits most mid range off road utes like Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger ute, VW Amarok, Isuzu D-Max, Mazda BT-50 etc.
Then we have the Dual-cab variants. Dual-Wide (1980 wide), which are shorter to fit the reduced tray length of dual cab utes, 1800mm in length. For more on what kind of cab to tray configuration you should look into, check out our recent article called “What Vehicle Configuration Should I Get to Go with a Trayon Camper”.
For each Trayon model, there are three types of fit out options. This includes the ‘Standard’, ‘Deluxe’, and ‘Diesel Deluxe’. It’s just like choosing a car. They are based on the same underlying design, layout and functionality, but with different bells and whistles. Each has different fittings to accommodate each customers desired level of comfort.
Which is the most popular? Without a doubt, the full scale Diesel Deluxe in the 1980 is our customers choice.
We provide everything you need to know about Trayon weights in a couple of different price and weight comparison sheets.
Trayon Camper Weights: The 1980 Standard model
The Trayon 1980 standard weighs in at 410kg dry weight. These setups include:
- Flip over roof and awning
- Four legs to free stand camper
- Kitchen with internal storage
- Lounge and table + table drops down to make third bed
- Main bed
- Sink
- Water tank 95L (empty)
- Water level monitor tank gange
- Internal water tap
- External water outlet (gravity)
- 12V water pump
- 100L fridge freezer
- Gas cooktop 2 burner and grill
- 9kg gas bottle integrated system
- 5 big midge screened zip-up windows
- 120 amp/hr deep cycle battery
- 2 x 240v power outlets
- 2 x 12v and 1 usb
- 12v monitor
- 240v battery charger
Do you get all that in a 300kg camper? Very unlikely. Trayon is the lightest class II slide on camper on the market because when you compare two slide on campers with those exact specifications – Trayon will always be the lightest.
So be sure to compare apples with apples when looking at the “Dry Weight”.
Trayon Camper Weights: The 1980 Deluxe model
The Deluxe model in the 1980 weighs 447kg. On top of the normal features of the Standard 1980 it also comes with:
- Gas hot water system
- External shower outlet
- Internal hot water tap
- Portable toilet
- Portable toilet chemicals
- Camper tropical fly
- 2 underbody storage draws
- Pop up free standing privacy cubicle
At 427kg, with all of the above, this is a market leading stat inclusive spec-to-spec for class 2 slide on campers.
Trayon Camper Weights: The 1980 Diesel Deluxe model
The Diesel Deluxe model in the 1980 weighs 465kg, and comes with some luxury extras in addition to the Deluxe model, including:
- Diesel hot water system
- Diesel internal cabin heating
- Lithium battery wiring and charging system (it still comes with 120 ah AGM battery, but, is built to take lithium if desired pre-sale or retrofit)
Best in class.
Trayon Camper Weights: Trayon Extras
Our price and weight comparison sheets even provide the weights of all Trayon optional extras. No other slide on camper company provides this essential information.
For example, a Trayon Outhouse Double, which is an optional extra ensuite enclosure that folds out from the back of the camper weighs in at 15kg. But we don’t stop there. If you get a Outhouse Double, it means you don’t need the Pop up free standing privacy cubicle that comes with a Deluxe fitout, which weighs in at 4kg. So as an upgrade the optional extra Outhouse Double only adds 11kg (15kg – 4kg = 11kg)
Because we give you the weights of absolutely everything, you can work out exactly what your camper is going to weigh within + or – 10%. Then you can work out what accessories you will equip your vehicle with, what essential items to pack and who is going with you to work out if you are still within your payload.
To download our full pricing and weight sheets, submit a pricing request here
Conclusions
Since 1994 Trayon have been the ambassadors for awareness about slide on camper weight. Not only is Trayon the lightest class 2 slide on camper on the market spec for spec, but all of Trayon’s features are laid out so that most of the camper weight is as far forward as possible, making it super stable in the rough and taking heat off the rear axles, chassis and running gear. Weight distribution should be your second most asked question with a slide on camper
Trayon campaigned to spread awareness on the importance of weight and weight distribution, and till this day is on a mission to keep spreading that awareness.
Why are you reading this blog? Because we have finally made it the number question for slide on camper customers.
Trayon does everything in its ability to ensure customers know how to calculate their weights for their vehicle. We provide every piece of necessary weight information possible for all of our products.
None of it is guess work. We have spent years fine tuning and engineering weight to maximise creature comforts while minimising weight, stability and fuel economy, and we are always innovating in our R&D department. We have a weight scale at the end of our production line that weighs every camper produced; can other companies say they have the same emphasis on weights? Here’s a video to show you how we weigh every camper off the production line and is a summary of this article.
So get your full list of Trayon camper weights here, and then you can calculate if it will fit your vehicle, or whether you need a suspension upgrade.
With over 1200 Trayon customers roaming Australia and the Globe, there are so many amazing off road adventures, free from worry about Trayon camper weights, exceeding payload and insurance limitations. After all, the last thing you want is stress on a camping trip!
