Nelligen: First trip with the Cub Camper

Posted by Anura Samara, 25 September 2016

It might sound paranoid, but we know how much our friends enjoy watching us set up when camping so we thought it would be better to do first trip in the new Cub Camper away from an audience!

Setting up was a breeze, a real validation of the reason we wanted to buy it. Opening the camper is the easy bit but setting up the awning takes a bit longer to get right (not helped by the fact that we are both short and getting the poles right means working above shoulder level). Once up, we were both amazed at how good it looked – it’s one thing to see the camper set up in the factory, another to achieve a great result on our first attempt and on uneven ground.

Inside, the camper feels more enclosed than a tent which is silly, when there’s still the same amount of material separating you from the outside. Maybe it’s the hard floor that lends a feeling of stability and comfort (although a raised bed with an innerspring mattress helps too). We did notice the interior heating up a lot more and it was hard to get a cross-breeze to keep it cool, but who spends all day inside a camper on a sunny day?

Packing up wasn’t so easy. With the bed now left with sheets and doona on, and trying to figure out how the awning sits on top of the tent, it felt like a real squash to get the camper closed up. In fact, we had a couple of attempts at it. As with camping, the real time is spent clearing everything away – pulling out pegs, putting everything back in its spot etc. But once it’s packed up and closed, it’s good to know that it can stay that way until the next trip.

Right, we think we know what we’re doing so next time it will be with an audience…