It’s something that has made a big difference in camper trailer land: Forward Fold campers. They make a different use of space compared to a traditional hard-floor camper, and have the potential of suiting families a bit better. Obviously, Cub have been listening, because they have just announced their own off-road, forward-fold camper trailer.
Cub’s hard-floor campers have been around for years, and would have to be one of the most proven designs getting around. We’ve been towing them to all sorts of places over the past eight or nine years, and have a huge amount of respect for what they stand up to. But, dispelling that myth that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, Cub are adding a new design to their ranks: a Cub forward fold camper.
We’ve had a look at this unit, and are really impressed initially. The roof flips forward and rests onto the (big) box on the drawbar. What difference does it make? Well, it gives a lot more space inside, giving a dinette and the potential for internal cooking setups. You can also quickly convert this area into another bed, meaning this camper can accommodate more, easier. Look at how much space is available in the front box, as well.
The usual suspects of a big, galvanised chassis, good suspension, Aussie canvas and good craftsmanship are all present and accounted for in this new model, so we are quietly confident it will perform well in the bush. We’re currently trying to sweet-talk them into a loaner unit for testing, so will report back soon!
SPECS:
- Body Length – 2.2 m
- Towing Height – 1.55 m
- Width – 2 m
- Towing Length – 5.5 m
- Tare weight – 1080kg
- Ball Weight – 130Kg
- ATM – 1450kg
- 16″ Goodyear Wrangler tyres A/T on Black Steel wheels
- Rear-mounted spare wheel.
- Alko 50mm axle with 10″ electric brakes.
- Hand brake protector.
- 100% Australian made tent with Wax Converters Dynaproof Canvas.
- Extended deluxe awning and front wall with window.
- Aluminium powder coated awning poles
- Trigg off road hitch
- 20 litre jerry can holder X 2
- Â Galvanised steel stone guard
- Fridge box & slide
- Draw bar 100 x 50 x 3 mm
12 comments
Cub have always had a problem with the set up of their hard floor models. Almost impossible to get it right. Floppy in the sun, and then lifts the hard floor overnight. This new model does not require a concrete slab to get a good setup. Not before time. thank you!
Almost agree Ray, we had a Spacevan Regal with the internal stainless steel kitchen & big fridge, a big advantage over nearly all campers. This was ideal for overnight stops as we didn’t have to erect the awning to protect the cook, easy to tow behind a 4 cylinder Subaru Outback even on a 6 week trip around the undulating roads of Tasmania as well as a lot of other trips. More than happy with the simple leaf spring suspension, a lot less unsprung weight than an independent set up.
Probably the only time we got the erection right was on the Cub showroom floor, despite the efforts of Cub to make it easier, in the end arthritis won. Still the best fold out camper for the money
Had a CUB Daintree. Wow, lots of canvas issues. Several door zips replaced and that is a big job taking the canvas off the camper and taking it to the repairer and refitting it once the job was done. Constant need to reset the ‘tent’ so that the zips would have some hope of lasting each trip. On the plus side it was a breeze to tow and when it was packed up the roof/floor was fantastic to carry firewood on. Have now gone to a full off road pop top. No more canvas for me. Period!!
Loved the new Cub Daintree we had for a couple of years, light to tow, fast setup, but…
If you needed to cook under the add on awning in weather, the attachment mechanism and process is without a doubt the worst in the market, even the Chinese would not copy it. Poles with velcro poked into the sides of the main tent body were very hard to fit, and no matter how many times we reset the hoops/bows, the sides would get crazy creases and leak in wind and rain.
I hope they copied some of the other good brands, it was a shame because their canvas was great in spite of poor design.
Had issues with set up too. Kept getting the ‘zigzag’ and couldn’t get it right as it was on handover. After much angst and reading of forums and trial and error, settled with a sub optimum set up. Fortunately live ‘near’ to Cub HO Sydney so went down and spent 45 minutes with the Cub team. Slight reset of bars (fixing up my adjustments no doubt) and then the realisation that I had been setting the front too low on jockey wheel. They, Cub, went slightly beyond the horizontal – set up perfect. That was a few years ago and set up has been perfect since – simple fix but very effective. Have been all over with it since – Cape York, Cameron’s Corner and multiple short trips and has been ‘right’ since
Sean, are you saying that the draw bar should be higher than horizontal at the hitch, ie: sloping down toward the hardfloor? My 2011 cub poverty model is great, except for getting the canvas to sit right.
Hi Gav, in short yes. I thought it was level (not using long spirit level – so apologies as this is eyesight and simple measure ‘next to body’ driven..), when I went to Cub to my eye and my measure it was about a inch to 3/4 inch above absolute level and the canvass and set up was perfect. I had constantly had the zig zag, and the entry zip not straight and hard to open. Since going slightly above level its like a different trailer. Front canvass does not sag over bed, canvass is taught and zip works a dream. I have the Regal Supamatic XTD off road. This small adjustment has made all the difference and no longer do I have a frustrated family at camp trying to access the zipper door.
You also do not notice the modest ‘overcorrection’ inside when sleeping at all.
Excellent news! I have a 2011 Supermatic and if I kept a swear jar for ever time the door zip has split or caught, I would be in a Kimberley Camper. I am looking forward to trying this re-jig and having the front of the camper higher.
Thanks Sean, will give it a go, we to have been victims of “the cub crease”. Contiually resetting the canvas. If this works,will be forever indebited to you.
We bought a Cub Weekender a few years ago and prior to using it I installed a battery, a few other storage areas and few improvement. I did notice every time I set it up the canvas was absolutely impossible to get straight and hang without wrinkles. Aside from not looking the best it made it very difficult to unzip doors and windows without using two hands. The annex wall hung down touching the stove, the awning’s velcro poles kept falling down, the tap just wouldn’t stay put, the canvas at the end of the bed sagged horribly, the press studs around the base didn’t line up. Anyway we headed off on our first trip to Melbourne staying in a park on the outskirts. Long story short, after three days we were so fed up with this pile of rubbish we packed up, headed home and advertised it at half of what we paid for it. After three months without a single enquiry we traded it on a Jayco. Worst buy I ever made, worst camper trailer I ever owned. Cub should be ashamed of itself selling garbage like this.
The stories listed says Cub needs to do some work on advising new owners on there set-ups. When we took delivery of our camper we received a DVD but did not cover our individual Brumby model although the general principles applied on set-up, but being male I never took much notice of that.
I have owned a Cub Brumby since 2008 and & have not had any issues with set-up from day 1 with canvas but what I did do was go to Bunnings & buy two small spirit levels & attached to the middle of the floor at the back of the camper at the highest point while closed. This enabled me view while reversing if the camper was level from the left side to the right side. Before opening the camper I would make sure it was level from front to the back using the jockey wheel , once level two turns up on the jockey wheel which must be similar to Sean’s method in raising it up at the hitch end 3/4 inch. I also clean the sippers with mild detergent & water with a tooth brush to get fine grit out. All up we have used the camper in total over 6 months of camping & have travelled 40,000 km with no issues regarding canvas, easy to tow, studs were an issue which Cub replaced all of them free of charge, had a water tank issue with sand in it which was replaced. Overall happy with the product.