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Trailer Tent Reviews: Conway Challenger
Tent and Awning Reviews Index > Conway > Challenger Reviews
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Discontinued
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£3,000.00
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Average User Rating:9/10 from 3 reviews
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3 Reviews of the Challenger
By: Lesnorman Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2003 Rating: 
MY REVIEW UPDATED
When I was trying to decide which Folding Camper or Trailer Tent to buy, I couldn't find a review of a Conway Challenger anywhere, so having now bought a really beautiful example, I decided to write a review to help other buyers, or to help anyone who wishes to buy this one after our holidays.
We finally purchased a 2003 Challenger, which was first sold in 2004 to a middle-aged couple who used it only occasionally and kept it in pristine condition until 2015 when they felt it was time to move on. The new owner who was a lady who bought it for her family to enjoy but her husband was not a camping enthusiast and the unit remained in storage until 2016 when we bought it. Having travelled some distances only to see some shabby examples and grumpy owners, we could not buy this one quickly enough.
This Challenger came with a genuine Conway large storage box, (£300) full 240v and 12v electrics, a wheeled water barrel, a wheeled waster water carrier, two gas rings and a grill, a sink with electric running water, ample storage, drawers and boxes, full outside skirting (£100) a full and previously unused awning (£280) a sun canopy (£200) and a winter cover (£90). The pots and pans were unused. For safety reasons and our peace of mind, we arranged a professional full service of both trailer and gas, a damp test (£79) two new tyres (£70) to replace the hardly-worn but original tyres, a new leisure battery (£45) and a new jockey wheel. All the gas pipes have been replaced with a heavy duty alternative. We have added a halogen heater with a safety cut-out which is perfectly quiet, a flushing loo which lives under the skirts and comes out at night, a fan, a silent running and very effective 30 litre electric cool-box which is as good as any fridge, a microwave, lamps and some cushions.
Having full 240v electrics means a kettle, table lamps, a toaster, phone and iPad chargers and you could buy a TV with DVD player if you want some entertainment on rainy days and cooler evenings. Camping does not come any better than this.
This Challenger as far as we can tell has never been chemically waterproofed which is the worst thing that can be done to any canvas topped camper. It is the beginning of the end for the canvas and we would never buy any waterproofed unit.
This is the smallest of all the folding campers on a par with the Pennine Aztec from the same manufacturer, and the Dandy Dart. It is unnoticeable when being towed and you do not need extended mirrors on your car. Being very lightweight, one man or woman can turn it around in the street or on site, no problem at all.
Once you understand the sequence, one man (namely me) or woman can easily unfold the camper and set it up without any help. It takes me maybe ten minutes at the most, taking my time, then whatever interior and external fittings you wish to add. If it were raining, it would be up rather quicker. Attaching the sun canopy is a matter of less than five minutes with no stress at all but you really do need someone, even a child to hold a pole here and there while you clip them together. The awning which is bigger and heavier takes maybe 10 minutes with practice and it is easy enough with a bit of help to hold the poles in place while you tighten them. You attach the bedrooms pods in a minute or two, then the roof lining, plug in the mains power cable and on with the kettle.
Once you are in, with or without the awnings or skirts, you are warm but not hot or cold because the first-class Trigano canvas makes all the difference. I am just over 6 feet tall and I can stand up with ease and stretch out with comfort on the beds which are longer than I am.
For two people like us at 67 years old this is sheer luxury after a lifetime in tents. For four people I would say you really need the awning up to give you a lot more sitting space, although for an overnight stop you probably would manage with the main unit alone. One bed converts into a settee and from there you can put your i-Pad on the mini-coffee table and watch a film in total comfort. The main table is quite big enough for four people to eat in a very civilised way with the lamp on for romantic lighting.
Not a drop of rain has got in so far, and in all-night winds exceeding 40mph near Filey the unit never moved. I did tie a line to each corner and to the sun canopy as well.
Set down is just a case of doing everything in reverse and just as easy. It is not difficult to lift the bed platforms over and let them fit back into the trailer, which also has an amazing amount of room to store things like the toilet, awnings, microwave, duvets and so on. You can carry the awning and sun canopy with their poles on top, under the transit cover. The lump they cause also helps the rain to run off and not settle in pools.
The Challenger does not have the built-in fridge of the Countryman, or the Pennine Apollo or Fiesta the electric cool-box we have sits outside under the skirt curtain and is very efficient. We may buy a Maypole bike carrier to fit behind the tow bar.
All in all we are very impressed with the quality equipment and manufacturing by Conway and delighted with the ease, the 'feel' and the atmosphere of this folding camper. It is almost a caravan in terms of space and comfort but still the retains the feel of camping and the pitta-patter sounds of rain that we like so much.
When we have had our holidays it will be for sale for £1800 or we might take the highest, most reasonable offer. This is what we do with our tents and campers every year, so if you wanted to talk to us or buy the Challenger, just let me know through the e-mail at the end. Looks like the next step for us is to see if we like touring in a small caravan but then again for the first time in years, it is very tempting to keep the Challenger.
UPDATE
It is now the end of August and so far we have camped in Mablethorpe, Filey, near Bristol and near Chichester harbour and enjoyed nearly every minute, even the strong winds and heavy rain from time to time. I have moved from not being very sure of how well we would get on with a Conway Challenger to being very confident with how stable, solid, spacious, warm and dry yet well-ventilated it is in all weathers. An amazing design which gives a very superior experience for anyone wishing to move on from tents but not yet ready for a caravan.
The only downside I can think of is that if you want a full set-up with skirts, awning and everything else then it is more time-consuming to do than a tent or a caravan, unless two people are working on it. I do it alone. Same for the take down, but one man and an hour will see it through from maximum set-up to back in the box. It is best to avoid a wet take down unless you have space for the Challenger canvas to be opened up and dried out later on. There is a remarkable app called Dark Sky which tells you the arrival of rain to the minute, how long it will last, and how long you have before it starts again.
For more information the place to see is Blue Sky Holdings on the Internet, where Alan Young has brought together the world's finest collection of information and reviews on every known folding camper and trailer tent. Alan was immensely helpful to us and you can buy from him with total confidence. If you read his guide to buying a Folding Camper as we did, this Challenger ticks all the boxes. Avoid the rest like the plague and say no to even a hint of damp in the trailer or mildew or mould on the canvas.
So there we are, I hope this helps you in making your own decisions. If you have any questions, please feel to e-mail me at lesnorman1@gmail.Com.
Best wishes from us.
Click here for the photos: https://goo.Gl/photos/W3xVjADfX98HSmi88
4 from 4 people found this review helpful, was it helpful to you?  
By: Lesnorman Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2003 Rating:
MY UPDATED REVIEW OF THE CONWAY CHALLENGER FOLDING CAMPER
When I was trying to decide which Folding Camper or Trailer Tent to buy, I couldn't find a review of a Conway Challenger anywhere, so having now bought a really beautiful example, I decided to write a review to help other buyers, or to help anyone who wishes to buy this one after our holidays.
We finally purchased a 2003 Challenger, which was first sold in 2004 to a middle-aged couple who used it only occasionally and kept it in pristine condition until 2015 when they felt it was time to move on. The new owner who was a lady who bought it for her family to enjoy but her husband was not a camping enthusiast and the unit remained in storage until 2016 when we bought it. Having travelled some distances only to see some shabby examples and grumpy owners, we could not buy this one quickly enough.
This Challenger came with a genuine Conway large storage box, full 240v and 12v electrics, a wheeled water barrel, a wheeled waster water carrier, two gas rings and a grill, a sink with electric running water, ample storage, drawers and boxes, full outside skirting, a full and previously unused awning, a sun canopy and a winter cover. The pots and pans were unused. For safety reasons and our peace of mind, we arranged a professional full service of both trailer and gas, a damp test, two new tyres to replace the hardly-worn but original tyres, a new leisure battery and a new jockey wheel. We have added a halogen heater with a safety cut-out which is perfectly quiet, a fan, an silent running and very effective 30 litre electric cool-box which is as good as any fridge, a microwave and some cushions.
Having full 240v electrics means a kettle, table lamps, a toaster, phone and iPad chargers and a TV with DVD player if you want one for rainy days and cooler evenings.
This is the smallest of all the folding campers on a par with the Pennine Aztec from the same manufacturer, and the Dandy Dart. It is unnoticeable when being towed and you do not need extended mirrors on your car. Being very lightweight, one man or woman can turn it around in the street or on site, no problem at all.
Once you understand the sequence, one man (namely me) or woman can easily unfold the camper and set it up without any help. It takes me maybe ten minutes at the most, taking my time, then whatever interior and external fittings you wish to add. If it were raining, it would be up rather quicker. Attaching the sun canopy is a matter of less than five minutes with no stress at all but you really do need someone, even a child to hold a pole here and there while you clip them together. The awning which is bigger and heavier takes maybe 10 minutes with practice and it is easy enough with a bit of help to hold the poles in place while you tighten them. You attach the bedrooms pods in a minute or two, then the roof lining, plug in the mains power cable and on with the kettle.
Once you are in, with or without the awnings or skirts, you are warm but not hot or cold because the first-class Trigano canvas makes all the difference. I am just over 6 feet tall and I can stand up with ease and stretch out with comfort on the beds which are longer than I am.
For two people like us at 67 years old this is sheer luxury after a lifetime in tents. For four people I would say you really need the awning up to give you a lot more sitting space, although for an overnight stop you probably would manage with the main unit alone. One bed converts into a settee and from there you can put your i-Pad on the mini-coffee table and watch a film in total comfort. The main table is quite big enough for four people to eat in a very civilised way with the lamp on for romantic lighting.
Not a drop of rain has got in so far, and in all-night winds exceeding 40mph near Filey the unit never moved. I did tie a line to each corner and to the sun canopy as well.
Set down is just a case of doing everything in reverse and just as easy. It is not difficult to lift the bed platforms over and let them fit back into the trailer, which also has an amazing amount of room to store things like the toilet, awnings, microwave, duvets and so on. You can carry the awning and sun canopy with their poles on top, under the transit cover. The lump they cause also helps the rain to run off and not settle in pools.
The Challenger does not have the built-in fridge of the Countryman, or the Pennine Apollo or Fiesta the electric cool-box we have sits outside under the skirt curtain and is very efficient. We may buy a Maypole bike carrier to fit behind the tow bar.
All in all we are very impressed with the quality equipment and manufacturing by Conway and delighted with the ease, the 'feel' and the atmosphere of this folding camper. It is almost a caravan in terms of space and comfort but still the retains the feel of camping and the pitta-patter sounds of rain that we like so much.
When we have had our holidays it will be for sale for around £1800, which is what we do with our tents every year, so if you wanted to talk about this, or buy the Challenger, just let me know through the e-mail at the end.
It is now the end of August and so far we have camped in Mablethorpe, Filey, near Bristol and near Chichester harbour and enjoyed nearly every minute, even the strong winds and heavy rain from time to time. I have moved from not being very sure of how well we would get on with a Conway Challenger to being very confident with how stable, solid, spacious, warm and dry yet well-ventilated it is in all weathers. An amazing design which gives a very superior experience for anyone wishing to move on from tents but not yet ready for a caravan.
The only downside I can think of is that if you want a full set-up with skirts, awning and everything else then it is more time-consuming to do than a tent or a caravan, unless two people are working on it. I do it alone. Same for the take down, but one man and an hour will see it through from maximum set-up to back in the box. It is essential to avoid a wet take down unless you have space for the Challenger canvas to be opened up and dried out later on. There is a remarkable app called Dark Skies which tells you the arrival of rain to the minute, how long it will last, and how long you have before it starts again.
For more information the place to is Blue Sky Holdings on the Internet, where Alan Young has brought together the world's finest collection of information and reviews on every known folding camper and trailer tent. Alan was immensely helpful to us and you can buy from him with total confidence. If you read his guide to buying a Folding Camper as we did, this Challenger ticks all the boxes. Avoid the rest like the plague and say no to even a hint of damp in the trailer or mildew or mould on the canvas.
So there we are, I hope this helps you in making your own decisions. If you have any questions, please feel to e-mail me at lesnorman1@gmail.Com.
Best wishes from us.
Click here for the photos: https://goo.Gl/photos/W3xVjADfX98HSmi88
0 from 0 people found this review helpful, was it helpful to you?
By: Lesnorman Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2003 Rating:
Over many years I have enjoyed many kinds of tents, then a Conway Cardinal Hardtop, later a caravan and then back to an excellent Robens Cabin 300 tent. This year in our mid-60's it seemed time to not sleep on the ground any more, so we bought the smallest of all Folding Campers, the Conway Challenger. It has turned out to be superb. Light to manoeuvre by hand, unnoticeable when towing and as easy as can be to put up single-handed. Then you are warm, dry and can sleep in comfort in 6'2' beds, one of which turns into a sofa. We have a gas cooker, running water, 12v and 240v electrics which means a quiet halogen heater, a microwave, lamps and chargers. At over 6' I can stand upright and we can sit round a quality table with ample room on either side. The downside is not having a built-in fridge but we can run an electric coolbox, and of course the roof is high quality Trigano canvas which means drying it out after any wet set down. We have a toilet in a pop-up Quest utility tent outside. The sun canopy goes up in less than 5 minutes. I reckon I can do the awning in less than 10 minutes. All in all, amazing space from a small trailer with surprising comfort. Highly recommended.
1 from 1 people found this review helpful, was it helpful to you?
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Manufacturer's Description
Four berth, two cabin folding camper. Awnings are an optional extra
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