Tray-Tek Campers was the brain-child of Darrell and Linda White. A serious illness in 1999 forced the award winning builders to rethink their lives.
The decision was made to travel the remote parts of Australia that they had dreamed about for years. They soon realised that tents and airbeds were not for them. In 2001 they bought a 4×4 trayback ute, built a tin box for the back, had a good quality tent made to go on top and were ready to go. This setup was just brilliant and served them well and created heaps of interest everywhere they went. It was soon on-sold and an updated version took its place. The same thing happened again and again. They realised they were onto something and their “little hobby” was growing fast.
After watching a young family load their camping gear onto the roof of their dual cab canopy one day (the father was standing on the tailgate of the ute), they thought that the tailgate could be utilised to a greater advantage and incorporated into a camper. A plan was sketched then and there for a camper with a hard roof and a tailgate –hence the name “Tailgater”. The first prototype was built in 2005. It is still proudly owned by a local doctor.
The design underwent lots of changes and improvements. It created an enormous amount of interest over the next few years. The name Tray-Tek was registered in 2008, the business took off and they had to employ contractors to build the units.
In 2013 Trayon Campers approached them to purchase their business. They had little hesitation in agreeing, as Trayon is a top quality product and well respected.
The two products will now be built at the same facility and will be marketed side-by-side providing a one-stop shop for slide-on buyers wanting quality, reputable all Australian built products.
Darrell and Linda will now be doing more of what they love, travelling and designing camping gear.
The Trayon Tray-Tek amalgamation will be introducing new and exciting models possibly in 2014.
As the saying goes “watch this space”.