If you’re in the market for a new camper or work trailer, look no further than Top Tier Trailers on Fremlin Place. The importer and retailer of tradesperson (“tradie”) trailers and camper trailers offers a wide range of easy-to-transport, kitted-out options perfect for work, adventure, or both.
“The tradie trailers are designed for tradespeople like builders, landscapers, plumbers, and electricians,” explains David Serjeant, one half of the partnership behind Top Tier. “They’re perfect as a tool trailer.”
And so much more. Depending on the model, the tradie trailers include features like storage lockers, a built-in radio and MP3 player, and even a 5-tonne hydraulic tipper. Need power to stay on the tools for longer? Choose the model with the rooftop solar panels, the 2200w inverter, and 240-volt battery that allows you to charge up and get back to work. Add to that an 80L water tank, LED lighting inside and out, and a central locking security system, and you’d be ready to take on any job.
If you’re looking for something that’s more play than work, the camper range is stocked with unique off-road trailers that make setup a breeze. The camper trailers offer the majority of amenities you’d find in a caravan but with the experience of a tent, either a hard or soft shell that essentially pops open like a rooftop tent you might see perched atop a four-wheel drive.
“They’re quite different to what people expect a trailer would look like,” says David. “They’re really quick to set up, and you’re up in the air, so you don’t have the cold of the ground coming up through the bottom of your tent. It extends the season, so you can tent for a little bit longer.”
Depending on the model, the camper trailers can include hot and cold water, a kitchen with its own sink and multi-burner gas cooker, portable fridge-freezer, built-in stereo, and lights outside and throughout. The biggest model can carry up to 140L of water and is spacious enough to hold a king-sized bed and lounge area that can be turned into an extra double bed.
“It’s almost everything that you find in a standard caravan, except for a toilet,” says David. (Although Top Tier also sells chemical toilets designed to come along for the ride.)
And when it comes to price, Top Tier’s trailers, whether for work or outdoor adventures, are easier on the wallet than other options on the market. “They range in price from 10k to around the 40k mark,” says David, “whereas a brand-new entry level caravan is upwards of 60K.”
David, a landscaper by trade, founded Top Tier Traders with his business partner, Jono Higgins, after deciding it was time for a less physically taxing career. As a tradie himself, David says he fell in love with the idea of a trailer that was equipped with everything you needed for the perfect portable worksite. “The product was something we thought New Zealand would grab hold of, so we thought we’d just give it a try.”
Jono, meanwhile, is a major camping enthusiast, so the pair looked at importing both types of trailers from overseas. (David now says that having a camper trailer means he embarks on a lot more outdoor adventures.)
Although the business itself is new, its launch was a long time in the making; David and Jono did a year of solid research before they acquired their first three trailers in January 2025. They have since developed strong relationships with five factories overseas that have been supplying similar products into Australia for over 15 years.
Now there is a range of trailers ready to roll in their Avondale showroom, with stock turning over regularly, as well as a growing community of camper trailer enthusiasts meeting up in their Top Tier trailers.
And the trailers themselves are only the beginning. The business is looking to branch further into accessories, and they’ve added the rooftop tent-focused Top Tier Tents to their brand family, which includes hard and soft-shell rooftop tents and 180° and 270° awnings.
“I’ve also started designing trailers myself for customers who want to customise what we’ve got,” says David. “I’ve now done three for different customers, with one trailer currently on its way down to Wanaka. There’s lots of room for us to grow. It’s new, it’s exciting, it’s scary, it’s all of the above.”
To check out Top Tier’s versatile range for yourself, visit toptiertrailers.co.nz or stop by the Top Tier Trailers showroom and workshop at 5B Fremlin Place from 9 am until 4 pm Monday to Friday and 10 am till 2 pm on a Saturday (no appointment needed).
Story by Beth Caunter