17' Series Jayco 17.56-2

[Patons]

Hi there as some of you have read hubby n I are trying to come to an agreement on a new van! I quite like the 17.56-2 has everything we need, only problem is hubby is really really against pop tops. Are they really as bad as he makes out? We are going from a full caravan. Do they leak? Is the insulation that bad? Advice please thanks!

 

[Dede]

Hi @Patons, we currently have a full height van, previous van was a pop top. What I liked about the pop top was cross ventilation and more light. As far as insulation goes, with an expander your ends are canvas anyway, so there goes your insulation. We have been up to cairns in this van and to the snow last year. I don't think it is any hotter or colder than a pop top. The pros for a full height van are access inside the van at all times, no stooping when you stop for lunch, benches are higher, now days with the large pop tops benches are quite a bit lower (I'm nearly 6 ft), to allow for for overhead cupboards. Speaking of overhead cupboards, full height van they are larger, but the ability to place things up off the bench onto the top of the overhead cupboards has gone. In a windy situation the roof doesn't move, also the awning doesn't put a strain on the pop top struts mechanism in a full height van. Would I go back to a pop top, depends on the bench height and van layout, I do miss the ventilation and light though. After reading this thread, I haven't been much help. Dede

 

[Marv_mart]

Hi, we had a Penguin before (Full wind up) and upgraded to a Pop Top. 14.44-5 OB
Love the light, storage on top of the overheads as @Dede says.
Best advantage for us is the lower height when towing and storing.
Storage Ht was a problem for us. Better fuel economy when towing is a big plus for us.
Having to 'Pop-the-Top' when we stop for a cup of ... Doesn't bother us.
Hank

 

[rcf]

Hi there as some of you have read hubby n I are trying to come to an agreement on a new van! I quite like the 17.56-2 has everything we need, only problem is hubby is really really against pop tops. Are they really as bad as he makes out? We are going from a full caravan. Do they leak? Is the insulation that bad? Advice please thanks!

Hi there as some of you have read hubby n I are trying to come to an agreement on a new van! I quite like the 17.56-2 has everything we need, only problem is hubby is really really against pop tops. Are they really as bad as he makes out? We are going from a full caravan. Do they leak? Is the insulation that bad? Advice please thanks!

 

[chartrock]

We have a pop top, never had a full height van so I can't compare. As @Marv_mart said, storage height was a problem but we have never had a problem with storage and Mrs CR is just the right height to work in the van with the roof down. Insulation never has been a problem but I have not had a full height van to compare it to. Even though we have an air-con, it hardly ever gets turned on. I would go the pop top every time.

 

[rcf]

Hi there as some of you have read hubby n I are trying to come to an agreement on a new van! I quite like the 17.56-2 has everything we need, only problem is hubby is really really against pop tops. Are they really as bad as he makes out? We are going from a full caravan. Do they leak? Is the insulation that bad? Advice please thanks!

we hired a 17562 ob for 9 nights,2 of them it rained, no leaks. 3kids heap of gear lots of room, yah get to try b4 you buy, we ordered our van at the brissie show and pick it up in oct.

 

[Pace]

No complaints here. Pace.

 

[achjimmy]

Had two pop tops and was keen to make our third van non poptop. Coming home last trip in severe cross winds made me think twice. Looking at all the vans I kept feeling a lack of openness and light. Walk into the poptops and felt more open, definitely the pop tops for us. I have never felt the poptop is a huge issue in the cold. The cold air screaming in through the door vent surpasses anything!

 

[Colsar]

we have a pop top, and more than happy with it, easy to tow, not that much higher than vehicle ( fuel economy )
no insulation problems, in fact the vents in the pop top allow heaps of air and light when required.
if its a new van , leaks would be hopefully covered under warranty , and stored , i would suggest a full cover anyway, or garage / carport.
storage not an issue, but you also get to use the cupboard tops when set up if needed.
if we do a road side stop, we can still get in, and sit at the table for lunch no prob if we want. ( try one out with top down).
yep very happy, no hesitation to go pop top again IMO.

 

[dagree]

After 20+ years of tenting we upgraded to a 16' pop top expanda and thought it was great... Enough so, we just upgraded to a larger one
As others have already said our main reason for the pop top was being able to get it under the carport and secondly for towing reasons (Lower, lighter etc).

Haven't owned a full height van but have stayed in a few and as others have already said they are brighter inside and don't feel as claustrophobic. Haven't had an issue with insulation but then again I am comparing to a tent!!!!

Yes, unfortunately, stooping while inside with the top down is a pain but I think the advantages out-weigh this problem.

 

[Pete]

Hi, we have had both poptops and a full height van. In choosing our next van we also had the same question as you. We have just ordered a 1756 2 poptop because the ceiling height is much higher than the full height van. Poptops are much easier to tow, have very little set up and do allow cross ventilation. We have never had one leak and neither have they been a problem in high wind. The full height van was a little quieter and allowed us better access when travelling. It does not matter what van you get, you will always have to do some setting up when getting to the caravan park.

 

[Patons]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I'm still all for getting one, hubby is still being stubborn. Might get him to read your posts if I can haha see if I can convince him!!

 

[Flossymk1]

I'm still a bit of a noob when it comes to caravanning, as we've only had 2 trips in our pop-top so far (first ever van). But I have to say the ability to be able to put things on top of the cupboards is really great - especially travelling with our 2 kids! I love that I can put a washing basket on top of the cupboard for all the dirty clothes, so it doesn't get in the way at all. Then when we pack up I just stick it on the dinette seat and then carry it straight into the house once we're home!

I also like the light and breeze that you get with the extra windows - it feels a lot more spacious inside compared to some of the full vans I looked at when we were deciding on what to get!

Insulation not really an issue for us as we live in North QLD! But my definition of cold is probably very different to yours - on our last trip it almost got down to the mid teens and we were so cold we had to put the heater on! lol

I've also been pottering around in the van today, gluing down some Velcro strips etc, and haven't felt the need to 'pop the top', although I do have to stoop a bit, but it's not too bad.

I think it depends on the design of the full van though - I got to have a look inside a 20.63-1 at a caravan park a couple of weeks ago (thanks @Ren77 !), and I thought it felt and looked quite spacious! But it had 3 skylights I think, which allowed for a lot more light to come in

 

[Dede]

Just a quick question, are full height vans lighter than pop tops, because the wall frames don't need to be as reinforced as in a pop top because the roof provides structural stability?? Don't quote me!

 

[Colsar]

no idea, but at a guess would have thought full height vans heavier, given full height interior, etc plus pop top has canvas for the top 350mm as opposed to walls? Hmmmm can some one en lighten us !

 

[Dede]

Just did a google search and majority of modern day pop tops are heavier than the equivalent length van in full height. Our 16 ft expanda full height has a tare of around 1750 (from memory), can't be bothered going outside on the side walk in 10C. To check.

 

[Colsar]

We have a 16.49 , tare weight on the plate 1473kg, be interested to see what the plate comes in at for the tare weight?
Cold here too, had to go out to retrieve the dog, bugger.

 

[Dede]

We have a 16.49 , tare weight on the plate 1473kg, be interested to see what the plate comes in at for the tare weight?
Cold here too, had to go out to retrieve the dog, bugger.

Hi Colin&Sue, my mistake tare 1286, GTM 1436, length 15.8, just went out and checked. Yes it's stopped raining. Pretty light, no wonder our Falcon station wagon tows it nicely.

 

[Colsar]

Just had a look on jayco site pop top 16.49 -3 - 1540kgs, star craft. 16.51-3 -1739 kgs, still reckon pop top might have an edge, but not mine once the wife fills it up, not to mention the added mods.

 

[Hubble80]

We are looking at going from 1756-2OB to a full van in the next year or so. Found the full vans have a bit of extra storage around the top. If we could get the larger vans in pop top we would surely look at them... We have never had an issue with ours. Opening the windows in the pop top is good when there is a breeze about!