Hi there all.
We are newbies to the Jayco forum scene but we found these sorts of discussions so helpful with our own recent Jayco purchase that we thought we might share our own journey which we hope, in turn, others might find useful.
Our search for an off road caravan began last year when we decided to sell our 2004 Outback Expanda after 12 years. Prior to that we’d owned an old Millard caravan and prior to that we’d owned 2 campervans, various tents etc etc.
Initially we thought that we’d purchase a second hand Trakmaster or Bushtraker but we soon realized that they were priced way beyond our budget and some that we looked at had seen some very rugged service (for which they are designed).
We finally ended up at Bayswater Jayco where we spent alot of time in and under their various Outback caravans. We were very pleased to see that Jayco had replaced the leaf spring suspension with the JTECH independent coil spring suspension and all of the online reviews from various groups about this improved suspension were very positive. We also felt that Jayco’s attention to detail inside that van had improved considerably.
We eventually decided on a Jayco Starcraft Outback 19.61-2.
WHAT WE LIKED ABOUT IT:
· More robust cabinetry.
· Full sized ensuite.
· Full sized island double bed with innerspring mattress as standard.
. No more canvas! No more making and unmaking the bed every single time you arrive and depart from a destination! No more crawling over each other to get in and out of bed! Sorry about this Expanda but we are over all that after all these years! (Must be getting old and soft haha).
· Under bed storage.
· Laminex to walls of kitchen as standard.
· Large sink (some we looked at were small and impractical).
· Good quality fabric to decor.
· Huge windows for great light, ventilation and enjoying the vista.
· Improved locking mechanism to windows.
· 185 litre 2 door fridge/freezer with cooling mechanism as standard.
· Large tunnel boot space spanning the full width of the front of the caravan with external access to both ends as standard.
· 2 vented skylights as standard letting in great light.
· 2 x 9kg gas bottles as standard.
· External gas bayonet as standard.
· Fibreglass panelling to both ends of the caravan as standard.
· Door to the rear of the caravan.
· And... on the weekend that we signed up for the caravan they were throwing in a Weber Q! Done deal!
· The final price!
WHAT WE WEREN'T TOO KEEN ON........ BUT WENT AHEAD BUYING IT ANYWAY!
· Limited kitchen bench space. We will miss the huge bench areas that we had in our Expanda but we were reluctant to get a larger van in order to get the greater bench space because of the sort of camping that we predominantly do. The plan at this stage is to get a single sheet of perspex cut to fit from the right had side of the kitchen sink tap, span the closed stove top and finish at the fridge wall. This will give us approx 800mm x 550mm of clear, usable bench space. It will of course have to be stashed somewhere while we’re in transit. And....the table top is only half a turn away!
· The 3 shelves in the narrow pantry cupboard to the left of the fridge have all been screwed in from the top. The shelves in our Expanda were all screwed in like this and when one suddenly collapsed when we were away on holidays one time, we installed sturdy support rails under all the shelves as soon as possible.
· It’s a pity that the main chassis rails don’t run the full length to the rear of the caravan. They stop short by approx 400mm and they have used a lighter grade steel to finish off, including the steel rear bumper.
UPGRADES THAT WE DECIDED ON:
· Upgraded from the 120 watt solar panel (as standard) to 150 watt. We also own and use a 120 watt portable solar panel.
· Drifter LED control panel.
· Ceramic toilet seat (won’t warp or discolour like the plastic ones).
· Ibis air conditioner (quieter)
· Washing machine. (Initially we weren’t going to bother but then we read numerous forums about what other fellow travellers had washed or witnessed being washed in some caravan park washing machines and that made us rethink. Think...guinea pig blankets! We have seen for ourselves some pretty dirty laundries on our travels).
· Shelves to left hand side wardrobe and right side for hanging.
· Double power points and 12V outlet situated above both small triangular cupboards at the end of the bed area.
· Extended draw bar (because of the position of the tow ball on the towing vehicle).
· Bike racks (cannot be retrofitted).
· Fold down picnic table.
· Third water tank, filter and second tap plumbed directly to the kitchen sink exclusively for drinking and cooking water. That way, the other 2 standard water tanks supplying water to the toilet, vanity basin, shower, washing machine and washing up water to the kitchen sink can be filled up with non drinking water (eg: river water) if need be. *** Any comments regarding the effectiveness of Jayco’s filtration system would be appreciated. ***
· Upgraded the JTECH independent suspension to comfortably cope with the added payload.
# We decided not to upgrade to the fibreglass sides purely due to the cost (around $2,000).
# Our experience with the team at Bayswater Jayco, especially Ross, has been extremely positive.
We hope that some of you find this information helpful and sorry that it’s a bit of a thesis haha!
We are newbies to the Jayco forum scene but we found these sorts of discussions so helpful with our own recent Jayco purchase that we thought we might share our own journey which we hope, in turn, others might find useful.
Our search for an off road caravan began last year when we decided to sell our 2004 Outback Expanda after 12 years. Prior to that we’d owned an old Millard caravan and prior to that we’d owned 2 campervans, various tents etc etc.
Initially we thought that we’d purchase a second hand Trakmaster or Bushtraker but we soon realized that they were priced way beyond our budget and some that we looked at had seen some very rugged service (for which they are designed).
We finally ended up at Bayswater Jayco where we spent alot of time in and under their various Outback caravans. We were very pleased to see that Jayco had replaced the leaf spring suspension with the JTECH independent coil spring suspension and all of the online reviews from various groups about this improved suspension were very positive. We also felt that Jayco’s attention to detail inside that van had improved considerably.
We eventually decided on a Jayco Starcraft Outback 19.61-2.
WHAT WE LIKED ABOUT IT:
· More robust cabinetry.
· Full sized ensuite.
· Full sized island double bed with innerspring mattress as standard.
. No more canvas! No more making and unmaking the bed every single time you arrive and depart from a destination! No more crawling over each other to get in and out of bed! Sorry about this Expanda but we are over all that after all these years! (Must be getting old and soft haha).
· Under bed storage.
· Laminex to walls of kitchen as standard.
· Large sink (some we looked at were small and impractical).
· Good quality fabric to decor.
· Huge windows for great light, ventilation and enjoying the vista.
· Improved locking mechanism to windows.
· 185 litre 2 door fridge/freezer with cooling mechanism as standard.
· Large tunnel boot space spanning the full width of the front of the caravan with external access to both ends as standard.
· 2 vented skylights as standard letting in great light.
· 2 x 9kg gas bottles as standard.
· External gas bayonet as standard.
· Fibreglass panelling to both ends of the caravan as standard.
· Door to the rear of the caravan.
· And... on the weekend that we signed up for the caravan they were throwing in a Weber Q! Done deal!
· The final price!
WHAT WE WEREN'T TOO KEEN ON........ BUT WENT AHEAD BUYING IT ANYWAY!
· Limited kitchen bench space. We will miss the huge bench areas that we had in our Expanda but we were reluctant to get a larger van in order to get the greater bench space because of the sort of camping that we predominantly do. The plan at this stage is to get a single sheet of perspex cut to fit from the right had side of the kitchen sink tap, span the closed stove top and finish at the fridge wall. This will give us approx 800mm x 550mm of clear, usable bench space. It will of course have to be stashed somewhere while we’re in transit. And....the table top is only half a turn away!
· The 3 shelves in the narrow pantry cupboard to the left of the fridge have all been screwed in from the top. The shelves in our Expanda were all screwed in like this and when one suddenly collapsed when we were away on holidays one time, we installed sturdy support rails under all the shelves as soon as possible.
· It’s a pity that the main chassis rails don’t run the full length to the rear of the caravan. They stop short by approx 400mm and they have used a lighter grade steel to finish off, including the steel rear bumper.
UPGRADES THAT WE DECIDED ON:
· Upgraded from the 120 watt solar panel (as standard) to 150 watt. We also own and use a 120 watt portable solar panel.
· Drifter LED control panel.
· Ceramic toilet seat (won’t warp or discolour like the plastic ones).
· Ibis air conditioner (quieter)
· Washing machine. (Initially we weren’t going to bother but then we read numerous forums about what other fellow travellers had washed or witnessed being washed in some caravan park washing machines and that made us rethink. Think...guinea pig blankets! We have seen for ourselves some pretty dirty laundries on our travels).
· Shelves to left hand side wardrobe and right side for hanging.
· Double power points and 12V outlet situated above both small triangular cupboards at the end of the bed area.
· Extended draw bar (because of the position of the tow ball on the towing vehicle).
· Bike racks (cannot be retrofitted).
· Fold down picnic table.
· Third water tank, filter and second tap plumbed directly to the kitchen sink exclusively for drinking and cooking water. That way, the other 2 standard water tanks supplying water to the toilet, vanity basin, shower, washing machine and washing up water to the kitchen sink can be filled up with non drinking water (eg: river water) if need be. *** Any comments regarding the effectiveness of Jayco’s filtration system would be appreciated. ***
· Upgraded the JTECH independent suspension to comfortably cope with the added payload.
# We decided not to upgrade to the fibreglass sides purely due to the cost (around $2,000).
# Our experience with the team at Bayswater Jayco, especially Ross, has been extremely positive.
We hope that some of you find this information helpful and sorry that it’s a bit of a thesis haha!
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