Journey Looking at buying the Journey Outback 19.63 or 22.68

[davemc]

$200 not bad for the fan connected.. We have one for each bunk, one over then dinette and 2 over main bed I got some cheap second hand.
You can tap into the 12v easy with those bed lights. Just watch tapping into the wireless light as power goes off with switch he he
I added 12v plug for bunks as each had one factory installed
We did not head out last summer so no idea how well they all work.

 

[Drover]

An external shower is any easy and cheap mod, a bit of alloy angle, some JohnGuest fittings, water line and QR sockets for hooking hoses and mixer tap to with shower head..... no plumbing thru walls or cupboards and usually can fit it where you want, side, rear or front....

 

[KECL]

A question on the Sirrocco fans which appear in many vans - are these worth the cost (approx $200 each as advised by @ Lozza T)?
Is it because they silent or one of very few 12VDC fans available?

 

[davemc]

@KECL I got mine cheaper then the $200 installed. Pretty quiet and draw hardly any power yet powerful be the reason

 

[DRW]

they're actually not as good as the cheap chinese fans with the blue blades and the rusty chrome cover, BUT, they are very quiet unlike the chinese ones (I have both but the chinese ones are only back up now the Sirrocco's are fitted permanently)

 

[Lozza T]

I went back to Jayco with my wife to show her the 19ft and 22 ft Journey's. She immediately said that the 19ft feels too small, and prefers the 22. Even after i explained the price difference and the extra weight she would still choose the 22. With the 19, she claims that it felt much smaller and actually preferred our 18ft Expanda.

A couple of differences hightled were the size of the kitchen and bedroom window differences. They are bigger in the 22 which makes it feel more spacious. And there are windows on both sides of the main bed in the 22 where as the the 19 has 1 window to 1 side of the main bed.

My concern with the 22 will be the tow vehicle. Initially it be a stock 2017 Ranger Wildtrak. With minimal added weight to the tug and van, the Ranger should be fine. If i get the van loaded with 400-500kg and load the car with 500+kg then I will be very close to the GCM of 6000kg.
With the 19ft I will have about 200kg less.
The ultimate plan is to get the LC200 but not for another year.
Got some serious decisions to make?? Attached is the 19 on display that we saw.

 

[davemc]

The bed does it for me with the 22". No more climbing over each other Windows help.. open both up to let the breeze through..
Not an easy choice with weight.
Ranger one of those sliding scale towers. 6tonne total.. 3200 GVM. 950kg payload.
So you are left with around 750kg payload if you weigh around 3000 van. your TBM be around 300.. so leaves 450kg

 

[Brente1982]

@Lozza T , look up Venturing Four on Facebook, Instagram or YouTube. They're a family, 2 adults, 2 kids, who have the 22" Journey Outback and tow with a stock Wildtrak. They're currently travelling Australia and are in Western Australia at the moment. Ask him some questions regarding how the vehicle tows. He's always been happy to answer questions to me regarding his Victron lithium/solar setup.
Take it you're looking down at Page Bros? I dealt with Trevor down there, was good to deal with.

 

[Drover]

I really can't see the Ranger having any problems but you will have high tranny temps with the auto set up that they have and if you haven't replaced your suspension you would need to after a few trips like all dual cabs, OE is just rubbish......

Just weigh the van once you throw your screens and the normal things that live in the van, full bottles etc then you will have a good idea of how much you really can load into it but having van and tug at max is not good at any time............

 

[Lozza T]

Rear camera option.
$825 for a single reverse camera. Or
$1169 for a dual reverse and rear view camera (to see who is behind you)
Does anyone have these rear cameras?
What do you get for the above prices? Is it the cameras only? Or do you get a screen?
I had an Ebay camera on my Expanda and it worked really well.
I am thinking maybe to delete this option thru Jayco and get something like this from Ebay.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/153428029809

 

[davemc]

$1169 a lot of money when they like under $200 new..
You would get a screen although they are under $100.
Depends if you are handy to drill through..
We just mounted ours in the middle of the spare wheel and ran the cable under the van protected.

Although I paid to get the screen put in the car as that is a annoying job

 

[Lozza T]

Yeah Im pretty handy. Should be fairly easy to run underneath and I was thinking exactly that to fit the camera above the spare wheel.

 

[davemc]

if you get a bolt and washer no drilling needed Did not want it higher as bike rack get in the way.
We use ours while driving as rear view camera.

 

[Lozza T]

I like the camera position. Also like the 4 bike rack. Dealer said they can only do 3 bike max. New regulations apparently.

 

[Lozza T]

Wondering how the Sphere Wifi and GPS works? Do you hotspot it from yout phone or do you get a sim card?

 

[davemc]

I like the camera position. Also like the 4 bike rack. Dealer said they can only do 3 bike max. New regulations apparently.

Only ever fitted 3 on it anyway, put the little kids in the back of the car.
It is a pain to load as so high.

Sphere pretty sure you need a sim card.. I know a lot of people who have a data only or a 4G/5G hotspot
We normally just hotspot and plug in a phone

 

[Brente1982]

Wondering how the Sphere Wifi and GPS works? Do you hotspot it from yout phone or do you get a sim card?

You definitely need a sim card. If you're looking for best bang for buck mobile data, go with Boost. They're the only other company with FULL access to the whole Telstra Network.

Other companies only have access to the Telstra Wholesale Network which has reduced coverage.

There are some good boost deals out there. Pick up as sim card from the supermarket and load of up with whatever data you require. They have a prepaid 12 month plan with 240gb data for $300 which I'm pretty sure will roll over any unused data into the next year of you reload again.

 

[davemc]

ok off topic slightly plans.
Boost does not rollover on the longer plans only 28 days ones. Good value Sarah's phone on it.
I will swap mine out soon as well, just want to check I get free footy

Belong also Telstra you can start with 60gig (if you sign up on the correct date) from a $40 starter pack they normally on sale for $20 every few weeks
Add a friends code for $20 off they get $20 welcome credit
then swap to $10 a month with 1 gig data and rollover.
Depends how much data you need. Both my eldest sons on Belong

 

[Brente1982]

Interesting, they must hand changed it.

Belong, although owned by Telstra, do not have access to the FULL Telstra network. Only the telstra wholesale network

 

[davemc]

Interesting, they must hand changed it.

Belong, although owned by Telstra, do not have access to the FULL Telstra network. Only the telstra wholesale network

Was 8 months ago when I set it up..
Boost rolled over to next recharge only and not banked.
Looking Whirlpool not sure it ever did on long life https://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/Boost_Mobile

yes agree Boost better then Belong.
We have Aldi sim for find my caravan in a iPhone 4s hidden away $25 a year..
You set it to geofence every time you stop for the night and it will message you when it moves.
Have home setup perm as a message if I move location.
Picked up the van moving most each day when we went up though the back of NSW,QLD, NT and SA.
Coober Pedy freaked us out as free camping it kept swapping towers pinging us it moved
Depends if you want GPS or DATA?
Data my mate brought a 4G iPad with a Telstra plan.. I said how many times are you out with the iPad and not your phone to hotspot.
Cost him $10 a month extra he used it 99% at home on wifi .