Starcraft New member - ORDERED Starcraft (no longer just proposed!)

[Doc]

Hello to all, and what a great forum

I will admit to having trawled through many posts on this forum on the way to deciding on a new van.

My wife and I are in the process of working through the details of a deal to trade our 19'6" Nova bunk van (wet ensuite), for a Jayco StarCraft 22.68-1 OB.

To those who are more knowledgeable than me on this model - and Jayco in particular - I would very much appreciate feedback on the list of options/additions we are investigating, as well as suggestions for what else may interest us. Note that we are after items that are factory-fit, or at worst dealer-fit - my days of fitting out a new van with all the bells and whistles myself are done

At this stage we are proposing:

Starcraft 22.68-1 OB (outback)
“TL” pack (smooth sides, leatherette upholstery)
Double bunks
‘L’ shaped dinette
Ceramic bowl toilet
Aircon upgrade (AirCommand Ibis)
Water filter to sink
TV antenna upgrade (‘sensar’???)
Washing machine
Slide out BBQ (hooded BBQ – not the maroon non-stick flat one))
External table (fold out)
Grey water tank
Bathroom hatch cover (eg Camco Aero Flow or Maxxair)
Heating system (eg diesel heater)
2nd deep cycle battery
2nd television (with antenna outlet) - mounted in top bunk for the kid
Additional 12v outlet – top bunk
‘Central’ jockey-wheel (middle of A frame, not on the side)
Curtain to separate main bed from living room
Curtains to both bunks
240v powerpoints to be doubles
Front wardrobes fitted out with shelves (not hanging space)

I'm 50:50 on having the extended drawbar...

Then, we have an additional list that of things that will "probably" be included....

‘Drifter’ control panel
Premium Fusion sound system
External entertainment unit
12v compressor fridge (in lieu of 3-way fridge) – will also need upgrade to minimum 250w solar if 12v fridge is included
External shower
Under-body spare wheel (like the ‘Silverline’ - if Jayco will do it)
GVM/ATM upgrade to the maximum that Jayco will allow for the chassis

And finally the list of "not sure..." items!

3rd water tank
Drawbar mounted stoneguard (only if extended drawbar is fitted)

Our freedom camping trips are limited to a couple or 3 days at a time, so I'm unsure on the need for a 3rd water tank.

Our tow vehicle is a Y62 Nissan Patrol so hauling the weight of this thing won't be an issue.

Thoughts? Advice? Anything we've missed?

To date we have not required a WDH, and I hope that does not change, but if it does - so be it. That will depend on the towball weight of the new van, and I would prefer to solve any potential sag using airbags as a first choice.

Thanks in advance for your advice, and I look forward to becoming part of this forum community!

Cheers,

Doc (Anthony)

 

[chartrock]

Welcome aboard @Doc. It wont be long before a lot of our Starcraft owners will be offering advice, just hide your credit card. Not owning a SC I can't offer advice but it seems like you have all bases covered. Looking forward to hearing about your purchase and your travels but don't forget the photos, our motto, no photos, it didn't happen.

 

[twscoot]

What's up @Doc! Brilliant setup and I'm sure you'll love it.
Consider a second outside table and an offside (drivers side) awning light for those late night setups.
@Crusty181 will applaud your inclusion of a diesel heater and it will save you from his sharp keyboard. (He may also suggest a drone but I figure he's crashed his as we are still waiting on some more footage from his trip....)
Welcome to the forum!

 

[davemc]

Hello and Welcome,

We brought a floor stock so we added solar/bike rack to ours if we ordered we would of gone L shape.
Nice list do you want or need a bike rack? Not sure how easy done afterwards
I have had a drifter on our last two vans like it
Fusion live with or without it. normally only use TV speakers.
We have the entertainment unit and like it
I still need to add a 12v to Bed end so may want to get one in builder..
Off side light be nice.
External shower we had before not sure as you have internal one, can use tap on drawbar

We have a stone guard and standard drawbar. Extended with the gas bottles.

If your tow vehicle can do it upgrade the GVM/ATM

When did they say they can get a build

 

[Doc]

Thank you everyone, for the warm, friendly welcome

We're in the process of fiddling the finer points of the build at the moment, for example tossing up whether to get the extended drawbar or not Whether to bother with the stone guard...

The outside shower is something I think we would use if we had it (we have two big dogs - very handy for washing them while away), but we've survived this long without one.

A bike rack isn't on our list of needs - had one on the current van, and my son seldom wanted to take his bike so won't be getting another one.

The second outside table is an interesting thought. I'll talk to the Senior Vice President of Marital Decisions and see what she thinks.

Fusion premium is going to be a no-go. I can't justify the dollars for it. Not when the 'basic' unit appears to have bluetooth music streaming anyway - which is all we are really after. So pass.

Drifter is free if we order in the next week or two (which is our plan) - local promotion due to a local agricultural show.

I've confirmed with the dealer that an ATM upgrade to 3500kg is fine.

Grey water tank removes the possibility of a 3rd fresh water tank, but I'm ok with that.

Compressor fridge is currently in the consultation phase. It is something I believe would be of some benefits, however the flip-side is that we've survived just fine with 3 way fridges for the last many years so just not sure. Just working through the finer details of pricing and will make a decision from there.

Decisions decisions!

Again, thank you all for the warm welcome, and I appreciate your advice and input. I'm a firm believer in taking advice and using whatever is appropriate

Edit: Oh, and a build slot has been secured for August. Perfect.

 

[davemc]

I was interrupted hit enter too soon.. hence probably this sentence did not make sense

We have a stone guard and standard drawbar. Extended with the gas bottles inside you need to remove cover if you want to put a box on. I have seen a couple of people do a box leaving bottles where they are as well. Not the same as the models with gas bottles in front of van

Outside tables get as many as you think you need I have seen people with three we had one on old van new one does not on the list to do one day.

Other things to think off upgrading roof hatches to larger style for front two more light.
Fridge as you said you need another battery/solar so more weight.

 

[relgate]

All looks great ot me!
I would alos recommend the off-side light above outdoor shower. Very handy when setting up in the dark.
Agree about the sound system. The basic one does everything you need if you have a smart phone or tablet.

we also have 2 outside tables and love em. have one close to the pull out BBQ and one at the other end. Very very useful.

Other thing I have fitted is a 2000w inverter that switches to all 240 power points when off grid. Very handy. if you have the $$$ it might be something to consider.

 

[Doc]

After much discussion and back-and-forth of ideas, we are working with the following configuration:

Starcraft 22.68-1 OB (outback)
“TL” pack (smooth sides, leatherette upholstery)
Double bunks
‘L’ shaped dinette
Ceramic bowl toilet
Aircon upgrade (AirCommand Ibis)
Water filter to sink
TV antenna upgrade (‘wineguard sensor')
Washing machine
Slide out BBQ (hooded)
External table (fold out)
Grey water tank
Bathroom hatch cover (eg Camco Aero Flow)
Heating system (eg diesel heater)
2nd deep cycle battery
2nd 120W solar panel
2nd television antenna outlet - mounted in top bunk for the kid
Additional 12v outlet – top bunk
‘Central’ jockey-wheel (middle of A frame)
Privacy curtain to main bed
Curtains to both bunks
240v powerpoints to be doubles
Front wardrobes fitted out with shelves (not hanging space)
Extended drawbar
‘Drifter’ control panel
ATM upgrade to 3500kg

And now, we are tossing up the bike rack. Not because we expect to use it, but due to feedback from here (thanks people!), and that it's relatively cheap, needs to be specified for manufacture, and we miiiiiight use it at some point. Plus, even though we think they are ugly, they can be basically removed when not needed.

A few things haven't made it past the initial draft spec.
12v compressor fridge (very impressed with our current Thetford fridge, the new ones seem pretty good)
Drawbar mounted stone guard
External shower (we'll survive)
Premium sound
External entertainment unit

 

[dagree]

Welcome to the forum @Doc and looks like you have just about got everything sussed before signing on the dotted line
As @chartrock said above.... We (I mean They) will help you spend your hard earned in no time and don't forget the pics... Especially when you get it out there and get it dirty!

 

[Doc]

Minor amendments to specification:

Diesel heater has been kicked to the kerb. Truma gas heater being fitted in its place (with 2 outlets). That will save carrying the second fuel type. Gas refills are easy to come by here in Tassie (I prefer refill to swap & go), so not an issue with running out of gas.

Batteries - Jayco will be requested to install them under the lounge during the build.

This is our current van, which will be in the dealers yard in the coming week or so.

 

[davemc]

I hate the bike rack even though we have one ha ha they are not easy to get the bikes on..if you can put the bikes up on your cars roof rack might work
See if the can put batteries under Lounge
Also I would think about a 12v Main bed in..

With the double bunks are you doing fixed or dinette? If fixed look at an outside hatch.

Other thing is wheels? Do you upgrade to 16's

 

[Doc]

We're not getting the rack, but even so - it would be a lot easier to get the bikes onto the Jayco rack than onto the roof of a Y62, believe me

Bunks are double - fixed. Am not looking to an outside hatch at this point, one reason being I am not happy with the white hatches that seem to be installed there. The access to the under-bed storage area is excellent anyway by lifting the whole mattress/base. Anything we store there would be rarely used anyway.

Wheels will remain 15". I like the plain black rims.

 

[relgate]

I would insist on the batteries under the dinette if i were you. They put mine under the bed and i later moved them which was a pretty big job in the end.
Reason 1. My ball was way too heavy
Reason 2. The under seat storage is very hard to get to therefore a little useless

 

[4wdphil]

Hi Doc. Great choice of van and the extras sound great.
Have you considers the following
Roof hatch upgrade 500mm X 700mm to the front and mid hatches.
External fold out tables X 2 - under bedroom window and kitchen window (approx)
External hatch to under bunk storage - Black door. We use this a lot as gaining access inside is a pain.
3rd water tank - independent / completely separate to the other 2 tanks - sep filler.
water filter system to sink from 3rd tank only
Anderson plug direct to battery - for portable solar panel
External light off side - roughly where fridge is

The larger roof hatches are so much better than the standard ones, They actually close all the way and block out all the light. These are like the ones in the silverline and are awesome.
We use both external tables regularly and glad we got 2 of them.

 

[Doc]

Hi 4wdphil,

Thanks for the feedback - always interested in heating about other good ideas

We decided not to upgrade the roof hatches. At ~$400 each, we had to draw the line somewhere and compared to the '4 seasons' hatch in our current van, we will be getting 300% more light through these anyway (3 hatches) compared to our current 'no skylight' situation.

The fold-out tables are useful, however we only use our current one from time to time. Again, it comes down to cost/benefit for individual needs.

As we have one child, accessing the storage under the bottom bunk isn't an issue for us - and things stored there would be rarely used anyway so fingers crossed all should be fine in that regard.

We can't specify a 3rd water tank, as we have specified a grey water tank. Besides, Tassie water is the best around and we still filter every drop that comes on-board through sediment and carbon filters (twin 10").

Won't be buying portable solar panels, so don't need an Anderson connection for them.

Cheers again, and thanks for the input.

After consideration, we are actually going to specify the Sphere auto-satellite system as an inclusion.

 

[Base23]

The larger roof hatches are so much better than the standard ones, They actually close all the way and block out all the light. These are like the ones in the silverline and are awesome.

I have the smaller standard roof hatches in my Basestation and I removed the slide cover and then removed the crimps that stop the covers closing all the way. So now mine close all the way to block out all the light.

 

[Doc]

WOO HOO!

The order has been officially placed a few days ago, our place on the production schedule is confirmed, and the specification is finalised (sort of). The only thing that needs to be sorted out once the van arrives at the dealer in early August, is whether the heater will be gas or diesel powered. This decision needs to wait until the gas-fitter can checkout the proposed installation location, and determine whether the exhaust will be far enough from windows etc in order to satisfy regulations.

Spent the day yesterday unpacking our belongings from the old van, and giving it a final 'once over'. We always kept it clean, but we cleaned it again anyway. Just because... Our belongings are now boxed and packed away until the arrival of the newbie. The old van will be delivered to the dealer this week at some point.

Now the waiting begins!

 

[17triton]

Happy days!!!! Now the wait .......... It is character building lol.

 

[Dobbie]

Happy days!!!! Now the wait .......... It is character building lol.

Is that what it is?

I always thought it was a good excuse to dream, to plan and to make endless lists of things we think we'll really need.

But it didn't work in building my character! I just got frustrated with my pile of goodies that got bigger by the week.

 

[Fabulous]

Another Starcraft !!!