Thursday, Apr 02, 2015 at 09:43
Cole & Brenda
My rationale for choosing the Jayco were;
1. Composite construction, no timber frame to rot or alloy frame to crack,
2. A mass produced unit, so best chance of getting a
well balanced and engineered unit that would be built to a common standard.
3. Jayco have about 45% of the Australian RV market, so they must be doing something right.
4. The standard of fit and finished has improved to equal or exceed that of the more expensive vans.
5. Their interior design is now not so outlandish.
6. The price was right.
7.
Check out their web site jayco.com.au and find the video of the factory tour. Take note of the guide when he picks up a piece of the wall/roof material and belts it against the steel rail, it gives some indication as to the inbuilt strength f their products.
Why 21 ft;
1. The longer the van the more it is affected by winds, particularly the winds produced by passing heavy vehicles,
2. The layout was considered to be comfortable and workable/liveable
3. We have had a van with an East/West bed that you had to climb over or climb over the wheel arch, to get to the bathroom which was most inconvenient, however the Jayco 21.65.3 has a Slide Out for the bed which leaves plenty of room to walk around the foot of the bed on a flat floor. Yes you do have to climb over the bed, or slide it out, for the stops whilst travelling, which we dot find to be too inconvenient.
4. The slide out effectively gives a 24 ft van size but in only 21ft overall length.
If you are looking at a new van purchase then it may be worth looking at the Jayco model that we have or similar. With the carrying of a second (shorter) post for the table and some foam rubber the club lounge could serve as the 3rd bed. With either the Outback model, or the standard model with the raised
suspension (as we have) then it would likely be suitable for a limited amount of easy off road (into some
camp sites). I would not hesitate to take my van to Fraser Island to
camp beach side, I would not even consider taking any trailer on any of the inland tracks on Fraser Island.
As this is van no 11, and I have towed several vans for others as
well, and I have towed vans for over 76,000km in just the past 4 years, It could be said that I have a reasonable knowledge and experience with towing and I consider that the Jayco would be amongst the best vans that I have towed.
Hope this helps.
Athol
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