JAYCO Sterling

Apparently they sell the most vans of all in Aussie so they must do something right.
Some of that range now have slideouts which is a bit of an enhancement

We have a Jayco Heritage....21 footer....and she is great....luv herImage Could Not Be Found

I've had 3 Jaycos and had no real problems with them. A lot of people love to 'bash' them but they are good value, hold their value and any minor issues I have had are easily sorted out. They have great Australia wide back up and service which is a plus when away from home.
Look around any van park and look at vans on the road and you'll realise how many Jaycos are around so as mentioned above they must be OK.

Check out the fitout --paticularly how the cupboards and other fittings are fastened to interior walls--- look at the quality of "workmanship"not going to knock the brand but have a good close look at the " workmanship" and make up your own mind!! It all comes down to "you get what you paid for" which is a churned out mass produced product.

I have a 24' Sterling and love it. Build quality is as good as any and better than most. The exterior walls are much tougher than the aluminium cladded, meranti framed vans...ie. most of the opposition and the cupbard mountings are mounted with galv steel inserts.
Vans like Roadstar, Golf and Boroma are all $90K-$110K for 21'-23' vans...something like $40K difference with Jayco and most of that is in the excessively heavy chassis and suspension.

And, Jayco have 50% of the Australian market and the next biggest is under 20% I believe. Talking to a Boroma guy the other day and he mentioned tha Boroma build 60 vaqns a year...Jayco build in excess of 10,000. They have more money for research and the facilities to incorporate the latest technologies and like any mass produced product as somebody already mentioned, will have minor niggles...like the LC200 I tow the van with...and I have had a few of those I can tell you.

But having said that, I doubt that you will have any less niggles if you own a Boroma, Golf or Roadstar...thats my view...you won't be disappointed if you buy a Sterling...my view!!!

I was put off Jayco's for the same reason, and bought another more expensive brand, wish I had bought the Sterling. Seems to me the only people who knock Jayco's are non Jayco owners.

I've owned a Jayco Classique now for a number of years. It tows beautifully. I have had a number of leaks but these are now fixed but I do believe that without regular maintenance most c'vans will leak some period of their lives. At present the boot leaks but Jayco have put a drain in it and I only keep stuff in it that won't get damaged.
After years of bush work it was impossible to count the stone marks so I had the van re-skinned. Now people say to me "Like your new Coromal"

Have had a sterling 2 years now. A couple of minor problems like toilet malfunctioning & tap leaking but none with the quality of the build. Like someone else said most Jayco baggers are non Jayco owners. Without a doubt the best thing about this brand is the after sales service . More outlets Australia wide and a really good helpful attitude towards their customers even after the warranty period has expired. When it comes down to it; a caravasn is just a place to sleep and that 30 to 40 grand you can save will fuel you all way around the block and buy the odd beer as you go.

Ken, I'm a newby to the forum, so please excuse booboos.
Our 18' Sterling is our third new Jayco van, the first two were poptops, this one a full size job with shower and toilet. This van is the poorest finished van of the three. Having said that most faults were fixed under warantee - Jayco have IMO excellent after sales service. As far as durability is concerned, we have clocked up over 30,000Km in 3 years and not had a problem. Just returned from a trip which took us through Boulia, Bedourie, Birdsville, and down the track to Maree. With appropriate tyre pressures and speed, no problems what so ever.
Just my 2 bobs worth.
Mark

Thank you all for your valuable input.

I already have an A Van Tayla MkII that is three years old and I am considering replacing it to take advantage of the latest technology and resolve the many niggles I have with the van. I communicated these to A Van but they were not interested in consumer's views. There is a new Tayla but the niggles are still there and a few of them are worse!

So in looking around I felt the Sterling pop top was a contender but in view of all the Jayco bashing I wanted to get the opinion of sterling owners.

Thank you once again

Ken

must admit I'd avoided Jayco previously, thinking they were built to a price etc. but having looked very long and very hard at altenatives, we surprised ourselves by arriving at a Jayco "offroad" pop-top with toilet and shower. The Bushtrackers and Kedrons were far too expensive and far too heavy and even the Supreme Territory/Getaway was a bit heavy for us. Now I know our van isn't hardcore offroad but after going through the "experience process" which takes several years, I think we've arrived at what we now need. It's funny that people will happily say a Roadstar (or similar) in on road versions are well made but would knock a Jayco offroader which, although not really made for serious offroad stuff is a damn good van with a fair bit of structure in it and certainly a decent dirt road van. It's the same old story: it all depends on what suits you and there's no way I'm knocking the other vans I've just mentioned because they suit the people who buy them - but I'm made up with ours - the only criticism I'd have is that I wish they had independent suspension for the clearance and ride but then it's more dollars. This was the best and nearest to perfect for us. Good luck.