JAYCO 4x4 OWNERS & SIMILAR

G'day Broe, We have a 1999 Jayco Starcraft Pop-top that we bought new.It has a heavier chassis and 16" cruiser wheels. We have done approx.50000 Kms. off road including The Diamantina.Birdsville Track,Strezlekie Track and many other back roads and N.Parks.Out of Chillagoe(FNQ)I missed a turn and broke the steering arm on my Patrol and laid the van on it's side with minimal damage. If it hadn't been for the broken steering we could have righted the van and kept driving.The garage out of Mt. Surprise that picked us up said that the corner we came to greif on is notorious and that mostly the vans they pick up are write offs. We have not had a major problem in all the time we've had the van(still got it). I am not sure if Jayco still make them. I have found that regardless of what van or vehicle you have if you drive to the conditions you will minimize any problems.
Good Luck, Tom

I have Jayco Swan Outback towed by a Nissan Patrol TD42. Tows well. Offroad is Ok. Always need to put a few screws back in after a trip. Comfortable to sleep in and large when opened up. Very easy to set up for an overnighter.

Easy and cheap for parts.

Cheers

There have been a few recent posts on Jayco's and other similiar camper trailers.

From reading these posts it would appear that the more current model Jayco's (fibreglass ends and sides) have had a few more problems then the earlier models (Aluminum clad ends and sides).

I have not used or towed a later model so connot confirm if it is the csae. I do have an 2003 Jayco Outback Dove (Alumimum ends & sides) which is holding up ok on tracks, but is showing wear and tear.

No matter which model jayco, current or older model, I believe you need to do a bit of additional work to help an Outback model survive outback tracks.

I made a few mods to our, and there a few few things I still need to do before I will take mine off road again.

I would happy to expand on this if your interested.

also curious, how long is set up time?

cheers

The only tracks we won't tow a vanis into the Mitchell Plateau past thr King River or up to Cape York,The reason is that when we did those trips the tracks were so narrow we would have done lots of damage to the van body. That's where the smaller camper trailers are great. The reason we don't tow a camper trailer is that my wife does not like the idea of puttin everything awaycovered in dust which is inevitanle with the fold out camper trailers We towed the 13ft. van to CapreLeveque no problem although we were strongly advised against
cheers and good luck,
Tom

Hi Broe,

I was in the same position as you a couple of months ago.

You need to have a good think about how much off-road travelling you really want to do. My advice would be to get a properly off-road equipped trailer if you want to do a lot, or else consider hiring an off-road camper trailer for the times when you want to head off the beaten track, and buy a more comfortable trailer/van for the other times.

Leanne

Broe, I have a 03 Dove.

If you have kids (I do x 3) - definitely go for the Jayco.

No kids - go the offroad camper.

We have a 1992 Jaco Finch off road which fine for 3 of us. It has been around Aus a couple of times with the previous owners and they have modified the susspension and put a rack on the back for jerry cans. I think this a good option for off road as it will go pretty much any where the tow vehicle will go as it is not too wide and good entry/exit angles.
We just came back from Fraser Island and did it with out damage where a Jaco Dove was just because of the over hang and extra width. Last year I did a 10 day trip to with a mate to Innaminka, Tibooburra, Wanaring, Bourke and home, setting up each day, 15 mins tops up or down. With most camper trailers you can't do that, and minimal dust inside!

We looked at the Brisbane Jayco sales yesterday :-) I must admit we were not all that impressed especially with the service we received.

A mate had bought a jayco and was really happy with the deal and service.

Good news is about 150 service points around Australia. Bad news they are pretty well mass produced and built to a price. I was just not convinced to go out and buy one.

We are still looking at the Lotus Trackvan.

I have an Eagle Outback 2007. She has done some very hard kilometres of dirt tracks.....and lesser dirt tracks and stood up well. Had it supplied with Simplicty Suspension and I installed a stone guard to end all stone guards.

Had a CapeYork Explorer before, but needed comfort for growing family.

Lock tight every nut and bolt....and take it easy and she will give you years of enjoyment.

Wheel track....too wide for the Patrol. In soft sand I have to let tyres on CT down further as the Patrol basically has to drag it through.

Have smacked the rear bar a few times on some pretty narly dips....seems to come back for more.

Improve dust sealing....mine lets nil in now.

Have fun.

Brett......

Broe,
Have been down the GoldStream Crown track and was very happy with the rig, within its logical limits. No trouble on some serious tracks but we were always concious of possible damage.
We have since purchased a Campomatic SS off road camper trailer and could not be happier with it.
We looked at what we figured were the top three C/T units.
- Campomatic
- Aussie Swag
- Kimberley
and chose the Campo for the nose set up, kitchen and the slightly lower price. It came with Waeco fridge, full annex, boat loader and really did not need optioning up.
I feel I agree with the comment that a real off road camper, not a huge tent on a trailer, is better without small children.
Bilgolabands

Hi there.. I have an Outback Hawk 2003 model. I recently built my own van and will / have sold the Outback.

It has done approx 30,000kms. In that time there has really been few issues.

The obligatory screws falling out or coming loose
A good dozen rivets had liberated themselves
Furniture (settee) broke a few times as it is made out of joined pieces of timber..pine...
The 240V went on the Dometic 3 way the 2nd time it went to a caravan park - Fixed under warranty. But, upon pulling it out I found a heap of sawdust and shavings that they hadnt bothered to clean out
The solution for the fridge is to buy a surge cube from Dick Smith's and install it in the power point that the fridge plugs into. This protects against power surges. The guy who did the repair on behalf of Jayco for the fridge told me that - no probs ever since.

The standard foam matress is terrible but you can get some egg shell foam from clarks rubber etc that makes the beds an absolute delight to sleep on.

The cook top inside...you must make sure that the lid is in the vertical position completely or it wont work.

Also...the glue used on mine along the roof join was not properly applied...and water got under it and damaged the roof. When i checked it, it appeared that they had run out of glue / sealant and kind of smeared it...then started with more sealant (You could see what appeared to be a start point). Had to paint the roof and it had cracked in a few spots where the water damage was.

My roof has 3 cracks in it from delivery. I have 2 friends with the same van and all of us have the same issue. Nothing significant..just cracks about 3 - 5 cm long and very small in width. Common problem according to Jayco and solution is for them to grind away the existing roof layer and put another one in...which increases the weight. I didnt bother and they never grew in size.

The covers on the lights (Proximity lights and rear marker lights mainly) come off after a while. Replaced them with black Camec ones and no further issues.

It does tow very well. Brakes are great...as you would expect. I had a tregg on mine which was really good. Not a lof storage though...

I went the Jayco over the Kimberley camper...dont regret it from a price / comfort perspective but the Kimberley is bullet proof by comparison

I heard a Jayco rep at last years show telling a punter that resale was fantastic and they wouldnt have it on the market for a week before it sold. My friends had an outback hawk with lots of excellent mods in immaculate condition, heaps of extras and it took them 6 months to sell it and best price was $12,500. So dont be fooled by all the sales hype, it is a buyers market out there...and there are lots for sale. I sold mine last week for $15,500 but with a LOT of extras including custom Annexe, with walls etc (Excellent materials used), small generator, Coleman hot water system and lots more...I did well...but was very patient.

The Goldstream units I thought were similar to Jayco's but much better quality. Whether that justifies the 25% difference in price is up to the buyer to decide...but they are a nice van!

Good luck

Craig

Cheers

Craig

Gday Broe,

I think by the answers you already have most is covered. We have a Jayco Eagle OFFROAD. I have towed it into the Flinders, Pyrenees, Hi Country and the Anne Beadell Hwy. Haven't had any problems yet other than width restraints compared to campers like Kimberleys etc.

I have to add that I spent 2 weekends removing rivets from bed end bars, seat cupboard covers etc. and putting in bolts with nylocks, I worked out compared to the dearer Off Road Campers, I earned over $5,000 a day doing this to make mine reliable offroad, with the difference in price between others. On the Anne Beadell, 2 OFFROAD Campers that went with us both had minor problems an d we had none.

Lastly, if you buy a Jayco and are doing corrigations, take off the shockers and put them in the rubbish bin. I have heavier quality once to replace mine with but with low tyre pressures it runs fine without shocks.

Hope I have assisted in a small way.

Many thanks all for your advice and sharing of experiences.

It would seem for that for a long term investment and something that is going to be trouble free, able to go anywhere, for the sake of a couple of minutes setup time and losing a couch etc, plus getting the extra storage space etc etc etc I could go on, I need to delve out and get a good hard floor camper trailer.

I might chuck a post up and see what the feedback is on these as I am looking at a Pioneer purely for the reason that they are here in Perth.

Once again many thanks for all your advice.


Broe

Most of the replies on this thread relate to off road as being dirt roads. Most mention tracks such as Birdsville and Oodnadatta tracks which can be like highways after they have been graded and you could get away with towing anything.

If it's proper off road, as in low range stuff and serious corrugations, you need a camper that's made for it. I have a pioneer and have dragged it through the Vic high country and Flinders Ranges. You can't take a jayco type poptop here.

Just my 2 cents.

Cheers.

Hi there Broe. the Jayco campers do cop some flack from time to time but I have been pleased with mine so far - it's a 2007 Outback Eagle. I haven't made any mods to the standard suspension but do have the trigg hitch, onboard battery, have installed a water level indicator and a fridgeswitch. Spend quite a bit of time bush camping so thinking of installing an inverter and 2nd battery.
Did a 3 week trip to the Eye Peninsula and inland on dusty corrugated roads. Eagle pulled up pretty well and my only disappointment was the fixings. Some screws needed replacing because they had pulled away. I too looked at the Coromal but if you read the fineprint, the warranty doesn't cover you for damage sustained if you take the camper offroad (basically off the blacktop). Goldstream I have praise for based on my own research and feedback from others but wasn't willing to fork out the extra $15k to basically get a similar style camper. Jayco have to have something going for them if you still see versions from the 1980's still travelling well out there.