Jayco/Coromal suitability

Thanks for that info Graham.
I am surprised. I understood all the cabinetry to be ply and as such would be very rigid.
I assumed it to be covered with stuff which was more pretty than functional. Such is life.

I'm forming an opinion that the frame might be light weight and the apparent rigidity comes from stiff internal structures, perhaps that could be reversed somewhat in the case of Jayco. More stiff in the frame outside but more flexible inside? Swings 'n' roundabouts?

I was drawn to Coromal due to the suspension. I really don't like the load sharing business. I don't think much of stock caravan suspensions in general. Observing the road behaviour of most vans it seems the tyres do most of the flex work anyway.

I guess there has to be good reason why the Coromals come in at quite low tare values for size. Chassis would be one of them.

When it stops raining so much I'll have a proper crawl under one.

I have mine because my wife liked it and bought it I would have bought a Supreme or a bigger Roadstar or Traveller, all very good substantial vans.

Any of these would be better than either of your choices IMHO

It depends on the model of Coromal you are getting
Mine is a Princeton 754.
It has the new style cabinetry.

A 752 and some of the Lifestyles still have the older framed wooden door style which are perhaps more substansial than the new Eurostyle stuff.

All vans are only stiffened inside by the cupboards and any cross walls it may have. Thats why most have a wall across it somewhere.

Jayco are different in that the walls are a panel with the frame bonded in.

Coromals have a light alloy frame with the wall boards glued and riveted inside.
Not the flashest IMO.

However it is a nice layout and the Minister of Finance likes it.

Cheers

Hi Graham.
I'm looking at the Lifestyle 667. Presumably new style cabinetry coz it'll be a new van. They all feel pretty solid inside. The layout ticks most of the boxes required.
That's important. Might have to spend a lot of time in it. Probably equal to anything else. .....suspension......weight.

Hmm.

Thanks Terry.
It's great you're having such good experiences.
I'm being convinced that the Stirling is not a bad way to go. I was leaning otherwise. Of course there are always situations where one van in one size/layout is fantastic and another version is a dud. Can't grizzle about the Jayco's flexibility in design adjustment either.

I have friends who've enthusiastically dragged me off to see Roadstar stuff recently.
I know beauty is supposed to be more than skin deep but I couldn't see anything to get excited about. Interestingly it's these same friends who caution me about the Jayco. They tow neither.

As for suspension it's probably guesswork in the end. Then all I have to do is believe it to be the right guess. That extra money for Simplicity could buy a lot of fuel or tyres or fishing gear. Or scotch.............

Gazza,

One other thing. I have assumed that you are buying a van for holiday use or similar, and not for a long term home. The requirements are somewhat different if the van is to be a long term home, and a custom built van may be a better choice.

Definitely not a long term home Terry. Which certainly must on the one hand make a difference (durability etc.). On the other, comfort and convenience wise a short termer just has to work. Straight off the bat. No arm wrestle to quickly beat it into shape. Hmm............or is it the other way around?

There are people close to me. People who no longer have a 'proper' home and people who headed off with a probable journey's end and now don't know when they'll stop. Can't get definitive answers there. There's 4 vans in that mix. It's horses for courses, swings and roundabouts. Ying and Yang.

Everything but black and white. Your good experiences say a lot.

Will do Hoffy 2 but what am I looking for?
Vital bits being better covered on an Outback? My first concern was that what sits above the chassis doesn't shake to bits.

As I have said on the other post, you will be struggling to tell the difference between an Outback and my 'on road' 24' Sterling. The underslung chassis is exactly the same as Outback, but doesn't have 12" brakes as someone else said they have. Mine is a full 150mm chassis as well as draw bar and I think you will find that is now the case for ALL Sterlings, maybe over 20'.

No problem with going for an Outback, I just don't believe it is that much better than an on road version...and, as I have said, I have done a few thousand km on gravell/dirt and quite some corrugations and the only problem I had was the dust ingress and, more recently replaced my hubs and magnets because the dirt scoured them. Maybe that is a reason to go Outback.

All in all, the Jayco has a much stronger chassis than most people give credit to and, I have not had any trouble with any cabinetry coming loose or similar BUT, if I want to keep on dioung that, I will be buying one of the serious off roaders..., in my case Kedron. But, a really good van that I reckon is a solid off roader without going to Kedron is Aussie Wide.. Only problem for me is that it has a timber frame and if I did go for the BIG end, I would only have aluminium frame.

Hi Don.
I have a suspicion you may be correct re the outback/standard comparison. The current brochure states the main chassis member and A frame sizes for the outback but not for the standard. There can be simple marketing reasons for that and can go many ways with that...you fill the gaps. Of course there is the ride hight issue which is obvious.
Don't know how much the suspension is jacked up but there's a lot of lift in the bigger wheels and tyres but all that's a bit academic if one perseveres with a beam axle IMHO (people like to use that these days).

Suspension on your average van seems to do little more than separate the body from the wheels. It can do more.

Some research tells me the off road brake magnets are of a more durable design more suited to multiple repeat applications possibly incl. dust. Why not only make one type? It would be cheaper for all in the long run. While I'm at it.....just get rid of drums all together. They hold dust, dirt, and water which turns into a luvverly cutting compound. Discs are largely self cleaning and if wet dry out in a flash and are simple to maintain. So, Outback brakes are more durable but being drums the scouring issue still exists.

I'm with you on the aluminium frame thing but hat brings me back to my original durability question. Given that I thought the interior solidity of the Jaycos was wanting I would like to have confidence in the frame strength. Shaking and wobbling in due course may cause metal fatigue and eventual cracking.

I'm going to the Jayco factory for a tour soon so hopefully I can answer all my questions......AND GET ON WITH IT!!!!!!!!

Who? What? Where?
Sounds too good to be true. How heavy would it be? I reckon that configuration would be too much for me.
I had been looking for something like that process in Melbourne but Google-ing manufacturers was not giving me much joy. The lead time's not a problem. You must be jumping out of your skin now the wait's almost over.

hi gazza, the builder is a custom builder that builds caravans and motor homes to your specs and design. you tell him what you want, he loads all the info into a cad design program and it designs it for you and then you fine tune it. you can pick what you want, right down to the kitchen sink. no retailer involved means no 30percent mark up. we think it will be about 2500kg empty or loaded with water and supplies and crap that you cart about 3100kgs. its got all 12 led lighting, 230 liter compressor 12v fridge, 12v 19 inch lcd tv, 12 sattelite system, 12v dvd player, gas electric hot water, gas electric 4 burner stove, 240v air con and microwave, 35 amp 240 charger. 20 amp 12v dc charger, 2 x 90 watt solar panels on the roof, 3 kv honda inverta genset. mate i could go on all night. as you can tell im fairly excited. goin down tomorra to wire up a state of the art solar controller that measures amps in, amps out, can call up the genset automatically iff required. if you want any other info, is there any way you can pm me on this site and i will give you my email or ph no. cheers mm.

It's an avenue I'll have to put some more effort into. I really like the personal input ability AND to observe progress. Mmm.

I'm intrigued. What kind of tug's going to haul that lot around? An ex military Hummer? My plan is to max out at about 2600Kg all being well!

Thanks for the offer of follow up. I'll see how I go.

Gazza.