Jayco Eagle

Benno77

we have a 2004 Jayco Outback Swan. we have been in some ordinary weather with it and its kept us safe & dry so far.like other forms of camping.......if the weather turns ugly a few extra poles , pegs and ropes will help.

hope you enjoy your Eagle,cheers.

If you are going for 2 years you would unlikely survive 3 months personally in a Jayco Eagle camper. No chance of staying warm in cold conditions which you get inland in Australia. The putting up and taking down, packing and unpacking, wet canvas, mildew, cold, heat, lack of space and comfort would soon wear very thin. A full height combined shower toilet caravan 17' 6" inside is the sort of caravan you would want for 2 years. 17'' 6" is the top sized comfortable touring caravan.
With the size of Australia and what there is to see with tens of thousands of k's of good bitumen roads there is so much to see you seldom need to go down a gravel road. For the time you need to go down a gravel road take off on a couple days trip and leave the caravan in a park or safe location.

hi benno77

how you would handle the cold etc depends on how tough and adventurous you are! we did 16 months around oz in a softfloor camper trailer, quite a few months of that were in WA and nearly everyday for 4 months straight we felt like we were gong to be blown away!
like others have said a few extra poles and ropes will work wonders! extra blankets wouldnt go astray either. The eagles are a tough design!

we are now thinking about an eagle or a swan ourselves as we have a new baby on the way (already have a 4yo) and will continue to travel. The jaycos have a great design and is perfect for a small family.

How many people does the van need to sleep? if there is only 2 of you, check out the i think its the jayco penguin, it doesnt have the 2 extendable beds but a queen?? size bed within the trailer and the roof just lifts up, less of the van to blow around etc, and lighter to tow.
Dont let others tell you that you need a full size van for long term travel. everything is a compromise, what you get with one type of van, you miss out on another.
You will survive in a jayco eagle just fine, and be able to go more places!
a bigger rigid van will see that you stay a little warmer and out of the wind but at the cost adventure!
whats more important to you?

if we could do it in a camper trailer, cant see why a jayco eagle couldnt do it!

have fun!

doey

I dont have any experience in travelling for that long so I cant give any accurate opinion there but regarding the cold the way I see it is that when we go touring we mostly use the CT for sleeping and eating, the rest we are outside trying to get away from the mod cons. So for us if it is cold outside we wear appropriate clothing anyway and that is what we will wear inside until we tuck into warm beds.

Hi Benno77,
We've an old 87 Swan, I believe it's the original canvas.
We've owned Touche for two years now, a couple of leaks in the roof vent, all fixed now :)
The previous owner had dragged it around the block twice with out drama, I don't know how long each trip lasted.
To help the roof in strong winds, I attach ropes with springs to the kitchen side cnrs and peg, this tension helps pull opposite to the awnings ropes and pegs.
Takes the slack out of the roof swaying.
Packing up and setting up in wet weather isn't a drama either. By leaving the bed end flys on, the awning and kitchen awning on until last(tucking the bedding in) helps prevent the bedding from getting wet. When done right it will stay nice and dry with a little thought.
I take it you will have the bedend flys and awnings in bags already attached.
We also find ours is really warm inside, in fact it can be stuffy in bad weather, If it is really cold the Griller becomes a heater, only had to do this once.
I think you'll be fine, as you said, It's not as if you a new to it all.
I say go for it, you'll have a ball.

Jon

Hi Benno77.

No experience in a camper but have had a 17ft 6in van for over 9 years and it's great but not off road. So, you have options: go for what is called a cross-over van, it's a cross between a van and a camper but not cheap, or, I have had experience camping: take along an extra tarp, poles and spring loaded guy ropes and if you're in one spot for more than a few days put a tarp over the lot. It'll keep you warmer, dryer and cooler. Extra guys do wonders in rough weather provided you have the right pegs in the right soil/sand. Even with the van I carry tarps, poles and lots and lots of ropes and pegs of all types. You'll be fine. One more thing; there's no such thing as bad weather just inappropriate clothing.

G'Day Benno,

We have the Goldstream equivalent of the Eagle, we are currently doing an around OZ trip,(me, wife and 8 year old son) and there is extra work when setting up and pulling down compared to a van, but the internal room once erected is comparable to a much larger van, you will love the sleeping area for your kids, try buying a standard van that comfortably sleeps 4.

The harshest roads we have done so far have been the Gibb river road and also the Mitchell Plateau to Mitchell Falls, didn't see many full sized vans up that way, actually none come to think about it, but ours did it fine and we slept in comfort each night. But they are cold if the weather is cold and hot if the weather is hot, I dunno about full vans? A/C is an option with ours, with heavy rain we have had no water ingress into the van at all, we had 256mm in Tassie over a 24hr period and stayed dry in side, we use the flys over the bed ends when in bad weather, and find it possible to pack up in crook weather with only minimal wetting of the canvas. I'm sure it could be done completely dry, if you had more patience than me.

But, me and the wife both agree, that if we were to do a different trip,in the future with out any kids and we didn't do as much off road stuff, the full size van with toilet and shower would be our preferance, we do admit to a tinge of jealousy when we see a lovely big van pull in next to ours, and watch them basicly wind down there stabilisers open there door and there ready for a drink or a feed.

My oppinion is that you wont regret the purchase of the wind up type of camper as long as your prepared for a little extra set up and pack down.

Cheers....Browny