MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Les2476 on July 11, 2012, 08:13:15 AM
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Hi there I am in the process of buying a caravan for myself and the family (wife, 2 kids under 4). On a recent trip to Port Macquarie I had a discussion with a bloke who owned a Jayco Expanda 2010 model,which looked to be a great van, and after a brief look inside it my wife and I decided it would be a great asset to our family. However, when we arrived home I decided to see what type of reviews the Expanda is getting, and to my disbelief the reviews were nothing short of appalling, bad workmanship, leaks, bad customer service.....
I would like to hear from people who own, or have owned an Expanda and from anyone who may be able to suggest a good quality van with a similar layout as the Expanda (beds folding out each end)?
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Hi Les2476
I had a good look at a coromal transformer not long ago . Looked a very impressive van and was a similar set up to the expander .
Cheers Paul
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Cheers Paul
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the old expanda might of have more problems with the soft roof then the newer ones with hard roofs I have a jayco disovery pop top nearly 3 years old and there is no doubt if you take it down a few dirt roads here and there that some screws work loose but most screws I have put back in myself have never come loose again and if so a bit of glue on the thread stops it. I have done some rough roads with mine and I would say only 10 screws have come loose in my jayco none were major the chassis is great and the outside is great and nothing major has ever gone wrong. So if the price is right.
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Thanks for the posts guys
I read on a few reviews that leaking from the bed ends was common, it actually seemed to be a re visited topic on most posts. I really like the Expanda for its look and its features and its great to see some positive feedback. My concern is that my budget is around 40k of borrowed money and I need something reliable that will last a long time. Is it just me or is pretty sad that after spending 40k+ in some cases, I have to worry whether the screws are going to fall out?
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Google expandasdownunder and have a gander around their forum.
I don't think they're as bad as what you think and people tend to over-exaggerate the negatives. I'm sure there's not a web-site dedicated to the GOOD work that Telstra do!
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Google expandasdownunder and have a gander around their forum.
I don't think they're as bad as what you think and people tend to over-exaggerate the negatives. I'm sure there's not a web-site dedicated to the GOOD work that Telstra do!
Good point!
I've been looking at Cruzas thread and I feel like I felt when I first saw one, inspired.
Thanks
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Google "Expanda owners Australia" Yahoo forum also.
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Moto Moto has one as well and he's pretty happy.
I don't think one buys a Jayco for the customer experience, certainly my experience as an enquiring customer wasn't reassuring. My FIL take his Jayco to the same place and has been happy at times and annoyed at other times.
That said, they move a lot of units so they must be doing something right.
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Hey les2476
You can always hire one for a week and give it a good work out to see if that style of van suits or needs and you can have a holiday at the same time .
I have a jayco dove camper been on some pretty ruff rds tracks ect never had a real drama the only reason some screws come out is because they are in craft wood and a bit if glue fixes the problem , going buy the amount of jaycos on the rd they cant be to bad .
:cheers: ehsc
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We are on our 2nd Expanda. First one has done twice around the block (sadly without us) including a few ordinary roads and was a great van, current one is only 9 mths old and has had a few issues but nothing that won't get fixed ( hope). They represent great value for money IMO and are a good compromise between camper and caravan.
Are the poor reviews from actual owners, or thoses review sites? I haven't struck many Expanda owners that bag them.
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A good mate of mine has a Windsor Rapid which are very similar to an Expanda with the pop out beds. He drags it around everywhere including throughout the centre. The workmanship is certainly a lot better than the Jayco and he has had no major issues. Worth having a look at and as others have said there are many on here with expandas with some pretty good feedback :cheers:
Bd
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Thank you guys,
Food for thought!
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Was the site you saw the reviews on 'Product Review' ?? This site rewards people with points for negative feedback about products...... often completely unwarranted.
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As with most things on the interwebs the unhappy customer makes the most noise. I am sure by the number of units that Jayco puts out yearly and the fact that they do it year after year in an industry where many others have gone speaks volumes.
We too are looking at moving from a CT to an Expanda type van. Models to look out for are the Jayco Expand, Windsor Rapid and the Paramount Duet. They all have a similar setup to eachother and all come in differing configurations. What I have noted though is that the Jayco seems to be the only one that offers a Queen size bed at one end.....all the other have doubles. Windsor and Paramounts have been hard roof over beds for years where as Jayco went that way from late 2008 onwards.
We really like the Jayco Expanda 16.49.2 which will give us dedicated sleeping space for 6 without having to shuffle everything about. But on saying that we are happy to live with the 16.49.1 configuration if we were to find a decent one of these while searching. I need to accomodate 5 peeps with kids 9, 6 and 3.....
With $40k to spend there is lots on the market second hand. Some even only a few months old.
Don't worry about all the hum drum bad news as with all things the kinks always need to be sorted out and the fun time roll on afterwards.
James
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Hi Les,
Concept Icons are another one in the market, I don`t know anything about the quality but there`s some info in this ad.
http://www.tradingpost.com.au/Automotive/Caravans/Caravans/AdNumber=D2568101968478 (http://www.tradingpost.com.au/Automotive/Caravans/Caravans/AdNumber=D2568101968478)
Good luck with your search,
Cheers, Robyn
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Hi Les,
Concept Icons are another one in the market, I don`t know anything about the quality but there`s some info in this ad.
http://www.tradingpost.com.au/Automotive/Caravans/Caravans/AdNumber=D2568101968478 (http://www.tradingpost.com.au/Automotive/Caravans/Caravans/AdNumber=D2568101968478)
Good luck with your search,
Cheers, Robyn
Thank you Robyn.