What Camper to buy?? Jayco V Modcon V Mirage V Cameron

[Swannie]

Never under estimate where your car will go.. Vince did the high country and Blue Rag in his wifes X5...  No damage...

You guys have clearly never driven a front wheel drive Kluger. Believe me I have tried to take it on dirt and it just doesn't get any front traction anywhere near a little hump!!

[D4D]

You guys have clearly never driven a front wheel drive Kluger. Believe me I have tried to take it on dirt and it just doesn't get any front traction anywhere near a little hump!!

You're not driving fast enough, use some momentum

[Swogjb]

We until recently had a 2011 Jayco Hawk OB.
It was set up fairly well for dirt road travel and had been improved greatly over the standard Hawk with stone guard, and all off the under floor pipes  and electrical wires covered with either thick rubber or aluminium plate. I made some aluminium propellor plate dust covers for the fridge & door vents that worked a treat in dusty conditions.

We purchased the Jayco when our kids were only 2 1/2 yo and 6 months old, it was great as the kids spent a fair amount of time inside at that age. They like spending more time outside or under the awning as they have gotten a bit older.

A few things that I didn't like were cooking in the same room as you sleep(hardly used the cooker in side), having to crawl across SWMBO to get out of bed, those bloody bed flys really give me the $hits rolling them up and the size of the roll out awning was not that big compared to a traditional type of camper.

All in all the Jayco was ok,
But if I had my time again I'd probably not bother.

  Glenn

[Dion]

One of the things that I like about our tent based camper (rather than the wind up style like Jaycos) is they are great for roadside lunch stops.  I only opened the camper because I needed to get chairs out (rather than get the ones out of the car) but otherwise its just swing the tailgate kitchen open, access the fridge in the big drawer, hook up the cooker and away you go ...





If you're travelling a lot, that kind of convenience is worth considering I'd think?

To be honest, I do like the new fold forward campers - I think they're the best type as it solves some of the issues with being down on the ground.  The only drama is the total lack of "inside room" when you're using them as a family setup (although the Mirage with its "push out" bed may alleviate that). 

[bad mudder]

^^^Ha Ha Dion your boy's face is gold. Did he just find the world's biggest fly in his potato salad??

[Dion]

^^^Ha Ha Dion your boy's face is gold. Did he just find the world's biggest fly in his potato salad??

   Nah he had a tooth that was wobbling loose (he's 6 years old) and eating was causing problems. 

He whacked himself in the face in the car about an hour earlier and dislodged it. 

[Swannie]

One of the things that I like about our tent based camper (rather than the wind up style like Jaycos) is they are great for roadside lunch stops.  I only opened the camper because I needed to get chairs out (rather than get the ones out of the car) but otherwise its just swing the tailgate kitchen open, access the fridge in the big drawer, hook up the cooker and away you go ...



If you're travelling a lot, that kind of convenience is worth considering I'd think?

To be honest, I do like the new fold forward campers - I think they're the best type as it solves some of the issues with being down on the ground.  The only drama is the total lack of "inside room" when you're using them as a family setup (although the Mirage with its "push out" bed may alleviate that).

It's actually quite easy to do similar in the jayco, you only need undo 4 roof clips, wind roof up 1 inch to be able to open door and depending on what model just reach into fridge. Then if you have an outside slide out bbq just pull it out and start cooking. Or alternatively you can keep a similar style bbq in te
He Jaycos front boot with a little fold out table and cook the same. We have done this on occasions with minimal effort and time.

Swannie

[Hairs]

Hey swannie,
We don't have to even get the winder out, once the front door side clip is popped, push up a tad and the door will open without catching on the roof. 

[Swannie]

Hey swannie,
We don't have to even get the winder out, once the front door side clip is popped, push up a tad and the door will open without catching on the roof. 

Actually I lied, I make the kids wind it why I'm grabbing a refreshing ale 

[GUEY]

A few things that I didn't like were cooking in the same room as you sleep(hardly used the cooker in side), having to crawl across SWMBO to get out of bed.

  Glenn

I have discovered the simplest fix for this and it works a treat.
The wife sleeps on the queen bed with our youngest and the two dogs.
The eldest sleeps on table bed.
And I get the double bed all to myself. Can't ask for more than that.

[Hairs]

Actually I lied, I make the kids wind it why I'm grabbing a refreshing ale 

[pedrogb]

Hi all
Just bought a 2nd hand 2009 Cameron last month, for a few reasons.
Very easy to put up
Very well made
I have three small kids (eldest is 11), it has an easily erected pull out second room for them
I live in Townsville, and it was for sale very close by. 
We have tested it already, it will suit us for a few years

Pedro

[Diesel Power]

When I was in Darwin last year a family rocked up in a Britz rental 76 series Cruiser and hire Jayco (Model?) pop top. They had been through Litchfield and Kakadu with no issues to report.
Regards

[nbd73]

With regard to comments about cooking in the same room as you sleep, wondering why this gets mentioned quite often as a factor when deciding on style of CT to buy? From my point of view one of the main considerations for our family when choosing our GS was almost the opposite. I grew up tent camping and the thing that drove me and my parents mad was insects at meal time, especially at night. Moths in your stew is not fun, daytime in summer means flies and lots of them. We clean up after every meal, leave the roof vent and plastic windows open whilst cooking. So, that's another take on that angle. I would not necessarily rule out wind up style CT's based on the kitchen, inside may actually suit you (everyone's different, that's what makes the world an interesting place). Personally we have a 4.5yr old & a 2yr old and whilst we love the GS another thing to think about is a soft floor gives you a much larger in door enclosed area for the kids to play/be contained. With Jayco etc you have to put up an annexe to achieve similar, and you still don't get a floor. Anyways, a couple of other things to consider. IMHO weight is the biggest consideration, wind up CT 's & top end hard floors can be 1200kg+ unladen, meaning 1500-2000kg loaded depending on model and axle rating. Think about your tow vehicle and where you will be going. Good luck.

[Jenko67]

Over the years we have had a cavalier camper, then a coromal camper and now a Jayco Swan OB.. we have loved them all and at the moment we are considering going for (dare I say it) a pop top caravan....the reasons being ease of setup and access to the van on the move, plus I am getting old....

[Swannie]

Oh no.... You will cop it even more mate than being a Jayco owner:)
Swannie

[bully60]

Have taken my 2011 Jayco off dove over the great central road, the old Ghan track, merapi loop road, into Palm valley, across the Gawler ranges, Cape arid,  Oonadatta track, Mt Dare, Dalhousie springs and plenty of other places

Damage list
1 screw from door fell out, screwed back in
Rewired electric brakes. Replaced wheel bearings last week as a precaution only, cracked 2 roof cnr moulds cost to replace and fix this was the massive sum off $600 .
Read my blog bully great central road trip and beyond for more.

We had 2 Camprites t18? With us. They were hired and fell apart brakes, electrics, beds, kitchens all suffered damage

Four words when towing anything " drive to the conditions" at one stage I was doing 30 k/ph on the old Ghan track for about 2 hours due to the road conditions.

[bad mudder]

Have taken my 2011 Jayco off dove over the great central road, the old Ghan track, merapi loop road, into Palm valley, across the Gawler ranges, Cape arid,  Oonadatta track, Mt Dare, Dalhousie springs and plenty of other places

Damage list
1 screw from door fell out, screwed back in
Rewired electric brakes. Replaced wheel bearings last week as a precaution only, cracked 2 roof cnr moulds cost to replace and fix this was the massive sum off $600 .
Read my blog bully great central road trip and beyond for more.

We had 2 Camprites t18? With us. They were hired and fell apart brakes, electrics, beds, kitchens all suffered damage

Four words when towing anything " drive to the conditions" at one stage I was doing 30 k/ph on the old Ghan track for about 2 hours due to the road conditions.

I've been to all those places too Bully and know how rough they can be. The old Ghan shook my '88 cruiser to pieces. Good to hear a Jayco Outback made it through fairly unscathed. I am surprised about the Camprites though. I thought they were pretty tough Campers.

[Swogjb]

I've been to all those places too Bully and know how rough they can be. The old Ghan shook my '88 cruiser to pieces. Good to hear a Jayco Outback made it through fairly unscathed. I am surprised about the Camprites though. I thought they were pretty tough Campers.

The Camprites must have been rooted through years of abuse.

They are a premium Australian made camper that is designed for offroad travel.

IMO the Jayco is ok for remote dirt road travel (Gibb River Rd, Tanami etc), but you do run he risk of being caught out on extremely bad corrugated roads if they have not seen a grader for a while.
The first time we travelled the GRR it was extremely corrugated and would put most trailers/vehicles to the test( definitely  not Jayco friendly). The second time it was like a highway from start to finish.

 

[bully60]

Well the Jayco handled the place we travelled with ease, I was expecting more damage but was very happy with the Dove.
The Camprites had been serviced before the trip by the hire company., they look tough but didn't live up to there hype. I wouldn't touch one after seeing what happened.

The GCR was very badly corrugated after Warberton to the Lasseters cave area, the only grader we past was before Giles breakaway just out of Laverton.

[bad mudder]

I wouldn't mind a new Jayco Outback that had this done to it.

http://vehiclecomponents.com.au/servicing/retrofit-suspensions/straight-axle-to-coil-suspension-retro-fit

[nbd73]

Goldstream offer VC suspension as a factory fit option. But its not cheap ($2400 from memory) and there are those on here that will argue till the cows come home that its not worth it and actually detrimental to a trailer. But either way, the suspension is only 1 aspect, the main reason a lot of people will not recommend a wind up is the style of construction for internal fixtures. There is a reason they are affordable, check out the prices of true off road caravans such as spinifex, kedron or bushtracker to get an idea of what it costs to build something that will withstand corrugations over an extended period of time. Not to mention the inherent weight gain that comes with it.

[smartyingreen]

Hi BM,
Have you made a decision as yet? If so, what did you go with and why?
Cheers Smarty

Sent from my GT-N8020 using Tapatalk 4

[bad mudder]

Hi Smarty.
No I haven't decided as yet. I'm going to the 4wd & Camping show in a few weeks to have a closer look at some. I think I'm going to hire a few different types as well and try them out to see which best suits my needs.

BM.

[still_riding]

Hi team,
We're also looking at a second hand Jayco Dove OB (personally I wanted to build an off road trailer but ...) anyway, it seems that Jayco owners are shunned by more hard core CT owners.

Is this like how we shun BMW "adventure bike riders" who never go off road?

Are Jayco owner allowed to share a beer around a camp fire with others or are they confined to their own camp fire?

This is a whole new world for me!



Local hire place has a Jayco Hawk, I think we'll give that a spin first.