Jayco eagle

[gurules]

I know there's lotsa jaycos  on here
Which is the best off road
Rough terrain
The toughest they build
Little problems etc
Looking for some feedback from you Jayco owners

[Dkirk]

Hi gurules,
The outback models are their more clearance larger chassis models. The previous ones ran leaf springs and the new model (2014) run independent coils. I have a 2014 dove which I havn't really tested too much so far. You will see plenty of comments here and elsewhere, they are not built to the same strength etc of the serious off-road trailers and vans but as stated over and again drive to the conditions and tyre pressures etc people seem to get them a fair amount of places. My previous trailers were a All Terrain soft floor and a Campomatic hardfloor and we really appreciate the living space and comfort.
Cheers Derek

[Marcus73]

I had been thinking that I wouldn't mind a Jayco next, but of late am hearing quite a few small issues with new ones and at the moment I personally would steer clear. While none of the issues have been due to proper off roading, I'd be concerned how they would hold up.

Cheers


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[briann532]

I know there's lotsa jaycos  on here
Which is the best off road
Rough terrain
The toughest they build
Little problems etc
Looking for some feedback from you Jayco owners

Hi Gurulles,

I'm onto my 2nd new hawk and I love them.
I've been all over the place and done some pretty hard tracks.
The Only problem I've had is with dust.

I made some dust covers for the vents and have never had a problem since.
My new 2014 Hawk has independant suspension and ALKO ESC and it is absolutely awesome.
Only trick is to go around the whole thing with a spanner set and screwdriver to fix everything jayco touched.
Then run a bead of sikaflex around the whole base where the frame meets the chassis.
Install some dust covers, an instant gas HWS, underlay under the beds to insulate from the cold air (a common jayco complaint)
I went with the hawk as the Flamingo and Swan were just a touch too long for where I was storing mine.
As far as which is more robust - they are all built the same.

Have you seen the chassis on them - Its huge!

Problems - JAYCO! Their QC is a bit sus, but is improving all the time. The dealerships are pretty good and warranty is not a problem, they are pretty good with that.
Loose screws and the plastic roof clips for the overhead bar is now garbage - the older metal ones were much better. Easy cheap fix though.
Space comfort and convenience is awesome. Current improvents and inclusions are excellent.

Rough terrain is no problem. If your car goes there the Jayco will happily follow. (with a slightly wider track)
Just drive to conditions and it won't be a problem. (That said, my hawk was travelling at 135kph on dirt tracks in the NT last year, no problems at all. Not condoning it, in fact ashamed of it, but with the new car I was cruising along with no idea I was going so fast. Quickly slowed down and learnt to use cruise control  ) But the point is the jayco was fine.

You'll never look back!

cheers
Brian

[Swogjb]

Gday Gurules,

We went down the Jayco path a couple of years ago purchasing a 2011 Jayco Hawk OB from Smithy in Mt Gambier
Jayco Mt Gambier were great to deal with and  had a few problems sorted out no problems.

Apart from their backup service I hated every minute of owning the Jayco. It just did not suit our style of camping at all.
We find when camping we spend a lot of time under the awning, cooking, drinking etc etc. the Jayco has a p!$$y little awning that is very small and not real user friendly. I'd never go Jayco again but if I did, I'd have a awning made that goes the full length of the camper when the beds are out. Black Diamond from this forum had a similar setup to this on his Jayco Swan.

We found the internal living space way to small and crammed with 2 adults and 2 kids.

I spent a lot of time making our Jayco more suitable for offroad use, but did still find the width of the camper to much for a lot of the tracks / places that we like to camp.

The most enjoyable part of owning our Jayco was the day I sold it and saw it getting towed down the road by its new owners.

Cheers
Glenn

[Sparkdog99]

The out backs are the strongest all models in the outback guise would be the same strength. They are a mass produced product so QA is pot luck. None of the issues are major just minor trival things that the average bloke can fix with a screw driver and a tube of silicon. ( followed by if they spent a couple hours longer to build and charged an extra couple hundred $ I would have to do this.

We have had our outback dove all over western qld and apart from a bit of dust no issues in 10 000km of travel with a good chunk of that off road. People bag them for being a caravan or not a tuff  as a true hard core ct. Like someone mentioned drive to the conditions an they are fine.  They are a compromise and do both types of camping reasonable well ( caravaning and ct ). I know I would prefer a heavy duty camper but that is to much like camping for my missus. We went the jayco as it is more civilised apparantly. So I had to make the compromise a jayco or no camping( easy decision ).

[PhilW]

We have a 2008 Eagle Outback having recently sold our Finch. Family of four(two teenagers)and find the inside layout and annexe works extremely well for us on both short and extended trips. We get our own bed and kids get theirs and there is even the option of a having a bed each!

Build quality I find is average. These rigs are very basic units and most problems can be easily fixed by the average handyman.

Value for money and enjoyment you get from these campers I think, far out weighs any of the negatives.

Easy to sell and they hold their value if looked after.

[gurules]

Thanks for the comments so has anyone tow one through the simpson or am I getting a bit carried away
My track now goes anywhere but we were looking for a bit more comfort inside
Will keep the awning in mind glen ta
Seems ta be some happy owners as well

But I'm hearing ya

Thanks so far

[mr_hilux10]

We have a 2012 ob hawk and love it
we owned a soft floor previously and would never ever go back to one
once you have it you wonder how you ever managed without it
we do caravan parks and bush camping and it handles both with ease
once you buy it you wont regret it

[Swogjb]

we owned a soft floor previously and would never ever go back to one
once you have it you wonder how you ever managed without it
we do caravan parks and bush camping and it handles both with ease
once you buy it you wont regret it

I went from a soft floor to the Jayco, and definitely didn't get this feeling.

IMO once you buy it, you will definitely regret it.

Next time around we will probably look at a cross over,Complete Campsite Exodus or similar.

[bmak]

Just purchased an eagle outback. No issues yet and the chassis/suspension looks pretty good.
For the price you can't go wrong and support and resale is great.

[nab]

We went from soft floor camper to Jayco Dove. The missus loves it but there are some things I miss about the soft floor, mainly the feel of actually "camping". The Dove seems too "suburbia" like but I must admit it is easier to setup/live in. I think I will be pulling out some of the interior and making more user friendly.

We got ours secondhand and it had been used (possibly slightly abused) and there are heaps of repair jobs through it. Nothing major, just lots of broken corner brackets, extra screws, patched canvas etc. and copious amounts of red dirt. Structurally it is surprising very strong and straight, lots of stone damage but its 99% cosmetic.

As others have said, they are "outback" not offroad models so don't expect them to handle the toughest roads/tracks. They can take a lot as long as you drive to the conditions.

[Ss--ss]

G'day I had a 2008 Hawk outback which took our family everywhere we wanted to go. Did oodnadatta track, meanie loop , plenty highway, up to kakadu, the gulf area & numerous other trips. You get a issue now & then but nothing someone half handy can't sort out.
I'd recommend them to anyone

[MDS69]

Thanks for the comments so has anyone tow one through the simpson or am I getting a bit carried away
My track now goes anywhere but we were looking for a bit more comfort inside
Will keep the awning in mind glen ta
Seems ta be some happy owners as well

But I'm hearing ya

Thanks so far

I don't think they are something you would tow across the Simpson. I haven't towed one in the desert but I have towed a soft floor CT across the Simpson so I have a little experience on the subject and know how tough it can be. You could definately tow one on Fraser Island to give you some perspective. We camped on Fraser with a couple of other families and one towed a Outback Eagle with a after market T/D 100 series and the other was a Outback Swan with a non Turbo diesel 100 series. We went up and back to Cathedral via the beach from Inskip.
We travelled the Simpson with the same family with the T/D 100 series who had an off road box trailer built for the trip as they didn't want to take their Jayco because of the weight.

[Bird]

Goldstream.

Before you buy a Jayco, read the warranty book about "offroad"

[Red1]

Everyone is different, but we love our Swan, have had another Swan before this one and a Hawk before that. They may not be perceived to be as robust as a soft floor camper, but the extra comfort you get more than makes up for that(HWS, shower, microwave etc). When the wife and kids are happy, the world is great, and we get to continue camping and not stay at a resort somewhere.. We have taken ours all over, from touring Tasmainia, to the Kimberlies and Gibb River Road without any failures. We have also been to Fraser a few times up to the Waddy Point campground without any issues. The best part is that they are easy to put up, and there is room to be in out of the weather should you need to. I have used a soft floor camper and found that they were a pain to put up after a big day traveling.

Just my 2 bobs worth.