Have Jayco fixed their pop tops?

[SEADOO]

I have thrown my back out again. So now I am dreading Christmas when we have to set up our camper again (Lifestyle Elite Walkthrough).

Was considering a proper van with the pop up roof, but my car port only has a clearance on 2250mm. The min I will require is around 2500mm.

So wifey has agreed to look at and purchase a new Jayco Swan outback with bed end awnings and a wind out Fiama awning.

My main concern is the wind up mechanism.  Not long ago they had a batch where the roof would collapse, even at the dealers. My mate purchased a brand new one and the roof collapsed as soon as he got it home. They offered a full refund. He decided to upgrade to one of their outback vans instead.

Has Jayco sorted out their wind up campers?

[edz]

If you go the Jayco way, you could always do as TOGLHOT has done because of a medical issue to help with the roof lifting also, to save straining your back...
18 V drill and a few brackets ..
As to the quality control of the fitting of the line and pulley blocks in the roof lift system, I couldnt tell you .. Reckon for piece of mind though I would be double checking it regardless of warranty .

[kylarama]

I think the winder mechanism is largely unchanged since the 70's.
I think the most common of failures is the main winch cable snapping at the swage. Mainly due to age.

As for the new ones, the winder mech is now at the rear, maybe this has something to do with it? Check out the Jayco Camper Trailer Owners Australia Facebook page.  22,000 members and would be tons of posts on the new ones failing.


Also brackets for the drill winders can be had here.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com.au%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F122614416184



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[prodigyrf]

Yes the switch to rear winding introduced a design problem they'd overlooked and hence a quick recall for some to sort it-
https://www.productsafety.gov.au/recall/jayco-corporation-pty-ltd-jayco-campervans

The winch system has been bulletproof since Jayco led the way with it back in the 1970s but it's been so reliable that so many owners completely overlooked any maintenance or inspection routine and hence the shock horror when usually a slave cable fails eventually or more often it's adjuster eyebolt has unwound and let go. A swage on the main cable or the main cable or winch failure would be an extreme rarity and only due to gross neglect.

Apart from familiarising yourself with lift system maintenance and DIY or professional servicing there is a simple owner check that you can do regularly to ensure nothing is going awry under the hood. Simply wind up the roof to slightly less than ruler height and take the four measurements between the wall height and roof bottom at the 4 tele arms and they should all be within + or - 5mm of each other although they can vary slightly each wind but not much. Keep a variation record and if you suddenly notice a major change like 20 or 30mm it could be a slave adjuster coming undone and needs immediate attention. It's like checking your tyre pressures to see if there's a slow leak indicating you've picked up a nail or screw.

[prodigyrf]

Mind you they have had the odd unhappy punter by all accounts and maybe they're having to run harder and harder against Asian imports and cutting things too fine-
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/jayco-accused-of-preventing-refunds-for-defective-caravans/ar-BBFTCPK