Jeeps and Jayco

[SeaComms]

Seemed to be a bit of interest in the Jayco behind the Jeep so it was suggested to start a thread on it in the appropriate section. So he we are!

After a lot of looking and investigations and then being over ruled by the minister of finance we ended up with a Jayco Dove offroad - the second in the line up of the Jayco wind up vans. It came fitted with 130w Solar panel and 110amp/h deep cycle battery, as well as the standard 240/12 charger/power supply and 3 way fridge. All lights, interior and exterior are now LED's, and damn bright ones too!

Over all very happy with the van, towed well behind the 2 door 3.8 on the trip from Brisbane to Noosa when we picked it, and now setup in the backyard familiarising myself with it before our first trip in a few weeks time to Albury and back.

A few things I have noticed, final fit and finish is overall quite good, though a few small things like trims not pushed in properly, the fold up door not fitting properly over the catches that hold it up and the two halves of the door not fitting together properly so that the top swung in the breeze! Then of course the problem of the main door key not working! But all minor issues and all but the key I have rectified myself in a very short time.

My other issue though is I went with this one as the tare was only 1050kg, a good weight for behind the JK, and the tow ball weight was listed as 110 - 130kg, again, spot on for the two door. Much to my surprise I found the weighbridge ticket in the back of the owners manual and it showed the tow ball weight as 159kg! This was probably with an empty 82L water tank that sits behind the axle.

So this morning I found the VIN label and had a look at that - stamped at 159kg and maximum 184kg! Shite.

So now will be filling it all up ready to go and measuring the tow ball weight to see how to load it to keep the tow ball weight down below 140kg (which will bring it in at around 12 to 13% of GVM). Also looking at some ride levelling bars to fit up to the hitch for the long road stretches to bring the vehicle more level and more stable. That said it towed fine right up the 110km/hr highway speeds as it was.

All set up, haven't set the bed end flies and the annex wall up yet - this weekend...


And a backyard campout to test it all out! (not how bright that outside LED is!)

[AroGantz]

That is a nice setup Dave, can I ask how much it was? And how do you measure towball weight?

[Macca2801]

Welcome to the club....might take a bit of effort to tow compared my old soft floor but its amazing once there and setup!!!





Please tell me you got the Alpha pack with the hotwater system, external shower, extra gas bottle and extra water tank.

Single best addition to camping, instant hot water, you dont miss till youve had it!! hahah
Matt.

[SeaComms]

Bugger! Na the Dove doesn't have the option of the shower may have to look into that myself as an aftermarket option

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Tapatalk

[Macca2801]

Seriously?? I thought the alpha pack was a standard "option" for all the Jayco camper range. Its fantastic!! It only 20l storage, takes up one half of a cupboard (top half) and has an electric element in for 240v operation or uses gas for off the grid.

The shower fits in a little storage container externally similar to deckwash setups on boats. You can see both in my pic on the off side picture of the trailer, square with vent is the heater unit and the rectange panel next to it is the shower unit.

Because of the heater and shower the pack automatically comes with extra 80l water tank and twin 9kg gas bottles in the boot. Dual water level and battery state monitor is fitted inside as well. It was $2100 option but mine was already fitted with it at purchase due to it being supplied to Perth CaravanLand as it was intended as a demo for the upcoming show....just luck I guess and I wont mention the reverse cycle aircon haha.

Im 100% sure you could fit the heater unit after market, on its own even without the extras, bit fiddly but doable.

Matt.

edit, just checked the Jayco site and no...not an option for Dove or Swift!!

[Magnum PI]

Shameless plug i know, but hey, what the hell
http://peninsularvs.com.au/store/ext...ts/cat_30.html

[rodxj]

Top idea for a thread Dave, might as well post up my unit.

We decided a pop top would suit our needs as the minister of war and finance wasn't a huge fan of roughing it with a tent on camping trips.

The wife had been keeping an eye out on the classifieds for a second hand camper that would fit the bill with our family, when she reminded me of a up coming caravan show in Brisbane.

How good is that! The better half suggesting to go to a camping show.

Anyway, we trot off to the caravan and camping show (that was held earlier in the year), purely to suss out different brands and to get an idea of what would suit our crowd. We checked out the units on display, but kept going back to the Jayco display as we liked the product.

Now, we were only there to find a suitable unit then check out the classifieds for a second handy so as to save some coin, but after looking at the show prices, thought buying new would be a better option as not knowing about previous travels with a used van.

So we thought the logical way to find a unit was to go through all the vans and decide what layout suited us the best. Me, I wasn't fazed with the floor plans, leave that one to the boss, I was more concerned with the ball weights and what would be suitable behind the Rubi.


We settled on the Swan Outback as the weights( ball and tare ) were in the ballpark for the Rubi, and the boss loved the floor plan.

Like Dave , we've had a few minor issues, couldn't lock the door until I swapped out a screw in the locking recess with a lower profile one. Just niggly things that you have to expect with a mass produced unit. No biggy for me.

All in all, couldn't be happier, tows like a dream and the family is thrilled to bits with it.



Edit, when I say "it tows like a dream" I mean the van tracks well behind the Rubi and doesn't push it around, but the 3.8 IS working on anything that resembles a hill. 27litres/100 up Cunninghams Gap in 3rd.........