Wife and I just trying to work out the nomad part of the grey nomads at the moment. Not retired but went grey at 13 so I guess it counts. We are in the process of trying to work out what caravan/camper we want to upgrade to, from our 15 year old camper trailer we have now (Essentially a generic 650 kg 6x4 trailer with a bed and a tent nailed to the top)
Plan to get Starlink and I'll just work on the road as we do some traveling once we sell up our rural property in preparation for downsizing.
So far, we seem to have spent 100 hours watching youtube and reading web sites and all I can tell so far is (a) our max tow is 1800 with a ball weight of 150 and (b) we like the Jayco Journey pop top but a LARGE number of people say they kinda just fall apart scattering debris behind you as you leave the dealership. Everything else seems to be 70k and north of that!
Work in progress anyway...
Joda said
05:04 PM Nov 1, 2023
Hi Fashtash, I have a 2005 Jayco poptop, nothing has fallen off yet, (touch wood!), stick mainly to highways with some good gravel thrown in, are You buying new or used?,
John.
Fashtas said
05:32 PM Nov 1, 2023
At the moment I think my wife prefers new, the plan is for a lot of use since it makes no difference where we are, I can work anywhere.
The short list (to look at in the flesh) was Jayco Poptop Journey 13ft, Cub Scout and we liked the much more expensive Goldstream Crown, most seem to be within our towing capacity, but we REALLY need to find somewhere we can check them out in person
Possum3 said
06:28 PM Nov 1, 2023
Welcome to the Forum Fashtas.
Note Pop-top caravans are usually heavier than full size vans and pop tops can cause weight (lifting) problems when a solar panel is fitted. Also, with full height van you will get that little extra height when fitting your Starlink unit.
Jayco Journey is about as good as any other vans produced to a cost rather than practicality, I note that they are all coming with a lightweight electric awning (no option) which are causing some problems with new owners.
Wander around your local caravan park and ask questions - most owners tend to be frank about the pros and cons of their choices.
Don't believe stated tare weights, they are usually understated (some by 100's kg) - Specify maximum weight on contract as condition of acceptance / cancel if overweight on delivery.
Quality, robust caravans nowdays tend to be north of $100K. Consider a good second hand.
Fashtas said
06:53 PM Nov 1, 2023
Hurm, thanks for that Possum3, I'd not heard those warnings before, generally research on Jayco's, even the videos where people LOVE them include 5 minutes of "parts that failed and had to be repaired" which did worry me, but I'll have to pay careful attention to weights too now it seems!
Hi everyone!
Wife and I just trying to work out the nomad part of the grey nomads at the moment. Not retired but went grey at 13 so I guess it counts. We are in the process of trying to work out what caravan/camper we want to upgrade to, from our 15 year old camper trailer we have now (Essentially a generic 650 kg 6x4 trailer with a bed and a tent nailed to the top)
Plan to get Starlink and I'll just work on the road as we do some traveling once we sell up our rural property in preparation for downsizing.
So far, we seem to have spent 100 hours watching youtube and reading web sites and all I can tell so far is (a) our max tow is 1800 with a ball weight of 150 and (b) we like the Jayco Journey pop top but a LARGE number of people say they kinda just fall apart scattering debris behind you as you leave the dealership. Everything else seems to be 70k and north of that!
Work in progress anyway...
At the moment I think my wife prefers new, the plan is for a lot of use since it makes no difference where we are, I can work anywhere.
The short list (to look at in the flesh) was Jayco Poptop Journey 13ft, Cub Scout and we liked the much more expensive Goldstream Crown, most seem to be within our towing capacity, but we REALLY need to find somewhere we can check them out in person
Note Pop-top caravans are usually heavier than full size vans and pop tops can cause weight (lifting) problems when a solar panel is fitted. Also, with full height van you will get that little extra height when fitting your Starlink unit.
Jayco Journey is about as good as any other vans produced to a cost rather than practicality, I note that they are all coming with a lightweight electric awning (no option) which are causing some problems with new owners.
Wander around your local caravan park and ask questions - most owners tend to be frank about the pros and cons of their choices.
Don't believe stated tare weights, they are usually understated (some by 100's kg) - Specify maximum weight on contract as condition of acceptance / cancel if overweight on delivery.
Quality, robust caravans nowdays tend to be north of $100K. Consider a good second hand.
Hurm, thanks for that Possum3, I'd not heard those warnings before, generally research on Jayco's, even the videos where people LOVE them include 5 minutes of "parts that failed and had to be repaired" which did worry me, but I'll have to pay careful attention to weights too now it seems!