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We did a lap in 2016: well over 40k kms, 12 months, in my 2010 Defender towing a Jayco Swan outback, the first with independent suspension.
I was very reluctant to buy a Jayco but my wife wanted one so I relented.
Structurally, it held up relatively well considering we did a lot of corrugated roads and took it a few places we probably shouldn’t have (the road from William Ck out to Kati Thanda was a shocker at that time - many washouts and 2 were as deep as the car!)
We lost a wheel up in the gulf near Gregory at 100 km/hr, sheered all the studs off due to flex in the alloy rims when hitting a couple of hidden washouts but everything stayed upright and I didn’t even have to replace the brake disc, just checked for straight and cleaned up the burs.
I did bend the inde suspension on one side when hitting a massive bull dust hole on an otherwise near perfect road coming into the old Kidman Station in SA. I was on a gentle right hander, the car just edged it but the camper dropped right in - when I looked in the mirror it was like a small nuclear weapon had detonated behind us!!
The trailer wore a tyre in about 10k kms thereafter but still handled ok.
Lots of little parts broke, so always had the screwdriver out when opening the door!
Jayco don’t have any regard whatsoever for the installation specs on Dometic fridges - wiring is so undersize it’s unsafe, there’s nowhere near enough insulation or ventilation space and the extraction fan is exactly half spec.
Fortunately, there’s lots of totalled vans out in the bush that provide spare parts for these occasions! (don’t worry, I didn’t steal or take anything from vans awaiting a tow)
We crossed the Gibb with a family from Vic, they had an ‘off road’ caravan about 20ft and by the time we got to El Questro, all four of the tiny little shock absorbers were totally cactus which caused some nasty handling that wreaked havoc inside - the 3/4 fridge tore loose and rolled around, destroying the interior and discharging the interior contents and also the refrigerant and oil throughout.
The bloke was towing it with a new 200 series; said he didn’t feel a thing!
Contrary to me in the Defender; I was a little tense at times, worrying about the Jayco….
The 110 weighed in at 3.2t and the Jayco at 1.6t fully loaded (I got Jayco to up spec the suspension - all they did was re stamp the compliance plate!!)
We left the van behind wherever possible - The Simpson, Creb, Tele track, etc but it probably came with us 70% of the trip.
My wife was right, we only lost $3.5k from our buying price; pretty cheap for a year’s accommodation for 5 people.
It sure was a great adventure but I’m just glad we made it round with the Jayco in one piece!
Originally Posted by Slunnie
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