New "Opera" Camper... Fabulous!

The jayco is a 2005 model and the ALKO rubber off road suspension was a factory option.
The 22 lt Suburban gas/ electric hot water and 110 lt Waeco two way fridge were factory options.
I added a extra water tank and up rated the solar from 64 watts to about 220 watts.
Also fitted the inverter and rear hot shower/ tap outlet.
The fiama wind out orning was a factory extra.
cost 25k on road in 2005 and the extra i did cost about another 2 k.
jayco stuffed up all the extra stuff as they can only handle standard punched out of the factory stuff.
build quailty is poor.
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The battery I relocated from the side under seat compartment to a unused area under the rear seats in increase storage space and reworked much of the storage areas as alot of it is wasted to make building the thing quicker.
A wheel arch which protrudes into the foot area under the table was reworked and reduced in size by half.
The Inverter was located just near the now relocated battery and and is accessed from inside or out side.
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Using a two way fridge allows operation of the fridge when the top is down which cannot be done with a gas fridge.
The two way pulls 4 amps and cools better and also fits in the same space with 20 litre extra capacity.
On a good day the solar will punch out 12 amps with the up rated system which more than covers the fridge drain.( and gives some out put on overcast days)
The tow vehicles both have twin batteries and can supply the fridge via the trailer plug if there is a few days of cloud.
The factory option 22 lt hot water system is extremely good / efficient and you will never run out of hot water.
I fitted a extra jerry can holder on the rear bumper and the spare wheel has been set up so it can pivot up wards if required should it scrape the ground in bad going.
A 175 amp anderson plug is fitted to the rear bumper these days with battery cable so the vans battery can be accessed easy to jump start other vehicles or run 12 volt stuff.
A over ride only factory option brake system is used instead of electric for simplicity and I fitted a lunnette for use with pintle hooks as they are easy to drop on the vehicle than stuffing around with pins on most off road hitches.
I sealed under the thing with varnish and bitumus paint so in stock condition a few good water crossings would start rot.

I suppose you have to pay extra for the soft photography used on the site :p

Some really good upgrades with your J**co there 101Ron, and I agree 100% with the poor build quality:( Beats me how they can 'command' a decent market share with the materials and construction methods they employ:mad:

Hired a few in the past, one was only 3 months old, bits were coming off it and breaking etc regularly.

ALKO independent suspension is one of the better parts of it.

JC

Where do these frenchies get off? Stealing good aussie names for their colours. "Quokka Brown, Koala Grey, Dingo Beige" A bit rich given we had to change the names of our wines a few years back.;)

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Originally Posted by Lyle

Where do these frenchies get off? Stealing good aussie names for their colours. "Quokka Brown, Koala Grey, Dingo Beige" A bit rich given we had to change the names of our wines a few years back.;)

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Good point. Time to take on the cheese eating surrender monkeys at their own game and reclaim the names !

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lyle

Where do these frenchies get off? Stealing good aussie names for their colours. "Quokka Brown, Koala Grey, Dingo Beige" A bit rich given we had to change the names of our wines a few years back.;)

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Frenchies? :eek:
The design team is from Antwerp!..I guess my point, and it still stands is that if you're working in Europe and earning Euros, what you can get for 40k Euros is miles ahead in design for what A$40k buys here...

The names are totally appropriate to the Opera House inspiration for the tent design... (Holden has no trouble pinching "Berlina" and "Calais" for the Commodore)

I think it's a compliment to Oz...given that "our" Opera house is the result of the inspired design of a Dane... ;)

From an aesthetic design perspective I like it. For the money though I'd rather have a T Van or similiar that will still be working 2 weeks into being towed around here.

Interesting and innovative concept, but looks pretty flimsy.....

I think the Ultimate Camper has similar design principles and is actually rugged enough for our conditions.

Still number 1 in my book.

About : Ultimate Campers - Ultimate Off Road Camper Trailers

Dave