Jayco Camper Trailer

Warranty dispute – Has anyone had any issues with Jayco caravans, we purchased a Lark at caravan show last year (2023 ) at Rose Hill, had it built took delivery in September, first time we used it, 17th February 2024, during packing up after one night use , roof collapsed in one corner, spent over a hour on phone with Jayco Sydney, with heated discussion as to… Read more

the unexpected circumstances of the roof collapsing, finally the GM authorised a flat bed tow to Jayco Albury which was the closest, received phone call the following Monday (19th February) from jayco Albury stating he had a quick inspection of van, found the locking latch on same corner as the one that collapsed was stretched and that is the reason as to why it collapsed and we should put it through our insurance as warranty does not cover user error, I sent emails, phone calls to Jayco Melbourne (warranty section Head office) no response at all, finally spoke to person assigned our case on 26th march, who stated it was the second warranty claim for this van, which I challenged as to why as we had no notification of the first, she stated it was more than likely when the pre delivery inspection was carried out at Jayco Sydney, she also stated the she had no notification from Jayco Albury regarding the warranty claim, I requested she contact Albury and get report and advise me ,to this date (11th May) still no communication at, presently have reported to Dept Fair Trading, just waiting on them.

Over all happy with the Jayco but some extra work needs to be done in certain areas as I have done with Journey – We bought this 2015 Jayco Flamingo outback New to replace our Hawk outback .It was used as a work site office and family holidays. for a family of 3 it was nice and comfortable experience .Towed great and hap enough storage space food and utensils ,clothes bag each still required though. Issues - the upgraded innerspring mattresses are heavy and… Read more

bowed the rear mattress slide out base to the point it contacted the body when pulling ,repaired by Jayco but was a be aware issue till we sold it .Dust - small trips on dirt roads was ok but trip to Weipa was bad even with foam behind all the vents .Slide in plastic sheets recommended . Never get up on roof closed as I did once - water leak after that. In the end I re-mastic the whole roof as it had gone hard and cracked .Overall enjoyed our time with the Flamingo and sold it last year 2023 and bought a new Jayco Journey pop top

Great little van, shame about the annex – I purchased this van in August and used it during some very wet weather. The annex came with 0 instructions and was heavy and awkward to set up, not at all like the light tent shown in the "official" You Tube instructional video. This annex was basically a heavy, canvas box that pooled water on the roof until it finally seeped through. When we… Read more

had a couple of dry days, I dismantled the annex and stowed it, finding it much better to deal with the wet weather without the annex. The awning was fine but had to be sloped a fair bit to deal with downpours, meaning that I clocked my head on the aluminium edge on occasion, nevertheless, once secured with guy ropes and pegs, it withstood some nasty wind and rain.

It's OK if you want something light – Just hired the Jayco Eagle Touring 2018 for 2 weeks to travel 2000km in QLD - from the Coast to the outback, and back again. Here' are my thoughts: PROS: - Lightweight, making it very easy to tow and saving on fuel (only 2L/100km extra) - Spacious inside for what it is. Can easily fit 4 humans. - Quite dark inside when all curtains are closed up… Read more

- Handy for storing extra suitcases and other bits and bobs inside when towing.

CONS: - Can't handle windy conditions at all. The canvas flaps around, has straps hitting the roof and is extremely noisy. - It's painful to setup and pack up in wet weather. We ended up hiring a motel on 2 windy and stormy nights of our trip knowing the Jayco would be too much hassle and wouldn't handle conditions well. - Jayco quality build - which is pretty crap. Little things were constantly breaking, like door knobs, holes in canvas, scratches on the plywood from the support poles, etc. - It's a fair bit of work to setup and pack down - around half an hour or so each time. No different to camping with a tent. - You have to use a fair bit of muscle to do things. It's more of a 2-person job. - The bed mattresses are extremely hard and uncomfortable - sore hips and poor sleep every night. - The Dometic fridge worked good on gas, but was useless on electricity.

Overall, I'm glad I got to experience the Jayco Eagle as a hired van, rather than buying. It confirmed for me that I would want to pay that little extra to get a full caravan. While it's small and easy to move around, it's too much money to pay to still have to do so much work when you arrive at a campsite...and to only use in fine weather. I would not buy this van and would much rather spend elsewhere on something bigger and better quality.

Loving it – Bought a 2022 Jpod sport recently and loving it. Easy to tow and set up and keeping me and the partner dry in the heaviest of downfalls. Ive had to upgrade the awning, and instead of the usual 270 degree batwing that everyone suggested, went for the 180 instead to go over slide out kitchen and meet the tent at the back as even though the included… Read more

tent on the back is a pain to set up at ~10mins it keeps everything dry and the tough PVC has been a godsend. So, with the 180, everything is dry, and set up is very fast. Lights are great, and even too bright sometimes. Battery is the older type, so an upgrade on the cards to lithium. Has plenty of storage and not even using all of it. It also goes into the double garage with the side awning on, so easy to look after and the van is on hand to leave once i fill the fridge on a friday night. Fuel isnt an issue either, as its like towing a full 7x4 box trailer, so dont even notice it on the Pajero sport. Maybe~1-2 litre per hundred Km's extra. I sold a much heavier caravan over 2 tonne and camping has now become easier. Not good if you want, a TV, lounge inside etc etc of a big caravan, but camping to get outside and not bringing the house with me. Otherwise, i would just stay at home. Only comment, for the 23K paid, i expected a better awning and battery. LED light cover also comes off all the time.

Great vintage camper. Love it. Under canvass and off ground – Always something to tinker with, but bought it in all original state with little wear and tear. When I over wound the roof it was pretty easy to get in and fix cables. As the old canvass ages or is abused it seems still to stitch up, like screens do. Sure it takes a bit to rig the full annex and over bed extra shades, but they are not needed for… Read more

a quick stop.

Easy to modify, like adding solar, an induction cook top from ikea ($60) and stuff like that.

Couldn’t be happier. I remember the cool family in our mob having one way back around 1980.

Only the bling has really changed. Recommend well treated, no rust version like this if you can find one.

Tows a treat especially if packed up to good balance (ie poles & heavy parts to the back and either full or empty water).

Con. Cheesy and won’t impress your mates

Pro Less likely to be stolen or looted.

Con. Thin mattress, but I use a topper on it ( that packs in easily, so no prob.

Pro Pretty bombproof with lively kids.

Ok Camper! – Jayco Flamingo is OK. Easy to tow, especially with the independent suspension. The flamingo has a lighter tow ball weight due to the fridge being located more towards the rear of the van instead of a front location like whats found in a Jayco Swan. The flamingo layout definitely makes my wife happy with all the kitchen bench and cupboard space,… Read more

again a lot better than the Swan’s equivalent. The setup is relatively easy, especially with a wind out fiama awning. We have the outback model and would recommend getting over a standard model due to the extra ground clearance, etc. Beds are pretty good on their own, however with a little foam topper on them they are almost perfect! We have been caught in a few storms in the past & never had a problem with Flamingo. Would always recommend setting up with guide ropes though, even if the weather report is good, just for peace of mind. The build quality in a Jayco isn’t great, however for some reason beyond me their resale value is good currently. It’s also worth noting there are Jayco outlets all over the country, only good if you can get a booking though.

Older model Penguins represent great value!! – This 23 year old van is in excellent condition. We purchased it in Feb 2025.Everything is in the same or similar condition as it was when first purchased. We couldn't be happier with it. So easy to tow, store, set up and pack up. Older vans don't cost much but if you can find a good one you'll be good to go. Show details

Our Jayco O/B Penguin – We have owned our 2005 Penguin from new. We’ve been to every state and territory in Australia, more than once, and have not had any major issues with it or the service provided by Jayco or it’s dealers. We have travelled some long and rough corrugated tracks, including the Gibb River Road in WA and Binns Track in the NT. We are on our third set of… Read more

tyres to give you some idea of the kms travelled. We usually only camp in the same spot one or two nights so the lift mechanism has had a good workout, and we only recently had the manual winch replaced because it was getting a bit harder to wind, but it still worked. I’m not sure that the newer models are up to the same quality as the older ones though. I viewed the latest model at a dealers showroom and was somewhat disappointed. I’ll be keeping my older model for the time being.

Don’t waste your money – We hired one to go to up North as we were thinking of purchasing one, after our trip we certainly won’t be wasting our money. The only good things were how easy it was to tow and the amount of storage. Im only 172cm and my feet hung over the end of the bed, the amount of flashing lights inside if not covered were like a disco all night the rear… Read more

wall cover started to peel off after a couple of days. If you have aches and pains like we do then the JPod won’t help, no step up from ground to floor( approx 3ft ) unable to stand inside unless are under 5ft. My opinion is don’t do it there not worth it

Jpod Outback -Great value little camper – Bought in 2019 from Bundaberg JAYCO and travelled around 15000 km ranging around QLD, NSW, VIC and from Cairns to Birdsville. Easy set up and enclosed rear annex has enough space for small table and camp chairs if the weather outside is cold and wet. Lite enough to tow with a regular vehicle and the van traveled very well over the 500 Km of… Read more ·  1

rough dirt we have traversed - only small amount of dust entry at the rear door and under bed where the water pump sits. Some warranty issues (solar, tape, hatch defect and minor rear door leak) all fixed easily and to our priority by the great team at Bundaberg JAYCO.

Absolute disgrace – Brand new 2020 eagle outback have had it for 7 months and nothing but issue after issue. Two seperate leaks in the roof. Silicone/sealant coming apart from joins. Cracked corner caps on the roof. Have contacted jayco with several emails and photos and receive no response. More than happy to take money for a service and claim that all warranty stuff has been lodged but they are awaiting approval. Absolutely disgraceful.  Show details

Bought after lots of research – Collected my outback aware of issues previous people had listed with the pods. Took back for the first service at Brisbane Camperland and couldn’t fault them for service. They replaced things I didn’t realise were an issue, decided my whole solar system should be changed and arranged it all. I have since done 9000km over rough roads; dust;… Read more ·  1

flooding rains and to Tasmania

Love it.

I have a custom fully sealable square back awning and fitted drawer under the bed.

Yes I have replaced the tape (1 of the issues I was aware of) Changed where the fridge plugs in to the box so don’t have issues.

Overall very happy with what I paid, what I bought for the money.

Next choice for me was an extra $30,000 so very happy

Worst experience I can think of – The winder system has collapse 3 times Damaging the canvas, Damaging the door. Had the front left roof support 4 times and keeps breaking. The roof has collapsed breaking the roof liner support beams. When pulled apart the timber was completely rotted from water ingress .Tried to get a replacement roof from Jayco and they didn't even bother with… Read more

a reply. I tried to get help from Brisbane Camperland and they did not reply. I ended up doing a repair my self it not perfect but it works, for now. I will never ever think of buying anything with the name Jayco again. The caravan is currently sitting in the shed waiting for more repairs.

Its a great upgrade from our tent. Easy to set up, plenty of room – Its a great camper, easy to set up. Lots of room. Havent taken it offroad as yet, but am looking forward to it. Would like a better annex awning as have already in the 6 mths of owning snapped 3 of the eyelets. A lot of cupboards but dont be fooled as they are being used to hide water tanks, pipes etc. Show details

Great escape vehicle and easy to tow – I bought a Jpod sport 2 years ago and have used it on about 15 occasions / 60 days and have not had any problems at all with it, in all types of weather . I didnt want to attached tent and have never used it as I like to set up in 5 minutes . Great value for the money and very happy with it . Warren Show details

Ok for the money and great if you have a towing weight limit – Great little van towed with cx5 diesel goes well. Like most things you get what you paid for. But it would be nice if Jayco bothered to screw all the screws in properly. I haven’t counted them yet, even the 15a external socket screw were sticking out not screwed in all the way. How hard is it, sorry for The negativity but you could train a… Read more

monkey to do a better job. Quality control issues and it appears that Jayco still don’t want to listen. We only took delivery of a 2019 swift 3 weeks ago, been out once for 5 days, but I have to say I’m a little bit worried about what the future will bring.

Great camper easy to tow fast to set up – We purchased our first camper recently and absolutely love it. Our 2002 Penguin 13 ticks al the boxes, easy to tow, much faster to set up than campers with slide out beds, it’s basically a 13FT Caravan without the extra weight, ours weighs in at an ATM weight of 1142kg. We tow it behind a medium SUV Holden Equinox petrol Turbo, tows very well.… Read more

Could tow it with much smaller non turbo cars. Would definitely recommend a Jayco Penguin for anyone that wants a little home away from home.

Good idea very poorly executed and finished, shame – Hired the tourer version for 4 days The inside back door release catch broke off the first time we were inside,in the middle of nowhere,locking us in !!Luckily I am fit and skinny enough to slide out the side window to unlock door..a scary situation.The release is 3/16 soft white metal,I replaced with stainless but it needs a better set up the… Read more

door itself poorly aligned and did not allow the lock to slide into place easily. To connect the gas bayonet is an absolute mission...what poor design,lay down on your back in whatever is around,dirt,mud etc just to try and fit bayonet,good luck,we would have taken our portable gas stove if we knew how difficult this simple task would be.Too hard to mount it on the side of the van ?Just dumb The lock access to front box difficult to use...very difficult.The box itself poorly sealed and lid misaligned. We looked at the huge tent bag and just shook our heads...too hard. The place we hired it from installed two marine half overs to replace original units and ensure rear door stayed shut. The sika flex sealant finishes were very poor in some seams,bubbles etc,and smeared all over the roof in places ? The mattress..we survived one night on it and replaced it with high density foam 5" thick... The other locks on it were ordinary and had to be adjusted to ensure they sealed ... Apart from that we wont be buying one and as I work in quality control suggest the company who makes this product look closely into this area as for the sake of a little care and maybe an extra hundred dollars on some decent locks etc it would be a great camper. Easy to tow,easy to maneuver , layout worked,maybe another 50mm or 100mm head room towards the front ,electrics very well done and thought through.