14' Series Advice on buying an Expanda Outback 14.44-4

[Crew family]

Hi everyone,

We currently have an Outback Eagle for our family with 2 daughters (9 & 7) and do a mixture of bush camping and powered sites. We did a 3-month trip up the centre and down the west coast 2 years ago, and would really like to do another long one before the youngsters start high school. The kids are getting a bit big for sharing the double bed, and I'm a bit worried that if we concentrate more on the QLD outback, north and east coast that we'll have more wet set ups, so we've just been to look through an Expanda 14.44-4 - and everyone's in love.

A few things I want to know before we go ahead and order in the next few months though:

• Front bed hinge - I've seen some horrid reviews of leaks etc, and wonder whether the new versions have the same issues. If so, is it easy to get storm covers or other mods?
• Top bunk - is the window and canvas fairly water tight? Wonder if others have put outside protective covers on.
• Main bed - are there comfort issues with having the seam down the middle, and what mods do you recommend if an issue?
• Air-con - the model we saw had the air-con above the TV cabinet, but wonder if it's better to get a roof mounted one instead if available on the smaller 14.444?
• Awning - is the awning that comes standard pretty sturdy?
• Hot water - is losing a cupboard to put hot water in really worth it? We currently just boil the kettle to do the dishes and don't find it an issue.
• Off-road - we do plan to do a bit of the Birdsville Track if poss. Any upgrades to suspension or off-road modifications we should think about? We did the Bungle Bungles and a few other dirt tracks in the Eagle and had no probs after taking care of tyre pressures. I'm aware of taking extra screws and cupboard latches for safe measure.

Any other thoughts welcome.

 

[Wayne2410]

Hey Crew Family,

We recently downsized from a 17.56.1 to 14.44.4 and haven't looked back. We took the old panda around oz in 2012 and the room inside was great for 12 months of living, but now we do smaller trips and with better access to national parks and off road the new panda suits us to a tee. In addition, the 14ft is so much easier to tow etc.

We've had the new van now for about 6 months, I'll go through your answers in order using experience from old and new van.

• Our van is 2014 model which has the older style bed end lid. I believe Jayco had issues with the newer 2015 design and have now gone back to the old style again which doesn't have the leaking issues - we haven't anyway!
• Was in pouring rain in January and no leak to top bunk whatsoever. It's actually better then the canvas bed end which did leak through the walls as canvas does without the additional cover.
• My other half has complained about the join in the inner spring mattress which is on her side (closest to the table). We didn't have this issue on our last panda with foam mattress. I've heard that the egg shell covers fix the problem and we may get one ourselves?
• It's well worth the money to get roof top air and have the extra cupboard space. In addition it also solves the hot water issue your talking about as the space under the dining seat which was reserved for the aircon unit is then used for hot water system.
• Awning is a little smaller on the 14.44 but sturdy enough - no issues really comes standard and does the job.
• Get the new outback with j-tech suspension, will do everything you require. We took the old panda with leaf springs on the gibb river road etc, our biggest issue was the duel axel setup rather than suspension e.g. Couldn't get in Bungle Bungles with duel axel.

Well there you go gives you a bit of a start. Good luck!

 

[JT76]

Hey @Crew family we just got our own 14.44 in January. We love it, our was a November 15 build so I'm not sure if the issue with the front hinge is fix with ours as we haven't had any rainy nights to test it. Again top bunk we haven't tested it with rain but I can't see any problems with the way it looks.

We found the main bed to be uncomfortable but found a memory foam topper from Kogan ( when shopping for a to) that has completely transformed it. Around $100 and at 5cm think it stays on and bed still folds up fine. Fit was perfect with the double size and would highly recommend it.

We do not have hot water but do have a outdoor Joolca hot tap for hot showers. Runs of a ext gas bayonet at the rear and is mounted on the drawbar.

We have the outback and it has good clearance but have yet to test it off-road. Suspension (j-tec) looks good and the ride is great while towing.

So far we love ours, only been on a small trip to test it out but have spent a bit of time crawling over it and under it doing a few mods and I'm really happy with everything. We have 3 trips coming up so will know more after that but from the limited experience we have had I would say it's a great little van.

 

[MDS69]

We have a 2014 14.44-4OB with the J-Tech suspension. As others above have done to answer your questions in order
We had had a little leak along the hinge but I think the hinged panel sits too high at the front when open so the water pools at the hinge. The water only goes onto the canvas anyway and this hasn't leaked. We just had to push the canvas up from inside to tip the water off.

The top bunk hasn't had any leaks. There is no canvas there but the plastic type coated skirt. Window when closed hasn't leaked.

Our mattress on the from bed is split 50/50 so the join hasn't concerned us. Reading some other comments it looks like the split is different.

Can't comment on the difference between the wall and roof mounted air suffice to say the wall mounted is noisy but we mostly free camp.

Awning is OK no complaints.

We have a second water tank and the HWS. When free camping we generally have a fire and I will heat water on that to save gas either from the HWS or heating on the stove top. We got the outdoor shower as well but have only used it to rinse feet so far. Mostly fitted HWS for resale. As far as losing cupboard space due to HWS it isn't an issue as we still have spare cupboard space. We don't fill just because they are there as we are mindful of weight. We still fit everything we need.

With regards to suspension we did Mungo NP and the Darling River run from Menindee Lakes to out past Bourke and the J-Tech performed brilliantly on the dirt with cattle grids and washouts etc.

If I knew then what I know now I would get one bed end compartment on each each bunk deleted and a longer mattress fitted from factory.
Consider getting the wall reinforced for the TV bracket even if you don't fit a TV straight away.
Also look at increasing your solar but a single battery will still be OK.

Then you could go nuts on options
Second water tank
Second gas bottle (might be standard with HWS can't remember)
Extended draw bar
Off road hitch
Outdoor shower
Outside light over outdoor shower
Coast to Coast or Drifter control panel
Research payloads etc and see if 16" wheels give a better load rating
Get Jayco to guarantee in writing your payload

We love our 14 footer.

 

[Dan-14.44]

We bought our 2012 14.44-4 last year from a goldstream wing 2 and love it. The kids are way happier they don't have to share a bed anymore (boy and girl). The boss (who sleeps on the skinny side of mattress) reckons it slopes to the zipper but I suspect its got more to do with my extra 30kgs. We added the egg carton cover and it's helped a bit. We do get water on top of the canvas in the rain I may look into that someday. Right now it's not a big deal. We have the roof top air and it works well. If you keep it in a shed like I do, make sure your door is high enough. I have to let the tyres down to get it in/out. We've noticed that the top bunk gets quite a bit of condensation buildup in the cooler nights when we had to use the heater, so we now know and are mindful of that. No worries in the summer though. We thought the HWS was luxury item when we got the caravan but couldn't live without it now. Haven't taken it offroad yet. I'm sure it would take as much as I'm willing to give it without shaking it to bits.

You'll love the 14.44.

 

[Maxisverymad]

2015 14.44-4 and love it.
. Front bed hinge leaked a bit so run a bead of silicon all way along top of hinge and that fixed that.
. Had no trouble with leaks around bunk area.
. Main bed was a bit uncomfortable but put egg shell foam under foam/bed topper, now all good and folds up with bed made.
. Air con on roof is terrific and gives better air spread front and back all adjustable and more room on bench.
. Awning is just fine had no issues.
. Don't need hot water unit, as you said, we just boil water in kettle to do dishes, this also helps to keep water usage down instead of filling sink right up etc, and shower under tree with the old solar hot water bag!
. Don't have OB model that's swag territory for us, not interested in dragging a van in remote areas. But I know harder with family in tow!

These are my thoughts hope it helps, enjoy!

 

[Rockape]

Hi everyone,

We currently have an Outback Eagle for our family with 2 daughters (9 & 7) and do a mixture of bush camping and powered sites. We did a 3-month trip up the centre and down the west coast 2 years ago, and would really like to do another long one before the youngsters start high school. The kids are getting a bit big for sharing the double bed, and I'm a bit worried that if we concentrate more on the QLD outback, north and east coast that we'll have more wet set ups, so we've just been to look through an Expanda 14.44-4 - and everyone's in love.

A few things I want to know before we go ahead and order in the next few months though:

• Front bed hinge - I've seen some horrid reviews of leaks etc, and wonder whether the new versions have the same issues. If so, is it easy to get storm covers or other mods?
• Top bunk - is the window and canvas fairly water tight? Wonder if others have put outside protective covers on.
• Main bed - are there comfort issues with having the seam down the middle, and what mods do you recommend if an issue?
• Air-con - the model we saw had the air-con above the TV cabinet, but wonder if it's better to get a roof mounted one instead if available on the smaller 14.444?
• Awning - is the awning that comes standard pretty sturdy?
• Hot water - is losing a cupboard to put hot water in really worth it? We currently just boil the kettle to do the dishes and don't find it an issue.
• Off-road - we do plan to do a bit of the Birdsville Track if poss. Any upgrades to suspension or off-road modifications we should think about? We did the Bungle Bungles and a few other dirt tracks in the Eagle and had no probs after taking care of tyre pressures. I'm aware of taking extra screws and cupboard latches for safe measure.

Any other thoughts welcome.[/QUOTE

Hi<
We had a 2013 14.44-4 outback until we upgraded last year. These comments are based on that
> We never had any bed leaks, however ours wasn't a 2015 model
> There is no canvas above the rear bunk beds, just the pop top skirt and ours never leaked.
> We found the bed pretty comfy, but you can put an eggshell on top
> Ours had the Heron 2.2 cabinet air conditioner, and we couldn't use it at night in caravan parks as it was quite noisy when the compressor fan went to full speed. I would definitely go for a rooftop unit as they are quieter and provide much better air flow. The only benefit of the Heron 2.2 is that it uses a heating element as it is not reverse cycle for heating, so it works in cold climates below 4 degrees better. Also a real bugger to service as the compressor unit is located in a poor place.
> Never had an issue with the awning. We always used an Aussie Traveller AFK to make it sturdy and tied it down.
> We used to do the boil water thing until we got hot water in out new Jayco Journey, and I would never go without having it ever again! External shower is cheaper to put in with the hot water option.. The cupboard you loose with the hot water will be gained by going roof top for Air conditioning. With hot water and external shower you get an additional water tank, twin gas bottles and an additional 75Kgs payload.
>I am assuming you are looking at an outback, so I would consider going for the 16inch wheel upgrade as the tyres are larger and have a higher load rating. We did and were very happy.
There is plenty of advice on offer on this great forum. Look at the extras that people have ordered from the factory. We also added a fold down table on the outside of ours (Bar!) which is very handy.
Remember any thing fitted by the factory is included in your original Tare, whereas anything fitted after is not.
The only 2 things I wished we had fitted on ours, was hot water, external shower and roof top air.
Good luck
Cheers
Nick

 

[PhilW]

We have a 2013 14.44/4 Outback with all the bling and love it.
No leaks except for driving rain on the canvas bed end let a bit in. Did not have the storm cover fitted.
We are a family of four and upgraded from a Jayco Eagle. Love the ease of set up.
Not too big to tow and reasonably roomy on the inside.
These are a well thought out family rig.
Good luck with your search.

 

[Ted farkas]

Did 4 months last year with 2 kids - gibb river, eremie loop, oodnadatta. Still 2 ton and got out of shape when we hit a wet patch so still need to be treated with respect. I got the roof mounted a/c but not overly impressed. Doesnt work below a couple of degrees or above 30 ish when you need it, if i had my time again i would consider one of those diesel heaters and good personal fans. Otherwise i rate them. Get an extra water tank and twin bottles both of which i,m now retro fitting. Hws works well and i had know dramas with the standard solar. So good to just pull on the side of the road and live. Got the bigger fridge too which is the go. I got an outdoor shower but didnt use it. Probably because we had a crap shower tent and bike racks that fouled it (took the bikes of only 3 times - they had a great trip)

 

[Ted farkas]

Get the tyres aligned - mine wore really bad on the inside and cost mea premature set of 2.

 

[Reno]

This is my first van a 2015 14.44.4 and it has the hot water love it. Although have only spent at the most 4 days free camping I found that there is ample storage although I do have a 60 litre fridge in my car. I store most of the annexe under the rear bunk. I do have the problem of water getting in through the top of the front bed hinge area not sure what the fix is but its a warranty issue (I hope). I am getting a bed topper as I find the old bones struggle after a few nights sleep. My kids are 12 and 14 and we have not been struggling for room although might change as the weather gets colder.

 

[Marv_mart]

Where abouts along the top edge is the water getting in?
If around the edge at each end, I have run a bead of silicon along the top around the corners to force the water over the sides. Thought I had pics. Can take some if you need them.

 

[Reno]

When I am lying down I can see daylight coming through the top corners of the bed ends. I think it may need a bit more than silicone. But I will keep it in mind if the duc tape lets me down until its goes in for the warranty work. Will let you know how it goes. Thanks