Our first van 14.44-4 OB

JT76

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Jan 24, 2016
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I thought seeing as I have found so much information and ideas on this forum, I should post our van and what we have done since picking it up in February this year.

After a week long camping trip in the rain in January we decided to move on from the tent and look at a camper trailer. After almost buying a Swan, this 14.44-4 caught our eye on the other side of the display area. It was a November 15 build and for not much more than the Swan was going to cost it was a no brainer.

Here is a pic on the day we did the deal.


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Because it was floor stock we didn't get to choose what was in it. It came with the antenna and bike rack. It also had two gas bottles which im not sure if that was standard or not?

One item I though it needed was a 12v pump so I didnt have to use the plunger. Jayco quoted over $500 to fit so I just ordered a Shurflow 4009 for just over $100 and some John Guest fittings and this was my first mod.

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As part of the deal they gave us a cover and I stole this idea off another post on this forum. Clark rubber corners for the solar panel to stop the cover catching on the corners. In fact just about everything we have added has been from this forum so nothing new I guess.

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Next stop was a tv bracket. While DSE were going out of business they has a nice bracket at about half price. I mounted it to the side wall under the AC unit. I needed to add a strip of 19mm tas oak to the bed side of the wall to add some strength. The color match of the Tassy oak was very close to the original finish. Not a great pic but you can see the wall is double thick in the background. I leave the telly on the bracket all the time and it's fine. TV is a 19" unit with inbuilt DVD from Kogan.

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We also ordered a memory foam bed topper from Kogan when we bought the TV and its great!

We had our first trip away around 2 weeks after picking the van up. We headed to Hawks nest just for a weekend to see how everthing worked. Realised we needed more power for phone etc and didnt like using bench space so fitted two 12v usb outlets from Baintech. One was supposed to be a double but I was sent two singles. The singles are rated at higher amps so can charge ipads from it so I just kept the two singles. Also wired in a LPG detector at the same time.

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The switch to the right is to isolate the water pump when not in use. I ran all the 12v stuff through a box from jaycar so everything is fused seperate. Looks neater in person. I have a water pump, LPG detec, two 12v USB's and the last two are used for the diesel heater.

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Next trip was to Big 4 Kiama, top spot and our site was overlooking the beach. We had a great time but on one night we had some rain and I realised the water was getting onto the matteress where it was touching the canvas/vinyl. No leaks just transferred through. : (

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With another trip planned for the following week up at Nelson Bay I called Holiday annexes and ordered a bed end cover. Very happy with how it turned out. I also ordered a side shade for the annex from ebay and it fitted perfect.

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As we have a 2 week trip planned in July and 3 nights at the snow in August (plus Tassie in a year or 2) I twisted the better halfs arm to get a diesel heater. Was happy with the price from Heatso.com (had another post re this) and fitted it up ready for winter.

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With the controller mounted back up in our bed we can change it during the night without having to get up. Over the weekend we went to a local park (40 mins away) just for two nights mainly to test the heater. We ran it both nights and set the temp at around 19-20 and it was perfect. Ran for about 10 hours each evening night and other then a bit of noise when you first start it up you really would know its there.

Also added a clothes line which folds up under the bike rack and it worked really well.

In this pic you can see our Joolca hotwater system which was one of the first additions and to use it we had an extra gas fitting put out the back of the van. The jerry can to the left is overkill for a diesel heater but I opted for this size so when we go on a longer trip I will fill it and have some emergency fuel for the tug. Another small mod you can see in this pic is under the van I ran 2x 90mm pipes with screw caps and I keep 4 lengths of waste hose (2 in each) with screw joiners so I can connect then as I need to depending on how long I need the hose to be.

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On the way home on Sunday. Our forth trip since February, even though a few have been short trips it has been great to get away and test everything ready for some bigger trips planned in the future.

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Back home and tucked away for a few weeks before our next adventure which will be 4 stops over two weeks to QLD and back.

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Nothing groundbreaking but just thought I would share our mods to date.
 
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JT76

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Jan 24, 2016
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Love it. Great read. That pic at Kiama looks awesome.

Yeah that was probably the best camp site we have been to in a caravan park. There were around 10 sites in a row with that outlook. We were there 4 nights and the whole row was full except right next to us so was even better to have the extra space. Plus there was a large grass area in front of the site between us and the beach. We will be back and hope to get the same site again!
 

MDS69

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Jul 6, 2014
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Yeah that was probably the best camp site we have been to in a caravan park. There were around 10 sites in a row with that outlook. We were there 4 nights and the whole row was full except right next to us so was even better to have the extra space. Plus there was a large grass area in front of the site between us and the beach. We will be back and hope to get the same site again!

We have been there 4 times, twice in a tent and twice in a soft floor CT. Agree not a bad CP.
 

FiveInAVan

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Sep 17, 2015
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Brisbane, QLD
Looks great! Is that clothes line specificly for a bike rack? I am after something for our Starcraft but we won't have a van mounted bike rack.
 

Bmhdg76

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Oct 6, 2012
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North Lakes, Qld.
We also have the 14.44-4 and was thinking when we get heater (most likely diesel) that is where I would want the outlet, but don't think it will work for us as we have the speakers for the stereo there and I would also worry that the kids donnas or bedding would slide down and cover the outlet. Do they have a safety mechanism if the outlet becomes restricted?

BJ
 
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JT76

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Jan 24, 2016
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@Bmhdg76 I think its the best place for the heater in our van. I dont think there is a cut off if the vent gets covered but the ambient temp is taken from the inlet side (unless you have an optional outside temp probe) so I would imagine if the vent did get covered the hot air would not get away and the unit would heat up quicker and then before long the inlet temp would rise to meet the set temp and it actually turns itself off when this has happened for long enough. It will turn back on when it drop in temp again. So it wouldnt keep running all night. I noticed ours turned off for an hour or so after it was idling at the set temp for a while. Then later turns back on by itself.

Good point though, I never thought of it re the doona covering the vent. Another option is under the dinette but you would want to make sure the vent isnt directed at your legs while sitting down as it would be uncomfortably hot as the air temp coming out of the vent is pretty hot!

You could also mount it on the other side of the drawer if the speaker is in your way. I was going to mount it on that side anyway but the rear ext gas bayonet I put in would have been right up again the exhaust outlet so decided against it.
 

Marv_mart

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Jan 3, 2014
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Congratulations and welcome to the 14.44 clan! Good list of completed mods so far, there will be more I am sure.
You have it seems already picked through the list of mods I made to our 14.44-5. This forum is a great place to share ideas as well as getting questions answered if you have issues. :grouphug:
 
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JT76

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Jan 24, 2016
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Congratulations and welcome to the 14.44 clan! Good list of completed mods so far, there will be more I am sure.
You have it seems already picked through the list of mods I made to our 14.44-5. This forum is a great place to share ideas as well as getting questions answered if you have issues. :grouphug:

Yes I think I found the rubber corners from your post and it looks like I copied a few other things too without realising it. Just had a re read of your build to see what was the same and there were quite a few!

As I was looking through I noticed the drop down table you installed on the side. We were only just talking about putting one on the other day. There seems to be so many sizes, where did you get yours from and are you happy with it? Might need to copy one more mod ;)
 
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Dobbie

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Jun 18, 2014
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You won't regret it. They are brilliant and easy to use.

It always the first thing we open when setting up and we haven't lost the van keys once.

Scotch bottle sits nicely there as well.
 
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Dobbie

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We just got the standard jayco supplied one when we ordered the van but we are looking at adding another one....if we can.

Every time we have the van out, or are away, we look to see where a second one could be fitted.

Haven't got there yet.

I'll try to remember to measure ours tomorrow.
 
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Marv_mart

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Jan 3, 2014
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Yes I think I found the rubber corners from your post and it looks like I copied a few other things too without realising it. Just had a re read of your build to see what was the same and there were quite a few!

As I was looking through I noticed the drop down table you installed on the side. We were only just talking about putting one on the other day. There seems to be so many sizes, where did you get yours from and are you happy with it? Might need to copy one more mod ;)
Got it from RV Parts & Accessories here in Adelaide (Local Jayco service and repair centre)
Very easy to install I believe, many others have done it, I got it done by them during my annual service along with the replacement of the hot water sacrificial anode.
I had it installed just above the aluminium. Well above ground level but I use it to hold my cooking gear and meal prep stuff not to sit at. You should be able to see the placement from my mod blog.
 
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