17' Series Hi ordered the 17.56.1 OB today!

[Dandy]

With a wife and four daughters we have decided to upgrade from our camper trailer and ordered the 2014 17.56.1 Jayco Expanda today.

After spending many hours searching the net and wandering through dealers it seemed like a no brainer to go with the 17.56.1 layout. After several caravan park stays where it took me ages to set up the soft floor camper trailer I'm really looking forward to all the comforts that the new Expanda will bring!

I've already picked up a few good tips from the forum and hope to get some more. My tow vehicle is a Nissan Patrol 3.0 Auto and I have not fitted a brake controller yet.

Any advice for a novice would be appreciated

 

[BUSH PALACE]

:welcome:Welcome aboard there @Dandy , how long do you have to wait ? where r u from ? and dont forget the fotos !!!
as far as advice goes start reading all the postings its rivetting reading !!!!LOL

 

[cruza driver]

:yo: Welcome to the forum @Dandy you will have the Expanda all set up in the same time it takes to take the cover off the soft floor and still get to sleep under canvas :thumb:

 

[Dandy]

:welcome:Welcome aboard there @Dandy , how long do you have to wait ? where r u from ? and dont forget the fotos !!!
as far as advice goes start reading all the postings its rivetting reading !!!!LOL

No pics yet. We live in Upwey (eastern suburb of Melbourne in the foothills of the Dandenong ranges) so we got 3 quotes from local dealers and have placed the order with Prestige in Seaford. They say we will be in the March production run and be ready for Easter - to be confirmed.

 

[Pace]

Gday and welcome. Why not go the whole hog and.get the -2 model. Creature comforts.

 

[Dandy]

Gday and welcome. Why not go the whole hog and.get the -2 model. Creature comforts.

We were looking at the .2 and we almost went that way. We went for the the .1 for a few reasons; we found the interior of the .2 felt a bit more enclosed and dark, we also liked the extra bench space and light from the window over the bench. The 2014 model also has the roof hatch/ skylight. We have come from the camper trailer and have coped well with bush camping as well as caravan parks in the past. We have taken the option of 2 water tanks so for free camping we should have stacks of clean fresh water without the temptation to use it for showers. Friends bought a gas operated Coleman shower that was great for riverside camping, we will probably end up with one. And I won't have to worry about emptying the cassette or cleaning a toilet. It was the girls who weren't that keen on having the toilet inside. I suppose we could set up a ports loo in a little tent if bush camping for a while?? It will all be part of the adventure.

 

[Pace]

Thats great that you are all in agreeance, happy campers.

 

[Freoboy]

:welcome: Dandy, you will love the Expanda like the rest of us!

 

[chartrock]

Welcome aboard, @Dandy. It seems a natural progression from soft floor camper to Expanda and you wont regret it. As someone who had 4 daughters, I know what your problems are and it's good that you have agreement all round. Look forward to some photos when it arrives.

 

[17triton]

Welcome aboard Dandy and that's a great model van you got there, we love ours and I look forward to some pics as well.

 

[Vaughan Reeve]

Welcome @Dandy
We are waiting for our 17.56-1 from Page Bros as well. Hope to pick it up in the last week of Feb, it should be ready by early Feb but I am overseas, so it will be a nice present to come home to.

I have the Tekonsha P3 brake controller in the D40, works great for me. Bought it from this fella on the bay.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/TEKONSHA..._Parts_Accessories&hash=item43b657c2b4&_uhb=1

Cheers.

 

[Dandy]

Welcome @Dandy
We are waiting for our 17.56-1 from Page Bros as well. Hope to pick it up in the last week of Feb, it should be ready by early Feb but I am overseas, so it will be a nice present to come home to.

I have the Tekonsha P3 brake controller in the D40, works great for me. Bought it from this fella on the bay.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/TEKONSHA..._Parts_Accessories&hash=item43b657c2b4&_uhb=1

Cheers.

G'day Vaughan

I'd be interested to know what you think of it. We are looking like getting ours a couple of weeks before Easter. Have you planned the first trip yet? Did you order an annexe?

I'm currently looking at getting the Redarc or Hayman Reece flush mount controller to avoid the box under the dash. I'm told that this is becoming more common especially with late model vehicles that have knee level airbags.

 

[Vaughan Reeve]

I bought the P3 because its a proportional controller, i don't know that there are that many out there that are, but it was a pain to fit into the dash.
We didn't order an annexe with ours, but i think i may get something made up for the back wall of the awning, and maybe a mesh type screen for the long side. I have never been a big fan of the annexe as they always heat up too much for my liking.

I'll post up a heap of photos when we pick it up, i am just really hanging out to see what they look like because i still haven't seen the 2014 model in the flesh. I was hoping page bros may have one, but they don't as yet.

 

[Bushman]

:welcome: aboard

 

[Dandy]

Update on our progress so far. .... Order confirmed, fabric and laminex chosen. The sales guy has been pretty good so far. Apparently the factory position for the gas bayonet is at the rear, changed that to front.


As far as the brake controller goes ... The dealer referred me to their preferred auto elec who was happy to give me a bit of advice. Basically they recommend the proportional teconsha (the one with the pendulum) I had already heard that the flush mount units don't have quite the same sensitivity. The clincher for me is that they have a deal that they book your car in on the hand over day and then while that's going on the controller and 12 pin plug are installed in the car which is returned in time to have a lesson in using the unit and they are happy to wire the hot wire to my existing dual battery system. Sounds perfect in theory! Any feedback appreciated.

The only major thing left is the annex. We negotiated the basic TEBBS annex into the deal but we now think an extra door , window and the "rafter" kit would be good. The theory is that a rear door is good if we ever get an ensuite site and the rafters ad stability and prevent rain water pooling. Still choosing colors etc but no hurry because they don't make it until the van is delivered. Any feedback appreciated

 

[macca]

@Dandy, we have been happy with our Basic Tebbs annexe, we had the window and door in the back wall which works out well on those hot days when you need to get air thru. We had 1 rafter fitted, the other little thing you could think about is the front veranda, its not too expensive and worth every penny.

 

[Dandy]

@Dandy, we have been happy with our Basic Tebbs annexe, we had the window and door in the back wall which works out well on those hot days when you need to get air thru. We had 1 rafter fitted, the other little thing you could think about is the front veranda, its not too expensive and worth every penny.

Thanks Macca that's pretty much our idea too. As first timers it's great to get feedback from someone who has been there an done it. With our camper I always found myself out the front with the BBQ I'm tipping it'll be the same with the new Expanda so I'll ask them about the veranda.

 

[Dandy]

Bought our first accessory today..... Aldi caravan cover $99.00. It was in the catalog and there was a post on here.

Apparently there was a pack of grey nomads running from the front door. My wife managed to snag one only to find it was for an 18 to 20 footer. I called her back an told her to grab it any way. Checked the specs on the Jayco and our 17.56.1 has a body length of 18'3"... Sweet. If we had grabbed the "right" one it wouldn't fit!

 

[cruza driver]

Nothing like grabbing a bargain @Dandy

 

[Brad]

Bought our first accessory today..... Aldi caravan cover $99.00. It was in the catalog and there was a post on here.

Apparently there was a pack of grey nomads running from the front door. My wife managed to snag one only to find it was for an 18 to 20 footer. I called her back an told her to grab it any way. Checked the specs on the Jayco and our 17.56.1 has a body length of 18'3"... Sweet. If we had grabbed the "right" one it wouldn't fit!

Gee I can't say I have ever had to battle a set of grey nomads in a rush for something. The images it conjures up in my mind are making me chuckle.