Toy Hauler Jayco BaseStation - Refinements

[Lonski]

I am about to head out on a 2 month trip with the Basestation and this time I will leave the dirtbikes at home and take the trusty old postie bike as a runabout on the trip. I have maintained a list of grievances since I bought the van new 3 years ago and with the help of this site and some ‘freestyling’ along the way, I have nearly got it to where I want it - take note of some of these Jayco!. I have about a dozen items or so and I will post over the coming days/weeks some details and pics of the journey.

Mod # 1 - 200AH Battery
Every now and then, after second or 3 night camping in less than optimal sunlight conditions the low voltage alarm would go off – usually in the middle of the night which would leave me scrambling around in the dark in my undies and ugg boots trying to get the generator going. I originally ventured out to get a supplementary 100AH battery, however; I got hold of a new 200AH for not much more and it saved me getting some additional cables made, only issue – it’s huge and heavy @ 60kg I had to temporarily remove the bed stays to install, at the same time I relocated the jack to my front tool box. Also had a sore back for a few days as I was too excited to wait for someone to help me install it.

 

[Lonski]

Mod # 2: Drawbar Mounted Toolbox
Carrying 2 full sized dirtbikes and all associated riding gear in the rear including BBQ, Generator etc left me a bit tail heavy on the van. I had seen some good front toolbox installation ideas on the site previously so I adopted one of them.
- Removed Gas bottles to inside.
- Placed Tool box into position
- Fishing Rod/Awning pullout Holder
I always thought it was not the most sensible idea having the water tap on the driver’s side of the van – away from the van door so I put a tee in the water service and added an additional tap on the side of the tool box.
The additional weight – tools, jack, generator, jockey wheel, general bits and pieces means more weight at the front and better stability. The only issue of the toolbox is it’s a tiny bit high and the bed sits only just proud in the down position so I have put some foam in place so as not to scratch the underside of the bed when I open the box.
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[Base23]

Mod # 2: Drawbar Mounted Toolbox
Carrying 2 full sized dirtbikes and all associated riding gear in the rear including BBQ, Generator etc left me a bit tail heavy on the van. I had seen some good front toolbox installation ideas on the site previously so I adopted one of them.
- Removed Gas bottles to inside.
- Placed Tool box into position
- Fishing Rod/Awning pullout Holder
I always thought it was not the most sensible idea having the water tap on the driver’s side of the van – away from the van door so I put a tee in the water service and added an additional tap on the side of the tool box.
The additional weight – tools, jack, generator, jockey wheel, general bits and pieces means more weight at the front and better stability. The only issue of the toolbox is it’s a tiny bit high and the bed sits only just proud in the down position so I have put some foam in place so as not to scratch the underside of the bed when I open the box.
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All sounds great but I can not see any of the attached photos and I would like to see what you have done.

 

[Lonski]

All sounds great but I can not see any of the attached photos and I would like to see what you have done.

I just added pics as i did in the first post, not sure whats happened? Can i add pics in a reply to my own thread or do i need to revise the thread perhaps? Will investigate.

 

[Lonski]

See if this works:
Pic #1 - Fits snugly under bed.

Pic#2 Left side tap and fishing rod holder behind box.

Pic#3 Fishing rod and 'Awning strap grabber' holder + new tap.

 

[Base23]

looks great.
Cheers

 

[bigcol]

good stuff mate, good stuff

 

[Lonski]

Mod # 3
Bed Rail cut out
Seen on this site a few years ago – a good idea as the base rail on the bottom bunk intermediate rail is not part of the supporting structure (non load bearing) and is a hindrance in putting stuff under the bed, I need to get some suitable boxes that can slide in and out from under there.

 

[Lonski]

Mod # 5
External LED Strip-light:
These mods are not in order of execution – in fact I did this one when I first got the van back in early 2013. The exterior light wasn’t much chop - I bought some strip lighting when I was in HongKong, a IP rated junction box and inline switch at Altronics and connected to the exterior light – Voila! .

 

[bigcol]

thats a great idea with the tap.....................

 

[Lonski]

Mod # 6:
Rear Bayonet Point – thought it’s a nice option to have a rear bayonet for the BBQ, the one at the front determines the BBQ lead and table is right on the main thoroughfare – typically we walk out the van door and forward and you always need to step around the BBQ. Its also handy to have the option of a rear point pending on prevailing wind and rain conditions.

 

[Lonski]

Mod # 7:
Entertainment Shelf and 32” TV – The location where Jayco put the TV bracket and outlet is above the sink and there is nowhere to put remotes etc. I installed a ‘floating’ type shelf, our little BOSE stereo and there was also a STB there before we bought a new Digital 32” TV, had to modify the wall bracket with some left over ally trim to install but it works a treat, it has a built in DVD player and the BOSE Bluetooth Stereo sitting behind it - its almost you are sitting at the movies with good quality sound and a big picture (for a small area) for watching the footy or a video.

:rockon:

 

[1DayIll]

Are you able to leave the TV there while travelling?

 

[Lonski]

No, i have a travel cover for it and it sits on the lounge when we are on the move. Only takes a minute to put it on and plug it in.

 

[Lonski]

Mod # 9:
Recessed Motorbike wheel chocks – Jayco are constantly promoting the Basestation as a Toy Hauler – all the caravan shows and brochures have dirt bikes in them. The only reason I bought a Basestation is because I ride bikes, when I first put my bike in the back I was puzzled as to how the tie them down – typically you need to pull the bike forward from a high point (handlebars or top of shocks above triple clamps and the front shocks compress against a fixed object; however there is no object to pull against – and although there are about 20 tie-down D rings in the back – none of them are forward or where you need them to be.

My short term interim measure was to weld up a frame, this bolted to the floor in 2 positions; I welded 2 x 6mm plates with tapped threads under the floor to the frame so I didn’t have to get under and hold the nuts. This worked well for 3 years as we only ever did short trips to a single location, we would get the bikes and the frame out when we got there and load them back in when we left.

After looking at it and thinking about it for a couple of years I had settled upon recessed wheel chocks and additional tie down rings forward of the existing. This would allow me to fold the wheel chock down to the floor level whilst a bike wasnt in the back and that i wasnt climbing over the frame anymore.

I sent out my wheel chock design to some local fabricators in Perth and found a good and very reasonably priced fabricator.

I had put this off for a long time purely because i knew it was going to be painfull, a few pics of the efforts involved below:

1. Wheel Chock Design and Fabrication.
2. Remove and lower water tank - sits flush under floor between members
3. Cut out floor and partially through 2 x floor beams
4. Reinforce floor beams
5. Install wheel chocks
6. Install new tie down locations - needed steel reinforcements under the chassis
7. Reinstate water tank

 

[geedub]

I agree the positioning of the tie down points is not well thought out at all on the standard setup. I can make it work OK but it isn't ideal. When I stop spending on other things (xmas, renos and car maintenance) I intend to install 2 x Risk Racing Lock-N-Load systems as I think they are a neat solution.

 

[Janeymck]

Hi i had the same problem so i bolted the Ace Bikes SteadyStand in with some new tie down points, i also extended the ramp as it was to steep to ride my Triumph 1200 Explorer in Regards Pete

 

[Bazcad]

Hey all, new to the forum and expecting our new Basestation in first week of December. It better be ready as we’ve already booked our spot on the boat to Tassie for New Years.
I’ve read about the last 20+ pages and I’m amazed at the extent and quality of upgrades and modifications here. I think some border on a full time job I will update my next post with full list of options etc.
My first question relates to the kitchen bench window that is half covered by the door when you open it. Jayco won’t let me change it for a bigger window saying that they simply don’t allow these mods like they used too. Does anybody know if there is anything in particular in the cavity wall behind the kitchen bench that would stop anyone from cutting in a window similar to the meals area 1100x450mm ? Cheers.

 

[M Cressey]

i'm keen to do the same mod, keen to hear how you got on with your mod

 

[Bazcad]

i'm keen to do the same mod, keen to hear how you got on with your mod

Hey mate, have spoken to Jayco a few times and basically they have really limited to almost nil any modifications. Options yes, mods no. The sales guy has told me that he does not believe there is any reason why I couldn’t do it aftermarket as they used to have a bigger window as an option. I will be looking further into it after our first trip