16' Series Jayco Expanda Modifications

[Robbo81]

Hi everyone,
I wanted to share a couple of modifications that I have made to my 16.49-3 Jayco Expanda.

Front Box mounted, gas bottles sitting in original position with the original bracket.


If anyone has any feedback on regulations on ventilation of gas and fuel vabour (generator) would be appreciated.

Spare Wheel moved to the rear to help reduce tow ball weight


210 amp hour battery and 50 amp circuit breaker


Under sink charcoal 5 micron water filter


Any feedback would be much appreciated.

Robbo out

 

[cruza driver]

:welcome: to the forum Robbo and nice choice of Expanda.

The relocation of the spare wheel is a mod I want to do too, thanks for posting mate

 

[drewy]

Hi Robbo,

Welcome aboard! Your spare set up does look impressive, is it on a winder set up like in a Hilux ute?

Cheers,

Andrew

 

[BUSH PALACE]

Welcome Robbo
You should have vents at the bottom as gas is heavier .. great start to your mods ... well done

 

[kolega]

mods look great, I have done a similar toolbox setup and was told that in Victoria I need to have LPG sticker on the outside of the toolbox. I purchased the LPG warning sticker from my local Jayco dealer.

 

[Big Al]

Hi Robbo Love your work.Iwould like to do the same thing.Could you tell me a couple of things.Could you tell me how you mounted the spare wheel and how do you lower it.Also could you give me the dimensions of the tool box and how you mounted the box Thanks

 

[Brad]

Welcome to the forum robbo. Well thought out mods. They look great.

 

[Burnsy]

G'day and welcome Robbo, nice work mate!

Cheers.

 

[Xpandafan]

Welcome aboard Robbo. Another craftsman is always welcome.

 

[Antman]

Welcome Robbo. Another 16 foot owner :whoo:

Like your mods. Are you not concerned about your spare wheel getting damaged by rocks? Although it looks far enough back...
I would love to have a toolbox on the front of mine however it doesn't have an extended drawbar and if i did it, it would not allow my WDH setup to fit.

I like the idea of the under sink filter something I have been thinking about also.

Cheers
Ants

 

[Robbo81]

Hi Robbo,

Welcome aboard! Your spare set up does look impressive, is it on a winder set up like in a Hilux ute?

Cheers,

Andrew

Thanks Andrew,
Na not a winder style, it was just a bolt through the centre with a bracket and nut. I needed to mount the wheel flush with the bottom of the caravan. This kept the departure angle the same as the rear bumber bar.

Cheers
Robbo

 

[Robbo81]

Hi Robbo Love your work.Iwould like to do the same thing.Could you tell me a couple of things.Could you tell me how you mounted the spare wheel and how do you lower it.Also could you give me the dimensions of the tool box and how you mounted the box Thanks

Hi Big Al,
I welded some angle bar to the front c-section type cross member to form a box section for strength. Then welded and bolted an I frame in between the modified cross member and the rear box section with a bolt that drops through the centre of the tyre so it can be secured with a bracket and nut.

Its pretty hard to explain with words. If you look at the pictures closely you can kinda see what I mean. If this doesnt make any sense, I will pull the spare off and take a picture of just the frame.

Tool box details - manufactured diamond T (australian made) 1750 x 530 x 500 H. Box is quite expensive (about $900 from Porters) but is of very high quality.
Mounting - built a 50mm alloy angleline frame for strength, used existing gas bottle brackets and mounts i just cut appropriate holes in the box. I simply bolted the box on with 2 bolts each side beneath the gas bottles. Maintained the original gas regulator and lines, all that was required was an angleline gas fitting.

Cheers
Robbo

 

[Robbo81]

Welcome Robbo. Another 16 foot owner :whoo:

Like your mods. Are you not concerned about your spare wheel getting damaged by rocks? Although it looks far enough back...
I would love to have a toolbox on the front of mine however it doesn't have an extended drawbar and if i did it, it would not allow my WDH setup to fit.

I like the idea of the under sink filter something I have been thinking about also.

Cheers
Ants

Hi Ants,
Good point. Which rocks are you talking about - ones flicking up or driving over?

Rocks flicking up - The outside of the rim is mounted facing upwards, but you could put a wheel cover on.
Driving over rocks - The wheel is slightly higher than the original spare wheel bracket. Where it is currently mounted, the departure angle remained the same as the rear bumper.

I have had the spare wheel mounted there for about 6 months and I havent had any issues. In saying that, I havent taken the van on any extensive dirt roads.

I do intend to raise the van and my Prado by 2" in the near future. Any feedback on how to do this easily and legally would be greatly appreciated.

Robbo

 

[achjimmy]

Great mods Robbo. the spare under the arse is my aim too, not sure i wanna struggle with bolting it up though. Other than the winder i have thought about a cage like the trucks use.

keep up the posts we love expanda mods.

 

[Brad]

I do intend to raise the van and my Prado by 2" in the near future. Any feedback on how to do this easily and legally would be greatly appreciated.

Robbo

Do a search for under slung axles.

 

[Hit the road]

Welcome Robbo
looks great

 

[jim74]

Robbo
lifting the Prado is the easy option, i went with Bilstein shocks and Lovells springs with airbags, cost$1300 installed(mates rates) dont muck around with cheap kits like ironman you will regret it. as for the van i dont know if anyone has tried longer shackles? i know we used to do it with older hiluxes to get an easy and cheap 2inch lift.
jim

 

[Antman]

Hi Ants,
Good point. Which rocks are you talking about - ones flicking up or driving over?

Rocks flicking up - The outside of the rim is mounted facing upwards, but you could put a wheel cover on.
Robbo

Hey mate
the rocks flicking up is what I would be concerned about. I will be going over some dirt in the next couple months and I have a piece of rubber bolted over all my waterpipe work. I might be able to see how much sort of hits if they leave marks on the rubber and I will certainly be looking. I have no idea if they will or not and maybe have gone a bit OTT but would rather protect my water pipes whilst miles away from anywhere. I will let you know what I find out in this regard.

As for raising your van, sorry no idea there.
Cheers
Ants

 

[leesy]

Good thinking Antman, the underside of my new van looks well "shot up" lots of dints in the tank protector, well blasted axel and the nuts on the u bolts are very dinted and rounded off, i will replace that when i undersling.
I also copped damage to the AC unit fins via the holes cut through the floor but all the hoses ect were all ok which was surprising, i have just finished installing large mud flaps on the bottom of my stone gaurd as well as ones that hang in front of the axel and suspension set up.

Robbo, i would love to see the spare mountings without the wheel attached, i want to relocate mine to so i can carry the webber Q on a platforn where the spare was.

All looks great on yours and welcome!
Leesy

 

[Antman]

Good thinking Antman, the underside of my new van looks well "shot up" lots of dints in the tank protector, well blasted axel and the nuts on the u bolts are very dinted and rounded off, i will replace that when i undersling.
I also copped damage to the AC unit fins via the holes cut through the floor but all the hoses ect were all ok which was surprising, i have just finished installing large mud flaps on the bottom of my stone gaurd as well as ones that hang in front of the axel and suspension set up.
Leesy

Hey Leesy
have a look at http://www.expandasdownunder.com/showthread.php/1779-Antmans-16-49-3/page2
post #17. I have some pics there. Whilst there isn't one from underneath the black rubber, there is one to show the pipework that it will protect and you can see the rubber. If you want I can take some pics this weekend of it to show the final underneath.

Ants