New Starcraft, Maybe!

[Sweet Pea]

Hi just introducing myself and hubby. We starting out tenting about 35 odd years ago when it was just us two. We moved on to our first Jayco which was a Swan camper trailer as the children came along and we loving called her "The Tardis". We downsized to an outback Dove once the kids flew the coop but soon traded up to a Regal 16' pop top. We sold the Regal about 7 years ago after hubby had a serious car accident. Last year we bought a new Cub Kamperoo Daintree LE outback model thinking it'd be easy to tow and easy to put up and down but after just one trip away we both realise the Cub is not for us. We both want comfort, a shower and a toilet We are past shuffling off to the amenities and sleeping under wet canvas. We really should have done more homework and realised we're not as young as we used to be!

So we are off to the caravan and camping show at Rosehill Sydney this Saturday and hubby has already ready said he's feeling nervous After a lot of looking and reading forums and reviews we are leaning towards a 16' Starcraft touring model pop top with full ensuite. The show price is $36,000 with a "free" tv. I always laugh at these free offers as somewhere in there we are paying for it. Despite the many problems Jayco seem to still have (and yes we had a problem with our swan 20 years ago) the price tag and layout suits us both. I've enjoyed reading the forums over the last months and it's helped hubby and I decide to rejoin the Jayco family. Cheers.

 

[chartrock]

G'day @Sweet Pea and welcome to the forum. It sounds like you have been around the camper/caravan scene for some time with a lot of experience. We would love to hear of your trips (with photos ) both past and planned, also any mods you may be planning,

Good luck with the buying of the new van and screw the salesman down for as many 'free' extras as you can. You will be surprised how much they will bend.

 

[relgate]

Welcome @Sweet Pea
go with @chartrock s advice. Haggle!

We have a starcraft and love it. They are great value and to my mind have no more problems than the vans that cost twice as much

Good luck and let us know how you get on

 

[Crusty181]

Welcome @Sweet Pea. Jaycos quality control is non existant, but theyre backup and support more than makes up for that. The other brands arent immune to issues.

 

[Sweet Pea]

Thank you for the friendly welcomes. I'm looking forward to reading and learning all I can about Jayco's and this great country.

Our first Jayco was a Swan 20 years ago and quality control was lacking then as well. We picked up the swan played with it for a bit before it sat for a week or two before we packed for a month away but when we opened the Swan it was full of water, everything was soaked. It was such a shock but Jayco Minchinbury as it was back then were fantastic. The entire top of the Swan was rebuilt, new canvas, new everything and they offered a loan camper if it wasn't going to be ready. Once back it never gave us an once of trouble and when we sold her we sold her for more than what we bought her for and the outback Dove was problem free.

Then the Regal pop top, it's sink leaked as did the front window and the awning flew off the caravan somewhere on the F3 when travelling up to Hunter Valley The sink was fixed and the awning replaced but we could never get the leaking window sorted

And now the 2014 Cub Camper. The gas doesn't work which greatly worries my husband as a gas compliance certificate said it worked and as a tradie himself he knows how important it is to be truthful when these certificates are handed out and it appears that no one actually turned the gas on and light the stove which is also a worry. Also the batteries are flat and won't recharge so back to Cub it goes and hopefully once it's back and sorted we can put it on the market and send it to a happy home.

So quality control what is it exactly? It certainly is something that seems to be a problem across the board and not just with Jayco. Jayco were fantastic when the Swan needed fixing. Regal did not want to know us and botched up the repairs so much we ended up taking it elsewhere for repairs at our cost. Cub so far are doing all they can to help us out.

Our 2013 Nissan Pathfinder STL diesel manual needed electric brakes fitted late last year so we could pick up the Cub. The ebu was installed by Nissan as the cars still under warranty but when we hooked the car up to the Cub hubby said the brakes felt wrong. 10 minutes down the road the car stopped, smoke and sparks pouring out from under the bonnet. The ebu had fried every single computer on the car. It took us 3 months to get it sorted with Nissan but eventually we got her back better than ever and basically we have a new car and Nissan looked after us very well.

 

[mfexpanda]

Welcome @Sweet Pea

 

[17triton]

Welcome @Sweet Pea , How did you go at the show?

 

[Sweet Pea]

17triton we went back to the show on the last weekend and ordered the Starcraft 16-67-5 touring model. The extras we got are,

drifter control panel
tv, DVD player, radio cd
air con
oven
bed converter on the dining table
12v power point under the bed
reversing camera
drop down jacks
external picnic table
starter pack.

Dear husband wanted leaf springs buy balked at the $1500.00 but after talking we've decided to add those. Now the waiting begins. Lol I mentioned quite a few times that I didn't want the build date on a public holiday long weekend, a Friday, approaching school holiday, NRL or AFL grand final. The salesman thought I was nuts.