Newbie - My old Starcraft poptop

Eddii

Eddii

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Jun 28, 2017
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Hi all,
Just posting a pick of our poptop. It's a 16ft rear bunk model 1996. This van has been trouble free so far. We're from central Qld and we've taken this to lots off places for the past 3 years. Our kids love caravanning a lot. But we mainly stay in parks. It's not setup for free camping although we have done it once
Kids are growing up now and we've decided to order a new 22.68-1 OB to replace this. Hopefully be here by end of October. We can't wait
Cheers
Eddii
IMG_1176.PNG
 
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Eddii

Eddii

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Jun 28, 2017
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Yeah we can't wait;)
It is a fair size increase, hopefully it won't take long for me to get use to towing it (wish me luck :becky:)
Kids will only get bigger so hopefully this van will last us a long time.
Extras are:
150w solar upgrade :D
Tough wall and leatherette
External shower
External fold down table
Entertainment outlet outside
Extended draw bar
DO35 coupling
Washing machine
L shape lounge
Harier inverter a/c (free upgrade due to stock a/c not available ;))
Filtered water outlet
Reverse camera

I think that's it (phew) :D

Hopefully we will get into more free camping with this van instead of caravan parks. That's the plan anyway :D:D:D

Cheers
Eddii
 
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Tripper

Tripper

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May 13, 2017
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Had a look at the layout on the Jayco site, looks nice.

We are looking at ordering a Pop-Top 17.58-3 in the new year for the same use as you mentioned, did you consider two batteries for extra time away?
 
Pauly

Pauly

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Aug 25, 2013
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Great decision!!
Ya gunna have a blast in the new one!! That's a good list of options.

It will defo make a fair change to towing but well worth it.
 
Eddii

Eddii

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Jun 28, 2017
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Tripper said:
Had a look at the layout on the Jayco site, looks nice.

We are looking at ordering a Pop-Top 17.58-3 in the new year for the same use as you mentioned, did you consider two batteries for extra time away?
Click to expand...
Thanks Tripper, I haven't considered a second battery nor an extra solar panel. Would it be cheaper if I add them myself later? I'll talk to my salesman tomorrow to see how much;)
 
Tripper

Tripper

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It would be cheaper to do both the panel and the battery yourself, but the weight of the two would come off your available "carrying load". If the works are done at factory they would be included in the caravan weight and not affect the "carrying load".
 
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Eddii

Eddii

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You're right Tripper, it will be much cheaper to do it myself. I'll just see how I go with these ones for a couple of trips to see where we sit with consumption. As for the weight issues, we got the payload upgraded from 450kg to 600kg so there's room for improvement :wink:
 
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Pauly

Pauly

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Battery wise it's best to have like for like , even same age.
Jayco extra battery cost I recon is quite reasonable at about 300$ (100ah batt , batt box lil wiring and connectors )
that said I want to go bigger batts than our two 100s
Extra panel different story.
 
mikerezny

mikerezny

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Sep 11, 2016
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Eddii said:
You're right Pauly not a bad price for the batteries;)
Click to expand...
Hi @Eddie,
when we bought our Penguin, we got something like 20% off all the accessories we ordered.
I was also considering buying the battery myself, but with this discount, it wouldn't have worked out any cheaper.
Glad I got it with the van, since at that time I didn't know that if I fitted it myself, the weight would have come off my payload.
They weigh 30kg, and that would have been a good chunk of the 300kg payload.

cheers
Mike
 
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Eddii

Eddii

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Thanks @mikerezny ;) for your advice, I'll talk to our dealer to see if they have that sort of discount.
Last quote I got was $400 for extra 100ah Ritar Deep Cycle Gel battery and $690 for extra 150W solar.
 
Tripper

Tripper

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My quote was also $399.00 for additional battery complete in place and $756.00 to upgrade from one 120W solar panel to two 150W panels.
 
Eddii

Eddii

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Exact quote I got @Tripper ;) I only chose to upgrade the solar panel from 120W to 150W which was $70.
Does anyone know what the maximum wattage can the existing wiring harness and charger handle?
 
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