Jayco All Terrain Caravan 19.61-2 : 2021

We have a caravan! It’s offical – I’m a Grey Nomad. We have purchased a Jayco All Terrain 19 foot off road caravan and I am officially in love.

Ahead of my time! I have always loved caravans and hanging out with caravaners. DD and Rex (my Mum and Dad for newbies) have had caravans for 20 years now (all have been Jayco, their latest model is a Silverline), they even used to bring their van into the station and I loved nothing more than hanging out with them in their van, now we finally have our own. I really am DD Jnr now. I have turned into my Mum. Good grief. Looks like Miss Chardy “Laughter in the Outback” may have to change to Miss Chardy “Cooking, Camping and Caravanning” ha ha ha.

How did this happen I hear you ask… well it all started in May this year when we were in Mt Isa for Home Tutor Seminar and School of the Air activity days. We all stay together at a caravan park, this year we were one of the only families staying in a cabin there – everyone else had their caravans. I even took my own camp chair in so I could settle in with them. They had their vans in a circle together, it was fabulous and I had serious caravan envy. Ok, let’s be real – me wanting a caravan started quite a while ago but this was the tipping point. Casey had just bought a New Age Manta Ray and I was in love – it was nicer than my house (not that that is hard, ha ha ha). After they had all left it was just Bec and I left at the van park for one more night and I went deep on the internet looking at vans. I had no idea… none! I thought you find a caravan, get a tow ball on your car and BAM… you are good to go. Oh how wrong I was. There was so much to consider and the first one was my tow vehicle. Our 2013 model Toyota Prado couldn’t tow much at all 2.5 tonne to be exact – it definitely couldn’t tow the kind of van I needed. I didn’t want anything with a pop top or anything that popped out with tent type fabric, I also needed an off road van and these are generally a little heavier.

We live on a cattle station at Bum Truck Nowhere in the NT which is, on a good day, a 2 hour and 45 minute drive over crappy dirt road (with around 10 gates) just to get to the bitumen at Camooweal. A lot of caravaners get the off road vans to do some great off road travelling around the country side but I needed this type of van just to get up our 195km “drive way”. You can read all about what our drive to town looks like HERE.

To start with – because I am a bit of a tight arse – I thought I would just go with an on road van and leave it in Camooweal… but I soon came to my senses, I would end up bringing it out here to the station and it would soon be full of dust and wrecked. I went deep on all of the Facebook groups and also www.caravancampingsales.com.au as well as all of the caravan companies – such as Jayco. I was like a woman possessed, I left no stone unturned and I went DEEP! Every spare minute I got I was online looking at caravans. I soon knew the exact layout I wanted and I kept going back to the Jayco All Terrain. This was the floor plan I wanted, I love that you come in at the back and not past the bed.

The price was reasonable, the floor plan was exactly what I wanted and it was an off road van. I decided we would get a van that didn’t have bunks – what sort of a monster am I? For the most part when we use the van at Campdrafts etc the boys sleep outside on their swags and stretchers anyway, Tom and Harry are getting really big – they are 15 & 16 now and would probably be a little squished in the bunks so I thought this would be the best way to go. Don’t worry – I’m not a total monster – I bought Clancy a tent!!

Mr Chardy didn’t want anything to do with this whole caravan obsession I had going on, he was not interested. For about 20 years now I have always listened to him and thought – no we can’t do that… but as I get older I am starting to trust my instincts a bit more, I have more faith in myself and I have now realised that sometimes (often) Mumma knows best. I knew that I just had to do this and that after 1 night in the van he would realise he loves it too. I had to back myself. I also knew I would have to do it all myself. This was actually a good thing. I needed a van and a tow vehicle where I could be totally independent, I needed to be able to do everything myself and not have to rely on my husband to drive it for me or get me sorted. Again, I went deep.

Now, I really do believe that everything happens for a reason and sometimes you just need to stop and listen to the universe. Back in July Mr Chardy and I flew over to Townsville for his 6 week check up on his broken leg. I was dropping him off to the medical centre and we just happened to drive past Jayco Townsville. “Would you look at that” I said to him… I’m pretty sure he knew it was all over from that moment. I dropped him off at the doctors and left him for dead on his couches and headed back around the corner to Jayco, I thought it would be silly not to at least have a look when we were so close. So off I went. As I walked through the gates, like a beam of light shining down from above, there was the Jayco All Terrain van, in all her glory waiting for me to step inside.

The universe was speaking to me. I had a look, took a video and thought, ok – I have looked now I can go. I went to get back in my car and decided maybe I should go in a speak to Steve – the man who my friends Bec and Cindy had both bought their vans from. So I went back in. This was definitely the beginning of the end. We went back and had another look. I knew it was the van I wanted but I also knew that the wait time on new caravans was epic – 10 months or more. I asked him what the wait time was if we were to order one, he said April or May 2022. He then said “Buuuuuuuut, I do just so happen to have one just like this out the back, the customer who ordered it couldn’t take delivery in the end due to health reasons. He told me all the extras they had put on it – the slide out kitchen, upgrade to the reverse camera, upgrade to a bigger lithium battery, brush bars, leather seats, grey water tank. If I was ordering this van I definitely wanted the slide out kitchen and the leather seats. This van was basically perfect, exactly what we wanted and it was there ready to drive away. 2020 prices and 2021 plates. It was perfect. The universe was definitely speaking to me. He printed out the quote and we said our goodbyes and left it at that. I knew it was going to be tricky convincing Mr Chardy.

I went back around the corner and collected Mr Chardy, I said he had to have a look inside the van given we were so close. I made him get out and crutcher over, he couldn’t even get up inside so just stuck his head in. He couldn’t have cared less and his excitement was underwhelming. We got back in the car and I didn’t push the matter any further, he knew I was super keen. The next day as we were driving back home he said “if it is what you really want just get it”…. ding ding ding… that is all I needed – the light was green and there would be no stopping me from there. The next day I called Steve and said shut up and take my money. Ok, so I didn’t say that, well maybe I did, I can’t remember, but I was taking that van. Say yes and figure it out later I say. Oh what – our car can’t actually tow the van and doesn’t even have a tow ball – who cares, details details. Minor details. Everyone knows that when I want something there is no stopping me. I will stop at nothing until I have achieved it. Mum used to always tell me that if I put my mind to it I could do anything, she was so right. Oh and the universe was speaking to me, let’s not forget that. I am now in many caravanning groups on Facebook and people are waiting 15 months at the moment for one of these vans! Crazy. DD has another saying “better to be born lucky than rich” once again she is so right.

So it was a big YES to the van, now to figure out how I was actually going to collect it and how I was going to tow it home. Mr Chardy told me to just put a towbar on the Prado. I did look into this, we could have towed the van legally but it wouldn’t have been able to have so much as a tissue inside. I definitely didn’t feel comfortable with this, I knew I wanted (and needed) to feel safe. Soooooo…. down the carsales.com.au rabbit hole I went. For a few years now I have been looking at cars, I knew we needed to turn ours over but didn’t know which way to go. Now with the Van in mind I knew I needed a vehicle that could tow 3 Tonne. The new Prado’s can do this , the Isuzu MUX can also tow this much and are far cheaper. Then there was the Landcruiser which could definitely tow this van very safely. Again, Mr Chardy wanted nothing to do with it but he knew I was going deep. So when a Landcruiser for sale showed up in his Facebook feed and he said “this one looks alright” I was so there Jackie O. It had everything I wanted. Again the universe was speaking to me because it turns out this car was down in Longreach (totally do-able) and after a little more digging I found out it actually belonged to Suze – one of the ladies who had recently been on one of the Trek West Hikes I had helped out with. Shut up and take my money Suze, this was meant to be. Are you kidding me. Mr Chardy told me he wished the universe would stop speaking to me. So I did a serious speed purchase. I needed to get this car home so I could then somehow get across to Townsville, collect the van and be back in Cloncurry by the 15th August for a School of the Air Minischool for Clancy. I wanted to be camped up with all my caravanning friends living my best grey nomad life and come hell or high water I was going to make it happen.

I also somehow had to get down to Longreach to pick up the car. I knew our neighbour got his plane serviced in Longreach so I messaged Clint and asked if there was any chance his plane was going to Longreach anytime soon. This was on a Tuesday that I sent this message… he said “yes it is going on Saturday”… I said can I book a first class seat?” and the rest is history. Suze managed to get the car detailed and I arrived on Saturday to do a speed transfer and drove back to Cloncurry then home. Now there was just one slight problem. You see I have never actually towed anything in my life. Alarm bells, but again – minor details I say. I called my good friend Ed and asked if she would come with me to Townsville to tow it home for me and she said yes. In the end she wasn’t able to do it but my other good friend and favourite neighbour – Shelly (Mrs Savvy B) was able to come. Are you kidding me, I must have the best friends in the whole world, is there nothing these girls won’t do for me. So I was off to plan a serious road trip. Is there anything better than a girls road trip?

Shell and I drove to Townsville, Shell was basically my private chauffeur.

We had a lovely night at the Casino where we wined and dined. The next day we met our other good friend – Meags. The plan was to drop my car off to have the electrics hooked up for the reverse camera and also a UHF put in the car, go to Jayco, do the handover (which was going to take a couple of hours) then tow the van back out to Meags and Dj’s house – just out of Townsville where we would stay for a couple of nights. Things didn’t exactly go to plan but we did the hand over and then we did eventually get the van 2 days later.

Here is Shell learning how to hook the van up. We have a DO35 Cruismaster hitch and let me tell you – it is very lady like and super easy to use, you just wind the van down and click a little button. Everything about the van is very ladylike and easy to use.

What a sexy rig!!!!!!! The cruiser we bought from Suze already had Old Man Emu upgraded suspension.

We drove out to Bec’s place just out of Hughenden on our first day. Shell had never towed a van, but has driven a roadtrain and towed lots of trailers so this should be easy. She did such a great job and I can’t thank her enough for taking the time out to come over and do this for me. Oh an it was so convenient being able to pull up and use the toilet on board. So civilised!!!

I had my first ever go at towing from Hughenden down to Bec’s – 50km of single bitumen. She tows like a dream and I wasn’t even worried. I felt very safe in the 200 series Landcruiser with the new van on behind. Shell was a great instructor and very patient, she didn’t even look scared. I was very serious!

We had a quick little stay over night at Bec’s and then we all packed up and headed off in convoy to Cloncurry. Bec’s girls also do School of the Air and they were heading to Cloncurry for Minischool too – perfect! Bec has a Jayco Journey Outback and tows it with a new Prado. Unlike me, she isn’t a monster and has bunks for her 3 girls. What a treat! I think Bec’s van is 21 foot and is semi off-road. Here we are pulled up outside the roadhouse in Richmond…

Once we got to Cloncurry Shell collected her car and kept heading home. I was on my own from here. Behind the wheel and drove myself around to the racecourse where MiniSchool was being held. Again, I wasn’t even worried, it is so lovely to tow and I felt so safe. I set the van up and got myself organised. There was just the small matter of getting Clancy from home to Cloncurry. So, the next day, Mr Chardy drove Clancy into Camooweal and I met them there and we drove back to Cloncurry. Just a 6-7 hour round trip. All for a good cause. It was great having the week in Cloncurry getting to know my van and just quietly – I was loving myself sick in there! It is no secret. It was so much fun being camped up with all the school Mum’s and not having caravan envy. I was finally in the gang.

The Jayco All Terrain that we got has all the bells and whistles and we couldn’t be happier. Lovely bathroom, full shower, toilet (possibly my favourite thing), washing machine, automatic awning, outdoor shower, a spot where you can hook up the TV outside, slide out kitchen with gas 2 burner stove and sink and also a spot to put your bbq, reverse camera, leather seats, 2 x Sirocco fans over the bed, 2 x USB connections on my side of the bed, 2 solar panels on the roof, a Dometic Dust Reduction System…. here is a little walk through…

You can lie in bed and turn all of the lights off in the van, so handy if you get into bed and have forgotten…

The toilet is so easy to empty and deal with – I call it the “walk of shame” but it really is easy and totally worth it.

I installed this Fusion-Loc bathroom caddy myself. They come highly recommended, Bec told me about them and they are the business. Super easy to put on (use a suction system) and they don’t fall off apparently. Mine is certainly still there and we travel over some bumpy roads. I got mine from Bunnings and it was $40.

There is also a lot of storage space under the van, this houses the brains of the caravan and the battery. My van also has this Tire Linc system installed, we just need to finished hooking it up – there are little things we need to put on each tyre and you then blue tooth it to your phone and you can see what is going on with your tyres – pressure and temperature.

I have our Dyson stick vacuum plugged in under the bed, it is so handy in the van for a quick clean up.

A great thing about the All Terrain is the Dometic Dust Reduction System. It puts positive pressure into the van as you are travelling along and hence reduces the amount of dust that gets in. Now, given, I have only travelled a few times across our dusty roads but the van has definitely held up well and I haven’t had to do much wiping down upon arrival. The other day It was super super windy as we travelled along 150km of dusty road to get to the Barkly Homestead, so much bull dust blowing up and some dust did actually come in through the vent above the window in the bathroom but that was about it. Were was minimal dust in some of the lower cupboards over the wheel arches. We could probably sort that out with some silicone. I covered the vent in the bathroom when we travelled home and that definitely helped. But the main part of the van was pretty much dust free.

The awning on these new Jayco’s is so easy to operate, simply push a button and out she goes, push a button and in she comes. You can also download the app and use your phone to extend and retract, it is bloody brilliant. There is a strip of LED lights on the awning and you can even use the app to adjust the brightness of these lights.

We have a Suburban continuous hot water system and never run out of hot water. This side of the front tool box on the A-Frame has a slide out for a generator. Mr Chardy is going to pick me up a Honda 22i in town this week so I can free camp and run my air-conditioner.

The reverse camera is brilliant, it is wired up to the car and a little screen clips onto the rear vision mirror, it is like a little TV and you can see what is coming along behind you as you are driving.

Now, before I actually collected the van I did lots of research on what gear I would need. Once again I went deep. I started following families on YouTube who were travelling Australia permanently, I figured they would know a thing or two. One of those families is Bec and Justo (yep I feel like we are friends) from Trip in a Van. They have been travelling Australia permanently with their 3 young kids for about 5 years now, so I figure if things are good enough for them then they are good enough for me.

I bought this cool little hose attachment that I saw Justo recommending on one of his videos. I told all of my caravanning Mum’s about it and Katie told me she already had one and that she had bought it from Cloncurry. Shut the front door – I was at Lemmon’s Department Store to get one faster than you could say Jayco. $25 bucks and so bloody handy. You will not look back. HERE is the link to purchase one online if you aren’t near Cloncurry.

https://youtu.be/98d7xf3Q8Bs

Other gear I purchased before collecting the van….

Our big outside mat is from Recycled Mats and was about $265.00. Ours is 2.4m x 6m and is just the right size for our van. You can get one that is 2.4 x 7 also. There are so many mats to choose from and they are brilliant. You can wash them, they are light weight and really easy to unfold and also pack down again. I can’t do it easily by myself.

We also bought a Muk Mat. We got ours from Recycled Mats when purchasing our big ground cover mat. These Muk Mats are the absolute business and really do stop all the dust and gravel and crap from coming into your van, I can’t recommend these highly enough. I actually wish I bought the bigger one. This one that we got is a Large – 60cm x 90cm. You can also get a little one that fits perfectly on the step inside your van, I am about to purchase one of those. Will be so much easier to just shake it off outside. It is the first thing that comes out when we are setting up the van and the last thing to go away. It rolls up and has a strip of velcro to keep it rolled.

Another add on we asked Jayco to sort out were the electric brakes. My friends – Bec & Cindy – who have also purchased their vans from Jayco Townsville both have the Elecbrakes system installed on their van so that is what I went with. It is a brilliant concept – the brakes are installed on the van and then blue toothed to the car – I use the Elecbrakes app on my phone. You just have turn the app on, make sure your lights are on and you are good to go. So easy and it means you can use any vehicle to tow the van. I didn’t have to have a system installed in my car.

https://youtu.be/2cXcKVFNVQE

I also got online and purchased a melamine dinner set, a nest of Joseph Joseph mixing bowls/colander/measuring cups and spoons, a set of non stick Tefal frying pans and pots that all stack inside each other and have a removable handle, some toilet chemical pods (I got these from Catch.com – 4 bags for about $20 each, I think the brand is Porta-Pak or something like that). I also ordered another gingham doona cover from Bed Bath and Table.

We have the hot pink one on our bed at home so I bought the bright blue one for the van. The van did come with a doona and cover but it was grey and so drab, I needed to brighten things up in there. I also bought a feather/down doona and a mattress topper from catch.com

While we were in Townsville I bought a coffee machine from Woolies and also some Sheridan towels from the outlet store there. Another great spot to buy camping gear is Tentworld – this is where I bought our hose bags (love them so much and have one for the power cords too), clothesline (oz trail), water hose, waste hose, levelling ramp/chock set, folding step stool, tent for Clancy (3 man Oz Trail), Hex Peg set and a socket to suit.

So there you have it. A full and thorough reporting on our new van. If you have made it right to the end give yourself a pat on the back. I wanted to give the whole story and leave no stone unturned for others who might be on the hunt for a new van. I know I would have appreciated this kind of write up when I was looking and I definitely love all of the YouTube videos that there are… maybe my new calling is Vlogging.

Now, what does Mr Chardy think I hear you ask… well he loves it too. After his first night in it at Camooweal Races he declared “I love the van”… of course he does because…. Mumma knows best! He hates camping so I knew he would love the luxury that comes with this van, especially the air-con.

One last thing that Harry and I discovered the other day when we travelled down to the Barkly Homestead… there is in fact room for a swag in the van quite comfortably too! I told Haz he could just spoon with me – can you imagine the disgust on his 15 year old face when I suggested this, he said he will just stay in his swag… and look, it fits perfectly at the end of our bed…

So it is now over to you… I would love to hear all of your caravanning tips and hacks. There are so many clever people out there with such great ideas. From one of the YouTube video’s I watched I learn’t how to protect the pipes etc under the caravan – I have used pool noodles and zippy ties to take preventative measures. Tell me everything, what sort of van do you have, what is your favourite place to stay, any hot tips of free camping or the best free camp you have stayed in? Tell me everything. Thanks so much for reading and happy caravanning my friends.

One last thing… Never dreamed I would grow up to be a super sexy caravanning lady, but here I am killing it. Thanks Jayco Townsville and Steve… the universe was definitely speaking to me wasn’t it. I am so grateful to have skipped the 15 month wait.