This is our first van.

When we were looking to buy our first van we started with a short list of what it needed to have. The initial list contained things like:

• separate shower compartment from toilet so there was no need to dry anything down after a shower, and there would be no wet footprints trekked through the van.
• island bed so neither of us had to climb to get in or out (Shona has a problem with her back, and I have a problem when I take my prosthetic leg off.)
• usable sized kitchen area
• airy, open feel to avoid any claustrophobic feel from long stretches of being stuck inside due to wet weather in Victoria

We took things like gas water heaters, air conditioners, insulation, etc to be part of what every van builder includes (but found later that this isn't the case).

When looking at all the vans, and having our limited experience, we found the Jayco layout that suited our needs and then couldn't pick what you got for the extra $10,000 to $15,000 that the other manufacturers were charging for similar vans.

The van we chose has a slide-out lounge which added extra floor space to the main living area. It greatly assists in giving the airy feel we were looking for.

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When we'd had the van for over a year and pulled it around for about 20,000 kilometres and lived in it for about 5 months during 3 trips and over 30 weekends away, we found our needs were becoming more refined.

We had problems with the water heater exploding rather than igniting properly and heating the water, and this seemed to be hard to resolve as it took 3 attempts. It turns out that the igniter was not correctly installed. (And the regulator and gas lines were also not set up correctly).

There were problems with hollows in the roof cladding which meant puddles formed on the roof. If any of the hatches were opened or ajar on the roof, water either flooded in from the surrounding puddle, or splashed in when further rain drops landed in a puddle.

The rubber seal on the slide-out didn't seal. It took further work and a few attempts to get it to do that.

Before the slide-out could be slid back in prior to moving off site, the top and sides need to be dried and wiped free from debris. This means a set of steps and an old towel or large rag - an awning fitted over the slide-out would make so much more sense! This is still lacking on our van.

The locking mechanism for the slide-out proved to be useless, and one one occasion we had a motorist overtake and tell us the slide-out was sliding in and out as we were going around corners! We have since replaced the top clamp with a Quick Grip clamp, and use gaffer tape on the bottom stay arm to make sure the slide-out stays in when it is meant to.

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Rather than a "standard" fit 3 way fridge that so many caravan owners complain about (a Dometic 4401 with a temperature rating of SN [sub normal] is in this and so many other vans that have problems maintaining "fridge" temperature [4 degrees]), we'd go for either a 3 way that was rated for tropical use or choose a compressor fridge (that runs on 12 or 240 volts only). As we have lost a few loads of food due to the fridge becoming a low temperature oven rather than a cooling unit, we had to supplement it with a Waeco compressor fridge/freezer. Whilst the Waeco works well, it takes up extra space (the slide-out lounge is now a slide-out fridge) and adds a little extra weight.

Whilst we don't need nor want a van that you can tow into the middle of the bush, we do want something that we have the option of taking a little more weight in. Jaycos seem to be built with recommended loaded capacities of only 400 kilograms. So even if we had more cupboards built in to this or a different floorplan, we couldn't put anything more in them!

Jayco seem to be geared to mass producing a standard set of floorplans rather than custom built for your needs.

We therefore decided to see what else is out there in the marketplace... (Check all the links below Jayco on the side panel above to follow our "adventure" in looking to upgrade this caravan.)

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Since messing about with the other manufacturers and finding it's a mix of getting a van built exactly how you want it inside (but the running gear is virtually the same as you currently have), or have a standard floorplan on a more robust chassis, or have almost what you want except for the specific things that would sway you to spend the extra money.

As it all got too hard, we've decided to stay with what we've got!

We are however getting hydraulic corner stabilisers installed and a large top vent and electric fan fitted for the 3 way Dometic 4401 fridge. It's temperature rated as SN (sub-normal) and struggles dramatically in Noosa temperatures. (It actually cooks our food!) So before we throw it away, we'll do our utmost to get more air over it's cooling fins!

Report from first trip with new work done to van - the fridge worked like a fridge (but it didn't have to contend with any extreme temperatures). The plastic fluid lines from the pump to each corner stabiliser look to be sub-standard. One popped when we were setting up, and another burst a couple of hours after parking the van back in our driveway.  They had two goes at making the plastic lines work, and finally ran them as copper lines. Have not had a problem with the stabilisers since. (However the reservoir has a minor leak!)

The front fibreglass panel on our van has also started to discolour. Not sure if this is related to the automatic transmission fluid sprayed on it from the hydraulic stabiliser lines popping, or from the heat / soot of the diesel. (Have noted that other vans of similar age that are stationary in parks have no discolouration.)

Our van has now done about 30,000 kilometres.