Jayco Journey Pop Top 17ft Touring

Very happy with my13ft outback journey – Purchased in April 2021. We then set off on a trip down through Mildura across to Renmark(on dirt track for 200km due to covid lockdown in SA) up to Alice Springs on to Darwin. Then headed back down via Longreach Lighting Ridge Glen Innes & home to Sydney. The only issues we had was the hand pump in sink became a bit stiff to pump & the awning had… Read more

perforations from roof clips. Contacted Jayco dealer but due covid couldn’t do straight off but referred me to another service agent who was able to repair in a shorter time. All was repaired under warranty no questions from Jayco. This is our first caravan. My wife & I are very happy with the van & service received from Jayco. Highly recommended.

Windows leaking – 2015 Journey with en-suite - have been in van park on NSW Mid North Coast for past 4 weeks. We have endured rain every day (at times heavy) Large window on near side leaked terribly through seal and in onto the floor. Cost me $200 to have it removed & re-sealed. Very helpful mobile repair man showed me that problem was hole cut for window was too… Read more

big ! (Stated window leaks were very common with the Journey) Following day, curious me puts hand between lounge cushions under other window on same side.........cushions saturated, mould on underneath, timber all mouldy & rotted due to exact same problem with water leaking in window seals and tracking down into inside of van ! Looks like I am up for more money to remove second window and re-seal ! Obviously poor workmanship & non existent quality control. Very poor product, no more jaycos for me !

Good little van – 2017 Journey from new. Haven't had any issues. Tows well behind the Pajero. My only concern would be the glass windows but haven't seen another with them to compare. No issues with them so far though. Show details ·  1

best thing I bought cheap holiday touring – 2 axles, great to tow, has oven ,not too bad when wind blowing badly best thing is being able to leave and tour around . toe with a ford territory diesel 2.7 ltr Show details ·  1

Multi issues and more each time we take it away for a holiday. Just continual Stress – Our First Journey Poptop was returned to Manufacturer as back wall delaminated. Had to wait months for New one to be made. Assured by Jayco Australia that new Journey Poptop would receive extra Quality Control. Nearly 50 problems/concerns so far and each trip planning involves, what will we do or where can we get it fixed. Jayco Dealers are… Read more

sometimes booked out a long time ahead, so repairs from Jayco Owner travelling are not important.

Second Journey had misaligned poptop, Mismatched benchtop, Sealant not adhering, Replace Rear Axle (Told that it was standard for tyres to scrub withing 4,000klms), Floor Movement, Front Window Shield flew up at speed (Common problem),Locks replaced on Front Boot, Front Boot replaced as warped. Plus Sealant problems especially Roof and Walls, Window problems, Cupboad strips lifting, Running of pipes in middle and towards front making cupboard nearly useless, Forgetting fittings on manufacturer, Fridge compressor fail, meant early cancelling of another Holiday. Having to undertake repairs ourselves as dealer didn't get parts in.

Met other Journey Owners who were on their third front Window Cover.

Jayco Australia believe everything is normal wear and tear, that customer should expect problems.

Guess if you don't use the Jayco Journey Poptop by their reasoning you wont have any problems.

First van no worries – We found the van to be well built even though mass produced, few little problems but our dealer at Orange NSW was great. Considering it's not the off road model and we have taken it to Birdsville twice we have gotten away reasonably unscathed. Only problem has been the fridge died, seems to have degassed itself  Show details

Issue with cupboard handles and roof alignment – This is my first van very happy with it tows great has the room we need except the handles on the cupboards they are plastic and fall apart why did they change from the push ones to the plastic pull ones. Roof doesn't line up properly when lowered cant latch on drivers side without physically pushing it over  Show details

Roof – Roof lifting very heavy all jayco journeys should be recalled and fix the problem. Airconditioning on roof to heavy makes roof come down out of alignment and cant latch down roof.  Show details

Mostly happy, but dissappointed due to roof problems – Overall 70% satisfied but quality of workmanship in some areas disappoints. Roof is way too heavy for old style lifter system in use. Needs are radical re-think and/or re-engineering and strengthening of lifter bars. Roof comes down out of alignment making it hard to latch roof on drivers side of van. Keeping awning loose etc does not improve… Read more

situation. Van tows well, like ensuite, single beds very comfortable, lighting very good, fridge and A/C both work well. Cabinet quality just OK, clearly not a lot of pride in workmanship. Does lack internal storage space. No pull out pantry although this was a great feature on our Freedom van. Would I buy another Jayco? Probably but steer clear of pop-tops.

Cupboard handles very stiff and falling of – Cupboard handles very poor quality. Overall good easy to tow good shower air con and heater good bed good lighting the only clock is too small need a bigger one.  Show details

Great to tow! – Few teething problems with lights now fine. Very good to tow doesn't sway. Inside very well set out toilet & shower excellent. Aur conditioner bit heavy on roof to lift compared to discovery model but works very effectively. Comfortable inside .  Show details

Only had for 6 months and had nothing but electrical faults – Disappointed in the new van ,used it in October 2016 faulty lights.Using it in December 2016 more light problems and door handles break easierly.we have called Jayco and said we may come and see but at your cost. Not Happy  Show details

Great van and terrific service from Jayco 17.55.9 – What a great van! Our fifth new Jayco, the layout is great, very peaceful colour scheme, toes beautifully, looks smart, and great value for money, picked up new in June 2016, headed of on big trip, went into Townsville Jayco to have the roof adjusted and while here we mentioned that the rear wall had a bulge in it when hot. The next morning we… Read more

had an email from h/o wanting photos, every few days another email ask how the van was. On our return home we took our van into our dealership, who sent it to Melbourne to fix/replace rear wall. Jayco h/o were fantastic and replaced the complete caravan. Where else but Jayco would you get this great service.

Excellent value for money – Excellent - Jim 23 Nov 2016 Puchased my 17-55-8 touring van in January 2016 , have done 3k trip into Queensland , Van tows excellent with the dual axles and performs very well. I have just had the first service & a couple of warranty jobs done at Jayco Nowra were i would recommend the sales team & the service team, all was done with no… Read more

hesitation . This is an excellent dealership, very perfessional. Our hand over took 3 hours never missed one thing.

Other than a couple of minor things we have found the van very comfortable & easy to use . The quality of the van & appliances are very good for a van that is reasonably priced.

Some minor teething problems, but acceptable – As with most Jayco branded products, quality control is very poor. They need to pick up their game on quality control in what is now a very competitive market. Having said that, we have towed our 2015 Journey for more than 20,000 kms and, apart from the obligatory draw front falling off and a few minor leaks that were fixed, found it towed well… Read more

behind our diesel Ford Territory fitted with rear spring air bags and WDH. We had ESC fitted to the van as an option (which I believe now comes already fitted). We have two single beds as one bed is longer than the other and therefore accommodates my 6ft. But you do need to spend some needle-time on fitted sheets, if you prefer them and because of the two different mattress sizes need to carry two different size sheets. We had no problems with the electrics, plumbing, fridge, air conditioner TV etc but do unhook the TV and put it on a bed when travelling, as advised on a sticker on the TV bracket.

In summary, we are comfortable with the purchase bearing in mind that you get what you pay for.

Not perfect but good touring van – We purchased the pop top in July 2015. The van at that time had been sitting in the dealers yard for 14 months. Needless to say it had been accessed for spare parts for other vans. Rust was also prevalent on the draw bar, hub caps and rain water had damaged the walls. We had the option of purchasing a newer model but preferred the layout of… Read more

the older van. We were given assurances by the sale representative that all issues raised would be resolved before we picked it up and would have a new van warranty including a discounted price. The dealership, Campervan, were true to their word. We have now had over 12 months experience with the Journey and travelled across three (3) states and have used the van frequently. On the downside, yes, there are quality issues. Although these are not insurmountable, they are still minor annoyances. Compared to a number of other pop tops of similar size the finish is not as good. On the upside, the reality is the price of the Journey can be up to 50% less, more in some instances, than the price of an equivalent pop top van. For example it is not unusual to be paying $50-60,000 for a comparable pop top. So perhaps you get what you pay for. To date when we have had a problem, Jayco have come to the party and fixed it under warranty, not that there has been anything major to date. As a touring van, it tows beautifully. We replaced the standard coupling with a McHitch coupling and that has made a big difference with reversing the van by someone who is not all that good at doing so. We have had no difficulties with the appliances or transfer of energy source from electric, to gas, to battery. We have been caught a few times in a storm and had no leakage issues. The journey was remarkably stable in high winds. At a little over 2 tonne loaded, I am pleased we chose a van with a twin axle. So all in all, value for money, I rate the 2014 Journey very well. Ultimately it depends on what you want to spend as to what you get in return.

Poor finish – Just brought van 6yrs old but never been used, staples protruding through plastic, tape and card board over exhaust vent for fridge when on gas, cupboard doors screws falling out, poor wiring, plumbing needs to be modified and it hasn't travelled 100km yet. I read all the bad reviews but thought they couldn't be that bad with the amount of vans on the road.  Show details

Jayco Journey cheap, but ,stress wise...very costly! – Our Jayco Journey purchased in March 2015 has left us totally stressed and broken hearted. Because of the very low coupling we have only been back and forward to the dealer trying to rectify it. Unfortunately our van was one of the first vans built after the Christmas closure at Jayco of the redesigned 2015 model. We were talked into a… Read more

underslung model to give the body a 100 mm rise for better clearance. We weren't told that the coupling would subsequently be welded to the bottom of the A frame. And so began our Jayco NO~Journey.

Our car had a suspension upgrade for our previous caravan for which we had no problems with. Towed GREAT!!

However, the Journey has a ridiculously low coupling clearance, just on the legal 350 mm centre ball to ground. I have tried every avenue to level the van but with such a low coupling, nothing has worked. We literally carry the van on the back of the car with only the back two wheels of the Journey (tandem) touching the tar. The wear on the front and back tyres is like brand new and scrubbed down repectively.

As a great advocate of safe towing I always use a WDH to keep all the car tyres where they are meant to be, on the road. But, and there was always going to be a but with a Jayco product, several tow experts told me "mate there is NO way you can fit a " shank down hitch to that van. TOO LOW ". So , my only choice (after placing plate risers under coupling (you can't use a WDH them)& then removing them, buying an extended shank (no ground clearance...learnt the hard way), removed that), is a gooseneck tongue. I lose the safety WDH and will have to rely on the stability of the Journey to stay behind the car and in a straight line. Not very confident. There are a number of other issues (cupboard doors falling off, door locks, fridge not getting cold ... all the normal Jayco defects you fix yourself) but one troubles me more than most.

Was checking where I could fit a water filter under sink. To my dismay found the back of the middle drawer had cut into the hot water line to the kitchen tap. The tubing flexes of the wheel arch and the back of the bottom edge of the drawer sits on top of the plumbing. Our van has only done around 80 klms and the tubing is almost cut all the way through. Worse still are two 15 amp connections directly below the tubing. The safety switch should protect you from the worse case situation, but, the risk of fire is still there.

Would I ever buy another Jayco? Short answer...NO!!! In fact the dealer has a used van in his yard made by the same manufacturer of our previous van (not a Jayco) so we are hoping we can do a straight trade. We'll lose around $12000 all up, but gain peace of mind with a quality van.

So to sum up. Buyer beware. Buy a quality van...and...'live the dream'. Buy a Jayco ,,,and...suffer the nightmare!