Fred replied:

michelle, just remember that anything on the back of a vehicle in off road situations is a real liability. Your range will be decreased by higher fuel consumption, and your ability to travel in sand or mud will be greatly decreased. OK on ordinary outback roads but not too sure if I'd want an extra ton behind me going to the cape!! ... or the desert!! or the high country!!!

michelle replied:

thanks fred, i realise this but would like to know about the product.
with 3 kids space can be limited and some times we are away in extended time.
thanks

betoota replied:

Michelle,
The main problem I see with the Jayco off road camperis the hight of the axel from the ground, the van itself is a good hight, but have a look at how close to the ground the axel is. I went for the Coromal off road as there is no dedicated axel. One of the reasons for having an off road van is surely, to do with underneath clearance.

Wendy replied:

Michelle, we are the proud owners of a Jayco Outback Hawk, 2000 model. To date we have travelled 15,000km and are about to do another 14 week trip. At this stage we are not going to take it to the tip of the cape and have opted for 2 lightweight 3-man dome tents. These take up minimal room and cost us under $100. We shopped around and watched for specials. We feel that after spending $20,000 on the Jayco we want it to last us many years and like anything you spend hard earned money on, we don't want to take it on a notoriously rough road if there is an alternative. We have no doubt it could handle the trip. We drive a Patrol and as both the camper and the patrol have 15" wheels the clearance to the axle is the same or greater. The bottom of the diff housing is lower in most vehicles than the axle. So this always going to cop it first. This is not usually the problem people encounter. Your drawbar is the usual reason that problems occur. When your vehicle is going up, eg. bank of a creek, your drawbar is not. This is where you see most vans, off-road or not, stuck.
We highly recommend Jayco and would suggest that the hardest decision will be to choose your layout. We found the Hawk a better layout because the kitchen area in any van is small and I didn't want to be fighting everyone for space. They sit up one end and I do Mummy things up the other. We'll be up the cape in Sept so maybe we'll see you there.

Michael replied:

Michelle - you might like to ask this question on the Yahoo campertrailer group. Go to yahoo, then groups, then campertrailer group. There are many people on that site who have various brands of off-road campertrailers. There is also a good guide for what to look for when buying a camper trailer, and links to several manufacturer's web sites. We own a Halls off road camper trailer, which is very sturdy off road, and has better clearance than our vehicle, though there are definitely some places you can't take it.

greg replied:

Michelle I have a Jayco and whilst I have spent 30 years travelling the outback I would not be using it as a serious off road trailer. The biggest problem with trailers on ordinary outback roads is dust getting inside.
I did see an idiot towing a large Jayco across the Simpson. You can take anything anywhere if you try hard enough but your trip becomes something you wouldn't want to repeat. I have towed a purpose built off road trailer behind a Range Rover along now unknown tracks in the Kimberley (40ks in 12 hours all in low range). The Jayco is fine for touring and will handle reasonable gravel roads if you are prepared to put up with the dust, but beyond that stick to a roof top tent, or some other tent arangement. The KIS(S) principle is good advice. If you want to do a lot of corrugated or really rough road work buy something like a campomatic.

michelle replied:

well thanks for all the info on the jayco campers, i already have a southern cross centre pole tent for the rough stuff, and this great for the rough stuff. once again thanks, will give more thought into the final dedision, the good thing about the campers they still get good money on the 2nd hand market and are very hard to get.thanks agin and happy travels

Ray replied:

Hello Michelle,

We (2 Adults, 2 Kids) took a Jayco Eagle -Off Road to Weipa then did the Telegraph Track with Dome Tents.
Through the Gulf Area, at one time in bulldust up to the bumper, this was really hard going!
Took the Jayco down the Gibb River Road setting up camps along the way, branching out from there.

No problems with water crossings, corrugations or rough roads, but we kept right away from sand and any
other soft going. Did a total of 35000 kms after silicon sealing underneath, protecting electric brake wiring
and putting a breather hose (~ 6 ft) on water tank we had absolutely no troubles.The new Jaycos have all these
things covered.

Happy Travels

michelle replied:

well thanks everybody, all this info is great, the dust is a bit of a problem what we have done in the past is used grey duc tape and clear heavy plastic table protector and cover the doors and hatches and vents, turn of fridge first, and make sure there isnt anything in the freezer this is fine , also inside cupboards with silcone this helps thanks again.

michelle replied:

well thanks everybody, all this info is great, the dust is a bit of a problem what we have done in the past is used grey duc tape and clear heavy plastic table protector and cover the doors and hatches and vents, turn of fridge first, and make sure there isnt anything in the freezer this is fine , also inside cupboards with silcone this helps thanks again.

John replied:

Michelle, Three years ago did a 22000km trip with Jayco "Eagle" off road camper trailer. Trip covered many km's of corrugated & rock strewn roads plus sandy tracks. The Jayco performed very well and we were set up & relaxing 10 mins after arrival at our destinations. This included the end flaps over the beds. We were 4 adults. Trip included Lakefield NP from Cooktown via the Battlecamp Road, back to Mareeba and up to Karumba via Georgetown. Down to Lawn Hill NP, up to Bourketown and across the Gulf Track to Roper Bar. We went into El Quetro Station, Purnululu NP (Bungle Bungles) then across the Tanami desert to Alice. Jayco handled the rough stuff, water crossings, sand etc with ease. Dust was a problem but after sealing, as you described, we had no dust to complain of. Before the trip I painted the underside with bitumen paint and made sure hose & wire entry points were also well sealed. Have to confess broke the eye on one spring on bitumen road to the Isa.no doubt the result of all the hard work. This shortcoming has now been rectified by Jayco by fitting eye to eye springs in lieu of slipper type. The Jayco is a good comfortable trailer and very easy to tow. Cost me around 2-3 litres/100km extra in fuel towing the Jayco with a petrol GQ Patrol. With all this I, personally, still wouldn't and didn't take it beyond Lakefield NP on the Cape leg. Hope this helps in your decision making. Have a good trip. John.

Gavin replied:

Hi Michelle,

We have an RV troop carrier turbo diesel and burn between 12 - 18 litres/100 towing an outback Hawk. Variation really comes from the varying terrain that you are moving through. Haven't yet towed through any heavy sand and realistically would really try to avoid it so I don't know how that would effect the consumption.

We love the van and have had no problems. Haven't had the opportunity to get to some of the more exoctic areas as other responses have done but will be doing that over the next few years.

Safe travels

Gavin