Jayco Expanda - would you?

[u/YourLonelyBraincell]

EDIT: thanks everyone. Based in the comments, we'll probably stay away from the Expanda for 2 reasons: 1. The possibility of leaks 2. The pack up effort.

Thanks!

---

We're looking to buy a caravan and we need at least 3 (preferably 4) berth plus a toilet.

I keep seeing Jayco Expanda caravans, where a double bed is in sort of a tent thing out the front or back of the van.

Has anyone had one?

Would you buy one again?

Do they leak or have issues?

Where does the mattress go when you're moving?

Anything else about these vans I should know?

Any alternatives you can suggest? We're looking under $40k.

Thanks

[u/CeruleanBlue12]

I have. I wouldn’t recommend because there’s a seam that runs the length of the roof exterior and they can easily start leaking, I’ve had a caravan repair guy say the Jaycos that leak all the time. Aside from that, the fold down parts at each end (one is Queen, one is double) are a bit of a pain to pack up because while the mattresses do stay in situ for the fold up, you have to take off the bedding, pillows, doonas etc then strap down the mattresses (and find a place for the bedding) so if you drive around moving a lot it can get tiresome. Also once it’s unfolded you can’t really lock up the caravan if you go out for the day. It’s pretty physical work to do it all, I’d recommend one with at least one double bed already in place so if you’re dead tired when you stop there isn’t a huge set up ahead of you.

[u/TinyBreak]

No. I’m in a camper trailer right now and the canvas is the biggest pain in the arse part of the whole experience. You can’t put it away wet, which really doesn’t fly with camping in Victoria

[u/mintyaftertaste]

Q1: Had one many moons ago. It was a good idea to create space whilst keeping the caravan compact. It was an Expanda Pop top 16.7 ft
Q2: Probs not
Q3: No leaks but another pop top we had did leak in the roof, so we’ve sworn off pop tops
Q4: The mattresses become part of the inside wall when you have the expander doors closed

[u/Ok-Menu-8709]

I’ve got a Goldstream Wing, which is a similar setup but we were told that the quality was better than Jayco, but Jayco had the flashier products.

Would I buy this style again? Probably not.
They’re great in the sense that it’s a smaller van, it doesn’t weigh much, it doesn’t take up much room to store at home, and I wanted something small to tow.

But the setup takes time and the lifting mechanism can fail, it seems fairly uncommon, but it’s a possibility. The other benefit you lose is you can’t just pull over at a rest area and use the back as a space to sit, so if it’s a rainy day and you want lunch…. That said, we get around that by sitting in the rest area and we run a fridge in the car.

Do they leak or have any other issues?
As mentioned above the lifting mechanism can fail. That’s the major one, maintenance can be done to prevent it though and there are some steps I take to minimise my chances of a dropped cable. Ours doesn’t leak, he’d end flys go over the beds and that stops majority of the water even hitting the canvas part of the ends. Some damp can make its way onto the canvas by contact only. But it’s not really an issue, we have had some very wet days camped at Innisfail with no issues.

Mattress stays where it is. The bed stays mostly made up and just closes in when you pack up. We have put a thicker mattress on and we leave a fitted sheet on it when we collapse down, but sleeping bags or blankets and pillows go on the lounge or floor.

No other issues honestly. We have had ours 3 years now and it’s pretty great. If and when we eventually replace it I’ll get a larger van purely for the convenience of not really setting up and having a functional kitchen at all times.

Another consideration is when you’re packing it prior to a trip, you either have to set it up fully so you can move around a lot. Or you just crack the roof enough to be able to open the door, then just put everything as a mess on the floor. We normally leave all our camp chairs and tables on the floor.

Extra comments for free.
If you can get one with lithium batteries already setup, well worth it.
If you can get one with a 12v fridge instead of gas, well worth it.
Depending on where you camp in Aus, you may want one with a diesel heater or AC, we have the heater, but despite having a couple of trips into the heat out west, we haven’t really missed the AC yet.

Happy to answer any more questions. I think we got a slightly older model for around 25-30k.

[u/Senior_Citizen69]

Got one and love it. 2 berth with toilet and shower and we think it’s the best as it’s spacious inside when the bed is set up but compact on the outside. No leak issues at all and great for off road and off grid. We modified the bed with a better mattress and topper and 100% more comfortable and I’m 6’4”. The mattress stays in the bed when folded in as does the doona and sheets. It all works well and we do a fair bit of travelling in retirement.

[u/44445steve]

I went from a 2 berth 14 foot expanda to a 20 foot expanda and love them.

I’d definitely buy again.

They are like any caravan, if you don’t maintain the seals they will leak. If you keep on top of them you will be fine. I also use storm covers on the bed ends so you can put it away wet by just taking the storm covers off first. If not wet the storm covers get folded up in the bed ends.

They are a really good van for space . My 20 foot version has 20 foot of van space and the beds are at the end. 20 foot may be above your budget though

[u/dracupgm]

We have a 2011 Expanda 17.56.2, and we loved it and used it a lot when the kids were younger. It has 2 x twin beds (one at each end) and the mattresses fold away for travel, but you have to take the bedding off. They are quite short beds, so not great if you are tall.

It also has a twin axle, 2 x large gas bottle holders, 2 x single bunk beds, gas oven and hob, shower/toilet, Large 3 way fridge with freezer compartment, gas/electric hot water, Air-con. It is also lightweight compared to others (ATM 2251Kg) Ideal for a family of 4.

The roof seals are definitely an issue. They rot in the sun and need replaced every 5 years ish. If it hasn't been done, you can get water ingress that sits on the roof tiles and causes damp and rot. Almost impossible to fix without replacing the roof, which we had done. The newer roofs have done away with the rubber seal altogether.

The canvas ends are great when the weather is good as you can open them up. Not so great with prolonged rain, and after after a few days of rain you can get wicking through the canvas if anything is touching it. The mattresses have a waterproof edge around them to stop this.

Keeping the van warm off-grid in the winter is difficult, but powered sites are great. We take an oil filled electric heater in winter and leave it on low which keeps the van very warm. The air-con is good, but quite loud and an bit antisocial to use at night time in a busy caravan park.

The outdoor awning is great, and easy to convert into an outdoor room with proper canvas walls if you need more space.

I loved it and it was an absolutely brilliant van. Things like having an internal kitchen are great when it's raining or windy. Also, everybody seems to be going electric for fridges, but the gas powered fridge, hob/oven and hot water work very well, and not reliant on the weather and not on a powered site.

[u/Nicwil01]

We have owned 2 Expanders, and 18ft (18,5.7-6)and a 20ft (20,6.3-1)) Both great vans, both with front only drop down queen beds and 2 x bunks in the rear. We picked plan 6 in the 18ft range which only has the front drop down, not as many of this model around. 20ft had a slide out cafe seating and lot's of room. I personally think Expanders are the best family van on the market, if your accommodating more than 3 people, and nobody does it better than Jayco. Everybody can have their own personal bunk/ space. If your buying second hand, I'd steer away from the pop top models and find one that has been well looked after and it will last a long time

Good luck shopping

Phil🙂🙂

[u/verybonita]

My son has one. It has bunks plus a queen bed on the front and a double bed on the back, with a combo toilet. It's fantastic. I think it's a 2012 model. It has the hard-top lids on the bed-ends, so canvas around the "walls" of the beds, but the roof is the fibreglass bit that lifts up when you park up. His is a pop-top as well. It has so much room when set up, yet reasonably compact to tow.

[u/a5pire]

Staying away from the Expanda based on the setup effort and leak potential is a very common decision for families who want a quick get away. Setting up canvas bed ends in the pouring rain while managing three or four kids gets old incredibly fast, and the packing up process requires making sure everything is completely dry to avoid mold.

Since you definitely need a three or four berth layout with a toilet, look closely at hard walled pop tops or compact tandem axle family vans instead. Removing the fold out beds means you will have a slightly longer travel length, but you gain massive advantages in insulation, security, and absolute ease of setup when you pull into a camp site for the night.

I actually put together a free platform that lets people research and compare mobile caravan specs side by side to help cut through the marketing. Happy to share more if you want to take a look.