I'm Baaaack. Did anyone miss me? No? Bugger!

[Grandad]

Hi everyone,
I’ve been away for quite some time. A whole bunch of changes came about in my life. Good changes mind you. But as a result, logging into this forum suddenly dropped off my daily routine.
Also, as a further result, my vintage Franklin van has gone to a new, good home as has my little red ’88 BMW convertible which has been replaced with a rather boring Falcon wagon.

But the biggest change is I have found a new lady who is silly enough to want to spend what’s left of our lives with me.
One of several new plans is to buy a second-hand modern caravan and get out and see this country a bit more. Not Grey Nomading as such but rather trips of a week up to a couple of months maybe. To this end, we have researched many different options.

Our main requirements were a toilet & shower, twin beds over double unless the double is north/south with access from both sides, and an ATM around about the curb weight of the Falcon which is 1600kg (round figures).

We considered motor homes and converted Coasters etc. but decided that wasn't for us.

We looked into the English brands of caravans because of their low weights and spoke to several owners who all spoke very, very highly of their vans. But, a lot of people, who have never actually owned one, all said “not built for Aussie conditions”, “appliances may not be legal here”, “They’re built too low and the rear ends will drag on the ground”, “They’re too light. Can’t be very strong”

We were personally convinced they were well worth considering but I wasn’t looking forward to trying to sell one again once we’re finished with it and having to deal with all the naysayers.

Now, I think we have pretty much settled on a Jurgens Sungazer J1901. 17 ft and 1650Kg ATM. And, Australian made.

They seem to be bringing between $30,000 to $40,000. Private sales are closer to the 30K and dealers closer to 40K.

Does anyone here have any experience with Jurgens or any other first-hand knowledge?
or
I’m also interested in any informed opinion you may have about our choice.

Cheers
Jim

[T1 Terry]

Hi Jim, long time no hear, glad to hear you got lucky and found a good lady to share your life.
As far as the English vans, avoid a self imported van, just because the self importer got it registered, doesn't mean the next owner can without changing all all the gas and electrical gear to become Aust compliant Back in the Illawarra, the next door neighbours bought a "bargain" English built van, only to discover there were no short cuts, all the walls off and redo the lot to meet Aust specs .... Last time we travelled through that way, it was still sitting there, tyre flat and looking very unloved .....

Look carefully at how the heating is achieved, some have the glycol mix plumbed throughout the van with small "radiators" mounted behind panels. the fluid is heated by either gas or electricity, so either eats a lot of gas or needs to plug in to a power outlet to heat in the winter.
The European vans are very well insulated, but often double floor so a lot of space is lost but the floor is actually composite foam, so no strength to screw anything to hold it up or in place, so locating somewhere for battery upgrades and an inverter can be very tricky.
Apart from those problems, they are in general, great light weight vans, well thought out and well constructed. I would drag one up the Tanami Track or to the top end, but as a tar track tourer and good dirt road, hard to beat.

T1 Terry

[bob r]

Jim if your Falcon wagon is an automatic transmission and a late model it can tow 2300kg legally.

Bob

[Dot]

Hi Grandad, (you sly old dog you Just go for it.

[Vik351]

Jim if your Falcon wagon is an automatic transmission and a late model it can tow 2300kg legally.

Bob

and get a trans cooler and a spare set of brake discs , prolly some Bendix pads as well ...

[Grandad]

Thanks, everyone,

Terry, thanks mate. I'm 95% certain we'll end up with a Jurgens. But, I'll bear all that in mind if I spot a suitable (read "bargain-priced") English van.
One thing I noticed about the Jurgens is that I saw a video of a fellow jumping up and down on the roof to show how strong it was. One thing I often hear you mention is how weak some caravan rooves are when you want to mount solar panels.

Bob, Yup. You're spot on about the max capacity. It's a personal thing that I want the tow vehicle to weigh at least as much as the van. It would be preferable if it was actually quite a bit heavier but that's not going to be feasible.

Dot, enough of the old, thank you. I'm definitely going for it. With both hands.

ViK, It's an AU model.. From everything I've learnt, the auto is the one weakness that model has. Especially when towing. My mechanic has already fitted a transmission cooler for me. I've also asked him for a list of spares I should carry and he has prepared one for me to put together before we go anywhere.

So, no one has any knowledge of the Jurgen vans?
Ah well.

Cheers
Jim

[dream4red]

Jim, we towed with a falcon for many years and had no real problems. It was a bit gutless and the suspension left us with issues. We upgraded the suspension and it made a huge difference to how the van towed.

Enjoy your new adventures mate.