Time to Roam Magazine Issue 11 - October/November 2014 | Page 37

| tried + tested camper review Of all the manufacturers of caravans and campers in Australia, none would be more recognisable to the average Aussie than Jayco. TRIED + TESTED NOT ONE TO JUST SWAN AROUND IN Jayco’s range of camper trailers is headed by the Swan – a classy highway hauler There are usually rows of them at any caravan show, they are parked in almost every suburban street and you pass them on every highway in the country. While today Jayco is best known for caravans, it has an incredible track record and heritage cred when it comes to camper trailers. Since 1975 it has built thousands of them– and has an enviable market share, based upon meeting critical price points in the market. That means that they are designed to meet the needs of the majority of potential customers’ needs, not necessarily all of them. More on that later. Amongst the Jayco fleet are seven models of camper trailers, six of which display the archetypical Jayco trademark bedding arrangement which has them sliding out the ends and supported on props. At the upper end of this selection is the Swan, which weighs in at 1067kg tare in its standard on-road format and 1275kg in offroad trim. It’s a physically big camper at 2240mm wide and 5365mm long, so it won’t go down some narrow bush tracks with ease. The Swan provides for two pull out beds, one at each end. At the front is a 1460mm wide bed – between king and queen sized – and at the rear a 1310mm wide bed (just under a > continuead on page 38 Review by David Cook Tried and Tested Jayco Swan RRP $29,310 (offroad) Issue 11 Oct/Nov 2014 37