Jayco All Terrain Off-Grid X 2022 Review

Caravan parks can be great places to pull up stumps for the night, but they're not always the best place to stay.

Some of us desire the peace and tranquility of camping a little further off the beaten track, and often find that stopping into a camp for the night where plugging into mains power simply isn’t possible. This is where the likes of the new Jayco All Terrain Off-Grid X can take remote luxury glamping to another level.

Originally part of the Journey range, the All Terrain become a stand-alone model in late-2019. This year, there’s been the addition of two Off-Grid option packs, which add another level of off-the-beaten track capability in the three-model All Terrain caravan range.

Next level off-grid options

The standard All Terrain series comes with a single 100Ah lithium battery (with the option of a second lithium battery), Projecta LCD control panel and 400W rooftop solar.

The entry-level Off-Grid Pack One adds $9990 to the price of an All Terrain caravan, and includes a 12V 200Ah lithium battery system with 120amp charger and 2000W pure sine wave inverter. The Off-Grid Pack Two option (as reviewed here) is priced from $12,990, and features a bigger 400Ah lithium battery system with 180A charger and 3000W inverter.

Also included with both packs is a 40Ah solar controller, a seven inch colour touchscreen monitor, and DC charging up to 30Ah, along with a heavy-duty rear bumper with built-in firewood rack and Off-Grid X exterior decals.

However, you don't get additional solar panels with any of the Off Grid packs, which is slightly misleading for any 'Off Grid' option in my opinion.

Both Off-Grid X packs do incorporate Projecta Intelli-Jay High Power management system components, fitted under the main bed. Everything is connected via Canbus communication so individual components can be added later, including additional batteries. You can even monitor all the systems and activate some via a smartphone hooked up using Bluetooth.

Also fitted to the review caravan were a few handy options, including an external slide-out kitchen, reversing camera, a larger 216 litre fridge/freezer, Truma integrated gas heating system, a Cloud 9 mattress, water filter, leather upholstery and brush bars. That brings the all-up tow-away price as reviewed to $109,231.

Getting off the beaten track

The J-Tech independent trailing arm coil suspension, chunky off-road tyres and Cruisemaster DO-35 coupling fitted to the Jayco All Terrain Off-Grid X van, are the first indications that it's designed to venture well off the bitumen highways.

The underbody area is well protected from stone damage, with a large centre mudflap about halfway down the chassis ensuring that the suspension won’t get peppered by rocks flung up from the tow vehicle.

Aluminium-wrapped water tanks (for the front and underneath the tanks, at least) and all vital plumbing neatly tucked up, means less chance of sustaining damage on rock-strewn Outback roads.

The A-frame up front offers a good amount of versatile storage, with the front aluminium checkerplate tool box providing a shallow top compartment as well as two side compartments (the off-side one fitted with a slide-out).

This seems a bit odd, as you’d think a slide-out for a portable fridge or even a generator would be more useful on the nearside, but that's surely something you could specify at order stage anyway. The A-frame also offers two solid frames for jerry can storage.

Then there’s the large tunnel boot, with an access hatch on both sides, plus another large storage locker on the nearside towards the rear of the van. There’s also a tray on the back bumper, suitable for storing firewood and the like.

The spare wheel is also bumper mounted, but not so high as to cause big problems when you have to heave it off or mount the flat tyre.

Enough payload for big trips

The All Terrain Off-Grid X review van comes with a 600kg payload which means you should be able to pack just about everything a family of four requires on a longer trip, without going overboard.

Along the nearside of the 'van are a few things designed to make the most of outdoor living. For starters, there’s the (optional) large pull-out kitchen, with two-burner gas cooktop, mixer tap and sink, plus some bench space for food prep.

Between the kitchen and entry door is a small locker with a bracket and connections so you can hook up your TV for outside viewing while, a bit further back is a lockable, fold-down picnic table.

You also get two audio speakers, an external light and a 16ft wide, 12v awning with LED strip light, on the outside wall.

Family-friendly layout

Climbing up into the 19ft All Terrain Off-Grid X (there’s a handy coach light/grab handle adjacent to the door), there’s an east-west double bed up front, the kitchen and dinette in the centre and two bunks and bathroom up the back.

This is quite a familiar layout for a family bunk van, although there is a compromise with the main bed. While it maximises interior space, you will need to climb over or around your sleeping partner if you’re up front and want to get up in the night.

This will either bother you or it won’t, but it bears thinking about. Simply, if you want to have a van at this more reasonable size, this bed layout is one of the compromises you’ll have to make. A north-south main bed would require an even bigger, heavier caravan to accommodate it and everything else this fit-out has to offer.

On the plus side, the four large storage lockers above the bed, plus a couple of scirocco 12v fans, make camping a breeze, and the roof-top air-conditioner and gas space heater in combination should keep the interior a nice temperature year-round.

Cooking up a storm

The kitchen along the nearside wall is a simple design with useful features including a sink cutting board which adds to food prep space options if you’re not using the sink.

You also get a mixer tap and a separate filtered water tap, and a decent cooking combo of four burners, plus an oven, grill and a microwave. The microwave is positioned high up rather than under the bench, which is not uncommon but makes it trickier when removing a hot drink or soup and trying not to spill the hot liquid.

There's a fair bit of kitchen storage space, with under-bench drawers and cupboards and a couple of overhead lockers. There’s also a narrow but tall slide-out pantry, plus a large fridge/freezer with small cupboard underneath, along the opposite, offside wall.

The cafe dinette might be a squeeze for some families to fit four people around the table, but it's comfortable enough and not as tight as some layouts. Two lockers above the dinette offer further useful storage, although one is taken up with a lot of electrical equipment.

Bunks and bathroom

Moving to the back of the fit-out, there are two bunks along the nearside wall, with a good amount of room in the single bed areas and a handy, lightweight removable ladder to climb into the top bunk. The only downside of the ladder is it takes up quite a bit of hallway floor space when locked into position. 

However, a ceiling hatch overhead allows natural light in to what could otherwise be a dark spot of the interior, plus additional ventilation if required. It has a sliding insect mesh to keep out bugs out, as well as a block-out blind.

Both bunks get a reading light, but surprisingly there are no device charger ports here. Might be a good way of getting the kids to read books!

There's a large cupboard and three drawers along the back, to hold all the kids' clothing and other items like towels and shoes.

The nearby bathroom is a decent size for a relatively compact family bunk van layout, with a separate shower cubicle, swivel toilet and basin, plus a 3.3kg top-loader washing machine in its own enclosure. There's also a storage locker on the offside wall, cupboards in the vanity unit and an open shelf above the mirror.

High-tech electronics

The drawcard of the All Terrain Off-Grid X is, of course, the electrical system. It's all operated via a colour touchscreen on the offside wall opposite the entry door, and here you can keep an eye on solar input, battery state of charge and inverter status, water tank levels (two fresh, one grey water) and levels of the two gas bottles.

The Canbus 'smart tech' is pretty trick -- among other things it can help you with levelling your van as the system has a program that is tilt sensitive -- and the Sphere Wi-fi unit and 240v circuit breakers are housed in lockers above the dinette.

With the large increase in lithium battery capacity (from one 100A/h battery in the standard All Terrain to 400A/h here) plus the 3000watt inverter, you should be able to run 240v appliances like the air-conditioner for considerable periods when camping. How much sunlight the two 200watt solar panels receive will of course influence that outcome.

Summing up

The Jayco All Terrain with the Off-Grid X Pack 2 option, is a well-priced, well-featured off-grid caravan with just about everything a family would need for a comfortable RV holiday away from caravan parks.

It's worth noting that as well as costing a bit more than the standard $86,990 (starting price) 19ft All-Terrain family van, our optioned up review caravan also weighs significantly more (Tare and ATM up by around 163kg).

It's also probably not a van you would drag along hard-core bush tracks, but gnarly Outback roads and highways seem well within its remit.

How much does the Jayco All Terrain 19.61-3 Off-Grid X cost?

Price: $109,231 (tow-away NSW)
Options fitted: Off-Grid Pack Two, external kitchen, reversing and rear view cameras, 216 litre compressor fridge/freezer, Truma Vario 2.8w gas heater, Cloud 9 mattress, water filter, leather upholstery, brush bars.
Travel length: 8230mm
Body length: 6045mm
External body width: 2470mm
Travel height: 3055mm
Interior height: 1920mm
Tare weight: 2599kg
ATM: 3199kg
Ball weight: 265kg
Body: Fibreglass composite cladding over aluminium frame with hail resistant one-piece insulated roof
Chassis: Hot dipped galvanised steel
Suspension: J-Tech independent, coils, shocks
Brakes: 12in drums, electric
Stability Control:
Wheels: 16in alloy
Fresh water: 2 x 80L plus 80L grey tank
Battery: 400A/h lithium
Solar: 2 x 200W panels plus offside solar input
Air-conditioner: Dometic Ibis 4 roof-top
Gas: 2 x 9kg
Hot water: 22L gas/electric
Space heater: Gas
Cooking: Thetford Triplex Plus 4 gas-burner, oven/grill
Fridge: Dometic 216L RUC8408X fridge-freezer
Microwave: Sphere
Toilet: Thetford cassette, Ceramic swivel
Shower: Separate fibreglass cubicle
Lighting: LED
TV: 24in LED TV/DVD (plus Sphere wi-fi and GPS)
Supplied by: Jayco Sydney, St Marys North NSW
More info: Jayco Australia