Jayco All-Terrain Pop Top 2024 Review

You don’t become Australia’s biggest RV manufacturer, nor one of its longest running (50 years in 2025), without giving buyers exactly what they want, time and time again.

For Jayco’s 2024 range, that’s a bold new olive green exterior colour for its most Outback-ready towable models, while continuing to offer unbeatable value for money in the locally built RV sector for entry-level buyers.

Having just passed final inspection at Jayco’s giant Melbourne manufacturing facility and resplendent in the latest 'camo' hue, our review van, a 17ft All-Terrain Pop Top, is aimed at adventure-seekers after a comfy off-road van that’s also relatively easy to tow.

But is it another winner from the Australian RV giant? Let's take a closer look and find out…

How much is the Jayco All-Terrain Pop Top?

Jayco's 2024 range of All-Terrain models extends across both caravans and pop-tops, and as well as the new green hero colour and various off-road extras, adds more water, battery and solar capacity to get you out there off the beaten track for longer.

The top-spec All-Terrain Pop Top is available in just one 17ft body length, with either a couple's layout with north-south bed and full-width rear ensuite, or (as reviewed here) a family floorplan with east-west parents' bed, twin bunks and a combination shower/toilet.

Tow-away pricing for the All-Terrain Pop Top starts at $77,355 (compared to $64,955 for the 17ft Journey Outback Pop Top with identical layout), but for that you get a number of features that are optional on the Outback including a bigger 200Ah lithium battery system with 400W rooftop solar, two 80L fresh water tanks plus a grey tank, front and rear LED work lights, 16in alloy wheels with all-terrain tyres, a front toolbox, jerry holders and stone guard, an external shower, water filter, twin 12V fans, and audio and TV entertainment.

Styling-wise, apart from the more eye-catching and front window-less olive green exterior with matching picnic table, the All-Terrain Pop Top gets the diamond-pattern leatherette in lieu of cloth upholstery inside.

How is the Jayco All-Terrain Pop Top built?

The 17ft All-Terrain Pop Top boasts similar construction to other Jayco pop-tops, including a hot-dipped galvanised chassis, fibreglass-skinned Toughframe insulated walls, and a 'hail-resistant' fibreglass roof.

However, the All-Terrain Pop Top takes it up a notch with a PET composite instead of marine ply floor, and aluminium furniture corners to go with aluminium seat framing. The JTECH 2.0 independent coil suspension is also beefed up with heavy-duty shock absorbers, and there's also a Cruisemaster DO-35 coupling instead of the usual 50mm ball hitch.

Like all Jayco vans, the All-Terrain Pop Top is backed by a two-year manufacturer warranty and five-year structural warranty, and also comes with three years of free roadside assistance, with nationwide support from 29 dealerships and more than 100 authorised service agents.

What other external features are on the Jayco All-Terrain Pop Top?

A sea of green vans under the bright lights of a capital city supershow was probably not the ideal location to view the the latest Jayco hero models for the first time. Fortunately, the shiny new olive green finish looks a lot more pleasing to the eye out in the wild and in a more natural setting, particularly when combined with the extra lashings of black exterior trim on the low-slung All-Terrain Pop Top model.

Get up close and Jayco's range-topping pop-top also gets some neat touches we haven't seen on Jayco vans before, like a smart chassis-mounted, pressure-fill plumbing console, colour-coded drop-down picnic table, and super-smooth externally mounted battery boxes.

In fact, in the few hours we spent with the van it was hard to find fault in any aspect of the fit and finish, with no evidence of the rough edges or loose or incorrectly fitted bits you often come across when reviewing a largely hand-assembled Australian-made van that just rolled off the factory floor.

Externally, the All-Terrain Pop Top also comes standard with a full-length roll-out awning with LED strip light, triple lock security door, manual entry step, LED-lit grab handle, annexe light, an entertainment locker with TV mount and 12V/240V sockets, an external hot/cold shower with pop-up tent, A-frame-mounted tap, two 9kg gas bottles, twin gas bayonets and a mains pressure inlet.

There's also a large front toolbox with side-door access to two compartments (one with a slide-out), and a top ‘shelf’ for smaller items, plus a rear bumper bar for the spare wheel.

The twin reversing cameras on the review van are an option, as is a single reversing camera.

How far off-road can the Jayco All-Terrain Pop Top go?

The All-Terrain Pop Top is Jayco's most off-road capable pop-top, and should be able to handle a good dose of the rough stuff thanks to its tougher off-road suspension, decent ground clearance, off-road coupling and all-terrain tyres.

The chassis is protected by hot-dip galvanising if you decide to take it for a splash, and the PET floor won't mind a drink either, while the extra coating inside the wheel guards, gal-guarded water tanks and a large underbody flap further protect the undersides. There's also an A-frame stone guard and checkerplate on the front and sides to deflect the off-road nasties.

The All-Terrain Pop Top also comes standard with a Dometic DRS, to help keep the dust out when travelling along dirt roads, although it wasn't fitted to our customer-built review van.

What is the Jayco All-Terrain Pop Top like for towing?

The 17ft Jayco All-Terrain Pop Top proved a perfect match for our Isuzu D-MAX tow vehicle. Being a pop-top it tucks in nicely behind the tow vehicle at just 2.7m high, making it more aerodynamic than a boxier hardtop van with similar ground clearance, and with fuel economy benefits to boot, although we didn't go far enough to test that out.

The tandem-axle coil set-up and DO-35 coupling should help with towing stability on a variety of surfaces. And while a bit heavier than the Outback version at a plated 2242kg Tare (and 2842kg ATM), the review van's loaded-up weight remains well within the limits of popular tow vehicles like the 3500kg-rated Isuzu ute.

What do you get inside the Jayco All-Terrain Pop Top?

The Jayco All-Terrain Pop Top comes pretty well equipped inside, including a decent kitchen with 153L Dometic compressor fridge (upgradeable to 188L), four burner gas cooktop and grille, rangehood, microwave and a stainless sink with drainer, mixer tap and filtered water.

There's the option to fit a slide-out outside kitchen but this will come at the expense of external storage space. Just carry a portable BBQ if you want to cook outside...

Also included for the price is a Furrion 24in TV/DVD with roof-mounted aerial and both internal and external mounting points, and a Furrion audio unit with internal and external speakers, premium bed linen for the double bed and bunks, a 12V fan hatch above the shower and toilet, central skylight, and a gas-fired hot water unit located under the bed.

Just inside the entry door is a small Projecta digital display for monitoring battery and water usage, while a Bluetooth gas bottle sensor and an external Anderson plug for a portable solar panel are also part of the electrical package. There's also a rooftop air conditioner and two Sirocco fans (although only one 12V fan was fitted to the review van).

What is the Jayco All-Terrain Pop Top like for camping?

Jayco's All-Terrain Pop Top is one of the easiest manual-raising pop-top vans to both set up and pack up. Just reach up and unclasp the four corner roof latches (it was easy for me but a portable step might be required for those of shorter stature), release the awning, and use minimal effort to push up the roof at both ends from inside. Who needs power assistance?

One 'packaging' issue we did spot is that you need to fully release the awning arms before you can open the locker containing the toilet cassette. However, for roadside stops there's enough headroom inside to access the kitchen and toilet without popping the roof.

Given its size and pop-top packaging limitations, there’s a decent amount of storage available to make the most of the 600kg payload, including a large tunnel boot and the front toolbox with its various compartments.

While inside, there's adequate space to meet the storage needs of a travelling family, including rows of overhead lockers along three sides of the van, some bedside cubby holes, under-bench kitchen cupboard and drawers, two under-dinette pull-out drawers, an under-bed cavity and a good-size rear wall cupboard with shelving and drawers.

Being a pop-top there's plenty of headroom, plus all the extra light and ventilation you get from unzipping the pop-top vents. However, we'd prefer if the insect screens were permanently sewn in rather than velcro-attached, as they're easy to push out when rolling the flaps. A minor point.

There's also the option to fit a single-outlet gas space heater, which would be ideal for free camping in cooler temperatures and when you're not carrying a generator to run the reverse-cycle air-con.

The parents' east-west bed up front includes a coil-spring mattress measuring 2.0m x 1.35m, and there's less headroom on the far side due to the slanted wall with its padded bedhead.

The two bunk beds down back offer room for growing limbs (1.82m x 0.7m), but come with slightly less comfy thick foam bases. Each bunk gets a reading light with USB socket and an opening window, plus there are child restraints, privacy curtains and a lightweight portable ladder for the top bunk.

Jayco says the family layout can sleep up to five, but you'll need to convert the cafe dinette with its removable tabletop into another bed big enough for a small child to achieve this.

Squeezing in the kids' bunks down back means there's only room for a combination shower toilet in the opposite corner, although it has just about everything you need including a mid-height hard-wall cubicle with top-shower curtain, a hot/cold shower rose and a Euro-style sink and mixer tap that folds down over the cassette toilet as required. Our only real gripe here is that the mirror on the back of ensuite door is on the smaller side.

Jayco has also taken care of the smaller details like block-out curtains for the window on the entry-door, and plenty of ceiling and reading lights and electrical sockets, including USB-A and USB-C points located within the bedside nooks and integrated with reading lamps.

The battery system includes DC-DC, 240V and MPPT chargers but there's no inverter fitted (nor one available as an option) so you might struggle to run laptops, hair dryers, coffee machines and other portable 240V devices outside of caravan parks. Jayco's full Off Grid X package (400Ah lithium, 600W solar, 3000W inverter) is currently only available on its larger All Terrain and Silverline full-height caravan models.

Should I buy a Jayco All-Terrain Pop Top?

We came away impressed with the Jayco All-Terrain Pop Top. It's a stylish, nicely finished, well-appointed and rugged-looking family caravan that is more easily dragged into bushy camping spots than a hardtop van, but without sacrificing too much in the way of 'big van' comforts. It's not a full off-grid van but has enough on-board power and water to enjoy a few days' basic free camping with the family.

It also stacks up well on price, even against the imports, and adds quite a few desirable off-bitumen features for only a few thousand dollars more than the Outback version. Add in a discount available from the current EOFY deals on offer (as of June 2024), and we reckon Jayco has hit the nail on the head yet again...

Price: From $77,355 tow-away
Travel length: 7770mm
Body length: 5535mm (17ft)
External body width: 2470mm
Travel height: 2710mm
Internal height: 2030mm
Tare weight: 2242kg
ATM: 2842kg
Ball weight (Tare): 202kg
Body: Fibreglass composite cladding over aluminium frame with one-piece fibreglass roof and PET composite floor
Chassis: Hot dipped galvanised steel with extended A-frame
Suspension: JTECH 2.0 independent coil, Cruisemaster DO-35 coupling
Brakes: 10in electric drums
Stability control: Tow Command Sway Control
Wheels: 16in alloy with Git4x4 AT70 LT245/70R16 all-terrain tyres
Water: 2 x 80L (fresh), 1 x 80L (grey)
Battery: 2 x 100Ah lithium
Solar: 2 x 200watt rooftop panel
Air-conditioner: Dometic 240V rooftop
Gas: 2 x 9kg
Hot water: Gas
Cooking: Thetford four-burner gas cooktop, grille
Fridge: Dometic 153L compressor fridge/freezer
Microwave: Sphere 240v
Toilet: Thetford cassette
Shower: Combined shower/toilet with sink
Lighting: 12V LED
TV: Furrion 24in LED Smart TV/DVD
Audio: Furrion 5700 with internal/external speakers
Supplied by: Jayco Australia, Dandenong South, Victoria