Jayco Base Station

Departure Lounge

Jayco's Base Station caravan reflects a trend within the Australian Recreational Vehicle (RV) industry: it departs from conventional caravan design and shows an overseas influence (in this case the US).

As something that could be termed a "toy hauler" (toys being anything from a quad bike to a jet ski), the Base Station is effectively half caravan and half mobile garage, and the latter is multifunctional.

There's obviously some interest in the concept of the Base Station. It's been around for a little while, but getting our hands on one has taken time and patience. When Jayco Sydney's David Carrick phoned us recently to advise that he had one in stock, I wasted no time grabbing my cameras and heading out to the Sydney dealership.

It was also an opportunity for me to try CW's long term test vehicle, a Kia Sorento, which I had only driven very briefly before. Our Sorento is powered by a 2.5L 125kW/392Nm turbodiesel. Of interest also are, of course, the towing weight figures: with a maximum braked towing mass of 2800kg and a maximum towball mass of 280kg, the Sorento can cope with a wide variety of caravans.

The Base Station has a Tare of 2130kg and when I hitched it to the Sorento, it was carrying very little load (I didn't have a weight distribution hitch fitted). The Sorento was able to tow it without any problem on normal roads and freeway driving; however, when fully loaded, especially with heavy items in the rear, it might be a different matter.

On the freeway, I detected twitchiness towards the back as large vehicles passed, and with a load on-board, I'd recommend a weight distribution hitch. The Base Station has an ATM of 2730kg, just within the Sorento's legal towing capacity, so you may prefer to tow it with a vehicle that has a greater maximum towing limit if you feel unsure.

Built in the conventional Jayco manner, the Base Station has a hot dipped galvanised chassis, leaf-spring suspension, an aluminium frame, insulated walls and aluminium cladding. Although our review model was a conventional road going version, there's also a rough road Outback model available.

REAR ACCESS
The Base Station uses space well. It has a fold-out bedroom at the front (similar to vans in the Expanda range) and a large rear door, which doubles as a ramp to the garage and a rear deck. The garage can also be used as a bedroom, making the van good for families, too.

Apart from the large rear door, the Base Station looks like a fairly conventional caravan. It has two 9kg gas cylinders on the drawbar and a spare wheel slung between the rear of the drawbar rails. Camec tinted hopper windows are used all round and the door is the familiar Camec triple locker. There's more than the usual number of external lights - in addition to the grab handle and mid wall lights, there are also two above the rear door. We noted that the latter could be latched securely for travelling without any drama. Having a fold-out bed-end, there isn't a conventional front boot; instead, there's a tunnel storage bin with access from either side.

Inside the Base Station, a mid-van wall divides the interior. The front half looks like any 'normal' caravan and with the bed-end folded out (a three-minute operation), there's a reasonable amount of space. The layout is quite straightforward, with a dinette at the front, behind the fold-out bed. A kitchen bench occupies the nearside, with the entry door between that and the dinette. Opposite the door is the fridge with a microwave above and in the rear offside corner is the bathroom cubicle. On the other side of the wall is the garage itself.

Measuring a spacious 6ft 7in (2.3m) x 6ft 7in (2.3m) - a longer model is also available - it is certainly large enough for a couple of motorbikes, a quad bike or four push bikes, and tie-down hooks on the floor provide stability. But be sure to give a careful check to the weight of anything substantial (like a quad bike), because the Base Station's load carrying capacity has to include all the regular things like water and personal effects as well.

Other garage features include a couple of shelves in the nearside corner and a simple mechanic's rack in the offside corner. In addition to the latter, there are a couple of fold-down bunks that measure 6ft 4in (1.9m) x 2ft 6in (0.75m), which will suit most people. A large window beside the top bunk provides ventilation, should the rear door need to be closed.

In the living area of the Base Station, the kitchen bench has a Smev four-burner cooktop/grill alongside a stainless steel sink avec drainer. The kitchen area is slightly compressed but has two cupboards, a small slide-out pantry, two drawers, an overhead locker and a floor locker. A flatscreen TV is mounted on the wall above the kitchen bench and can be seen relatively easily from the front dinette.

Four people can easily sit at the table. It has contoured cushion lounges on either side, with the usual storage areas underneath the seats. Overhead lockers are fitted all round above the dinette. Additional storage is provided by two small storage bins behind the offside seat and, by lifting the bed cushion, access can be gained to the front storage bin.

Something to think about with this setup is that unless the table is lifted out of the way, getting into the front bed requires you to clamber over the front seats. Not that lifting the table out of the way is difficult - it's just something to keep in mind.

Measuring 6ft 3in x 4ft 10in (1.9m x 1.5m), the bed mattress is a generous size and is surrounded by flyscreened windows on three sides. There's a curtain to give privacy from the rest of the van if needed.

The bathroom is fairly conventional. It has a Thetford cassette toilet, a corner wash basin with flick mixer tap and a variable height shower rose. The wheel arch protrudes into the bathroom, though.

A window and a roof hatch provide ventilation and the Thetford cassette door, usually located on an outside wall, is accessed from within the garage.

THE BOTTOM LINE
Some years ago (the early 70s, I think) the original Millard caravan manufacturer produced a caravan called the Florida, one version of which had a permanent rear deck. It wasn't exactly a best seller, given that the rear deck took up valuable van length.

The Base Station is quite a different concept - it not only comes with a folding rear deck, but a multi-purpose garage as well. The design is not only good for a couple with empty-nester toys, but also for a family that likes to have some of their toys along as well. A good addition to the ever increasing RV line-up, we reckon.

I WOULD HAVE LIKED

Jayco Sydney
63-67 Glossop Street, St Marys, NSW
(02) 9623 1971
www.jaycosydney.com.au

For more information, including your nearest dealer, visit www.jayco.com.au