Jayco Conquest 2007 Review

By Malcolm Street

A few years ago Jayco Caravans created a surprise when a motorhome rolled out of its factory. Based on a Fiat Ducato van, Jayco’s entry into the motorhome world attracted a great deal of interest. A while later, Jayco’s first C class motorhome, the Conquest, caused a flutter too, not least because a very sharp pencil was used in the costing.

The Conquest motorhome was based on either a Fiat Ducato or Ford Transit cab chassis. The earlier motorhomes had one or two, shall we say, ‘shortcomings’, although Jayco has learned a lot since.

So it was with great interest that we took the wheel of a Conquest with something Jayco calls its ‘Layout 4’.

Featuring a roomy rear lounge, our Conquest, which came from Brisbane Camperland, was powered by the latest model Ford Transit cab chassis. The same layout is also available with the Fiat Ducato as base vehicle.

While the updated Ford has been around for a while and we had had a play with one sans motorhome, the RV industry has taken a while to push these newer base vehicles through.

On the road, the new Transit is a huge improvement on the older model – evolutionary rather than revolutionary, is how it has been described – but there have been a number of improvements in the cab interior, which is good for the motorhome world. The new turbodiesel, with a slightly increased power output (103kW) is a willing performer and it is mated to a very slick dash-mounted six-speed gearstick.

Sadly, if you are after an auto Transit, there isn’t one available, though Ford Australia is apparently working on one.

Features we do like about the Transit are the excellent split flat/convex external mirrors and the large map or notebook holder in the centre of the dashboard. Newer items are the four-spoke steering wheel and the 2L bottle holders for both the driver and passenger. For extra safety, Jayco has added a reversing camera, which we reckon are very useful items.

The spare wheel is under the chassis at the rear, but it is not easy to access. To be fair, we should point out that awkward spare wheel access is an all-too-common problem with motorhomes.

Jayco motorhomes are built with an aluminium frame, the outside of which is covered by ply timber and fibreglass, the inside with interior panels. Between the frames is polystyrene foam. It is all vacuum-bonded for additional strength. Underfoot, the floor has a timber frame, polystyrene insulation and ply timber underneath the timber-look vinyl.

From the outside, the Transit part looks schmick, and is joined to the Jayco motorhome body with some neatly made fibreglass mouldings. At the rear, the traditional boxy look has been negated by a fibreglass moulding for the tail lights and a moulded fairing for the top corner.

Apart from the locker for two 4kg gas cylinders on the offside, there is only one other external bin – under the nearside seat – which, for the location, is fairly spacious. All the windows are the tinted hopper variety, except for those in the Luton peak, which are sliders. The door has a separate flyscreen. A security door is an option.

The inside word

Jayco’s Layout 4 consists of a Luton peak bed, rear club lounge, amidships kitchen and a bathroom behind the driver’s seat. As with earlier Jayco motorhomes, the Conquest has a Euro look, with curved locker doors. All the windows are screened and have curtains, even in the kitchen.

While the cabinetry has a European flavour, the rear dinette has a more ‘New Zealand’ look about it, with seats and large windows all round. There’s enough seating for four people, but the table is better suited to two.

Above the dinette, there are overhead lockers. There’s a small shelf underneath as well. Lighting comes from two halogen under-locker downlights on either side and a bubble-style halogen in the ceiling.

Some dinettes are often bereft of powerpoints but this one has two: one under the offside seat and the other at the end of the kitchen bench. Under the seats are the usual storage areas, the nearside also being accessible from the outside. Part of the offside area is taken by the house deep-cycle battery. A flatscreen TV, mounted on the wardrobe, is an entertainment option.

The kitchen is on the nearside. A Smev four-burner hob and grill sit alongside a stainless steel sink and drainer. There isn’t a great deal of benchtop area but the cabinet alongside the hob does provide some extra space.

Storage is surprisingly plentiful, with five drawers of various sizes, two cupboards and three overhead lockers. Jayco has done its homework and we give a big tick to manufacturers who install plenty of drawers of various sizes as it’s a practical use of space. Kitchen bench lighting consists of two halogen downlights and a bubble ceiling light.

Those other essential kitchen items, the optional 150L Dometic fridge and Sanyo microwave oven, are opposite the kitchen, between the wardrobe (with a large hanging area and two drawers) and the bathroom. But squeezed between the wardrobe and fridge is a narrow cupboard that contains a slide-out pantry in the top half and shelves in the lower half.

The bathroom is a relatively compact affair, but it does have a flexible-hose shower, Thetford cassette bench toilet, fold-down wash basin (you can’t sit on the loo and clean your teeth at the same time) and a shaving cabinet. Ventilation is courtesy of a ceiling-fan hatch.

In the corner behind the passenger seats (often with this layout style there’s nothing in that space), Jayco squeezed in a shelved two-door corner cupboard. It also contains an AM/FM radio/CD player.

Above the cab, the bed has a reasonable amount of head room for a Luton peak bed but, given the bathroom is on one side and the cupboard is on the other, it does suffer slightly from a closed-in feel. Given the generous lighting elsewhere, the bedroom lighting is lacking, there being only one ceiling fixture – positioned so it shines into your eyes if you’re reading in bed – with no individual reading lights

The electrics are simple, with all the lighting 12V and supplied either from a 240/12V transformer or directly from the house battery. There is provision for a second battery and the motorhome is wired for solar panels.

The Bottom Line

This is an interesting layout from the point of view that it’s the only one available with a ‘NZ back’ layout, ie, a dinette surrounded by windows.

Most motorhomes are not built this way, usually having a fixed bed in the rear, as do two of the other Jayco Conquest designs. Given there are four layouts available, two with fixed rear beds, it’s good to have a choice. The other choice with this layout is whether you want Ford Transit or Fiat Ducato motive power.

On the road, the Transit, like any of its European contemporaries, provides an easy, car-like drive and, at just over 23ft (7m), it is not a difficult length to handle.

There is the odd niggle with the general design, but it does have a fair few assets, such as a spacious layout and good general storage. If you are happy with a Luton peak bed and a rear club-dinette setup, then this layout is worth a good look, especially given the price!

Brisbane Camperland, (07) 3348 8200,

For Jayco motorhome dealers visit

We liked

• Good general storage

• Except for the Luton, good general lighting

• Spacious dinette in the rear with all-round windows

• Driving the Transit – like all Euro vehicles, it’s not a drama at all

We would have liked

• Separate reading lights on the wall in the Luton peak

• A security door as a standard item, given most people like to have their doors open in warmer weather

• A half height cupboard behind the passenger seat would give a bit more space for climbing into bed