Jayco Destiny 16.52-2 2006 Review

By Greg Williams

If the Jayco Destiny was a car, it would probably be a Toyota Camry – clean functional design, well built and reliable.

The Destiny range of pop-top caravans from Jayco has been around for much of 2006, long enough to make a pretty strong impression on the market where it has proved a popular choice.

It is also a versatile caravan that can cater for most buyers’ needs. Jayco lists 22 size and layout options for the single axle range, with sizes from a 11-footer (3.35m) up to the longest single axle unit, which is 17ft (5.2m), putting them squarely at the popular end of the market. Larger sizes move into the tandem axle range.

The single axle Destiny range covers almost every possible configuration – single beds, doubles, showers and toilets, kitchen at the front or rear, bunks if you have kids, and being smaller, lightweight and aerodynamic, they can be towed by most family vehicles.

The Destiny CW looked at was a 16-footer (4.9m) or, to call it by its model name, the 16.52-2, one of eight floorplans available in that size.

With its straight lines, spared from looking too rectangular by a slightly wedged front, it is a clean looking van with a low profile thanks to its pop-top.

Not having the spare wheel mounted on the rear bumper gives the back a square look – the spare is mounted on the A-frame under a streamlined fibreglass cover.

The two-tone moulded front section includes the boot and the front window with stoneguard.

The boot locks securely at two points and has a separate compartment for gas bottles – one in this case but two are provided if the caravan has a shower and toilet. On the other side of the boot are the jack and crank hand handles, which are neatly stacked out of the way on the wall.

Perhaps the only problem with the divided boot is that you don’t have storage space for longer items. There is a mains-pressure tap on the A-frame.

The Destiny uses an Al-Ko hitch and corner stays and the chassis is Jayco’s Millennium design, with the single solid beam axle on leaf springs keeping the 14in light truck tyres on the road.

The single 60L water tank (the shower/toilet vans have 2 x 90L tanks) sits just forward of the axle with a protector. Above that is the floor, made of 13mm plywood. Jayco’s ‘Tough Frame’ setup, which is square section aluminium covered with plywood and then fibreglass on the outside, with foam insulation on the inside.

Tinted Galaxy wind-out windows take up much of the space on the nearside of the Destiny, and the door, with illuminated Bargman handle on the side, is a Camec triple locker. There is a 12V annexe light outside and all of this is covered by the Carefree awning.

Like the outside, the interior of the pop-top Destiny has clean lines and looks modern and stylish. Once pushed up the white ceiling makes it appear very spacious, and the zippered windows let in heaps of light and air.

Lower down the walls are white but with all the Tasmanian oak cabinets, cupboards and benches, you don’t see much wall here anyway.

The door of this Destiny is at the front, and on entering you step into the kitchen, which takes up the front wall and then some.

The kitchen consists of a stove (four-burner Smev with grill and one 240V electric element) and a stainless steel sink with mains pressure tap and flip-up glass cover to its right.

Above the stove is the stainless steel Swift rangehood with 12V halogen light and an adjustable halogen light above the sink.

It’s a nice place to work because the front window takes up all the space between the benchtop and the overhead cupboards, and while this leaves no room for a splashback while cooking, the cover over the burners does this job quite well.

To the right of the sink and built into the benchtop is a bin with a lift-up bi-fold door and wire basket.

The fridge, located on the right, is a 90L three-way Dometic that fits under the bench and the Sanyo microwave sits on a shelf above it. In all, it’s a neatly laid out kitchen with everything within easy reach and lots of bench space.

Under the benches there is a decent amount of kitchen storage with a slide-out three-tier pantry on the left next to the door. This may block the doorway when it’s fully extended.

Under the grill are two deep drawers for pots and pans, with more drawers under the sink. Next to those is a large cupboard.

Combined with the two overhead lockers above the sink, there is enough space for a caravan the size of the Destiny.

For your appliances there is a double powerpoint to the left of the stove and there are three more above the fridge, one of which is used for the microwave.

The dinette, along with the rest of the furnishings, are what could be described as ‘Euro style’.

The dinette table is close enough to the sink and stove for it to be included in the kitchen’s working space.

A well chosen upholstery colour, light brown, blends well with the curtains and kitchen benchtops and there is enough seating for about three people at the dinette and two or three more on the lounge opposite. There are drawers under the dinette seats and windows are behind both the dinette and the lounge.

While the Destiny is marketed as the ideal van for retirees, the interior is versatile enough for almost any family.

You could fit two children on the dinette once you’ve converted it into a bed, and then another on the lounge which is almost in an alcove with shelves on both sides and overhead lockers above it.

All the cupboard and drawer catches are the positive-push button type that provide rattle-free sealing all around.

The shelf to the right of the lounge is almost identical to that which holds the microwave, except that this one holds the Heron air-conditioner and, again, there are three powerpoints under the shelf.

Under all of this is a dressing table which, along with the rear of the dinette, helps separate the bedroom – although with such an open layout it could hardly be called a room.

Large windows on both sides create a feeling of space, with interesting additions such as a mirror on the wall opposite the dressing table and a triangular shelf under it.

The double bed, extendable and slightly rounded at the foot, sits on orthopaedic slats and lifts up on struts to reveal storage space. An innerspring mattress is an option.

There is a wardrobe, a small shelf and a cupboard on either side of the bed, with overhead lockers located above the bed as well.

Light comes from two halogen lights on the sides of the wardrobes and the large rear window that makes use of all available space between the wardrobes, the bed and the overhead lockers.

There are three lights in the ceiling – one above the kitchen, one above the dinette and another above the bed. This caravan doesn’t have a TV but if you wish to install one there is an antenna socket under the air-conditioner.

“It’s the perfect retirees’ caravan,” Malcolm Riky of Bayswater Jayco told CW, where we viewed this Destiny. But he also indicates it would be ideal for families. “You can get that size with bunks for the young family,” referring to the 16ft (4.9m) Destiny.

He’s right on both counts – the Destiny is a very versatile caravan that shares a lot (including the pop-top) with its stablemate the Sterling.

It also comes in an offroad version in the Jayco Outback range, which uses Al-Ko leaf springs to give it a lift.

Malcolm says the Destiny has been a big seller that doesn’t stay in the lot for too long, probably because it offers what most people want in an economically priced caravan.

For more information contact Bayswater Jayco, 140 Canterbury Road, Bayswater, Vic 3153,

(03) 9761 5000. For your nearest dealer visit www.jayco.com.au

We liked
• Good quality construction
• Clean layout and design

We would have liked
• The inclusion of a television.
• A battery
• Longer storage boot