Jayco Sterling

WHAT WE LIKED

• Front club lounge layout
• Look of the curved overhead locker doors
• External appearance – very smooth
• Generous storage space in bathroom
• Bedside shelf inserts

NOT SO MUCH

• Would prefer any-which-way dinette table instead of the single pole mount
• Fitment of some of the cupboard doors – one in the bathroom in particular was quite stiff and difficult to open

The Jayco Sterling, is the flagship caravan from Australia’s largest manufacturer. The company has certainly become a major force from its humble beginnings in 1976 as a camper trailer manufacturer, and it now makes everything from camper trailers to full caravans, as well as motorhomes.

David Carrick from Jayco Sydney was kind enough to supply a Sterling caravan, and we took the trip west of Sydney to the former gold mining town of Sofala with the Sterling hooked up behind.

Our tow vehicle was a Toyota Prado – one of the new three-door models. There’s no doubt about the power capabilities of the 3L, 127kW turbodiesel, and the Prado certainly delivered in that department.

CONSTRUCTION

In keeping with most of the Jayco line-up, the Sterling comes with a standard Millennium chassis: galvanised steel with 100x50mm (4x2in) main rails and cross-members with punched holes to retain strength while keeping the weight factor in check.

Standard leaf spring suspension is fitted to the tandem axles, and as the van is over 7m (23ft), it comes with 15in alloy wheels instead of the usual 14in rims.
Things look relatively ‘clean’ underneath the van, with most of the plumbing and electrics running through the pressed steel holes. As this is a shower van, there are two 82L water tanks.

Even the drawbar has a ‘clean’ look about it with only the towing items there – ball coupling, handbrake and centre-mounted jockey wheel.
The two 9kg gas cylinders are hidden in the front boot.

Body-wise, the Sterling has an aluminium frame which is vacuum bonded together with the internal ply, polystyrene foam, outer ply and fibreglass sheeting. Sensibly, the roof is a one-piece item and it’s all claimed to give good strength while keeping the weather, in all its forms, out.

Actually, the result is quite a smart looking van, even the back which does not have the usual boxy look about it, and the moulded front stone shield that fits in very neatly. A slight oddity is the Flexcoat pebble guard across the lower front of the van – the slightly rough surface tends to trap dirt that is not easy to clean off.

LED running lights are used all round.

DIFFERENT LAYOUT

As a more upmarket van, the Sterling comes with an awning, wall plus grab-handle lights and two external speakers.

There are, of course, standard items like the forward-fitted Camec security door and tinted hopper windows, some quite large. Adorning the roof are a Coleman Mack air-conditioner and a Winegard TV antenna.

Although our review caravan has a full-width rear bathroom, it does not follow the well-used rear-bathroom/front-bedroom combination. Instead it has a front club-style lounge, offside kitchen and an east-west bed in front of the bathroom.

An advantage of this arrangement is that the lounge/dining area, in the European style, gives a good view of the surrounding countryside without moving from your seat. Also, the east-west bed further back reduces the cramped feel that some front bedrooms have.

Jayco uses what it calls its “Eurostyle” furniture that looks quite smart. Like the body, aluminium framing is used for all the weight-bearing areas – dinette, bed et al.

The door catches come in two styles: the drawers and cupboards have quite flashy-looking items while the overhead lockers apparently have none at all. In fact they are neatly hidden, and once we figured out how they worked, we had no trouble.

On the other hand, we found the drawer and cupboard catches a bit fiddly... but maybe fat, fumbly fingers have something to do with it.

All the windows have both full and net curtains, except for those in the kitchen and bathroom, which have slimline venetian blinds.

Lighting consists mostly of halogen fittings (either downlights or reading), as well as a few fluorescent fittings.

LOUNGING AND DINING

Up front, the club lounge looks quite inviting and gives a good view out of the three windows. With a bit of a fiddle there’s just enough room for two people to get their feet up and watch the flatscreen TV that’s mounted above a cabinet on the other side of the entry door.

The corner of the table nearest the kitchen bench is chamfered to give ease of access but we wonder whether a multi-directional table would be more convenient.

The kitchen bench comes equipped with a Smev four-burner cooktop/grill/oven and a stainless steel sink which is supplied with both tank and filtered water.
Benchtop space isn’t huge, but there are three good-sized drawers and two cupboards. Overhead, the locker doors are flat (unlike the contours in the bedroom and dining areas) and side-hinged.

The Dometic three-way 150L fridge is on the opposite wall between two cabinets. The microwave is above, in its time-honoured position.

WASHING AND SLEEPING

The 1.82x1.47m (6ft x 4ft 10in) bed sits against the offside wall. The innerspring mattress sits on a posture slat bed base which can, of course, be lifted to get to the storage area underneath.

Wardrobes surround the bed on both sides and there are overhead lockers. One of the problems with an east-west arrangement is that bedside shelves can be impractical, but Jayco solves this by building neat little inserts into the lower part of the wardrobes.

An angled cupboard is built into the rear corner at the base of the bed. A slide-out is an option for the bedroom, which would give more walk-around area.
Sliding doors close off the bathroom when a bit of privacy is needed. It has a surprising amount of space which gives plenty of room for the nearside curved-door shower cubicle, offside Thetford cassette toilet and a vanity cabinet that fills most of the rear wall.

It includes a washbasin, large wall mirror and plenty of drawer and cupboard space. There is almost more shelf area here than in the kitchen! A washing machine is optional.

Twelve-volt power is delivered by either the Setec 240/12V power supply/battery charger or directly from the 12V, 100Ah battery. Those planning extended stays without mains power should, of course, consider solar panels.

BOTTOM LINE

Because this is Jayco’s flagship van, there is a temptation to compare it directly with a couple of the other luxury vans produced by more ‘boutique’ manufacturers.

However, if you keep the bottom line in mind, the Sterling is certainly an indication of just how far Jayco has come with its offerings over the last few decades. It makes a lot of sense when considering a van for the round-Australia trip or even just a well-appointed weekend escape.

JAYCO STERLING MODEL 2372-3

Overall length: 8.42m (27ft 7in)
External length: 7.24m (23ft 9in)
External width: 2.47m (8ft 1in)
Internal height: 1.98m (6ft 5in)
Nameplate Tare: 2153kg
Nameplate ATM: 2628kg
Ball weight: 138kg
Frame: Aluminium
Chassis: Hot-dipped galvanised
Suspension: Tandem axle leaf spring
Cooktop: Smev four-burner, grill and oven
Fridge: Dometic RM 2553 150L
Microwave: Tiffany
Shower: Separate cubicle
Toilet: Thetford cassette
Lighting: 12V halogen
Gas: 2 x 9kg
Fresh water: 2 x 82L
Price: $57,512 (tow-away, NSW)


SUPPLIED BY:

Jayco Sydney, 63-67 Glossop Street, St Marys 2760, (02) 9623 1971, jaycosydney.com.au

For more information, and to find your nearest dealer, visit jayco.com.au