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NEWS
Jayco unveils XPLOsive new model
Market leader unveils new ‘redneck swondervan’ at LeisurefestNot content with pushing into previously unchartered territory a year ago with its first dedicated off-road Adventurer caravan,
Jayco has stirred the pot again with a first reveal of its even more extreme XPLO at this year’s Melbourne Leisurefest.
Jayco has stirred the pot again with a first reveal of its even more extreme XPLO at this year’s Melbourne Leisurefest.
Encircled by a powdercoated 40NB mandrel-bent steel roll cage that incorporates no fewer than three separate ladders to access the roof where blokey items such as dinghies, kayaks and swags can be transported, the Jayco XPLO Outback looks the real deal.
However, the 3760mm (13ft) long bush-basher is as much designed to put extra hair on Jayco’s corporate chest as it is to threaten other rivals in this macho niche market than include Lotus, On The Move and Van Cruiser.
Featuring full composite walls and checker plate cladding construction, with tandem JTech double-shocker independent suspension beneath its beefed-up 150mm x 50mm x 3mm Adventure chassis, the XPLO was finished only just in time for its Leisurefest debut.
Jayco quotes its tare weight at approximately 2100kg, with an ATM of 3000kg and a ball load of 175kg, making it still light enough to tackle some serious terrain, although track accessibility will be limited by its 2257mm width and 2565mm overall height.
This will be further reduced when Jayco raises the roof height on the prototype by about 100mm before full endurance testing commences at the Australian Automotive Research Centre at Anglesea in Victoria later this year, followed by field testing in Outback South Australia.
No pop-top version will be offered.
GEARED FOR OUTDOORS
Like its redneck rivals, the XPLO is designed to be a base for adventurous types to pursue other activities, hence it’s geared for outdoor living, with a large rear slide-out stainless-steel kitchen, while the stark interior is dominated by a transverse queen bed.
However, Jayco has embraced gender balance by providing some more feminine features, including a bank of nine drawers and two large storage nooks to the left of the entry door, while a microwave oven slots in above more cupboard storage on the adjacent wall.
The drawers are unique to Jayco production in that they’re made from pressed steel and slide on steel runners and roller bearings and have hard-close self-matching, features that aren’t even on the off-road Adventurer models.
A small robe, two seats that can share a removable table and a gas heater and hot water service are other creature comforts inside, while there are lockers in the right-hand side of the body that house a Porta-Potti and an exterior shower.
A large checker plate front tool box with slides for a 2kVa generator on one side, twin gas bottles on the other and room above for hoses and the like beneath twin MaxTrax, are other XPLO features.
MOST BUSH-READY JAYCO
Jayco’s XPLO Project Leader, Andrew Crank, said the new model would have more ‘bushability’ than any other Jayco in the company’s 42-year history and was a niche, rather than volume model that would have a large degree of individuality.
Nominal pricing for the XPLO quoted at Leisurefest put the 13ft XPLO at $77,790, with its fitted options of a portable fridge ($1650), generator ($1375), portable toilet ($340), MaxTrax ($400) and a combined Truma gas heater/hot water service ($4125), adding $7890 to the bottom line.
This is premium pricing in a market that starts around $50,000 with similar-looking products, but if demand rivals interest at Leisurefest, the XPLO may go the same way as the Adventurer.
Although premium-priced when it was formally launched earlier this year, Jayco has since shaved $6000-$7000 off initial Adventurer RRPs across the range with the 13ft single axle Adventurer Pop-Top now priced from $59,990, the 16ft Full Height model from $78,990, the 19ft tandem axle ‘couples’ van from $84,990 and the range-topped 19ft bunk version from $85,900.
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Written byMichael Browning
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Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
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