we are looking at buying a Jayco Outback Penguin to do some more off-road camping for a year or two. We camped last year on the Gibb River Road with just a tent which went very well but we saw a lot of penguins and looks quite good for just 2. Can somebody tell me if it was raining and everything is wet when you go to pack up the camper does the inside still get wet. I thought it would be different maybe to the swan etc with the push out beds. Any other comments also appreciated.
We owned a camper trailer similar to what you are lookimg at buying. Had plenty of raining times in it over the years. A few tips:
1 Cover your beds with a plastic sheet. That way, if you do get water into the van (from wherever), your beds hopefully won't be wet.
2 Get some flysheets to cover the bed extensions. The flysheets give you protection against condensation dripping on you from the canvas when it is cold outside, and also give you some shelter when you are setting up or folding down your rig. I found that I needed it on the front because the roof on ours had a slight depression which pooled about 3 Litres of water. As I wound the roof down, it used to come forward and drown me every time. it only took me about 10 years to learn that it was going to happen....
We found that by doing this,we never has a wet bed or bedding. Make sure that you turn the lights off before you fold down the roof, or you may get local overheating because the lights may contact the bedding material.
-- Edited by erad on Sunday 19th of March 2017 08:52:44 PM
-- Edited by erad on Sunday 19th of March 2017 08:53:13 PM
Hi, we have never had any problems with the penguin dripping water. Ours is a 2009 model and I cannot see how any water could get in. The bottom section below the windows is all waterproof material. The next section is the actual fly screens with the pvc or whatever it is clear window which is of course waterproof if closed. The section above the windows is canvas but never seems to get wet as its protected by the roof skirt. The only bare canvas is a small section in each corner and between windows. As erad said you could always keep a plastic sheet handy just in case.
Just to add, we had a Swan for years, used flies over the bed slide-outs, and it had an awning (annex). What we used to do when it was raining was leave the flies and awning up when lowering the roof, this gave us a roof over our heads while tending those duties, rolling up the awning and flies when all else was done, so rain was never a problem when packing up.
No they don't have push out ends which is why we like the idea of them, but wasn't sure if they still get wet when packing down. Is bigger than our tent and most people we spoke to who had them loved the idea of how easy they were to operate if you were moving quite often. Our idea is basically to use it to do the Gibb again and other outback roads for a couple of years and then go back to our full size comfortable van .
It seems an easier option than a tent or fold down camper trailer for older travellers .
No they don't which makes them pretty cramped. Friends of ours had one & got rid of it because they were fed up with tripping over each other.
I thought they were the ones without push out ends. They are larger inside than the Viscount Nipper we had. The only problenm with the space in it was the navigator insisted in taking too much gear (much of what was not used) to store conveniently. She shifted it from one end of the van to the other twice a day.
There is plenty of room in those small vans if you are talking to each other.
__________________
PeterD Nissan Navara D23 diesel auto, Spaceland pop-top Retired radio and electronics technician. NSW Central Coast.
Been tenting for years and we bought a new modern type tent last year which does go up easy and we do love camping this way but the body is starting to say no to tenting so we are looking at the penguin being a tent on wheels which will hopefully make "camping " a bit easier but will still give us the freedom to go where we can't take a larger van. We may be wrong but we saw so many last year and they were getting the tick of approval from owners.
With our Swan, I found that it disliked strong wind, the whole top shook, and on examining the struts they were slightly bent, mind you we went through some pretty hefty storms. But when ever I set up and was expecting weather, I also put out the awning and walls, I found this stabilized the roof.
There was also a knack in setting the guy ropes.
Second hand infor, our friends have owned both, a older model Jayco Penquin now a off road model Goldstream. Both well set up with basic extras, a few modes here and there are both in there young seventies, stay in a lot of national parks, free camp and not shy about going down dirt back roads.
From what I understand dampness is not a problem, dust was on one of there early trips from NSW to WA for 4 months until they found the problem and where it was ingressing though.
I feel from listening to there adventures you will not be disappointed.
