Although not our first van, the '93 Jayco Starcraft is by far the newest.
(The first two were a '60s Modern and a '79 Newlands.)
Geraldine (wife) has spent a lot of time re-upholstering the interior, new curtains, and I have done a few updates & extras like 2nd LPG bottle, jerry can holder, 2nd spare wheel carrier, electric water pump, 12 volt LED lights inside, on-board battery, charger, inverter, volt meter, shelves in the robes, raised the bed to fit the Waeco underneath, 12 volt power outlets inside & out, anderson plug outside for solar or genny charging, TST TPMS, fridge fans, water filter,etc. etc.
The tug is a '93 80 series land cruiser with a mere 410,000km on her clock, and sports a pair of Poly Airbags to even out the load.
We have only done 4 trips so far with the Jaco, but she seems to have a lot of life left in her yet for a 20 year old
We are looking forward to meeting up with some GNs on the road in the years to come.
We haven't posted any interior photos of our 1982 14.5ft Viscount but some of the things we have done include re-upholstering the club lounge and bed heads, 'pinched' some of the wardrobe space to put a narrow shelf pantry on the outside, created doors to access under one of the beds, made new curtains, installed a new gas top and used the oven space for the microwave, added a shelf above one lounge end for small items, inserted a space in the bottom of wardrobe at the doorstep for a fire extinguisher, added a shelf above the drawers between the beds to keep the CPAP machine in place.
The outside colours of yellow and green we have kept but no way was I going to keep the lime green and brown inside!
-- Edited by neilnruth on Thursday 8th of August 2013 07:19:51 PM
Curtains with pelmets! How cool. Love the decor, Geraldine, especially the paisley. The whole thing has a most inviting look and cheerfulness.
PhillT said
07:46 PM Aug 9, 2013
You have done a fair bit of customising to make it suit your needs Neil, sounds like a really nice van,...as much as we like colour, Lime Green & Brown might be a stretch It looks great in the photo,...authentic,...love it
Geraldine says:- "Thanks for the kudos chopit, patrolst, neilnruth & GaryKelly, much appreciated, and what you said Gary is exactly what we tried to achieve,...inviting & cheerful".
the rocket said
04:42 AM Aug 14, 2013
hi, great setup. the older vans are homier and have character. our is a 99 jayco and its lovely to live in. have fun. cheers.
PhillT said
07:12 AM Aug 14, 2013
the rocket wrote:
hi, great setup. the older vans are homier and have character. our is a 99 jayco and its lovely to live in. have fun. cheers.
Agreed, and thanks
Duh said
11:00 AM Aug 14, 2013
Very nice Phill, I like the pull down frames on the inside of the Jayco, make it easier for some of us oldies to put the tops up and down, also double as tea towel racks etc when up.
I remember the factory in Osborne Park, also the Modern Caravan Sales Yard on the corner of Wanneroo Rd and Royal Street.
Jean and Alex on here (Scotia59) are or have renovated an old Viscount, they have a blog under their forum signature I think showing the progress, they live down Nannup way.
-- Edited by Duh on Wednesday 14th of August 2013 11:08:30 AM
PhillT said
11:00 PM Aug 14, 2013
Thanks Vic. Yes us oldies need to look after the spines, so I replaced the front & rear scissor-lifters with double sprung units, which makes it very easy to raise the roof now, & body weight (plenty of that makes it easy to pull down still.
The firs one I had came from the Modern yard you refer to, ...albeit a long time before I got it. (Right on the beach at Green Head in about '79)
What a beaut job you both have done to make your van a home away from home.
Your van will out do a lot of the newer vans that are churned out today.
I get on the vintage caravan site some times just to have a squiz at some of the work that the people put into bring some of these older vans back to their former glory.
Every time I see one on our travels I always do the head turn to have another look and if any are parked up near us in a stop over or anywhere for that mater I always wonder over to congratulate the proud owner.
PhillT said
08:02 PM Aug 16, 2013
Duh wrote:
Nice place Green Head, don't think you'd be able to camp on the beach there now would you? (other than the CP).
Roads may have been rougher then but not the crowds or restrictions you get at camping spots you have now....
It used to be great up there, had the place to yourself except school holidays.
If memory serves me correctly, just before Green Head you could turn right and head up a track for a few miles to the place where that pic was taken, Green Head I think, or just a bit further north of Green Head. There were a couple of shacks nearby. Haven't been up there for 35 years at least. Probably houses there now
The roads were all dirt with chunks of limestone sticking up everywhere,...rough as guts, but the Modern was a steel framed van, almost un-breakable.
PhillT said
08:05 PM Aug 16, 2013
herbie wrote:
What a beaut job you both have done to make your van a home away from home.
Your van will out do a lot of the newer vans that are churned out today.
I get on the vintage caravan site some times just to have a squiz at some of the work that the people put into bring some of these older vans back to their former glory.
Every time I see one on our travels I always do the head turn to have another look and if any are parked up near us in a stop over or anywhere for that mater I always wonder over to congratulate the proud owner.
Thanks Herbie. It is nice to see that there are a good few people out there who appreciate the older vans.
If you see us out there, please do wander over for a chin wag & cuppa
BriVee said
08:47 PM Aug 23, 2013
Love what you have done, very bright and cheery as life should be. Enjoy your travels. You are two talented people
-- Edited by BriVee on Friday 23rd of August 2013 08:47:41 PM
PhillT said
05:33 PM Aug 24, 2013
BriVee wrote:
Love what you have done, very bright and cheery as life should be. Enjoy your travels. You are two talented people
-- Edited by BriVee on Friday 23rd of August 2013 08:47:41 PM
Thanks BriVee for the kudos. We will enjoy our travels, and hopefully see you on the road somewhere someday.
neilnruth said
11:50 PM Aug 24, 2013
I've seen a lot of older vans go through town this week. Maybe people are realising they can still enjoy the good life without spending a motza.
G'day everyone.
Although not our first van, the '93 Jayco Starcraft is by far the newest.
(The first two were a '60s Modern and a '79 Newlands.)
Geraldine (wife) has spent a lot of time re-upholstering the interior, new curtains, and I have done a few updates & extras like 2nd LPG bottle, jerry can holder, 2nd spare wheel carrier, electric water pump, 12 volt LED lights inside, on-board battery, charger, inverter, volt meter, shelves in the robes, raised the bed to fit the Waeco underneath, 12 volt power outlets inside & out, anderson plug outside for solar or genny charging, TST TPMS, fridge fans, water filter,etc. etc.
The tug is a '93 80 series land cruiser with a mere 410,000km on her clock, and sports a pair of Poly Airbags to even out the load.
We have only done 4 trips so far with the Jaco, but she seems to have a lot of life left in her yet for a 20 year old
We are looking forward to meeting up with some GNs on the road in the years to come.
To the pics. (yes,...we like bright colours
Congratulations Phil nice looking rig, Geraldine has done a lovely job on the re-upholstering of the dinette.
Someone is very handy.
Well done.
Thanks for the comments everyone,....yes she is a very talented lady.
Neilnruth, I love the oldies too, partly because I worked on the Modern-Truline (Rothco) assembly line about 40 years ago in Osbourne Park.
Do you have any pics of your Viscount posted?
You would appreciate the old '79 Newlands that we sold to get the Jayco,...again re upholstered by Geraldine & outside treatment by myself:-
We haven't posted any interior photos of our 1982 14.5ft Viscount but some of the things we have done include re-upholstering the club lounge and bed heads, 'pinched' some of the wardrobe space to put a narrow shelf pantry on the outside, created doors to access under one of the beds, made new curtains, installed a new gas top and used the oven space for the microwave, added a shelf above one lounge end for small items, inserted a space in the bottom of wardrobe at the doorstep for a fire extinguisher, added a shelf above the drawers between the beds to keep the CPAP machine in place.
The outside colours of yellow and green we have kept but no way was I going to keep the lime green and brown inside!
-- Edited by neilnruth on Thursday 8th of August 2013 07:19:51 PM
You have done a fair bit of customising to make it suit your needs Neil, sounds like a really nice van,...as much as we like colour, Lime Green & Brown might be a stretch
It looks great in the photo,...authentic,...love it 
Geraldine says:- "Thanks for the kudos chopit, patrolst, neilnruth & GaryKelly, much appreciated, and what you said Gary is exactly what we tried to achieve,...inviting & cheerful".
hi, great setup. the older vans are homier and have character. our is a 99 jayco and its lovely to live in. have fun. cheers.
Agreed, and thanks
Very nice Phill, I like the pull down frames on the inside of the Jayco, make it easier for some of us oldies to put the tops up and down, also double as tea towel racks etc when up.
I remember the factory in Osborne Park, also the Modern Caravan Sales Yard on the corner of Wanneroo Rd and Royal Street.
Jean and Alex on here (Scotia59) are or have renovated an old Viscount, they have a blog under their forum signature I think showing the progress, they live down Nannup way.
-- Edited by Duh on Wednesday 14th of August 2013 11:08:30 AM
Thanks Vic. Yes us oldies need to look after the spines, so I replaced the front & rear scissor-lifters with double sprung units, which makes it very easy to raise the roof now, & body weight (plenty of that
makes it easy to pull down still.
The firs one I had came from the Modern yard you refer to, ...albeit a long time before I got it. (Right on the beach at Green Head in about '79)
Nice place Green Head, don't think you'd be able to camp on the beach there now would you? (other than the CP).
Roads may have been rougher then but not the crowds or restrictions you get at camping spots you have now....
What a beaut job you both have done to make your van a home away from home.
Your van will out do a lot of the newer vans that are churned out today.
I get on the vintage caravan site some times just to have a squiz at some of the work that the people put into bring some of these older vans back to their former glory.
Every time I see one on our travels I always do the head turn to have another look and if any are parked up near us in a stop over or anywhere for that mater I always wonder over to congratulate the proud owner.
It used to be great up there, had the place to yourself except school holidays.
If memory serves me correctly, just before Green Head you could turn right and head up a track for a few miles to the place where that pic was taken, Green Head I think, or just a bit further north of Green Head. There were a couple of shacks nearby. Haven't been up there for 35 years at least. Probably houses there now
The roads were all dirt with chunks of limestone sticking up everywhere,...rough as guts, but the Modern was a steel framed van, almost un-breakable.
Thanks Herbie. It is nice to see that there are a good few people out there who appreciate the older vans.
If you see us out there, please do wander over for a chin wag & cuppa
Love what you have done, very bright and cheery as life should be. Enjoy your travels. You are two talented people
-- Edited by BriVee on Friday 23rd of August 2013 08:47:41 PM
Thanks BriVee for the kudos. We will enjoy our travels, and hopefully see you on the road somewhere someday.