Tell 'em to play safe & buy a Jayco. Reliable after sales service & they don't look like going broke any time soon unlike many ''obscure brands''. Safety in numbers.

Yuglamron wrote:

---

If Jayco are soo good, Yes they are the biggest producers in Australia.

Why are the ACCC taking them to the Federal Court over their redress and warranty repair practices?

---

 We didn't say they were good. They're crap, but they're way better than a lot of ''back yard'' manufacturers that come & go in the blink of an eye these days.

Keith,

as a Jayco owner it is heartening to see you recommend them ahead of some of the other mass produced vans, such as Avan, Coromal etc. Most Australian vans have issues, but many without the back up of Jayco when needed. I just wondered what experience you had with Jayco vans that caused you to have such a strong negative opinion of them "They're crap". Was it a certain model or optioned van you experienced?

Baggy,

don't be afraid to recommend to your friend to look at more vans, including Jayco, to get a comparison, and ensure they consider Silversun to be value for their money. I am afraid I am yet to see a Silversun, so cannot comment on their quality or value. I say SIlversun, as they were the target of your initial enquiry, and the models you mention appear to be their models, not Sunseeker Models.

Sorry Baggy Bums I haven't heard of those particular makes but when we were looking for lighter weight vans that were capable of being pulled with our then Kia Sorento the Jurgens appeared  to be pretty well finished and was reasonably good value for money. Never ended up buying one though as the size we wanted was just over what the Sorrento could handle ended up buying a bigger vehicle which gave us more options.

A bit off topic but as far as Jayco go in the 10 months that I spent in Oman I saw 3 caravans on the road all of them were Jayco Outbacks. I don't know if that actually says anything about the quality of Jaycos or not but I just thought that I would throw it in there as a piece of interesting trivia.

Cheers

BB

Untill I read this post I had never heard of Silversun Caravans.

Having checked their website they apparently started out in 2010 building motorhomes and then moved into caravan manufacture. I have never seen a Silversun motorhome either.

 They are saying all the right things on their website offering sandwich construction, Australian steel etc.,etc., so to be fair I couldn't say anything adverse about them.

A word of warning though, caravan manufacturers are falling like ninepins at the moment so be cautious and buy through a dealer, if possible, to give yourself some protection.

Baggy Bums wrote:

---

My neighbour is looking for a lightweight van for herself and the Sunseeker Pluto or Neptune look pretty good. Anyone got one, heard any opinions please? Were in the ACT and the ones for sale appear to be mainly in Qld so not a quick nip to have a look.

thank you

---

A couple of years back, I started looking at potential replacements for the Avan in the future. I was very attracted to the Silversun Neptune, and made arrangements to visit the factory (in Meadowbrook, Brisbane southside). The principal gave me a whole hour of his time, I asked HEAPS of questions, every one of them answered satisfactorily. I had a look at the demo van outside, as well as two inside in various stages of construction - nothing was hidden. I was quite impressed with the standard of workmanship, build and finish.

Another thing, if you want any variations they are quite willing to talk and negotiate - for example, I said I did NOT want the front window (potential source of water leaks), or a gas installation inside the van, but a twin 240v induction plate instead of the gas stove, and 240v electric hot water and 12v/240v compressor fridge.

I ended up NOT buying one, for several reasons - the 'boss' was not convinced to spend extra money at this stage of our caravanning, I would have had to replace my tow car, as the Neptune was a cupla 100kgs over maximum ATM and the ball weight for my existing Kia Cerato, and we would have had to spend extra $$$$s to have the carport raised 600-650mm to accommodate it at home.

However, in the future sometime, if the 'boss' passes before me, I'll probably get a Neptune twin single to see out my caravanning days. What I like about Silversun, is their dedication of making sure their customers are happy with their vans - they are in for the long haul, although there is no guarantee that something may happen to cause them to fold.

As far as being in the ACT and not being able to drive to Qld to see one, it is just the same as a QLD'er not being able to drive to Melbourne to see a specific brand of van that has no dealers in the Brisbane area.

Regards, Brian

Baggy Bums, There has been a report above that suggests the Sorentos only have a ball weight of 100 kg. There was no reference to which model he was talking about. The industry database we use quoted ball weights from  100 to 280 kg. It is important when you are guiding your friend to check out what her vehicle actually is.  Some of the later ones have a ball weight of 120 kg or 150 kg if you use the genuine Kia HD Tow Pak. I would take little credence of weights offered here unless they quote year model AND the particular variant they are talking about.

Please check with your friend and ascertain what the actual maximum towing weight and tow ball weight are. It would assist if you could report the info back here. You should be able to find the details in the owners manual.