Review 12V Energy System for Off Grid Camping
Jayco's Campervans / Motorhomes come with standard solar power and the JHub Control and Monitoring System, a network of control modules with an Android a tablet at its centre.
The Android tablet shows the performance of the JHub off grid energy system (12V) and water levels in your tanks. It's very high tech and while it looks impressive its actually too vulnerable for its purpose. But with a 2 YEAR WARRANTY for the JAYCO COMPONENT AND A 5 YEAR WARRANTY FOR THE FIAT DUCATO you get extra time to debug your system. Jayco has a huge agent network and has captured half of the Australian Market.
CLICK ON MORE TO SEE PIC's OF MY UPGRADE SOLUTION !
Jayco's Campervans / Motorhomes come with standard solar power and the JHub Control and Monitoring System, a network of control modules with an Android a tablet at its centre.
The Android tablet shows the performance of the JHub off grid energy system (12V) and water levels in your tanks. It's very high tech and while it looks impressive its actually too vulnerable for its purpose. But with a 2 YEAR WARRANTY for the JAYCO COMPONENT AND A 5 YEAR WARRANTY FOR THE FIAT DUCATO you get extra time to debug your system. Jayco has a huge agent network and has captured half of the Australian Market.
CLICK ON MORE TO SEE PIC's OF MY UPGRADE SOLUTION !
So, why do I give Jayco's Conquest FD19 Campervan / Motorhome only 3 STARS ?
I want to do a lot of off grid camping (Free range camping. Out in the nature. Don't want to pay $50 per night to camp in Lego Land while I travel Australia)
Unfortunately the Off Grid Energy System (12V) lasts only for about 3 days and then you will need to rush back to a 240V Power point. That is disappointing while you travel a lot while you see the sun shining, but you can't be sure that your battery is full at the end of the day. The charge can easily drops to half during the night, which borders on the red zone and isn't good for the longevity of the battery either.
But not having a full battery after a day of travel suggests a poorly designed system concept. The van would have benefited from utilising a DC/DC converter for AUX charging (smart alternator), a better blended charge concept and the use of a 140Ah battery (same size as the original 100Ah battery). A better roof top layout layout would make a solar upgrade much easier and less costly. And Aftermarket advise for upgrades is none existent (Jayco refers to their policy and Warranty manual which has issued after I bought my van).
A two year warranty is impressive, but I have spend a fair bit of time in workshops and unfortunately the wait time for a workshop appointment is long (weeks to months) and at Jayco Service they keep the van for days to weeks dependent on the size of the job. The whole industry is very busy. Advance orders of 3 months to half a year is not uncommon. Service bookings are typically required 3 months in advance.
I want to do a lot of off grid camping (Free range camping. Out in the nature. Don't want to pay $50 per night to camp in Lego Land while I travel Australia)
Unfortunately the Off Grid Energy System (12V) lasts only for about 3 days and then you will need to rush back to a 240V Power point. That is disappointing while you travel a lot while you see the sun shining, but you can't be sure that your battery is full at the end of the day. The charge can easily drops to half during the night, which borders on the red zone and isn't good for the longevity of the battery either.
But not having a full battery after a day of travel suggests a poorly designed system concept. The van would have benefited from utilising a DC/DC converter for AUX charging (smart alternator), a better blended charge concept and the use of a 140Ah battery (same size as the original 100Ah battery). A better roof top layout layout would make a solar upgrade much easier and less costly. And Aftermarket advise for upgrades is none existent (Jayco refers to their policy and Warranty manual which has issued after I bought my van).
A two year warranty is impressive, but I have spend a fair bit of time in workshops and unfortunately the wait time for a workshop appointment is long (weeks to months) and at Jayco Service they keep the van for days to weeks dependent on the size of the job. The whole industry is very busy. Advance orders of 3 months to half a year is not uncommon. Service bookings are typically required 3 months in advance.
My Upgrade (going to the max)
- Added Second battery under the dinette table
- Added Slimline Solar panels 2x100W (Coast to Coast)
- Added Inverter 1500W - fits under the kiddie seat
- Added BmPro Miniboost
- Added 2x Fans
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