MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: mrdenn1s on January 10, 2014, 08:59:36 AM
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Ok,
So after a bit of research (well...google), I think I want an Aussie Jay.....but there are so many out there
Can anyone provide any first hand experiences?
How are the trailers? How are the tents? Service?
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We have a Aussie Jays Big Red (not sure what they call them now) it was their top of the range mdl. This is a bit of a summary of my/our experience with them.
Quality - the build of the trailer was excellent. The electrical wiring though was a bit dodgy. The electric brakes were wired up to the tail lights, and the trailer plug was not good. Some of the pins only had a couple of wire strands clamped into it. The Austrack tent we have had a couple of issues with, but they don't use them anymore.
Service - I must say our experience with them was not good at all. I recognise they had a bit going on in their personal life out side of the business, but we weren't happy at all. It seemed that as soon as the money was paid and the trailer was picked up that was the end of it. I found it hard to get the wiring fixed and after a period of time they agreed to let me get it fixed locally rather than taking it back to their factory.
So would I buy another off them - probably not. Not really because of the product,but because of the service.
This is purely our experience with them and I am sure a lot of others had good experiences, but not us.
If you want any other info let me know. :cheers:
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We've had our Big Red (now called the Crusher) for two years now.
As lino6 said, the trailer build is excellent, quality workmanship IMO. It's a very well balanced trailer and quite light on the hitch.
We have the Austrack tent and haven't had any issues with it. It has withstood some pretty gnarly weather, esp in Tassie! They have now changed tents to an Australian canvas with gas strut assists to help with set-up.
As for service, we couldn't have been happier. I've since been back a few times for Jason to do a few mods to the trailer and he was happy to accomodate.
Of course I've done a few of my own mods/improvements, but that's going to happen whatever you buy.
So overall, our experience was a good one, and we are extremely happy with it.
Cheers
Matt
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It seemed that as soon as the money was paid and the trailer was picked up that was the end of it
I know what you mean, many trailer companies are like that.
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I was keen to get an Aussie Jay, as they are local, when I was looking about 18 months ago.
I e-mailed then rang and spoke to Jasons wife. Explained the one mod I was particularly after - access to the trailer from inside the tent via side hatches - not an unusual mod by any means, lots of side folds out there with this set up.
Her response was that Jason couldn't possibly do that. Lost interest after that.
Just my experience, not in any way disputing the quality of their build.
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I have got a big red also. Trailer will outlast anything on the road. Jason knows how to weld! When I picked mine up the electric brakes wouldn't work at all. Turns out the plug had been wired to European specs. Lucky I didn't blow my controller. I think they have since changed sparkies. He didn't use grommets either but not many other companies do either in that price range. Austrak tent is very good as is the all the extras, like water tank, hitch etc. Can't beat it for the money
gordo350
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We have the crusher.
Tent as far as I understand is not Australian canvas. They describe it as Australian spec. ie heavy canvas. One corner tab pulled the stitching which wasn't under warranty, and had it fixed locally.
Trailer is well built.
Service is average. We got a kids room included but it wasn't in stock when we picked it up. A few weeks later we had a message left that it was ready and they needed our address to send it. MY wife rang and was told we had to pick it up, so the call got a bit heated. In the end I had to drive from the other side if Melbourne to pick it up. This left a sour taste in the whole experience.
Currently using it at the moment and elec brakes fail half way diagnosed a break in the wire in the first meter after the plug. Dodgy camp fix and hopefully will work when I hook up. Will require the whole brake system with 6mm when I get home.
In tent there are access flaps to get to jerries / gas bottles so B&B could if had his access!
All up fairly happy with quality
If you get one, some ideas I would have liked.
Between the toolbox and tub there is a gap about 150mm I would look at getting a "floor" put in it would be a good spot for boogie boards/tables etc.
if you want to use the recovery /bike hitch for a bike rack get a second tongue to match your car as I found out they all have different distances to the pin hole give this to Jason and have him drill the holes to match your new tongue.
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We have a Aussie Jays Big Red (not sure what they call them now) it was their top of the range mdl. This is a bit of a summary of my/our experience with them.
Quality - the build of the trailer was excellent. The electrical wiring though was a bit dodgy. The electric brakes were wired up to the tail lights, and the trailer plug was not good. Some of the pins only had a couple of wire strands clamped into it. The Austrack tent we have had a couple of issues with, but they don't use them anymore.
Service - I must say our experience with them was not good at all. I recognise they had a bit going on in their personal life out side of the business, but we weren't happy at all. It seemed that as soon as the money was paid and the trailer was picked up that was the end of it. I found it hard to get the wiring fixed and after a period of time they agreed to let me get it fixed locally rather than taking it back to their factory.
So would I buy another off them - probably not. Not really because of the product,but because of the service.
This is purely our experience with them and I am sure a lot of others had good experiences, but not us.
If you want any other info let me know. :cheers:
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I have tagged this post so I can comment about the same trailer further to our experience above the things we had issues with for the tent were first set up at home all the spigots in the poles broke and one eyelet on the awning started to give out. When swapping the foam mattress for innerspring heard a ripping noise to find a screw scewed up through the base board. The storm cover that came with it (glad we tried it at home) was for the wrong size tent. So on top of brakes not working on the trip home or for a long while after and a lot of mucking around we had a tent that was not great and was brand new. On contacting Aussie Jays was told we would have to pay to post the incorrect storm cover back and they would send another (I don't think so) as far as the rest of the tent goes we were told we don't use those tents anymore not our problem you will have to go through the manufacturer. Austrack also didn't want to know about it wanted us to pay to freight the awning to Qld for repair didn't care about broken spigots or the fact the screw was up through the board. Had we not swapped the mattress I am sure swiping the back of my hand across the top of that would of been lovely when making the bed. I am not asking for things for nothing I am asking that when I save up my hard earned $$$ to purchase a brand new product that it is great and the after sales is even better because now I will not recommend them or their previous tents.
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You get your good and bad with everything, from what I've read on here and elsewhere overall they are pretty well built, if they have a new sparky then that can only be a positive from what others are saying.
:cheers: BD
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We've had ours just over a year now and have to say we're very happy with it. Can't comment as to their service as ours was a used one. I think that for the money they are very good quality.
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We have had our crusher since september and are happy with it. We have taken it on 7 trips already. We have the 9ft tent and have not had any trouble with it..it is strong and waterproof.
The trailer has been on many different grades of road surfaces with no problems.
The watertank we find we lose a lot of water out of the breather hole but am planning to cover that for travelling.
The annexe takes the most time to erect and we have found in windy conditions the vertical poles slide down a little. Also one of our horizontals the hook came out of the plastic it was embedded in. I will get a replacement from jason but am working on making these stronger.
I broke a pole in the tropical roof which jason replaced for me. Also the tap had a crack in it which was replaced.
I have had good follow up service.
Im happy with our crusher but wish the annexe was easier and quicker.
Oh and we have mechanical brakes which have been fine
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Im happy with our crusher but wish the annexe was easier and quicker.
Oh and we have mechanical brakes which have been fine
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We've also just got the 9' tent and fine it fairly easy to set up. I think the key is to not take the annex off at pack up. Probably 30mins from being unhitched to set up and that includes annex roof, bed made, kitchen setup etc. If we put up the annex walls etc probably add 10mins, but that's only been done once so maybe quicker with more practise.
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We are obviously just slow, we leave the annexe roof attached. :(
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Hi there. We have had our 12 ft crusher for nearly 12 months. We have been really happy with it. I tend to agree their customer service could be improved. However I think it's important to remember they are a small business. A couple running a family and a business. I think they are fantastic value for money. I would buy again and I think that's the biggest recommendation.
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We find that set up is only 10mins for main tent and mats etc. but annex is a lot longer. We don't leave annex attached as we have 4 kids and pack and huge amount under the cover
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12 foot tent. We leave the annex on and throw it over the main tent before folding up. I am getting better at setting that up.
We also have the kids room and remove that roof. To attach the roof I have about 1 metre of an old tent guy rope attached to the zip tag that is on the bottom side. I use this to pull the zip as i hold the roof in about the right position. Takes no time at compared to trying to pull the zip by the tag. I also put little loops on the trailer cover zip for the same reason. When I get around to it I will also do it to the doors etc.
for folding the main tent I used to spend a lot of time trying to get the roof bows in the right position. I have now marked the inner poles at the correct closed position. I then slide the poles shut to the marks and everything folds up perfectly.
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Do you have any issues leaving the annex on the with tropic roof??
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Do you have any issues leaving the annex on the with tropic roof??
We have no problems with that.
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Wow reading this reminds me of another manufacturer who dare not be named with similar issues and similar good and bad customer service experiences.
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Wow reading this reminds me of another manufacturer who dare not be named with similar issues and similar good and bad customer service experiences.
...funny that. I wrote to that manufacturer telling them I was not going to consider their product, as I couldn't properly research them due to "legal issues"
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Not sure aussie jays deserve that comparision. Overall we have found them excellent and great value for money
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Yeah i am happy with ours. As with most things just needs a fine tune to suit us better.
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Not sure aussie jays deserve that comparision. Overall we have found them excellent and great value for money
x2
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I certainly wouldn't compare them either.
Sent from somewhere on something with that tap thing
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Not sure aussie jays deserve that comparision. Overall we have found them excellent and great value for money
You sure about that. 5 out of the 10 genuine replies have issue some fairly serious. I have a lord voldemort and consider it to be similar to these going by some of the replies, value for money, not bad for the price you pay, what you would expect for this price range etc etc.
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I have been really happy with our purchase nearly two years ago (Big Red). We didn't have any issues regarding service/back-up but have had some friends who thought it could have been a bit better. My take on it is that being such a small operation they try to do it all and are pretty stretched for time and resources.
Sorry to hijack the thread a little, G'day Brickiematt - I see you have upgraded to the 9ft quick set-up tent! How have you found the change - was it a worth it? Something I am thinking about doing down the track. Did you sell the Austrack? Also, about to start the infamous 12v wiring project this year - have you got a link to your Big Red Electrical fit out; have tried to find out but not having much luck with the searching.
cheers
Jim.
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I have been really happy with our purchase nearly two years ago (Big Red). We didn't have any issues regarding service/back-up but have had some friends who thought it could have been a bit better. My take on it is that being such a small operation they try to do it all and are pretty stretched for time and resources.
Sorry to hijack the thread a little, G'day Brickiematt - I see you have upgraded to the 9ft quick set-up tent! How have you found the change - was it a worth it? Something I am thinking about doing down the track. Did you sell the Austrack? Also, about to start the infamous 12v wiring project this year - have you got a link to your Big Red Electrical fit out; have tried to find out but not having much luck with the searching.
cheers
Jim.
G'day Jim, how's things mate?
We haven't changed to the 9ft tent (sorry if I gave that impression), but we have been toying with the idea for a while now. I dropped into AJ's about 6 months ago to have a look at them and was quite impressed. The main differences, apart from the size, are the roof is a lot higher than the Austrack tents, and they also have a tropical roof. The setup of the main tent seems to be pretty quick, but we've got the setup of ours down to a fine art now! We came to the conclusion that the money would be better spent on the Pajero ;D
As for the 12v stuff, have a look here http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=19198.msg306688#msg306688 (http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=19198.msg306688#msg306688) or here http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=21840.0 (http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=21840.0)
Any questions just shoot me a PM
:cheers:
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MDS69 have you ever seen a Aussie jays. I'd hate someone to be bad mouthing a small business without having direct information and observations in relation to its products. We looked at a number of relatively inexpensive. In our opinion aussie jays was the best of the bunch. At that price range nothing will be perfect but we are very happy with ours a year on
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MDS69 have you ever seen a Aussie jays. I'd hate someone to be bad mouthing a small business without having direct information and observations in relation to its products. We looked at a number of relatively inexpensive. In our opinion aussie jays was the best of the bunch. At that price range nothing will be perfect but we are very happy with ours a year on
My thoughts exactly. For the $'s spent I think I could've got far worse and that's not to imply that I have any negatives in regards to them.
Sent from the machine that goes..... Bing!
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My thoughts exactly. For the $'s spent I think I could've got far worse and that's not to imply that I have any negatives in regards to them.
Sent from the machine that goes..... Bing!
Yes and I have heard people who have ended up with much worse too perhaps bit less $$ spent. Ours were honest posts about what occurred with our purchase. With the brakes it was disappointing to hear that he was already having trouble with that auto elec but still used him. As said trailer itself great build quality. Our reasons for not buying another through them. 1 after sales service 2 much more knowledge now from myswag on all different set ups 3 we dont need another or have $ for one. I think people should where possible see any product before buying. I have not heard of any real failings with aussie jays trailers (as I have read about some others) and sounds like people with the new style tent like them maybe we were unlucky with our tent.
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You sure about that. 5 out of the 10 genuine replies have issue some fairly serious. I have a lord voldemort and consider it to be similar to these going by some of the replies, value for money, not bad for the price you pay, what you would expect for this price range etc etc.
I count 3...
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Had my Aussie Jays for over two and a half years now (Big Red) and still happy with it. I get the chance to see a lot of camper trailers on tracks and off and Jasons are extremely well built. I got and still get good service from them since I purchased. Very happy camper here. My Aussie Jays report on another forum! http://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=17770 (http://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=17770)
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We have a big red and had it for nearly 3 years now, we have been travelling full time for nearly 2 years.
The trailer manufacture is outstanding and for most campers it's the most important part. You never see anyone pulling the tent off to replace the trailer do you ?
That's the Aussie jays bit and it's a cracker for the money. We looked around for over a year before buying this one. The tent was an austrak and although it's good we had trouble with mould in the tropics and austrac we're useless and didn't give a toss, Rebecca was very helpful with some advice.
I have had the wiring break under the trailer but wasn't holding anything but 1000s of km of gravel and dirt roads responsible. The brakes ( mechanical) have done their job, the trailer has never failed and we are on our 2nd set of brake pads now. Jason modified our water tank, added a few tie down points for our motorbike and I found them both nothing but extremely helpful and great to deal with.
Somebody said earlier they wanted hatches cut out the side for access......that's not a modification it's a complete redesign so I understand why it was declined.
We have been everywhere in ours and had no dramas with the trailer, we live in it with 3 kids and we love it.
The trailer is built to last and we have no doubts on it's reliability.
The service we got was above and beyond and even so long after our purchase we still get great help and service when we are in the area and was even offered to have the trailer looked over by Jason to see how it was handling as we , I think , have taken this further than any other of his customers.
We could not recommend them highly enough.
They changed from austrac to their own tent, and even had their design copied as it's so good. These guys give a stuff about their ongoing trailers and tents, and there is only 2 of them. The bits that are failing with some setups are not in the Aussie Jay part but a 3rd party component which yes could be better but then drive the price up.
We love ours
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/18/zatetu6a.jpg)
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That is very pleasing to hear lilstookie. I have been wondering how it would go after many kms of corregations, particularly the 7 leaf suspension.
Can i ask what mod you had done to the watertank?
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Also would be very interested to hear jasons report after his inspection if you wouldnt mind sharing.
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We had an 80ltr food grade water tank fitted. It was bigger than the one it came with.
I also made a 40 ltr water tank for the front of the trailer made from 100mm storm water pipe. The trailer used to carry my Suzuki 650 motorbike but we are downgrading to a mustering bike.
I have to say I was really impressed at the flogging this trailer has taken on the dirt roads and it's done ALOT of dirt roads.
At the time of getting Jason to look over the trailer we couldn't wait around in Melbourne and had to leave before he could get a look. He was busy finalising trailer for Xmas orders and couldn't fit us in as we left Melbourne a few days later.
I think the paintwork could do with a spruce up on the front..(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/18/ypazu5yr.jpg)
That's the water tank I made to fit behind the storage box.
And we have 2 push bikes that go on top of the storage box.
The trailer has done about 30,000km or more like this and never had an issue with the motorbike on the back and pushies on the front......for all the doubters when we left a few years back it's still going strong and never missed a beat.
You don't have to spend $20,000 + to feel as though your getting quality.
We will swap our tent over to an Aussie Jay one when we have the time and this one has had it.
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