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Jayco Penguin
Touring 2022, Outback 2022
ShaneoVictoria, 3220
- 3 reviews
- 1 like
Great camper easy to tow fast to set up
We purchased our first camper recently and absolutely love it.
Our 2002 Penguin 13 ticks al the boxes, easy to tow, much faster to set up than campers with slide out beds, it’s basically a 13FT Caravan without the extra weight, ours weighs in at an ATM weight of 1142kg. We tow it behind a medium SUV Holden Equinox petrol Turbo, tows very well. Could tow it with much smaller non turbo cars.
Would definitely recommend a Jayco Penguin for anyone that wants a little home away from home.
Purchased in July 2021.
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BarbaraWide Bay-Burnett, QLD
What a Disappointment.
Well was really looking forward to my Jayco Penguin but what a disappointment. First trip out and 2 draws fell out and I had to strap them closed. Took it to Jayco to be repaired and on next trip out one of the draws fell out again and 2 knobs fell off the Stove. Managed to repair one myself and am still waiting >3mths later for a knob, thus making one plate unuseable. Also noticed that edge around table popping out and I am unable to put it back in. Like a previous review our radio is difficult to utilise as I have to lay on the floor to acce...Read more
ss it as it is mounted under the table. Well table fixed, drawer finally fixed and we head off on our long awaited grey nomad trip. Well it has been one fault after another. Fridge is level according to our levels but meat defrosting and portable thermometers reads 18.5 degrees. Lucky we have another fridge in back of 4WD. Ring Dealership from where we picked up the van and advised to bring in but as camped in the outback it is a bit too far. [name removed] tries very hard to find a Domestic Serviceman near where we are headed and surrounding areas but as soon as they hear Gas they will not look at them. Next problem was the lights they would not work and 12V plugged in. Plenty of sunshine on the solar panel and friend travelling with us has no concerns. Travel to casino as having trouble with car also which is sorted easily. Find a caravan repair shop who are so helpful, friendly and efficient. They could not help us enough. They checked and cleaned the fridge and it is functioning. On checking battery they found it completely useless. Solar panel was getting charge but it was not getting to the battery as wired incorrectly. There is a certificate in van saying that the wiring passed certification. Poor Qualuty Assurance. New battery and battery and Solar panel rewired and off we go again to our next campsite by the Clarence River. Well the van will not wind up it is stuck at 12 inches and cannot wind up or down. Rang Jayco roadside assist who said they do not deal with this type of problem and to take it to the nearest dealer. As we cannot drive it as unable to put roof down this is a problem. They put us through to the nearest dealer who is unable to assist until the next day due to it being 5pm and wanting to ensure that Jayco would pay them to drive out 2hrs to assist. We crawl into the van and sleep on the floor as we do not have a tent, this will be rectified. Phone call next morning stating that they will be out but have heard nothing more. Have contacted Head Office who said to lodge a claim with them via email for the battery repair and I will now be lodging another claim. How can 1 van have so many problems, I am so over it and it has totally ruined my trip I just want to go home. I have to mention the wonderful team from Watsons Jayco Coffs Harbour who drove 1 1/2 hrs out to Lilydale to tow our van back to Coffs for repair. They were unable to replace the cable system that had fallen apart as none in stock and unable to get from Melbourne until at least Monday They repaired and reinforced the old system and it will have to be replaced at next service. Fridge is still not staying cold when on gas and the boys at Coffs once again fixed the battery as still not getting power and no display on amperage meter. Also had problems with the ignitor ststem for the stove and had to manually light stove. On further inverstigation found that safety switch had been thrown to off. It is mounted by bed with no cover over it and when getting out of bed can knock with feet. Would I buy again - the answer is probably not.
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geoffmelbourne
Raising the roof
Reading other reviews will share our experience with the Jayco Penguin. We bought ours 6 months ago and spent several long weekends and longer travelling, without incident. Heading for NSW southern coast we stayed in Orbost for the night. Trying to wind up the roof 3 corners rose but one wouldn't. Fortunately being tall I was able to slowly raise it by hand ( its quite heavy) whilst my partner was the monkey grinder, and we jammed the support pole in place to prop up the corner. This meant the door wouldnt fit the space but least of our proble...Read more
ms. We were able to reduce it to lowest level next morning again by me manually holding it up as the other 3 sides lowered. Getting to Ulladullah later in the day and repeated the same process. Rang dealer to refer our difficulties, they referred us to a local RV repairer. We visited them and they said would look at it but we would have to pay; they weren't prepared to try and claim under warranty from Jayco. Due to other circumstances we had to leave earlier than expected so we agreed to return it to the dealer for repair and booked in accordingly - despite some suggestion it may end up being a result of operator error causing the fault we did take it back and the cable ( I think) was replaced without cost. I now understand from other blogsites JAyco did a total recall over the winder systems of the camper range (eg :Penguin) so I thank them for fixing the issue gratis. I also found the JAyco dealership to be very reasonable to deal with. Further issue 12v roof internal lights now not working - it was prior to the last repairs.! So we have to return it again to check if somewiring is loose or pinched or something. What have we decided: to treat the winder/ roof raising/ lowering with kid gloves . We will give it several more opportunities and if no further problems will depart on our long planned round Oz trip. Low behold if it plays up again when we get to WA or similar!!. If it causes problems next few trips away we will have to reassess if we want to persevere or look at other alternative vans. Other than that I can only think of carrying a small 2 man tent for out and out emergency accommodation. Better than sleeping in a chair all night! So that's our experience - would appreciate if other penguin owners have had similar problems and if or how they overcame them? CheersSimilar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
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Greg Davis
- 2 reviews
- 1 like
Never buy Jayco
Bought the van new and built to our specifications. Motorised roof didn't work, motorised awning didn't work, television antenna didn't work, sound system was positioned in such a way it was unusable (we are a couple in our mid 60's). Contacted Jayco customer service manager who stated "there is no problem". WHAT???? Television antenna eventually repaired. After two years I contacted the Dept of Consumer Affairs who compelled Jayco to take the van in which they did. The boys at Jayco Newcastle were great, repaired two major faults they identified. We are now travelling the outback with a van that almost works as it should, however the awning continues to jam and the sound system remains inaccessible. NEVER buy Jayco.
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HendoGreater Melbourne (Outer), VIC
- 17 reviews
- 1 like
Good budget option
We took our new Penguin around Oz last year. Most things performed above expectations for a budget buy. We had really no problems except for one major issue in outback WA when one night the roof wouldn't wind up on rear corner. Rang Jayco Assist but they were NO use telling us to take it to nearest dealer in the morning. Luckily the weather was warm as we had no option but to sleep outside in our chairs. After a very uncomfortable night we took the camper to the nearest Jayco dealer. They were so busy and told us it would be weeks before they c...Read more
ould help us. Great!?!?!? So much for Jayco customer service! They did give us the name of a caravan repair place that may be able to help us. Fortunately this place very kindly helped us and fixed the issue at our expense and we went on our way. No thanks to Jayco. Interestingly the guy said this camper should not be sold with air conditioner on the roof which we did have. After we got home months later we found a recall notice in the mail for the roof winding system. Too late for us warranty had expired. Except for this everything worked pretty much as it should and the Penguin performed well and was very easy to tow.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
RoscoEyre Peninsula
Built to a price not a standard
I have had many problems with my Penguin but keep reminding myself it was purchased for a budget price. On the road three out of four vans seem to be Jayco so they must have a good formula for selling vans.
The roof bolts on my camper broke, I replaced them with better s/s bolts but intend to add angle supports between the top of the raising rods and the roof. Expecting the small "gutter bolts" to support the roof is poor engineering. The door fell apart. I am on the 3rd set of shock absorbers the pieces of metal screwed to the plywood floor l...Read more
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tnghot
- 2 reviews
- 2 likes
Pathetic service.
I recently bought a Penguin, on the way to pick it up I received a phone call to say it had been recalled due to a safety issue with the roof winding mechanism. The Jayco agent have had the Penguin for two weeks and still Jayco cannot supply them with parts for the upgrade. The agents have been great keeping us updated but there is little they can do other than wait for Jayco to get their act together. With somewhere around 1300 CTs being recalled I'm not expecting to be able to pick up the camper anytime soon, really annoying. I got a...Read more
bank cheque and took out insurance on the morning I went to pick it up, still haven't paid for it and my insurance is just going to waste. Jayco can't even say how long this will take, absolutely pathetic way of doing business1 comment
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Paul
- 3 reviews
- 1 like
made cheap and nasty
Have a penguin camper. These caravans ate made from cheap and poorly constructed material. I will never buy a Jayco camper again. Many things have broken some I have had it
Latest, cheap bolt broke off main roof strut. Can't believe the garbage materials they have used.
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PenguinNorthern NSW
Fly Screens for the entry door
We are finding it quite difficult to keep the insects out of the van. As those who have a Penguin know the door is probably the worst feature. Does anyone out there know of a way to fit a screen or something similar so we are not opening and closing the main door all the time?
No fly screen on entry door
2 comments
You can buy strips of netting for doors or get an old filmy curtain and stick it on with velcrose
yes we went to cheap as chips and bought a $6.00 magnetic fly screen and fixed it to the wood for the curtains so it hangs over the door and when you pack up it just sits on top of the door when you l... Read more
atch it to the roof of the van hav eno problems with bugs as it is magnetized when you walk through it shuts back together a cheap and easy fix to your problem with bugs all the best WayneSimilar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
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robyn9985
- 8 reviews
- 2 likes
Good
We own a Jayco Pelican - it has a large front boot for storage - great!
We welded a bike rack onto the back for the kids bikes - great!
We added a poly tube to the A frame at the front for annexe poles - great!
We have some great family holidays - wherever we choose and the kids love it!
Easy to tow - affordable family holiday unit.
Gets hot in summer when there is no breeze!
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Questions & Answers
Markasked
Does anyone have the cupboard dimensions for a Jayco Penguin Outback 2018. Thanks
No answers
Wayne B.asked
I have a Jayco Penguin 2013, the electric roof lift won’t go up but the motor runs,manual lift won’t work either.
No answers
Georgeasked
I am contemplating purchasing a new Jayco Penguin (on road). I have read a series of reviews where penguin owners have experienced significant failures with the lifting system. I have previously owned Jayco campers the lifting system and cables never failed and lasted. My question is two fold (a) is Jayco using lower quality materials in their new campers in the lift system (b) has Jayco rectified the problem? I can deal with a draw not closing, or a light not working etc but if I have to worry about the lifting system failing on the way to Uluru that’s a different matter!
No answers
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tnghot
A follow up. We finally got the Penguin back and used it for the firt time in a trip to Clare. Easy to tow and setup, although the rear end of the roof was substantially lower than the front makin... Read more
g the canvas baggy. All went well for the first day, but on the second day the gas stove refused to work so we switched to the electric hot plate but that didn't work either. Checked all the gas lines and taps and found the gas was not getting passed the gauge. Dealer told us to hold the gauge in for a few seconds then release, wrong. Proper way is to pump it several times, we did and the stove worked fine, even the electric hot plate, very curious. For our second trip I was winding the roof up to pack and one of the cables snapped, not bad since this had supposedly just been fixed. To it the dealers and picked it up a few days later. I removed the inspection covers and had a look at the repairs. The snapped cable was replaced with a frayed cable so once again back to the dealer. A week later picked it up and received a long list of parts they had replaced, parts that should have been replaced in the first place. I wrote two letters to Jayco HQ with my concerns and although they couldn't bring themselves to answer my letters they did pass on my concerns to the dealer and instructed them to provide warranty repairs even though the Penguin was no longer under warranty. Jayco HQ also advised the dealer to pick the camper up as i demanded in my second letter. There are a lot of bad reports on the later model Jayco CTs, but most complaints seem to be aimed at the dealers: lackadaisical attitudes, poor service, woeful repairs and so on. I inspected the second lot of repairs and found the roof was 25mm lower at the back than the front, the dealer said this was withing limits - pretty slack limits, I got it to within 3 mm. Another problem I had to deal with was the canvas around the door frame was so taut it was tearing the plastic strip that anchors the canvas. Obviously poorly cut canvas. I fixed the problem by re-attaching the top section of the door 10mm higher on the roof extrusions which resulted in the roof being lowered 10mm thus removing the strain from the canvas, pretty shoddy workmanship here. Unfortunately, now I have inspected the roof raising mechanisms twice on the camper, I really don't have a lot of confidence in it, very poorly designed. I'd be lying if I said I was happy or confident with Jayco's products. My next trip will result in a little trepidation me thinks.