09 Jan, 2015

2014 BAV: Jayco Silverline

by Malcolm Street

Earlier in 2014, the Silverline replaced the Jayco Sterling, a van that has been around for many years and was a popular choice for many vanners.

Layout & Design

The new Silverline 24.75-2 is a handsome looking van, with its moulded fibreglass front, smooth walls and flush windows – an image befitting its top tier status in the Jayco range.

With an external length of 7.52m (24ft 8in), the Silverline is certainly a large van and, unlike every other van at BAV, our model came with a slide-out. The Silverline’s ATM of 3131kg and Tare weight of 2656kg gives its occupants a load capacity of 475kg, which is better than the standard allowance given to tandem-axle vans. But, given the storage capacity of this long rig, it’s something you’ll need to keep in mind when packing to ensure you don’t exceed the ATM.

Jayco has stepped away from the traditional aluminium cladding and timber framing technique. The Silverline instead has a vacuum-bonded sandwich structure of internal ply, aluminium frame filled with polystyrene insulation, external ply and glossy external fibreglass. And, in a departure from the rest of the Jayco fleet, the Silverline’s roof is manufactured the same way as its sandwich panel walls.

Kitchen & Storage

I believe, in recent times, caravan kitchen benches have generally shrunk in size, in order to fit in other features. But, given the length of this Silverline, that is not such an issue. The offside kitchen has all the usual items you’d expect – four-burner cooktop, grill and oven, stainless steel sink/drainer plus a microwave in the overhead locker area.

That still leaves room for a moderate amount of benchtop working space, good-sized drawers, cupboards and overhead lockers.

On the opposite side of the van, the two-door 190L fridge is surrounded by a selection of cupboards, as well as a bit of shelf space between the upper and lower cupboards. That area is also used for the flatscreen TV mounting, so that it can easily be seen from the lounge.

THE BOTTOM LINE

If your heart is set on a bit of on-road luxury, along with a van that offers a spacious interior, it’ll be hard to go past the Silverline.

It’s always interesting to note just how much space a slide-out offers in a caravan. But, in the case of our BAV vans, it’s also interesting that this was the only van which had a slide-out. Apart from anything else, slide-outs give flexibility in layouts, and alternatives to the standard front bedroom design become more practical.