Caravan review: Jayco J-POD X | Part 1

We bought a caravan! You might wonder why we’d buy one with the number of new vans we review but not all of the fantastic people who work on Caravan World actually get to get out on the open road, so investing in a van we can keep, loan to the staff and learn from is invaluable. So, what did we get?

We got the smallest, lightest, canvas-free van we could from the biggest manufacturer — we got a Jayco J-POD X! And because the trailer will be used for various jobs like catering on longer trips and by a diverse range of staff, we optioned on a rooftop tent and hot water system for a grand total of $36,182.

Our plan and first trip

Not three days after we picked up the J-POD from the factory and it was off on a 5000km journey with some of the Hema Maps team on an expedition to celebrate Hema Maps’ 40th anniversary and to map parts of the Flinders Ranges, SA. Home to two staff, the J-POD spent more than 1000km on gravel roads and in the bush and not everything went to plan, which I’ll get to in a bit.

Heading inside

It’s a pod so as expected the body encloses a mattress and not much more, which is perfect. The bed has an innerspring mattress and under it, assisted by gas-struts to lift its base, is decent storage and the Projecta battery management system (BMS). I would like to see the BMS partitioned off within the area though, because in its current location it is exposed to lose items impacting it when underway. Our current fix is to have everything stored there in baskets or bags.

There is good storage to the sides of the bed and a very useful set of overhead cupboards that work well to carry day to day clothes. A pair of Sirocco fans move air well inside and fresh air can be let in via windows on both sides and a large central hatch which doesn’t quite open with the tent on the roof (we’ll look to raise the tent 5–10mm which should do the trick, and yes, this feedback will go to Jayco too).

Soft felt carpet lines a lot of surfaces inside the J-POD which helps reduce sound echoing and some light padding above the bedhead give you somewhere to lean when watching TV.

Inside it’s what you need — a great place to sleep and store gear. And while there's next to nothing in terms of internal living space, it's outside where the best liveability is.

Kitchen, pantry and differences

There are a few options in the J-POD range from Jayco. There is the Sport, Outback and the X, our pick. Only the X has passenger side entry to the sleeping area with the Sport and Outback making use of their rear hatch as an entrance and access to their pantry facilities. The Sport and Outback have kitchen slides under the bedhead while the X slides out from the rear of the trailer, under its pantry area. The X comes with a quality upright 85L Bushman fridge with a sink and stove in the slide-out.

With the majority of our team not having fridges in their tow-cars, the upright Bushman fridge was a major drawcard for the X. As was the Escape by Jayco 270-degree batwing-style awning that wraps around the passenger’s side, covering the kitchen slide well and overlapping the rear hatch to give great weather protection over the most commonly used areas. It mounts high on the side of the roof rack meaning there is a sizable gap between it and the roof of the J-POD so depending on the direction of wind and rain, water will make its way through. We plan to plug the gap and once we do, we’ll report on how and if it’s effective.

The storage in the pantry is decent. There are deep pockets around the fridge and shelves to its side. The bench is open and looks perfect for some modular storage options (a trip to IKEA is on the cards, we’ll update you with what we learn). There are general power outlets (GPOs) connected to the shore-power system which could be adapted to connect to an inverter but that’s a project for another day, if at all. You’ll also find GPOs to the sides of the bed and by the kitchen as well as USB charging points where you’d want and expect them.

Lighting is decent throughout with LEDs used in the pantry, on the side of the body and inside but not under the awning arms which makes cooking and clean up a challenge after dark. We’ll remedy that with a LED-strip kit already ordered from Teralume Industries (Hardkorr also do a good option).

Suspension and construction

The Outback and X are dirt road ready with JTECH independent coil suspension underneath and industry benchmark Cruisemaster DO35 hitches. The Sport variant comes with a beam axle and leaf springs and standard 50mm ball hitch. All three J-POD models are built with Jayco’s Tough Frame walls. This is a sandwich panel but not the style with fibreglass skins over a solid foam core like we commonly see. Jayco sandwiches alloy frames between fiberglass skins with a foam core. It is light, efficient to manufacture and tough with a hail resistant rating. Cabinetry is 15mm thick timber with interlocking sections to offer support.

On the nose of the chassis is a large storage box, big enough for chairs and a table plus power leads, water hoses and plenty more. There is a jerry holder for a 20L container to supplement the 82L under body tank plus a 9kg gas bottle to feed the stove and optional Fogatti hot water service (HWS).

Above the big box is a 200W solar panel that feeds into the Projecta BMS complete with an app to monitor state of charge and charger found under the bed and there is an extra Anderson plug to add a solar blanket for more charging.

Self-sufficiency

The 200W solar panel is the only real DC charging in the J-POD X with no provision for an Anderson feed from the tow-car. The 12-pin plug has a feed-in from the tow-rig but how many amps these provide is hard to judge but we know it’s not as much as a system incorporating a charger. For us that is not an issue as we didn’t option on the 100Ah lithium battery as we don’t plan to run an inverter, yet, and the roughly 50Ah of usable energy from the 100Ah AGM battery seems plenty for just the fridge, some LED, some light device charging and to run the water pump on summer days. If we feel the need, we might look to upgrade the system with an inverter, larger capacity battery and DC-DC charging system in the future — this is a learning journey for the team after all.

Another reason we chose to stay with an AGM battery was to avoid the need to externally mount a lithium battery as Jayco’s solution is to add a battery box in front of the driver’s side tyre, ripe for impact damage when navigating tough terrain. A surprise to us, all models built the same time as ours feature the same battery box whether they house an AGM or lithium battery. The fix for this is a bigger issue than I can see right now, as the regulations around storing gas near possible sources of ignition and the need to externally mount and vent lithium has us scratching our heads (speaking to Jayco, theirs too). A long-future option could be to rebuild the front box and move to a smaller gas bottle stored away from the A-frame and mount a battery in there. Again, keep an eye out for our solution if we go that route.

The optional shower is external with a rose on a hose mounted on the opposite side of the body to the kitchen slide-out. The Fogatti HWS worked a treat though the unit is not well sealed off from the inside of the body allowing a lot of dust into the pantry. A dab of Sikaflex will sort it out and we’ll raise it with Jayco HQ. To use the shower, a pop-up tent is supplied to position where wanted, we expect to fit a Darche shower cubicle to the roof rack when the opportunity arises.

To find out more about calculating your power requirements for off-grid adventures, check out this feature. 

Second room

We optioned on the Escape by Jayco rooftop tent because we will have staff using the J-POD who need privacy. Including the accompanying roof rack, the option is a bit more than $2000 and worth it. The tent can come off quickly with a 13mm spanner, leaving a rack perfect for carrying watersports toys or other lightweight gear.

We did find the tent is set a little low on the rack though. If it was 5–10mm further off of the roof, we’d be able to open the roof hatch inside the J-POD to the lowest of its open settings. I expect we’ll be able to achieve this with some washers.

Its placement from the factory is central to the roof which has closing the lid on the tent a bit of a stretch for some. We’ve moved it over about 40mm to the driver’s side to help. We would have gone further but without scales to check the effect on the weight over each wheel, we kept it safe with only 40mm and the expectation the awning’s weight will balance it out.

The tent is great. A hardshell-style, it folds out into an area almost as vast as the J-POD’s. It has a clear window in the roof to allow a view of the stars and decent opening windows to each side. The mattress is a typical approximately 40mm thick foam which could be supplemented with an inflating memory foam mattress (a popular trend at the moment). A nice touch in the tent are lights which run off a BYO USB power bank. We have talked about how to wire them in permanently, but a portable power bank is so easy and will mean less consideration when we need to take the tent off.

Towability and weights

A massive reason we chose the J-POD X is its feather-like weight. Without the options we added, the X can be had with a tare under 1000kg (ours is a touch over at 1018kg with the Foggati and rooftop tent) and an ATM of 1323kg. The allowable payload might seem light compared to what we commonly see on full-size vans but it’s realistic. With the 82L water tank and gas bottle full, you are left with around 110–150kg to fill the fridge, pantry and load your personal gear.

So far, we’ve towed the J-POD with a 2021 Isuzu D-MAX and a Ford F-150. It is a safe guess that you couldn’t tell the trailer was behind the massive Ford but even with Isuzu, it really is hard to tell it’s there. Fuel consumption jumped only a litre to two per 100km travelled in the D-MAX which is impressively low.

With its 1.86m body width, vision around the J-POD is great. With the Ford, we felt we didn’t need extended mirrors and with the D-MAX already sporting MSA Towing Mirrors, we had no issue at all. Height was more of a concern with the standard, non-tent equipped, J-POD X standing at 2.1m (6ft 10in), we were extra cautious in the tree-lined tracks in the Flinders Ranges.

There is concern about the risk of damaging the battery box with its prone location in front of the driver’s side tyre, but that’s not what didn’t survive the drive. We knocked the plastic tap off of the water tank under the chassis, a pain in the rear had it happened earlier but luckily for us it happened in the last days of the trip. We’ll look to fit a metal tap in its place soon.

The battery box did take a peppering though and is already looking a little worse for wear. Having done only 1000km on gravel, it is something we’ll raise with Jayco and remedy with a rubberised coating like a truck-bed liner.

What we learned

The J-POD is a great entry level small caravan/camper and although we’ve found a few things that need remedied it’s the right van for us and I expect a great first option for young Aussie couples, single travellers and families with children of the right age to stay in the tent on the roof. It came in at a great price with strong local warranty and appeals because of its ease of use for even the inexperienced.

Measuring up

Pros

• Ease of use
• Compact size
• Comfortable and cosy inside

Cons

• The exposed battery box
• Some finishing touches could be better

JAYCO J-POD X RATINGS

VALUE FOR MONEY

Only imports will beat it on price

TOWABILITY

At under 1500kg, nearly anything with a brake controller can tow it

SUITABILITY FOR INTENDED TOURING

For us it’s near perfect

BUILD QUALITY

There are some finishes that were missed but fundamentally, it’s good

LIVEABILITY

The second room with the rooftop tent adds a lot of flexibility

SELF SUFFICIENCY

Aside from no toilet, it has what you need without fuss

CUSTOMER CARE

A two-year manufacturers and five-year structural warranty give peace of mind

INNOVATION

Aside from the layout, it is traditional in most ways

X-FACTOR

Our staff are excited to use it which says the most

JAYCO J-POD X SPECS

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

EXTERNAL

EXTERNAL AMENITIES

Jayco J-POD X price from $31,490

OPTIONS FITTED

• Escape by Jayco rooftop tent
• Fogatti instant gas HWS
• Escape by Jacyo 270-degree batwing-style awning

Jayco J-POD X price as shown $36,182

MORE INFORMATION

Jayco Australia

THE NEXT STEP

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