Jayco's Silverline Range
In the entire range of Jayco’s caravan and camper trailers, the Silverline models are quite the exclusive item. One of the obvious reasons is that all the Silverline models have a slide-out, resulting in very spacious layouts. Another is the stylish interior design that includes leather seating, a look that positively encourages the desire to sit down and relax.
There are just four models in the Silverline stable, each with a different layout – the 21ft-3, the 21ft-4, the 24ft-2 and the 24ft-4. The shorter two models have an external length of 6.76m (22ft 2in) and longer models at 7.52m (24ft 8in). All are available as Touring or Outback models.
21FT CLUB LOUNGE LAYOUT
There’s absolutely no doubt that a slide-out adds considerably to interior space. Slide-outs give the caravan designer more options on layouts, including a move away from the relatively common front bedroom/rear bathroom arrangement. The 21ft club lounge is an excellent example of that. For starters, the club lounge is situated up the front, which is definitely a sign of a luxury van. The rest of the front area is taken up by the kitchen, which is made possible because of the rear offside slide-out designed to accommodate the east-west bed. All those design choices leave a generous back area for a full-width bathroom.
21FT FRONT KITCHEN LAYOUT
An alternative to the above layout is one with the bed and bathroom spaces in much the same way, but the offside slide-out is extended to contain both the bed and a sideways-facing lounge seat. That, along with the L-shaped dinette on the opposite side, makes for a well-sized lounge/dining area. The kitchen bench is located across the front of the van, which is convenient for day-to-day living.
24FT CLUB LOUNGE LAYOUT
Adding nearly one metre of van length does wonders for the interior space. The 24ft club lounge design is similar to the 21ft model with the club lounge up front, except that the bathroom has more space to turn around.
24FT KITCHEN + CLUB
The layout does bear a strong resemblance to the 21ft front kitchen, except that there's a more comfortable club lounge instead of a sideways-facing lounge in the slide-out. It’s undoubtedly an arrangement that suits travellers who desire something a bit different and has the attraction of plenty of room to move around, as well as a generous amount of storage space.
FEATURES IN COMMON
All the Silverlines have many features in common. Generously sized kitchens have a four-burner hob, grill and oven, 216L three-way fridge with the option of a 12V compressor unit and a microwave oven. All drawers are fitted with Ezi-Glide runners.
Except for the 24ft-2 variant with the larger area, all the models have standard-size bathrooms that are big enough to include a spacious shower cubicle, ceramic cassette toilet, ceramic wash basin and a 3.3kg top-loading washing machine. Hot water for the kitchen, bathroom and external shower is supplied by a Nautilus instantaneous heater, so no waiting for the tank to reheat.
Keeping things cool in the Silverlines is a Dometic Harrier air-conditioner. For those who like winter travel in comfort, a Truma ducted heater is an option. All the LED lighting, downlight, reading and strip is controlled by Jayco's touchpad system with several mood options.
Around the outside, the front boot is very spacious, and there is an option for either an external kitchen or a tunnel boot tub. An electric awning is a standard feature, as is a picnic table and a barbecue bayonet. A different option for those who like to reduce their dependence on automated features is a manually operated awning with LED strip lighting.
CONSTRUCTION
Staying with a good thing, the Silverline is built much like the rest of the Jayco fleet. A vacuum-bonded quad-layer wall construction is used for the bodywork. Aluminium framing supports the structure, consisting of an internal 3mm polyester-coated plywood board, high-density polystyrene foam for insulation, an external 3mm composite board and a fibreglass panel exterior. It’s designed to be dent-resistant, as well as easy to clean.
Supporting the bodywork is a hot dipped galvanised steel chassis, built with rectangular hollow section (RHS) rails and a drawbar. C-section steel, with a weight-saving punched hole design, is used for the cross-section members. JTECH Touring independent coil suspension is fitted as a standard feature.
There are several options in the electrical department for the Silverline. Still, the standard items are a 100Ah lithium battery, 200W solar panel and 30A charger built into the power management system. For those who desire more 12V capacity, extra lithium batteries and solar panels are certainly available.
Two 80-litre freshwater tanks and a grey water tank are standard items with the option for extra freshwater tanks. A little caveat here is the extra weight of the water.
High Tech
All the Silverline models have a feature called RV Connect, which includes the following four functions:
- Lippert OneControl® AU, a smart control panel that monitors water tank capacity, battery voltage, gas cylinder levels and tyre pressures
- 360-degree camera, which gives a view all around the caravan, which certainly helps with both towing and manoeuvring
- Smartphone app, which can be used to operate the electric awning
- Winegard Wi-FI extender, which captures signals within a significantly increased range and provides a mobile internet speed with 4G capability.
TOURING OR OUTBACK?
Although the Silverline caravans are available as either Touring (sealed road) or Outback (rough road) models, many features are the same. The differences lie mainly in the chassis and remote travel capability. They include the following: higher ground clearance, JTECH 2.0 Outback independent suspension, 8in jockey wheel, Outback drop jacks, protective aluminium checkerplate, offroad electric brake magnets, underbody storage boxes, 16in alloy wheel and offside solar panel input. Although the Outback might look the part with the extra goodies, both the price and weight will increase. The latter will be between 124kg and 150kg depending on the model.
TOW VEHICLE
All the Silverline caravans have a decent payload of 600kg. That does, though, bring the consideration of an appropriate tow vehicle. With the lightest Silverline clocking in with an ATM of just over 3081kg and the heaviest (Outback) nearly 3500kg, it’s heavy-duty tow vehicle territory for everything but the 21ft-3. Although anything under 3200kg might be okay for the 3500kg rated dual cab utes like a Ford Ranger and VW Amarok, the heavier vehicles are much better off behind something like a Toyota LandCruiser or Land Rover Defender. Vehicles with a gross combined mass (GCM) of 6000kg really aren’t a suitable prospect for the Silverlines and besides that, the heavier two vehicles give a more stable and relaxing drive.
THE BOTTOM LINE
There’s little doubt that the Silverline caravans are a great addition to the Jayco range. Although only four layouts are available, there’s still a good choice and certainly a very extensive options list that will satisfy most desires. Further information about the Jayco Silverline range is available on Jayco's website.
