Reviews have labelled the Jayco Jpod Sport an expensive bed on wheels but we are seriously considering getting one. A back injury and a recent foot surgery for David another solution to camping in a tent needed to be found. We are currently weighing up our options. To get tents, chairs, fridge, bbq and tables packed into the Jeep requires a lot of work for someone with a bad back. While setting up the Coleman pop up tent is relatively easy – packing it and lifting it up to a roof rack or getting into the car is much harder. Waiting for the dew to dry off a tent so that it can be packed up.
Reasons Tent Camping is becoming more difficult
- Limited space in Jeep – Packing everything in the back of the Jeep requires tetras skills and a strong back.
- Bending over to hammer in and pull out tent pegs.
- Climbing into a tent and crawling to get to bed
- Seasonal weather means camping in warmer months
- Waiting for tent to dry out to pack up
Alternative to Tents
- Caravans
- Pop Tops
- Expander
- Off Road Caravan
- Camper Trailer
- Off Road Camper
- Motorhome
- Campervan
- Teardrop Campers
In a process of elimination of the alternatives to tents we decided to focus on teardrop caravans. We are looking for easy set-up and pack-up, low maintenance and something that is small enough to get up our driveway.
Reasons for considering a Jayco Jpod Sport.
- Easy and light to tow
- Small enough to get up our steep driveway and put in carport
- Pull up to caravan park and open back of Jpod and thats the set up.
- Comfortable bed
- Protection from bad weather – can camp in cooler months too.
- Storage of bedding, fridge, kitchen/bbq, chairs which can stay when Jpod not in use
Hesitations with deciding to buy a Jayco Jpod Sport
- Inexperience at towing anything.
- Steep driveway with a turn at the top.
- Cost – Have to get a lot of trips in a year to justify cost. Staying in a cabin at a caravan park for a few nights, multiple times a year.
Visiting the Jayco showroom to see a Jpod Sport
It is hard to gauge the size of a Jpod so a visit to the showroom was going to either make us like or hate it. I think we instantly liked the look of it. It really is a bed on wheels. We climbed in and had a lie down on the double bed. We are tall people and normally sleep in a king size bed. The verdict was the the bed was more comfortable than our self inflating mattresses ( which we love too).
We got the sales guy to shut the door so we could see how we would go opening it. He locked us in and it was easily opened and once up stays open and provides a good shelter.
David is 6ft3 and could sit on the bed with his head bent (or with his head in the sun roof ). I can stand straight underneath the door when its open – however David had to bend his neck to avoid hitting.
Solutions to our hesitations in a Jpod Sport purchase :
Towing lessons – both David and I will have to take some towing lessons. We both want to be confident when driving, reversing and parking.
Steep Driveway – if we decide to buy the Jpod we will need to confirm that our driveway and where the Jpod Sport will be stored is doable. A Jayco staff member will come out and check out our driveway and make sure we can get it up, unhook it, and place it for when its not being used.
Cost – You only live once. Still does not make sense to buy a small teardrop caravan rather than multiple holidays over a few years, however to get more storage would end up costing much more in a 4WD upgrade.
Will we buy a Jayco Jpod Sport?
Still thinking about it seriously. Time will tell.
Update 15/11/2018 – Yes we will buy Jayco Jpod Sport!
We talked to many people about our steep driveway and got some opinions of experienced towers and they all agreed we would be fine getting a little caravan up and unhitched and out of the way.
So we went to Jayco for another look and had a go ourselves moving the Jpod around on the gravel and it was surprisingly easy. The top of our driveway is smooth flat concrete so should be no problems.
We pick up the Jpod in a couple of weeks. We had to get a tow bar and brake controller installed. Have booked us in for a full day towing course and lined up RACV insurance for when we get the Jpod.
Update 29/11/2018 – We picked up our Jpod Sport and towed it home!
We were booked into pickup our Jpod. The staff at Jayco were fantastic and did the run though of everything to do with the Jpod. We ended up buying a few extras which quickly added up – a blue food hose, a lock for the tow ball etc.
Read more about picking up and towing our Jpod for the first time!
Hi Megan and Dave,
My partner and I have just started checking out the Jpods, and they look ideal for our requirements. We currently have a hi-roof transit van which we use as a camper, and it is fantastic…….until we want to go somewhere for a look around, then we have to pack everything up.
Anyhow, I was wondering if you had any problems with your Jpod. (From reading your blogs it doesn’t look like it.)
Also the annex you use on the rear, is that the one supplied with the Jpod?
Cheers
Nick
Hi Nick,
We love the Jpod.
The tent that came with our Sports Jpod was in 2 boxes which required both of us to lift from memory. The reason we got the jPod was to avoid any lifting ( we were finding packing up the tent became too much) as Dave hurt his back a couple of years ago. There is a bit of storage under the bed however I am the one that gets stuff in and out – as it is too hard for Dave to fit in there.
There is a jpod facebook group Jayco J-pod owners Australia where we found out about putting a lightweight suv tent on the back. https://hatchaholiday.com/jayco-jpod-things-we-have-bought/. We have the bug mesh on, and the door flap up with the tent over it. It provides a bit of privacy and the dogs and a table fit inside this. We shut and lock the door when we go out on little trips. We have not camped anywhere yet with the door down.
I think the tent supplied would be great for longer stays and if you like putting up tents, for short stays I think it might be too much.
The Outback might be worth a look at too. Its got a different type of tent I believe. It’s also higher off the ground, has a gas burner added to the pullout kitchen and solar panels. Good for tall people. ( one day we may trade in our sport for this)
Hope this helps,
Megan
Hi Megan and Dave
It looks like we purchased JPOD Sports at the same time, but you have done a bit more customisation than us.
How are you finding the BugMesh? Would you change anything? I think we need to get some mesh before summer.
And have you gone to the effort of getting a custom rear tent yet? I don’t know anybody who likes the factory rear tent – we used our once and it is never coming back out of its bag 🙂
–Andrew
Hi Andrew,
The bug mesh has been great – we keep the hatch open and have a lightweight SUV tent over the back of the door. This gives us a bit of privacy and shelter for our 2 dogs, and protection from wind and rain.
The only negative with the bug mesh is that it makes it a bit harder to get your stuff in and out of the Jpod.. However it is better than having nothing there.
We have not got the tent out of the box – and never plan to use it. ( when we got the pod we did so because we didn’t want to have to lift heavy things – and just getting it out from under the bed in its box was enough for us to not want to use it. We will keep it to sell when we sell the Jpod in the future ( maybe upgrade to the outback!)
Hope this helps.
Regards Megan..
Hey guys!
Just found your site after spending HOURS trying to find out some information about the J-Pod Sport – public holiday here and the local dealer is closed. We’re looking to hire one (prior to buying) for a trip to Bathurst, but cannot find information anywhere about the OVERALL dimensions when it is all set up, with the annex and “tent” connected. I notice you mention you’ve not used the tent, but I’m wondering if there are any dimensions of it and the annex (joiner) bit that might help us work out if the J-Pod will fit on the campsite? We have four people going, so unfortunately have no real choice but to use the tent.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!
Best regards,
Steve
Hi Steve,
Sorry – no dimensions available. We have not even unpacked the tent that comes with the Jpod Sport out of the box. There are 2 issues with the tent – it takes up storage space under the bed, and is very heavy to move. It took two of us to lift it out of the Jpod. We have put it away in storage until we come to sell the Jpod Sport in the future.
Another solution might be to use the Jpod for 2 people and an easy to put up tent like a Coleman (see https://hatchaholiday.com/buying-tent-camping/ for some tips ) for the other 2 people. You can get some amazing tents now that are fairly cheap and simple to put up, and lightweight.
Hope you enjoy Bathhurst!
Hi
Loved hearing your stories cos I’ve just bought one. Waiting for delivery. And the negative feedback on the jpod was disheartening till I read your blog. I’ve got a dog and 2 cats coming with me so going to try the big tent on the back! Also going to invest in a bug screen for back door. I don’t really Instagram or feed back to blogs but grateful to read yours cos I have a steep drive way too and that could be interesting. But definitely going to do a towing course. Thanks again for your positive comments and great ideas.
Judy
Thanks Judy,
Thats very exciting for you. We love our Jpod. Tent on the back works well for us. Only challenge is if its windy! Bit tricky getting it all attached when its blowing a gale. We have done it a few times and survived. We recently had an extremely windy experience at Kilcunda, Victoria – beautiful spot but we nearly blew away in the night. Still have to add a blog post to Hatchaholiday when I get a chance.
We have also finally worked out that when we set up to put the dogs back in the car instead of tying them to a tree or something. Much better.
All the best for your adventures with your dog and 2 cats,
Megan.
ps. If you are on Facebook like our page: https://www.facebook.com/hatchaholiday/ to see what we are up to. Otherwise feel free to send me an email to let me know how you go and who knows you may have some tips for me!
Hi there.
I’m glad I came across your site. I’m at the point where I’m about to dive in to purchasing a teardrop camper and have come back to (I first saw the Jayco Jpods years ago but dismissed them for probably their boxiness) to the JPod Sport as my goldilocks TD. Two of the main reasons are that the fridge/freezer is accessible internally (you know, ice-cream! at night in bed reading an engrossing book) and there seems to be plenty of room to sit up on the end of the bed at a little table and in the event of inclement weather. I’m a camper of very little recent experience – my last memory of ‘camping’ was in a wind up campervan at Warnambool with my parents when I was 7 years old – I’m now 53 🙂
I have a doggie (cardigan corgi) who I want to take with me and I reckon the traditional TD’s may just be a bit small for my/our needs. I don’t have an ‘other’ to help set up and at only 5’1 reaching the top of a TD will have limitations. So the tent thing that comes with the J-Pod will be entirely useless so I will be looking at getting something more user-friendly for me and an absolutely essential porta-loo. A shower would be bliss but I’ll cross that bridge. So I’m about to start exploring your hatchaholiday site and thank you for your review of the J-pod Sport!
Hi Jane,
Thank you for your comments. I think that there is plenty of room for a small person and a doggie at the end of the bed. ( bit squishy for 2 big adults) When the weather is really bad we find we sit in our chairs rugged up within the tent area. We can eat dinner, watch some movies on the iPad and it is quite sheltered. We did have to go out on one of our trips to Daylesford and buy a small electric heater when it got so cold we couldn’t cope. It heated up the back of the tent area nicely.
I suggest you try and get to have a look at a Jpod Sport at a Jayco dealer, or caravan show. You can then decide for yourself if there is enough room for you and your doggie.
All the best!
Hi, we have a 2018 jpod sport and got a local canvas company to stitch a wall into the end of the tunnel that came with it which works well. I have also replaced the original Bushranger awning with a longer one so it reaches the kitchen.
Hi Chris,
Would love to see some photos of your jPod setup. There is a Facebook group for Jpod owners in Australia that is a great source of information with lots of modification ideas for the jPod.
Regards Megan
Hi Dave and Megan,
I am thinking of purchasing a Jayco Jpod Outback and would love to know how you both found the JPod. Was it all you expected? Did it travel well on your journeys around Aus? How was it for comfort and storage? What was the build quality like? Do you recommend? Any advice would be appreciated..ps have enjoyed reading your blog.
Regards
Jill
Hi Jill,
The Jayco Jpod Outback was not an option when we bought our Jpod sport – we may have seriously considered it for one reason. That is that Dave is tall and the extra height would be great. With the sport he has to duck his head when the back door is up. Having said that I can see that from photos of it that you need a small 2 step ladder to get up into it, whereas the jPod sport we get by with one step.
2019 we managed to get away and travel anytime we were free. It was great. We travelled to Beachport, South Australia from Melbourne for one of our first trips, and then mainly close to Melbourne. East Gippsland, Phillip Island, Koondrook, Daylesford, and Jamieson were some of our trips in the jPod sport in 2019.
2020 has not been good for our travels – first it was a trip to Mallacoota we had to cancel because of the bushfires, and now COVID19 has stopped any travel ideas. Along with this Dave looks like he has had a failed shoulder operation back in April, and will require more surgery once elective surgery is back on in Victoria. So I am thinking we will not be doing any travel in our jPod til next year now!
Comfort wise the Jpod Sport is great for weekends away. There is storage under the bed and on the sides – inside and out. The build quality is ok for what you pay for it – nothing flash. If the weather is bad – windy or raining you end up stuck lying inside on the bed. We try to travel in warmer weather however it doesn’t always turn out that way.
I suggest going to a show room and getting in the Jpod Outback and lying down. Have a go at pulling in and out the kitchen draws, and opening and shutting of the back door. If you are happy with that, take the plunge – travel and have fun!
All the best,
Megan and Dave.
Hi Dave and Megan,
We love the jpod, but looking a vehicle first. What sort of cars do you tow a jpod. We see the weight is just under 1000kg but how much more can you put into jpod to be too much for medium SUV.
Gary
Hi Gary,
We currently have a Ford Everest and it can tow 3100 kg previously we had a jeep Cherokee and it could tow 2200 kg both tow the JPod with ease. You will need an electric brake controller.
The Jpod has a payload of 300 kg so that gives you about 1300kg so most small SUV’s can tow them easily.
Dave and Megan