Van interiors
As mentioned in our previous post, we really are big fans of Jayco. This is our 2nd caravan from these guys. The Jayco Starcraft is a popular van, with the neutral tones, and great value for the money, it really is a winner.
In this post we will share with you the interior of the Jayco Starcraft. We will also let you know what we brought with us on the road and what we probably should’ve left at home.
The interior of our Jayco Starcraft
There are so many caravan interiors to suit all preferences. You have the caravan with the all white finish, ones with brightly coloured cabinetry, some with dark greys and blacks and those with wood finishes. The Jayco Starcraft has very neutral tones, with washed knotty ash cabinetry and cream coloured bench tops. The flooring is in keeping with a darker ash Lino.
As we live near the coast I brought a lot of soft furnishings with pale blues, creams and whites. We’re real fans of a coastal colour palette. Our home back in Perth has similar tones.
The bedroom area
The bed in the Jayco Starcraft 19.6ft sits underneath the window with a narrow wardrobe at each side of the bed a small bedside table. There is also overhead storage which frames the bedroom area along the ceiling. The wardrobe space is adequate for hanging a few items of clothing and storage. Beneath the wardrobe there is an area for a bedside table like surface with plugs for charging your phone. Then below that is a drawer with more storage, we have socks and jocks in this drawer lol. We easily fit all our clothes into this area and we did bring a good selection with us. The bed also lifts up, so there is a lot of additional storage under here to. I keep all of my beauty kit under here when I’m not doing treatments. We also store any clothes that we aren’t using depending on the season.
The bed itself is a funny size bed to be honest, it sits somewhere between a double and a queen. It’s wide enough for both us both sleep comfortably but a nightmare to buy bedding for. We opt for the queen sheets as we know they’ll fit, whereas the double would be a bit on the tight side.
Kitchen area
The kitchen area is a kitchenette, but we really do have enough space for everything. With 5 overhead cupboards, 6 drawers and 2 cupboards flanking with oven, we haven’t struggled on space.
The oven has a stove top with 3 gas burners and 1 electric. Below that is the gas oven which has the ability to be used for grilling, cooking and baking alike. It did take me a while to get used to cooking meals in the gas oven as the temperature settings are different to our fan oven at home. However we are now cooking some great meals in the gas oven.
The fridge is a good size too. It has a separate freezer on the top and the fridge is below. We shop probably every 3-4 days and we find the fridge is most effective on that. If you did a weeks worth of shopping you may struggle to keep the fridge cool enough.
Above the fridge freezer, there is also a microwave. We don’t really use our microwave all too often but it’s good to have there if required.
In the kitchen area, there is also a reverse cycle aircon unit on the sealing. This has been a blessing for us in the warm and cooler months.
Kitchen equipment
This was a hot debate when I did a post a while ago about the kind of food we cook on the road. I was told I was being a bit over the top with what we’d brought with us. However, I enjoy cooking and we would like to maintain our day to day lifestyle of foods we enjoy. Snags and burgers are ok when you’re away for a few days camping but we don’t want to live on that 365 days a year.
So this is the kitchen equipment and appliances that we brought.
- Slow cooker – small size
- food processor
- Pasta machine
- blender for smoothies
- a frying pan
- 3 pans of varying diameters
- food scales
- cooking dishes; pie dish, loaf pan and casserole dish.
- Sieve
- pyrex jug and bowl
- kettle
- toaster
- sandwich toaster
- induction hob
Along side the usual plates, bowls, side plates, cups, glasses, cooking utensils, cutlery, tea, coffee and sugar jars.
Even with all these items we are still within our towing capacity.
Seating area
In the Starcraft we have a booth seating set up. We really do prefer this over the L-shape seating arrangement. The table is also a tri-folding table, which creates more space. The only time we really have the table extended out is at dinner time. The seats have storage underneath also to store any items that aren’t used too often. We’ve got shoes and our first aid kits under here.
Ensuite area
We are thankful we have this area, it makes full time life on the road so much more comfortable. Within this area, we have a toilet, basin, shower and washing machine. The shower is of a good size with plenty of room to move about. There is also a good deal of storage beneath the vanity, with 3 drawers and with a cupboard either side. The washing machine sits in an area between the toilet and basin unit. We have a 3kg top loader which is great for keeping up to date with clothing. I did try and wash our bedding in it once, the end result was ok but you can only do one item at a time because of the size of the machine. All the caravan parks have a laundry and normally range between $3-$5 per load.
In the main, we tend to use the ammenities block in the caravan park for showers and so on. So our shower gives us an area to store things like the broom, small vacuum, a mop with removal head, Tilly’s large food tin, the rubbish bin and the mini ironing board.
We will use our shower if we’re free camping or on the odd occasion the ammenities showers run cold but other than that it’s great for extra space.
Additional items
We wanted to live like we do at home to a degree so didn’t just bring the bare essentials. We brought our tech items like iPads and cameras and all the things that go with it.
As for clothes, I had to be firm with myself, I think women do lol. We brought a summer and winter wardrobe. Although the plan was to chase the sun, we spent time in Tasmania towards the end of summer and we were in country Victoria and New South Wales through the early part of winter. We saw some very cool mornings of 1 degree and colder so we are glad we brought warmer clothes.
Also the fact we have a washing machine means we didn’t have to bring too much as I can wash things on a regular basis.
We also have a spare set of bedding on the off chance we can’t get a set dry during the day for whatever reason.
Tilly came with her own gear as well. With a selection of toys and clothing she was all set to go. We have brought a bed for her, but found some of the nights were cool so she now sleeps off the ground and on the sofa. We bought some cheap throws to cover the sofa with to protect it from Tilly’s fur. Although she isn’t a heavily malting dog, it just stops the fur from sticking in the fibre of the seat.
We have also bought a cheap clothes airer from target, that was only $10. Again just makes life easier for drying clothes rather than using the clothes lines at the caravan park. Which can sometimes be full.
Jayco
As we’ve said, we really are big fans of Jayco. We have felt safe travelling Australia in the knowledge that if we had an issue with the caravan you are never too far from an authorised service agent. When travelling, peace of mind is a top priority, so you’re not worrying about the what ifs.
Jayco have a vast selection of caravans, camper trailers and motor homes to suit all needs. To find your perfect choice head over to Jayco and have look. https://www.jayco.com
We have recently posted about the exterior and modifications we have made to our Jayco Starcraft. To read more on this click the link below https://www.chrisveeandtillysbiglap.com/travelling-australia-with-a-caravan/