Jucy Grande camper: our experience

Is renting a van and driving around Australia as idyllic as it sounds? We are normally hardcore tent people, that is the way we have seen a large part of Europe.

In Australia distances are slightly larger than in Europe (understatement….), so just driving somewhere with the tent in the trunk is all a bit more challenging, if you do not want to be on on the road three to five days in a row. So when we flew to Brisbane, we figured it would be a good opportunity to rent a camper to discover the Sunshine Coast and the Hinterland.

Picking up the vehicle at the Brisbane Jucy office

Getting to the Brisbane Jucy office by public transport is not so easy. It is relatively close to the airport, but the public transport there is limited, the (almost) closest bus stop is 1.5 km away. The quickest way is to get there by taxi. But with a bit of creative puzzling it is possible to take the boat, train, bus and get off at the Fison St at Gateway TAFE, Eagle Farm bus stop, about 300 m from the Jucy office:

We did not seem to fit the average target group of Jucy. It felt a bit like being back in my old backpacker days. It made me feel 20 years younger immediately, as we were surrounded by backpackers.  But the more luxurious kind, the ones that carry suitcases on their trip…..

The Jucy Grande Camper Van

Here is an impression of the vehicle:

Pluses:

• you have everything handy and can just stop  for a pick nick everywhere
• all the bedlinen and camping gear are included (only chairs and a table you can rent extra)
• everything is accesable, so no preplanning necesarry
• which makes you very flexible, you can decide at night where you will spend the night
• the fridge was really keeping things cool

Minuses:

• The fridge runs on a battery and can not get charged via an electric cable. So you have to drive every day to load up the battery.
• The car runs on regular 91 petrol and is not very fuel efficient. If you drive further distances a Diesel car might be more efficient.
• There was a sink with a 10 litre water tank. We have not used it, so for us it was a waste of space, we would have rather used that space as storage space.

We found a cool film on you tube that shows the inside of the camper, unfortunately we did not make one our selves. The film is in German, even if you do not understand German, the pictures do tell the story:

Cost of Jucy rental and camp-sites

The Jucy camper was the most affordable camper for four people that we could find. From Brisbane it cost AUD 60 per day, plus AUD 30 per day to pay off the own risk.

For the camp-sites we paid anything between AUD 15 and AUD 55 per night. The ones close to the beach where the most expensive ones. There are some places where you can camp for free. With a van you can definitely stay there. There will still be toilets, but usually no other facilities.

Definitely hooked

We are definitely hooked on a camper van. It is a great way to travel around. You have a mode of transportation and a place to cook and sleep at the same time. The kids loved to be in their own penthouse on top of the roof. They felt like a king and queen in their casttle.

Unfortunately the costs to rent this van in the Melbourne branch are higher. What we will keep in mind is to look at the relocation offers that they have on their website, you can then rent for AUD 1 a day, for a limited time, but you can extent the rental by a couple of days at the regular prices.