Jucy Campervan Review: The Good, the Bad and What I’d Do Differently

Jucy fleet: Which one should you book?

There are two ranges in Jucy’s Australian fleet: the main Jucy range (newer vehicles, nicer interiors) and the more budget-friendly Chill’d by Jucy range. 

2-berth Coaster – This is what we booked. It sleeps two on a double bed, has a gas cooker, a fridge and a portable toilet, and it’s built on a taller chassis so you can stand inside. The sitting area/dining table transforms into the bed, and the kitchen is accessed by the back doors. I was really impressed with the size and my husband and I never felt like we were in each other’s way.

4-berth Crib+ – This van sleeps up to four, with the extra berths in a rooftop tent rather than a second internal bed (they call it the “penthouse”). This would be a good-value option if you’re a family with slightly older kids (who you can trust to sleep in the tent) or two friends who want their own sleeping space.

4-berth Condo – The biggest vehicle in the main Jucy range, with multiple double beds, 240V power hookup, air conditioning and heating. The kitchen is completely inside, and you can stand up. This is the one to look at if you’re travelling as a family or a group of four.

Cloudbreak – The most basic (and cheapest) of the bunch. It’s a 2-berth with a double bed, gas cooker and a mini sink, but no toilet and no standing height inside, so you’ll be crouching to move around rather than walking upright. We rented something similar to this when we did a Utah national parks road trip and it was quite cosy but a lot of fun!

Malibu – Also 2-berth with a double bed, but a step up from the Cloudbreak: it has a cassette toilet on board and a bit more headroom at 1.64m (still not quite standing height for most adults, but better than the Cloudbreak). Jucy markets this one for weekend trips, festivals or a full lap of Australia, and it’s got a bit of retro charm to it.

Big Kahuna – The 6-berth option in the Chill’d range, with three double beds (one fixed loft bed plus two convertible seating/sleeping areas), a fixed toilet and hot shower on board, and full standing height inside. It’s also got a 240V hookup for powered sites and air conditioning in the main cabin (not just the driver’s cab). 

Sunseeker – A 4-berth in the Chill’d range with two double beds in a “penthouse” style layout (one lower, one upper) and either a portable or fixed toilet depending on the van’s generation (but no shower). It also has 240V hookup for powered sites.

🚐 READY TO HIT THE ROAD? BOOK A JUCY CAMPERVAN HERE 🚐

Pros of renting a Jucy campervan

The freedom!

Campervanning is such a great way to see the country. No hopping between hotels and apartments or unpacking/repacking every day – you get to pull over wherever the view is good, cook lunch next to a beach or in the middle of a national park and wake up somewhere new every couple of days. There are so many awesome road trips in Australia, and I honestly think that doing them with a campervan gives you so much freedom.

One thing I should note about the kitchen: the cooking area in the 2-berth Coaster does require a big step up to access the fridge and cupboards, so if there are any mobility issues for anyone in your travelling party, you want to check out which van is best for you.

→ READ NEXT: The best road trips in Australia

Customer service

I was really impressed by Jucy’s customer service team and how quickly they responded to the two queries I had. I sent a question a few days before we picked up our van because I couldn’t see something in my booking, and someone was in my email inbox within the hour with the answer.

The second time was when we got to our first campsite and realised the fridge wasn’t cooling properly. I called the Jucy team, and they were on it quickly. They sent through a short video showing us how to reset it, which fixed the problem straight away. 

Ease of booking

The online booking process was easy from start to finish. I actually realised partway through that I hadn’t added camping chairs to my original booking, and it took no time at all to log back in and add them on. You can also complete a lot of the pickup paperwork online in advance, including uploading your driver’s licence, which saved us time when we got to the depot.

The cost

We paid about $1,030 for the week’s rental and then another $360 for our accommodation at caravan parks. So that works out to be about $200 a day – much cheaper than staying in hotels and renting a car.

You could bring this cost down by renting a smaller campervan and/or staying at cheaper campsites or free campsites.

Overall, I was happy with the cost for a week of roadtripping.

Pick up and drop off process

Pickup at the Cairns depot was quick and easy for us. We got lucky and there was no one else waiting when we arrived. I imagine if it were busy, though, you might need to wait a while to pick up, as it takes about 10-20 minutes to finish up any paperwork and run through how the van operates.

The staff member who checked us in took us through the whole vehicle: how the water system worked, how to turn on the fridge, where everything was stored. It was thorough without being a long, drawn-out process.

Drop-off was just as easy. We dropped the keys into the after-hours box outside the depot, and about an hour later we had an email confirming they’d checked the van over and released our deposit.

Having a toilet on board

Our Coaster had a toilet on board, which was very handy in the middle of the night. This meant we didn’t have to open the van doors to get out or walk across the caravan in the dark. (The toilet was especially welcome when we noticed a giant tree goanna sleeping in the tree next to us at our Cape Trib campsite! I did not want to trip over him if he was hunting on the ground at night!)

Of course, not every Jucy vehicle has a toilet, so if this matters to you, it’s worth checking before you book.

The storage

I would have felt comfortable living in the Jucy Coaster for several weeks or even months – there was heaps of storage space. The kitchen had lidded cupboards that we could fill with food and snacks. There was also plenty of space above the driver and passenger seats for our bags, and storage in the boxes under the sitting/sleeping area. 

You’ll still need to pack efficiently, but we never felt like we were tripping over our own gear or each other.

Not standing out so much

Jucy vans are famously bright green, so don’t expect to blend in anywhere you go. BUT our Coaster was actually white with green accents (and purple slogans!) so we felt a little less conspicuous than I thought we’d be.

But we still did become part of the Jucy family – other bright green Jucy van drivers flashed their lights and waved at us more than once along the way!

🚐 READY TO HIT THE ROAD? BOOK A JUCY CAMPERVAN HERE 🚐

Cons of renting a Jucy campervan

The many extras you need to pay for

What’s included in your booking is unlimited kilometres, a linen kit (sheets, duvet, pillows and a bath towel each), the basics for cooking (a portable gas cooker, a fridge, and kitchenware like pots, a frying pan, mixing bowls and tongs), standard insurance with an excess, and 24/7 breakdown assistance under Jucy’s base cover tier.

What’s not included are GPS, camping chairs and a table, and any reduction to your insurance excess. 

The excess reduction can be a big cost, and you’ll need to make sure you have enough funds on your credit card to cover the bond. Jucy has three tiers of excess reduction cover: 

• Risk Taker – the base tier, included at no extra daily cost, but with the highest excess and bond of $3,000 to $7,500 depending on your van
• Essentials – this costs between $50 and $60 a day, which adds a lot to your daily rental fee. It does reduce the bond to $1,500-$2,500 and covers additional damage
• Comprehensive – the top tier, which brings your excess and bond down to zero for an extra daily fee – but this daily fee is $65 to $75, which really adds up. This package does include an additional driver, camping chairs and table as well as linen exchange

We actually skipped paying for the extra cover altogether, because it’s quite expensive per day once you add it up over a full week. I couldn’t justify paying so much every day. Instead, I used a credit card that includes rental excess cover as one of its perks, so I knew that if anything went wrong with the van, it would be covered by my credit card’s policy rather than relying on Jucy’s. It did mean having to put the $5,000 bond on our credit card for the week.

The basic amenities

As mentioned before, rentals come with linens and cooking equipment. I was happy with all the cooking stuff (although some scissors would have been a useful addition), but the towels were pretty thin. So, I’d recommend packing (or buying) an extra towel per person and another tea towel or two.

Paper towel, dishwashing liquid and disinfectant wipes are all things you’ll want that aren’t supplied. 

Also, I think camping chairs and a table should be included – you’re camping after all! We paid for these because of course we wanted somewhere to actually sit outside the van when we were at a caravan park or pulled up somewhere scenic for lunch.

The bed

Sleeping was the one area I’d change next time. The Coaster’s bed is made up from the seating cushions rather than a proper mattress, and it wasn’t especially comfortable: the cushions would separate slightly overnight, so I’d occasionally wake up with part of the bed having shifted away from where it should be. 

If comfort is a priority for you (we’re getting to the age where it matters more than it used to!), it’s worth choosing a vehicle with an actual mattress rather than a cushion-based bed. That’s what I’d definitely do next time!

The constant dinging of alarms

The only real annoyance we had on the road was how often the Coaster beeped at us with speed-change reminders, even when we were sitting right on the limit. I know it’s for safety and I’m sure there is a way to turn them off but we couldn’t figure it out!

The lack of 240V power in some campervans

One thing I didn’t realise until we were already on the road: the Coaster doesn’t have mains (240V) power, which meant I’d booked powered caravan sites for no reason. 

Jucy’s website does list which vehicles have 240V hookups (the Condo and the Chill’d Big Kahuna and Sunseeker do, for example) – so this was entirely my fault for missing that detail when booking. 

In the end it didn’t matter much – the fridge charged up fine as we drove each day, we had lights inside overnight, and the nights were mild enough that we never missed air conditioning anyway. Still, it’s surprising that such new vehicles don’t have power.

→ READ NEXT: What to know when you rent a campervan in Australia

Would I rent a Jucy campervan again?

Absolutely! We had such a great trip and felt so free in our spacious campervan – although next time I’d book a van with a proper mattress and check the power supply.

🚐 READY TO HIT THE ROAD? BOOK A JUCY CAMPERVAN HERE 🚐

Jucy campervan rental: Final thoughts

Renting a Jucy campervan gave us one of the best weeks we’ve had exploring Australia.

It’s budget-friendly and flexible, and having your accommodation, kitchen and transport all in one vehicle makes it easy to change plans on the fly, linger somewhere longer than you meant to or pull over the second you spot a good beach.

A few things (the bed, the lack of mains power on the Coaster) would push me toward a different model next time, but the experience itself, and the freedom that comes with it, is well worth booking a Jucy campervan for your own Australian road trip.

FAQs: Booking a Jucy campervan

Where can I rent a Jucy campervan?

Jucy has six pickup and drop-off locations around Australia: Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, all based at the airport in each city. Unfortunately there’s no Darwin pick-up location. One-way hires are allowed, but there will be an additional fee and it’s subject to availability and approval by the Jucy team.

Do I need to pay for Jucy’s excess reduction cover? 

Not necessarily. If you’re happy to live up to the “risk taker” name Jucy puts on their package or your credit card already includes rental vehicle excess cover, you can skip Jucy’s excess reduction and rely on your card’s policy instead, though you’ll need enough available credit to cover the higher bond Jucy holds at pickup (ours was $5,000).

Does a Jucy campervan come with a toilet? 

It depends on the vehicle. The Coaster, Condo, Malibu and Big Kahuna all have a toilet on board; the Crib+ and Cloudbreak don’t, so check the specific model before you book.

Do all Jucy campervans have mains power? 

No. The Coaster runs on a battery system only, while vehicles like the Condo and the Chill’d Big Kahuna have a 240V hookup for powered caravan sites. Check this before you book if you’re planning to stay at powered sites specifically.

How far in advance should you book a Jucy campervan? 

We booked around six months ahead of our trip, which gave us our pick of dates and the vehicle we wanted. Booking earlier generally gets you better availability and pricing, especially if you’re travelling during peak season.

Is a Jucy campervan economical to drive? 

Ours ran on diesel, and even with fuel prices sitting high at the time, it was surprisingly economical – we only needed to fill up once during the entire week, plus a top-up before we returned it.

I hope this Jucy campervan review has helped you make a decision about which campervan to rent. Got any questions? Let me know in the comments below.

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Read next

Before you go, you might like these Australia travel articles:

• 13 Epic Australian Road Trips for Your Bucket List
• Tips for Renting a Campervan in Australia + Making the Most of Your Trip
• Cairns to Cape Tribulation Road Trip: The Ultimate 7-Day Itinerary (COMING SOON)
• Things to Do in Port Douglas: What to See, Do and Eat in Australia’s Favourite Town
• Things to Do in (and Around) Cape Tribulation

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