Melbourne Owners

[southbound2010]

As many folks we have camped in most everything through the years. Only had one motor home which was a Class A, gas that drove really bad. We want to take some long cross county trips and from everything I have seen and read we think the Melbourne 29d will be the best choice for such trips. We would greatly appreciate hearing from any Melbourne owners as to their opinion of the coach and did you find towing a vechile to be necessary? Thanks for sharing.

[Oscar Mike]

I too am in the market to downsize from our Class A to a Class C, and the Melbourne has come up more than once in our search. As far as towing, I believe that a toad is an absolute necessity even in a smaller coach, short trips to the store, sight seeing, emergency run to E.R., and so forth.

[gdetty1]

We own a 2010 Melbourne29D. We tow a 2012 Jeep Liberty. The toad set up is great and the Liberty tows great and is easy to hook up and unhook. For our setup ( and being a Melbourne has limited storage bins) the compressor to activate the toad's brake was placed in the side bin behind the driver side. It just makes you redo and rethink things. I wish the shower was larger but you get used to it. I wish there was more room beside the beds but its manageable. I many times have problems putting the awning away but so far it was accomplished. I definitely wish it had a leveling system. But I had two scissor jacks installed in back (there's no room to install any in the front) and I climb underneath and use hydraulic jacks for the front. That being said we made 2 long trips this year. One to New Orleans and lately Nashville. Both towing the Liberty. My worst mileage ( and it was northern states gas with oxydizer added) was 8.2 mpg. The best was an unbelievable 10.8. Oh and when you park next to those A coaches that dwarf you... You can enjoy the shade. It's a nice coach for two people.

[cloudbuster]

We just purchased a 2007 Melbourne 29C and pick it up Wednesday. We are upgrading from a 24' BT Cruiser. It may sound silly but we're bonkers with excitement over having a dedicated bed. Our BT Cruiser was small enough to drive anywhere but we towed our Jeep Wrangler almost always. Our new Melbourne doesn't have auto levelers and I really wish it did. I'll be content to continue to use the Lynx blocks. Our new to us unit does have stabilizers in back, are these necessary to use? With effort I could break 10 MPG towing the Wrangler with the BT. I hope to see 9 MPG with the Melbourne.

[LI-Camper]

We also upgraded from a 24' BT Cruiser! The dedicated bed in our Greyhawk is quite a difference from trying to sleep on a small jack-knife sofa. We don't use a toad and have gotten by so far. Our Greyhawk is a 27 DS (28' long). Good luck

[mcnurlen1]

My husband and I have had a Melbourne 29 for 3 years, we bought a 2011 new, and we love it! We don't tow yet, cause we usually just bike or walk where we want to go. Usually to the beach or Lake Erie. It is a breeze to drive, as I love to drive it. If you can drive a pick up truck you got this in the bag. As stated above, the storage is limited, but you learn to leave the non essentials at home. The blinds I could do with out, we have gone thru a few, now I just learned to be easy when handleing them. The shower isn't bad, believe me, better than a bathhouse! We use Lynx levelers without any problems, I have been told that the levelers that you have installed aren't what they are cracked up to be, so we have not had them installed. We are getting an average of 11 MPG, trip to OBX, DC, NC, through mtns may be lower, but not bad at all. We travel with our doxie, Mackey, my husband is retired, but I still am going at it, hopefully not for long!
All in all, we love our Jayco, go ahead and get it, you wont be sorry. Happy motoring.