New Jay Feather 25BH

[sennister]

Hello Everyone.

Two weeks ago we went to the RV show in Minneapolis and placed a down payment on a 2017 Jay Feather 25BH. We dropped off our trade (1999 Dutchmen 22) completed the paperwork and remaining down payment.

Our road is about a foot deep mud right now so we are not in a hurry to pick it up and have scheduled our walk through for late March.

Initially I wanted to take a look at the Jay Feather 23BHM. We wanted something bigger than the Dutchmen we were trading in but not so big that we had to replace our tow vehicle. We liked the outdoor kitchen of the 25BH and it was the same price as the 23BHM. Where we normally camp it is boondocking so the idea of keeping as much heat out of the camper in the summer the better. The 25BH isn't that much heavier and our 2011 Yukon Denali is rated to tow 8100# which we are well away from. Even if we hit the max trailer weight we are still fine on the combined weight.

The one we went with has the following options:

Copper Interior
Customer Value Package - I think they all have this...
Sink Cover
32" TV
15K AC - Not really an upgrade as I need a bigger generator now...
Electric Tongue Jack
Enclosed/Insulated Underbelly
Aluminum Rims
Outside Kitchen - won't get much use of fridge unless on generator or in a park.
Exterior Grill
Roof Ladder
Tri-Fold Sofa

I think the only option it didn't have was the A frame bike rack which would be nice and EZ Breeze Powered Roof Vent.

About that roof vent, is that just a different powered vent replacing the fan in the bathroom or is it in the main part of the camper somewhere?

I am now debating on if I go with a dual 12V or dual Golf Cart Battery setup. I get a lot of the pros and cons with either system. Leaning toward dual 12V with a selector switch so I can select A-B-Both-Off for a bit more flexibility.

[Mustang65]

CONGRATULATIONS on the JAYCO!!!

...and WELCOME TO JOF!!! The members here are GREAT!!! There is a lot of GREAT information to be found here. I am sure that you will have information and pictures to share with us... so please do!!

Batteries, there are pros and cons for either way you go. There are as many opinions as there are members. Most of the die-hard dry-campers go with the (2) 6 volt deep cycle batteries (Trojan T105's)... more Ah for the buck. As for switching between batteries, that is not a great idea. If your total Ah between all 3 batteries is 300Ah whether you do them one at a time or stay connected with all 3, you still only have 300Ah. Just remember that if the battery Ah rating that is printed on the side of the battery says 100Ah, you can only use 50Ah, the 50% rule. Charging batteries that are at different levels usually causes problems in terms of equal battery charging.

Click on the JOF RVing with SOLAR link below, there is a lot of battery information for you to look over, and pick up an inexpensive Digital Voltage Display (see below) so you know when your batteries reach 12.0VDC, so you can start shutting down your DC loads to save the battery(s)

Don

My Registry

RVing with SOLAR

[oldmanAZ]

Hello to you. Congratulations on the Jay Feather and welcome to the forum.

[sennister]

Hmm I hadn't thought of the different load.

Here was my thought and maybe it would be better for another more dedicated section.

I use a CPAP and with the old camper we didn't go out much as it was a tight fit for our family of 4. So I would just deal with either running on a generator or skip using the CPAP. With the kids (8-11) we want to get out more which spurred the new camper before they get much older. I was thinking that for the most part we are going to camp at a spot that a family member offered to us to use more which is where we would camp in the past. This is just getting away for the weekend so we are looking at 2 nights and that I might be able to get by with an inverter for those weekends. All the power stuff (tongue jack, slide, awning) are great but I need to make sure I have either enough power in reserve to run those things or be able to run them off the truck's 40A power. That is why I was considering the A/B/Both switch. It wasn't a concern with our old camper that didn't have anything power.

Of course since we have a 2017 it is prepped for Solar but that doesn't mean much from what I read. It kind of sounds like it is little more than a 2 pin SAE port for the wires to plug in. I don't think there is a charge controller but I may pickup a 100W panel as anything will help. The camper is 100% LED for the lights which will cut down on the draw.

Of course if it is going to be a hot weekend and we want AC we will either borrow my in-law's 2000w Honda Inverter with companion or take our 3000w Yamaha but I have to see if that is big enough to run the 15K AC. It kind of looks like it is just on the line if it is big enough.

It seems like these battery discussions are like oil discussions in the motorcycle forums. Everyone has their opinion on what is best. I have a golf cart so I have used them and get that they are true deep cycle. But the camper will come with one battery so it is half the initial cost. I will match the battery with another identical battery. I can always go to GC batteries later if the 12V is close but not quite there in terms of capacity. The big disadvantage to 6V is if one goes bad (not that likely with good maint) you don't have 12V and might get stuck with all these powered options. Though I could just borrow a battery or get by off truck power to get home.

It kind of comes down to what direction am I better off going. Ball park lets say it will cost another $140 or so to buy two CG batteries compared to buying one additional 12V. I could take that $140 and get a 100w panel off Amazon and while I would have more capacity with the GC battery, I would have silent charging ability to make up some of the consumption with the panel. I get I won't have 100W all day long but on average it will help extend my use.

I don't see us camping at this location much if the weather isn't good. It is right along a small river and when it rains a lot the camping area floods which is why there are no hookups and we can't leave the camper there. So if we are there the panel should provide pretty good power and while it may not cover all consumption it might make up the difference where it is a better bang for my dollar vs a GC battery set up.

[Mustang65]

The average loads of a CPAP machine are in the area of 5 Amps DC. if you sleep 8 hours your using about 40Ah. The standard RV/Marine inexpensive battery that is installed on most TT's is the interstate 85Ah (or equivalent model), of which you can only use 1/2 of the Ah (about 40Ah). If you purchase a second battery (should be identical to the first as far as Ah rating, mfr and close to the same manufactured date on the batteries as possible) you now have about 85Ah for 2 days. Without any generator or SOLAR you do not have any battery power for anything else. With 2 T105's you will get 3 days out of the batteries. Throw in a cold night that needs hear and you are then given the option to either use the CPAP machine or heat.

If you can, and your CPAP machine is a 12VDC model (check the transformer) power it directly off your batteries, as it will use less energy that converting 12VDC to 110VAC and back down to 12VDC to power the unit. That is what I did to mine. If you need to run it off of 110VAC, then I would buy a small output inverter (about 300 watts) just for the CPAP.

SOLAR is great as long as the SOLAR panel will be in the direct sun light ALL day long with no shade, clouds, or rainy days. I do not recommend any SOLAR setup less than 200 Watts. Why you may ask, there are clouds, rainy days, and the angle of the sun as seasons change. With my 250Watt panel and MPPT SOLAR charge controller, come September and later (not here in FL) but up north, the amount of power from the panel drops, so in September and October up north I am just about breaking even.

Only use the slide, tongue jack.... when plugged into the TV, this will save your battery power.

Good Luck,

Don

[sennister]

I have a ResMed S9 and don't plan on using the humidifier which will save power. Normally I don't use that in the summer anyhow. I can get a 12v power supply for it that runs about $100. That helps with the estimates on draw as I was kind of guessing at that. I kind of figured that it would pull more power going through an inverter rather than going from DC to AC and back to DC. That said, I do have a small 100watt one that is for a laptop that I can use to keep power draw to a minimum.

I do need to see what they mean by the camper is solar ready. Like I mentioned I think it is little more than a 2 pin SAE connector on the A Frame to the battery. That is all that stood out to me. Once I can get it home and read up more on it I will see what there is for info. I will look into this option more. I really just started looking at it.

We are mainly going to be camping from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Those bigger longer weekends there are more people on the site so generator use is up and we will just join in and power isn't an issue. Even if we took the generator, it would be nice to be able to run it for a bit during the day rather than while people are sleeping. Like I said it isn't a huge deal if I skip the use here and there. Because of the time of year we will have longer hours of sunlight up here. Though for a portion of the morning it is going to be in the shade. From noon on we will have good sun until it sets over the corn fields to the west of the camp site.

I do know that the RV dealer said they use Interstate Batteries but they didn't say the size. I might just pick up a second one from them so they match.

[bondo303]

Congratulations on the new Jay Feather. We have a 2017 as well that we got in September. Ours has the granola interior. We have every option you have plus the roof vent. We bought what was on the dealer's lot. Did not get the bike rack. To answer your question, the roof vent is in the kitchen. Enjoy, you will love it.

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[sennister]

Originally Posted by bondo303

Congratulations on the new Jay Feather. We have a 2017 as well that we got in September. Ours has the granola interior. We have every option you have plus the roof vent. We bought what was on the dealer's lot. Did not get the bike rack. To answer your question, the roof vent is in the kitchen. Enjoy, you will love it.

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Hmm I wonder why they don't seem to put that fan in more of them. I know my dealer chain (3 dealer locations) had 5 or 6 25BH campers to pick from. For the most part they were all equipped about the same. Though I have read that some times the options that a camper have are a result of parts on hand so maybe the dealer ordered a batch of them and they were out of fans. For $75 it is kind of a small upgrade. Or they assume people are just going to run the AC assuming they have power. The main differences in the units were color combinations, only two of them had the tri-fold couch and maybe the bumper grill was on some and not others. Our old camper had the jackknife style and we didn't find it very comfortable to sit on. The camper at the show is the one we ended up buying and it had the tri-fold. We did sit in a jack knife sofa on I think a White Hawk or one of the other Jayco campers and found the same issues with our old camper. The back was too straight for us. That and being a love seat it isn't like it can be used for anyone but a kid. Heck I don't know that my 8 year old could lay down on it.

I kind of wanted Granola but the only one they had didn't have the tri-fold sofa and every unit they had was the same price so we were getting a nicer sofa for the same money.

Have you looked at adding a hitch on your camper? Once we pick it up I want to take measurements for adding a frame mounted hitch so we can use a storage platform on it. Mainly to haul the generator. There is no way I would trust one of those bumper bracket hitches. With a pickup maybe it isn't an issue for you but I don't want to haul it in the back of the SUV.

[bondo303]

Originally Posted by sennister

Hmm I wonder why they don't seem to put that fan in more of them. I know my dealer chain (3 dealer locations) had 5 or 6 25BH campers to pick from. For the most part they were all equipped about the same. Though I have read that some times the options that a camper have are a result of parts on hand so maybe the dealer ordered a batch of them and they were out of fans. For $75 it is kind of a small upgrade. Or they assume people are just going to run the AC assuming they have power. The main differences in the units were color combinations, only two of them had the tri-fold couch and maybe the bumper grill was on some and not others. Our old camper had the jackknife style and we didn't find it very comfortable to sit on. The camper at the show is the one we ended up buying and it had the tri-fold. We did sit in a jack knife sofa on I think a White Hawk or one of the other Jayco campers and found the same issues with our old camper. The back was too straight for us. That and being a love seat it isn't like it can be used for anyone but a kid. Heck I don't know that my 8 year old could lay down on it.

I kind of wanted Granola but the only one they had didn't have the tri-fold sofa and every unit they had was the same price so we were getting a nicer sofa for the same money.

Have you looked at adding a hitch on your camper? Once we pick it up I want to take measurements for adding a frame mounted hitch so we can use a storage platform on it. Mainly to haul the generator. There is no way I would trust one of those bumper bracket hitches. With a pickup maybe it isn't an issue for you but I don't want to haul it in the back of the SUV.

Never looked into a hitch. I don't have a need for it. Actually, we have the jack knife sofa. The trifold is a new option that wasn't available yet. They had three when we bought ours. 2 with your interior, one with the outside kitchen and one without and ours. We really liked the darker interior and we wanted the outside kitchen. We lucked out because another family bought one the same day and minutes after we decided they said that they wanted ours.

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[sennister]

Originally Posted by bondo303

Never looked into a hitch. I don't have a need for it. Actually, we have the jack knife sofa. The trifold is a new option that wasn't available yet. They had three when we bought ours. 2 with your interior, one with the outside kitchen and one without and ours. We really liked the darker interior and we wanted the outside kitchen. We lucked out because another family bought one the same day and minutes after we decided they said that they wanted ours.

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Yeah I agree that the outdoor kitchen was a huge selling point. We have been looking at campers with floor plans like this and an outdoor kitchen for a couple years but most of them are over 8000# and we would have to get a 3/4 ton truck to pull it.

[bondo303]

Sennister, please do me a favor, I am curious as to whether they they changed the tires and wheels from when mine was built to when yours was built. I saw a one with different wheels that I actually liked a lot more than mine and I think that they went back to goodyear tires. If you could, post a pic after you pick it up . Thanks

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[sennister]

Originally Posted by bondo303

Sennister, please do me a favor, I am curious as to whether they they changed the tires and wheels from when mine was built to when yours was built. I saw a one with different wheels that I actually liked a lot more than mine and I think that they went back to goodyear tires. If you could, post a pic after you pick it up . Thanks

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I can do that. We don't do the walk through until 23 March. I kind of wish were bringing it home today. Our gravel road is frozen again where is was 6" of mud the last couple week.

We pushed out the walk through this far because I went in for surgery yesterday and just got back from the hospital a few hours ago. I am on restriction where I can't lift anything more that 10# for the next month. I went through the photos from the RV show when we first saw it but they had it staged with camp chairs in front of the wheels so they are not visible in the photo.

[bondo303]

Originally Posted by sennister

I can do that. We don't do the walk through until 23 March. I kind of wish were bringing it home today. Our gravel road is frozen again where is was 6" of mud the last couple week.

We pushed out the walk through this far because I went in for surgery yesterday and just got back from the hospital a few hours ago. I am on restriction where I can't lift anything more that 10# for the next month. I went through the photos from the RV show when we first saw it but they had it staged with camp chairs in front of the wheels so they are not visible in the photo.

Ok. I am not in a rush. Get yourself better and good luck with your recovery.

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[sennister]

Originally Posted by bondo303

Sennister, please do me a favor, I am curious as to whether they they changed the tires and wheels from when mine was built to when yours was built. I saw a one with different wheels that I actually liked a lot more than mine and I think that they went back to goodyear tires. If you could, post a pic after you pick it up . Thanks

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I couldn't remember what you wanted a pic of when I took it. Mine is a 2017 with a build date that appears to be 11/16 I think or at least I saw that on one of the data plates.

The wheel is a 10 spoke design with alternating black and aluminum colors. The tires were not GoodYears as I was hoping. Of course I cut it off in the photo but it was Pro(something I have never heard of)er



The other interesting thing I have noticed on the 2017 is the exterior lighting package.

Ours has round LED lights everywhere. The taillights and all marker lights. You can see the marker lights here



On some 2017s I have seen that I think have an earlier build date they have rectangular rear lights and marker lights. Not sure if they are LED. Then there was another one where the rectangular rear light was turned sideways.

Here is one with the rectangular lights.

2017 Jayco Jay Feather 25BH Travel Trailer

My lights are round like this one.

https://terrytownrv.com/new-rvs-in-g...for-sale-5196/

But then look at the taillights on this one. It has the round marker lights like mine but these appear to be more of a flush mount rectangular shaped light rather than the round taillights that I have.



So unless some of these really are not 2017s or they have gone through 3 different lighting changes in this model year. Kind of odd but maybe they just mount what they have and had supplier issues.

[bondo303]

Thanks Sen. My '17 has a build date of 8/16. I have the same wheels with the provider tires. I do, however, have the other style lights. You might have LEDs.

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[sennister]

Originally Posted by bondo303

Thanks Sen. My '17 has a build date of 8/16. I have the same wheels with the provider tires. I do, however, have the other style lights. You might have LEDs.

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Yeah, I do have the LED lights. There isn't a bulb anywhere in the camper that I know of. Well maybe the microwave but that is about it. I get how they do transition parts through a model year. They probably order tail lights by the pallet or semi truck load. So they opt to change something they are going to use up old stock first. They are not going to throw them in a warehouse for warranty replacements. I just found it odd that there appears to be 3 different taillights in the 2017 model range. Unless that oddball had the lights swapped out for some reason. Another possibility is they had run out of the round taillights and rather than hold up the production line they grabbed a taillight that is normally used on a different camper. It really doesn't matter so I haven't looked to see if maybe it is a light normally used on a Whitehawk or something. I am not sure what other campers come off the same line or same plant.

If it were a car it would probably be worth more.

[robert9999]

Congrates on your purchase! I bought that model in July, love it! The new fan in the kitchen area is great . Its like a skylight as it will brighten up the area & loose the heat build quicker than opening the windows, enjoy! Quick question as I have mine stored 40 miles away do you remember the tire size? I want to get some wheel covers but needed the tire diameter.
Thanks

[sennister]

Originally Posted by robert9999

Congrates on your purchase! I bought that model in July, love it! The new fan in the kitchen area is great . Its like a skylight as it will brighten up the area & loose the heat build quicker than opening the windows, enjoy! Quick question as I have mine stored 40 miles away do you remember the tire size? I want to get some wheel covers but needed the tire diameter.
Thanks

I will measure it for you. I have them on my shopping list yet and need to take the measurements anyhow.

I am thinking I want the double tire covers rather then the 4 individual covers. The thought is I want to use X chocks and it would be a pain with individual covers. But if you want individual tire size I can grab that as well.

The kitchen fan is the one option mine doesn't have that I wanted. We got a really good deal on the camper so I can't complain. I would gladly trade the larger AC or the bumper mount BBQ which were pretty expensive add ons for the $75 fan in the kitchen.

While it is possible to add. I am a bit nervous about cutting a hole in the roof of a new camper and I don't know if there is always on power available up there when not a factory option. I could pull power from a nearby light but those main living are lights are all switched off that main switch as you come in.

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[robert9999]

I also want the double covers but I was in Camp World yesterday & they sell them specific to tire diameter ie: 27inch, 30 inch, etc... I guess they have a better fitment as opposed to the one size fits all? But thanks for doing that for me. BTW I don't think its worth cutting a hole in the roof for the fan unless Jayco does it & warranty is not affected. I didn't get the rear kitchen set up, which is really nice, so I keep my weber q2000 BBQ in there when traveling. The only thing I didn't like about the jayco was the Simmons mattress. It was rock hard so I bought one of those Costco gel cool 3 inch toppers for $130 & it made a world of difference, actually like it better than my home mattress now.

[sennister]

Originally Posted by robert9999

I also want the double covers but I was in Camp World yesterday & they sell them specific to tire diameter ie: 27inch, 30 inch, etc... I guess they have a better fitment as opposed to the one size fits all? But thanks for doing that for me. BTW I don't think its worth cutting a hole in the roof for the fan unless Jayco does it & warranty is not affected. I didn't get the rear kitchen set up, which is really nice, so I keep my weber q2000 BBQ in there when traveling. The only thing I didn't like about the jayco was the Simmons mattress. It was rock hard so I bought one of those Costco gel cool 3 inch toppers for $130 & it made a world of difference, actually like it better than my home mattress now.

Yeah I agree on the cutting a hole issue. I am going to wait for now and see how big of a deal it is. We mainly boondock which is why a smaller AC unit is better (smaller generator requirement). We have a 3500w Yamaha Inverter and I would rather not have to replace it with a 4K. I need to dig it out of storage to test it but I have several vehicles in storage that are in the way as well as my mower and patio furniture. I just know that we will be cutting it close with the 3.5k gen.

That is good to hear on the Costco 3 inch topper. We were there a couple weeks ago and were looking at them. We almost bought it but my wife wanted to hold off for now rather than buy a bunch of stuff and have to store it until the camper was home. Also if something didn't fit she would be looking for receipts and dealing with return policies. It is pretty firm but we have a select comfort bed in the house and I run it pretty firm so it didn't bother me much in the 5 min I laid down on it the way it was.

I hadn't looked at how they measure the covers yet as I knew I was going to wait until I got it home. The sun really doesn't hit it much where we park for the summer. It is on the north side of the house so as the sun comes up it gets a little bit of sun, all day it is well shaded by the house and there is a retaining wall on the west side so the tires are in the shade then as well. I still want them. I was kind of wondering if there was a measurement on axle spacing as I know some campers space them further apart than others for a better ride. Maybe those units have to go with individual covers and we are fine with the doubles. If it isn't raining when I get home I will measure them. I already have a tape measure out there for other stuff.