first trip

[gwncanuck]

Well, we just finished our first trip in the new jay feather 23m and despite two days of non-stop rain, the trailer systems worked great. We did have a problem uncoupling the first night due to what I think was pressure on the ball created by our slightly sloped site. I had to keep on raising the coupler until it finally released with a loud pop. Pretty scary but it worked. One thing we realized we have to figure out is a place to hang wet gear. Hanging a dripping rain jacket in the wardrobe closet is not a great idea. I'm thinking of putting in a tension rod over the bathtub that can easily be removed when the shower is in use. We could also use some small hooks near the door to hang keys on but I'm a bit leery of drilling holes in the wall, not knowing what could be behind the paneling. Because of the weather we spent more time indoors than we planned and the sitting space made possible by the deep slide and the murphy bed sure made things more comfortable. Another feature that worked well in the intense rain was the auto-dumping feature of the electric awning. We didn't push our luck though and decided to retract the awning after the first discharge. The only thing that we found somewhat limiting was the small fresh water tank. We did have to watch our water consumption to make it through the three nights. I noticed that the jayflight line now offers a similar model but has much larger fresh and waste tanks. The storage areas were sufficient for the two of us but I found the storage beneath the dinette seats awkward to use. I see that the jay flight version has doors in the ends of the benches to access this area. I think this will be one of my first mods. Looking forward to the next trip!

[Tunce the traveler]

No need to drill holes for your keys just use Command hooks that you can buy almost anywhere .

[Brownie]

Tough break with the rain, but glad everything worked well for you. It rained (and snowed) most of the time on my first outing, as well. Being forced to spend so much time in the trailer helped me better understand what mods I needed to make, too. As The Little Prince said, "Sometimes we must endure the presence of one or two caterpillars if we wish to become familiar with the butterflies".

Glad you had a great time . . . in spite of the rain.

[dhinkle57]

Same here with the first outing and rain. After years of tent camping in the rain, it was a pleasure to be able to sit on the couch and read while staying dry and cozy.

[dmward]

Originally Posted by gwncanuck

Well, we just finished our first trip in the new jay feather 23m and despite two days of non-stop rain, the trailer systems worked great. We did have a problem uncoupling the first night due to what I think was pressure on the ball created by our slightly sloped site. I had to keep on raising the coupler until it finally released with a loud pop. Pretty scary but it worked.

It was rainy weekend in Manitoba too... we had to cancel our first trip with our White Hawk :-(

Instead of raising the tongue jack until it releases, try jumping on the bumper or hitch. Our driveway has a big slope and I usually have to do this when unhitching. I don't like putting too much pressure on the tongue jack, I already feel uneasy about cranking it up to add the WDH bars.

Also, make sure the ball is greased.

Hope we have some sunny weekends ahead of us!

D

[Camper_bob]

It rains on us almost every time out, it's like a "thing" for us now. Lately it hasn't been a deluge like you had, but it sounds like you handled it just fine.

+1 on the command hooks. While you're at it, get a couple extra for the shower. We use them in there to hang our loofahs, but if I had a wet raincoat (or swimsuit, or whatever), it would hang there just fine.

+1 on greasing the hitch ball, it solves all manner of problems. Be careful jumping around on your bumper, things that are under lots of tension or load tend to react unpredictably when that tension or load is suddenly released.

[Threebutchers]

Originally Posted by gwncanuck

The storage areas were sufficient for the two of us but I found the storage beneath the dinette seats awkward to use. I see that the jay flight version has doors in the ends of the benches to access this area.

Overall...sounds like a good trip! If your dinette storage access issues were similar to mine....here's a thread that might help....

http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=18897

[SecretCoveDave]

You have a great attitude! You will be fine.

Have fun.