Looking at the X254 as our first camper

[BigT]

Hi all,

We're looking at getting the X254 as our first camper. Right now it's just the wife and our 1 year old but we plan on hopefully having one or two more kids and the layout looks like it will work pretty well. I have a Ram 1500 as my tow vehicle so this as big as I want to go. Anyone own one or consider one and have any feedback? Also anyone have any feedback on the some of the options available? There isn't much info on them on the Jayco web site. The ones I'm not sure of are an outside grill, suspension lift kit, enclosed underbelly, and upgrade a/c.

Thanks!

[rick danger]

I wouldnt do the ac upgrade. 13,5000 should be plenty. I'll let others comment on the other things

[RoyBraddy]

If you are buying used I would really look hard at the full bedroom slide if it is prior to 2010 year model. The earlier ones had slide rail problems as well as weak slide motors. If the slide is drooping down abit when extended is a good sign the slide rails are weak. These were known to tear up the uphostry on the table and couch seats when they were brought back inside. I think all of those problems were cleared up with the 2010 models and up...

There is whole lot of weight associated with the this large slide-out.

I really looked hard on the older Jay Feather X214 models back in 2009 and they are really nice. In the end the large heavy slide-out bed just made me worry too much.

Of course the large fold out bed doors of the hybrid were known for water leaks so we just stayed with our OFF-ROAD POPUP Trailer haha... My truck definitely gets battery gas mileage and very low maintenance keeping it up...

Roy Ken

[Country_Mouse]

I just ordered the X254 today! Super excited! We went with the upgraded A/C. It was just over $100 so seemed well worth it to me. We sometimes camp in the desert and I have read other posts about how their A/C couldn't keep up with the high temps. plus I think it is good for resale. We also got the 2" suspension kit. When we looked at the model in person it sits really low. Even with the 2" I'm still a little worried about that. Does not raise the axle but raises the box off of the axle. We also got the enclosed underbelly because I don't like to be cold and I want the option of camping in colder weather. Was only a few hundred more. We skipped the t.v. because we could get double the size for half the price on our own. Also skipped the outside grill as we have our own portable one already.

We have 4 kids so the quad bunk seems like the ideal setup. They all have their own space. There is a table that can go in the middle of two bottom bunks so I can see them sitting there playing games. Shelf there too for another t.v. just for kids I suppose. Might have to build some guards on the top bunks though because of course younger kids want to sleep there. Would be a hard fall. Going to shop for aftermarket ladders too.

We'll be towing with a Ford Expedition so I think you'll be just fine with a Ram. I have crunched the numbers over and over again to make sure we were fine with payload, tongue weight, etc.

[RedHorse1]

BigT,
Our outside grill is a Side Kick, it's ok but just barely. After market would get you a better choice. On the + side, it has a mount which is convenient.
"Yes", to the upgraded A/C.
The enclosed belly would be a + for cold weather camping.
Can't comment on the lifted suspension.

Country,
Our X23B weighed around 4400# with 600# on the tongue as I recall, that put us close (~200#) to the Rear GAWR on our '03 Expe with just the bride and I. Not sayin' you'll be over but a trip to the CAT Scale would give you the axle weights which would let you know how much cargo you can add.

[gncw]

Our order went into the factory on 3/16/15. We were hoping to have it built in their next production run, which I believe was in the last week of March. I haven't heard any updates on whether that happened, so I'm fearing it won't be built until May.

At any rate, we ordered ours with the big air conditioner, lift kit, and grill. The biggest reason we ordered was that both X254s on the lots at dealers in our area were built with shower trays. We need the tub/shower for our little ones, which they switched to in January (according to Jayco).