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Old 09-27-2011, 08:09 AM   #1
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Maiden Trip Report - 2012 184BH

We went on our maiden trip last weekend in a brand spanking new 184BH. The location was the Chickasaw Recreation Area which is just south of Sulphur, OK. Being my first time towing except for moving 2 miles from the dealer to the storage lot, I was as scared as could be to the point my wife kept asking me "are you ok?" while we were driving out of Oklahoma City.

Got the feel for the trailer and by the time we hit the campsite I was much more comfortable with the tow. Backing was actually pretty good considering I'd had a friend with a CDL coach me for a couple of hours prior to the trip. Setup went fine but I had to back up twice setting the awning as I'd forgotten to extend the arms once the awning was unrolled.

All of the trailer's equipment worked flawlessley and I got a good laugh when my wife began heating a pot of water for washing dishes. I reminded her we now have a hot water heater and got chased out of the trailer with a dishtowel. :lightning:

Chickasaw has no full hookups so I was a bit nervous using the tote for the first time. We did not get a Robin Williams moment but I did figure out real quick that a hose with two bayonet fittings is a must when dumping to the tote. We added a lightweight ball hitch to the "must have" list since the WDH is dang heavy to be installing and removing when pulling the tote to the dump site. :drooling:

The rest of the trip went great with no problems with the trailer at all. The only issue was backing into our spot in the storage lot and I am going to get some traffic cones since getting the trailer straight with no reference points is a real trick. We are very happy with this trailer and had several people ask if they could "take a peek" at it while we were out. Since this model is pretty new, many have not seen them yet.

Trip two is this weekend to a local site and we are looking forward to several more before weather forces us back into the house.
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Old 09-27-2011, 08:52 AM   #2
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Sounds like a successful adventure. Glad it went well. I get quite a few folks coming to my trailer asking to see it too. Mostly pop-ups who would like to get into the hybrid.

My Jayco has also performed nealry flawlessly since I began using it. The very first trip I did notice a bit of water on the floor by the waterpump door. Hand tightened the water line coming to the pump that had a drip on it and haven't had any more since.
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Old 09-27-2011, 08:56 PM   #3
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I also have a 2012 184BH. I just picked mine up from the dealer today where I had some warranty issues fixed. I couldn't be happier with mine and I know you will continue to enjoy yours too.
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Old 09-28-2011, 01:37 PM   #4
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Good camping stories make me smile. Congrats on a successful and fun outing.
We're into our second week of ownership of our 2k12 184BH. Yep, great little unit.
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Old 09-28-2011, 08:21 PM   #5
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Should have posted before, the AC unit dripped to the right or the window with no issues at all. Glad to see that Jayco seems to have addressed this issue from the 2011 models.
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Old 09-28-2011, 09:40 PM   #6
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Should have posted before, the AC unit dripped to the right or the window with no issues at all. Glad to see that Jayco seems to have addressed this issue from the 2011 models.
Ditto on the drip to the right! I watched that like a hawk while it was being prepped for PDI. I had them run for over two hrs.

Again, congrats!
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Old 10-04-2011, 06:37 AM   #7
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FlyingCamper

Thanks for the detailed trip report and I'm glad things went well on your maiden voyage. I'll be looking for a coach when I eventually hook up a trailer to my truck .
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Old 10-28-2011, 07:21 AM   #8
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184BH Maiden Trip

We didn't get a chance for a quick trial run with our 184BH. The maiden trip was a 2500 mile trip to Winter Haven, Florida this month! I was amazed at how stable and easy the Jayco pulled. I used my Nissan Frontier with a small V6 engine and quickly learned that I needed a larger truck! There were no surprises from the 184BH, it was a pleasure to use. The gas bill on the other hand was very large, but if you are going to pull a travel trailer it's to be expected. We only had a few close calls on I95, most from those small cars which refuse to be patient and shoot in front of you on the entrance ramps. Of course the New York City area is never a pleasant experience and we had to go through it to get on and off Long Island. The next trip will have the Jayco 184BH pulled by a new Cheyv Silverado LTZ 4x4 with plenty of power.
Love the 184BH!!
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Old 10-30-2011, 09:53 AM   #9
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Quote:
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We didn't get a chance for a quick trial run with our 184BH. The maiden trip was a 2500 mile trip to Winter Haven, Florida this month!
This kinda scares me as well... I have pulled my POPUP Trailer all over the east and south and as far west as OKLA with no problems at all. It weighs in at 4200LBS but being a POPUP you can view all around it and my gas mileage doesnt change whether I am towing the POPUP or not. Still the same 20-21MPG going down the road if I use Shell gasoline. I've never towed a trailer that had high sides where you can't see around it very well so that is going to be a new experience for me when I get my JAYCO this spring.

Of course my fear is finding an easy on-off access for getting gasoline. Not much of a problem with the OFF-ROAD POPUP I have as I can pull into anywhere and get gas.

I guess if it gets too bad you can unhook in a parking lot and then go get some gas haha... We are looking at getting the JAYCO X213 model...

We will be going down I95 to Mytrle Beach alot and also going down I81 to get to the Smoky Mtns places around Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge areas. My truck is a 2010 F150 FX4 model with 5.4 gas engine with 3.73 gears and towing package...
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Old 10-30-2011, 10:08 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brucef15 View Post
We didn't get a chance for a quick trial run with our 184BH. The maiden trip was a 2500 mile trip to Winter Haven, Florida this month! I was amazed at how stable and easy the Jayco pulled.
We picked our tt up at the factory, camped a few days in the local cg, and hit the highway for home. Stopped in Michigan and Wisconsin along the way to Cali. What a wonderful 3 week maiden run we had!


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Originally Posted by RoyBraddy View Post
This kinda scares me as well... I have pulled my POPUP Trailer all over the east and south and as far west as OKLA with no problems at all.

Of course my fear is finding an easy on-off access for getting gasoline. Not much of a problem with the OFF-ROAD POPUP I have as I can pull into anywhere and get gas.

I guess if it gets too bad you can unhook in a parking lot and then go get some gas haha... We are looking at getting the JAYCO X213 model...
We pull almost 31' of tt and have never had problems finding a gas station to pull into, even on the side roads. In small towns, we do better with the pumps that run parallel to the station, but on the highways and interstates, there's enough room to pull into stations with pumps perpindicular. If you are off the beaten path, you may want to consider watching for gas stations suitable for your set-up when your tank gets to 1/4 of tank. Planning ahead should help you find stations that are conducive to your needs and you will never have to 'unhook'
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Old 10-30-2011, 10:12 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by RoyBraddy View Post
This kinda scares me as well... I have pulled my POPUP Trailer all over the east and south and as far west as OKLA with no problems at all. It weighs in at 4200LBS but being a POPUP you can view all around it and my gas mileage doesnt change whether I am towing the POPUP or not. Still the same 20-21MPG going down the road if I use Shell gasoline. I've never towed a trailer that had high sides where you can't see around it very well so that is going to be a new experience for me when I get my JAYCO this spring.

We will be going down I95 to Mytrle Beach alot and also going down I81 to get to the Smoky Mtns places around Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge areas. My truck is a 2010 F150 FX4 model with 5.4 gas engine with 3.73 gears and towing package...
Our F-150 has the pull out extended mirrors. Does yours? If not, get some of those. You can see easier the traffic on both sides of the highway behind you also.

To ease your fears, take the new tt to a big parking lot and practice backing, turning (use cones and pretend they are gas pumps ), etc
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Old 11-01-2011, 02:38 PM   #12
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Planning our 4th and final trip for the year. Still no problems with the trailer systems and we are continuing to refine our "procedures" for hookup / backing and such. Since we have some experience with the 184BH now I thought I'd post some observations on what have found on this model.

The 2 burner stove works great but it is hard to use more than a single pan given the small size and the fact that the burners are not side by side. Understandable given the size of the trailer but still somthing to consider for somone who is considering this model.

The table legs are very flimsy so you have to take care when folding them down to make up the bed. They will bend to the side if you do not collapse the legs far enough before applying alot of force folding them against the table top.

There is quite a bit of movement in the trailer when it is setup. This model only has stab jacks on the rear so I may either invest in another set up front or just get some jack stands at harbor freight. Another option might be different chocks or tapping the ones I have up snug against the tires.

The hot water tank is very well insulated. I turn the temp down to pilot before we go to bed and it is still very warm in the morning. This was after lows in the high 40s overnight.

We were surprised at how much "stuff" can go in the cabinets. My wife brings 2 kitchen sinks when we camp and we can get it all put away. The top bunk is generally used for our bags and personal items during the day and moved to the couch at night. This would be a problem if you are trying to sleep 5. With 4 it just takes a few minutes to re-locate everything.


The trailer pulls very well behind a V6 Tacoma with the "sweet spot" at about 2500 rpm or 63 mph. Going faster is no problem but sway is greater and fuel consumption is alot worse. I used about 9 gallons going 120 miles so not bad at all actually. Climbing hills is not an issue either and seems to work best at about 60 mph.

Overall we love this little trailer and given the cost, its a great value. I would recommend it to anyone and we even got a call from our salesman. Somone we showed it to on our first trip bought one from him!
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Old 11-05-2011, 06:17 PM   #13
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@Flyingcamper......I bought Bal Stabilizer Jacks same as the OEM rear ones to put on the front. They wouldn't fit due to the configuration of the front frame. I took them back and got 2 sets of the Stack Jacks. Really only need one set up front, but boy do they make a difference. No side to side wobble nor bouncing when walking inside. I use two small blocks of wood between the jack and frame, also wood pads on the base. Works great. They are much easier to use than the Harbor Freight stands, I have those too. Stack Jacks have a screw adjustment which is really convenient vs the ratchet type.
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Old 04-02-2012, 08:11 AM   #14
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tow our new 184 with a2001 ford f150 6 cyl auto and have had no trouble. went over carson pass 0n hiway 88 in ca. elev. about 9000 ft. and all was well. also i can easily see around the tt using only my standard factory installed mirrors. no need for extensions. so far we love this tt.
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