Time to vent...

[twoballscrewball]

I'm actually out at the campsite right now so I'm going to make this short and sweet so I don't get any more aggravated than I already am.

Picked up 2016 23f Feb 19..

During PDI we found a couple small and not so small issues that the dealer noted for future warranty claim over the winter. The most notable being that the front and overhead storage cabinet was detached from the ceiling structure by about an inch and you can see the interior of the ceiling and roof structure through the gap. Other little things like the fact I can't close the slide out blind because it hits the knob to open and close the window, crooked and poorly installed trim, etc.

Setting up in our yard for a couple nights to get to know it before we actually took it out back in February. During that time the 32 inch television completely quit. The dealer was nice enough to let us just remove the television and exchange it under warranty instead of dragging the entire trailer up there.

We've done a bunch of weekends with it so far, maybe 3 or 4. Last weekend we camped in it one night and parked it Sunday afternoon. Tuesday afternoon my wife called me at work to tell me the refrigerator was warm and everything in it was ruined. She figured I didn't plug in the trailer, but that wasn't the case. Trailer is dead level in my driveway within half a degree of the Horizon on all sides. After 2 days of checking everything I could, I called the dealer and they decided I should bring it in to have it looked at this coming Tuesday. They figure it's the cooling system in the fridge but no way to tell until they look at it. I'm pretty good with this stuff, all fuses are good, and the heater gets warm on both AC and propane but the fridge will not go below ambient temperature.

So tonight we're back out at the campground using the refrigerator in my brand new $22,000 camper as a glorified icebox. The Sun finally sets and I flip on the exterior LED lighting. Nothing. Dead. The light under the steps works just fine but the LED strip in the awning is history, so I'm sitting out here in the dark second-guessing my decision to buy this brand new camper. I feel like if I would have bought one a couple years old I would have saved a lot of money and potentially had even less issues since someone else would have already put it through the wringer.

Owned this camper barely more than two months now and we had plans to take it all over the place this summer, many reservations already made including next weekend, the following weekend, and Memorial Day weekend which are the next 3 out of 4 weekends coming up. but I have at this point lost complete confidence in being able to do anything with it other than drive it down the street to the state park and call the dealer the following Monday to tell them what else is wrong with it now.

I'm going to be contacting Jayco on Monday. I'm really dissatisfied with this entire experience so far. I didn't make the decision to invest in a brand new camper to have to deal with this kind of crap.

[twoballscrewball]

Oh and almost forgot, we did not inspect the roof during PDI which was a mistake. The first time I parked in front of my house when looking at it from a second-story window I noticed that the antenna wire for the TV was detached and just flopping around. When I got on the ladder to check it out more closely, there was also signs of something having been dragged along the roof with two punctures in the roof material. This was also documented it immediately over the phone with the dealer and I have it temporarily taped up for now to prevent any further water intrusion beyond what may or may not have already happened before I owned the trailer. Did I mention this was a brand new unit?

[Knauby]

Welcome to Jayco Quality Control. If there is anything positive I can say to you is they do cover everything pretty well with warranty coverage. It just takes time. Hopefully you can get your fridge fixed and just schedule the other things that aren't as serious at a convenient time with your dealer.

[ALJO]

After my new 5er in 1997 (36 ft.) I had so many problems which I mostly fixed myself and a couple of trips to the mfg. plant, I stepped away from buying new. Sure new designs are nice and all the units they built look nice, but the manufacturing process is getting crappier by the day. When we downsized I bought a 2012 198RD which I cleaned up of the poor mfg. process. Because we downsized to far I bought our present 2005 Jay Feather which I also had to clean up the poor workmanship and have done a lot of mods.
The FW tank was hanging down on one side. The rear bumper was screwed on crooked, water could get in the underbelly because the front was not properly done, just to name a few things.
Nowadays there are units built who have no problems at all but are very few. Here on the Jayco forum we only see a tip of the iceberg. But as long there is a demand and we keep buying them nothing will change in this industry. For me it is no problem I can repair and built anything I want. But I feel sorry for buyers who buy an RV at inflated prices with nothing else than problems. Jayco looks after their warranty but what about the trips to the dealer and the lost time and frustrations? Yes they send their workers home after they done their quota..........at the expense of the customer who buys those units. Yes it is a shame that it has gone that far. Am I happy with my Jayco, sure I am because I have done everything right they could have done. But look at other RV forums it is the same all over. Once you get over your frustration and things are fixed, you'll built happy memories.

[Raugustin]

Originally Posted by Knauby

Welcome to Jayco Quality Control. If there is anything positive I can say to you is they do cover everything pretty well with warranty coverage. It just takes time. Hopefully you can get your fridge fixed and just schedule the other things that aren't as serious at a convenient time with your dealer.

I hear your pain, I purchased a new 2015 Pinnacle 38FLSA which is sitting in my driveway with two tires that have fist size bulges on the side walls after our first trip and a laundry list of defects that you wouldn't imagine and that what you get for $100K. I open the basement wall after trying to hook up a generator to find three 50 Amp cables that were connected to the transfer switch without box connectors and one of the wires was shorted out. Also had two defective cables on the Schwintec slides....that was really interesting....all I can tell you is get very intimate with your unit and use this forum for help. There will be someone here that will help you DYI your issues better that the service reps will do.

[tslarson]

Just think, Jayco is one of the better manufactures and has the two year warranty. Disappointing and to think it could be even worse with another manufacture. Our Starcraft ( a Jayco company) was far from perfect but I am mentally getting over it. Myself, I am fixing two water leaks this weekend that should have never happened.

[Cosmik Debris]

Reading your tale brought back the feeling of anger and frustration I suffered for the 18 months I had a new Lance trailer, until selling it. I vented on their forum and was banned. Now if you go there you can't even read the posts unless a member, unlike here.
Best of luck. I can say that Jayco has made good on all repairs my new Eagle needed.

[twoballscrewball]

Thanks everyone.

Thankfully, I've got an awesome set of tools (lol) and I'm lucky enough to be able to use them. The DIY does not scare me, and I am honestly looking forward to making the camper better with mods and fixes. I just really expected a bit more with our first venture into brand new territory.

Just going to keep a level head, and a well documented list of issues. Most everything can wait till the winter, but the fridge is a major bummer as its something we rely on a lot with 2 kids. Really hoping this doesn't turn into an extended ordeal...

[navymommy]

How frustrating for you! We also bought a new X23F, and had a very frustrating beginning, and our maiden voyage was 5 weeks long.

Quick fix for the fridge issue, 'till it's really fixed - buy a $100 Coleman electric cooler. Comes with car plug in and wall plug also. We have 2 from our tent trailer days, took one on our trip as a spare, used it as the drink cooler outside. We love it. Won't hold as much as your 23f's fridge, but you don't need ice, if you have shore power.

Have a wonderful time - we love ours!

[twoballscrewball]

Originally Posted by navymommy

How frustrating for you! We also bought a new X23F, and had a very frustrating beginning, and our maiden voyage was 5 weeks long.



Quick fix for the fridge issue, 'till it's really fixed - buy a $100 Coleman electric cooler. Comes with car plug in and wall plug also. We have 2 from our tent trailer days, took one on our trip as a spare, used it as the drink cooler outside. We love it. Won't hold as much as your 23f's fridge, but you don't need ice, if you have shore power.



Have a wonderful time - we love ours!

What an excellent idea, an awesome backup even after we have our issue fixed. Thanks for that



So was originally planning on just a one night trip this weekend, I'm doing as many local short trips as we can to get to know our new home away from home and so far it has proven to be an excellent idea.



But the weather today was much more pleasant that I oroginally expected, and I was eager to dig into a couple of the issues I thought I might be able to get done myself.



Ran home (15 minutes away lol) before lunch and hit up the wife's favorite department store to check off some of the little odds and ends that we have been making a list of as we realize we need them (a broom, key hooks, dedicated toiletries, some cookware, etc). Had lunch, picked up some more firewood, and got back to the trailer early in the afternoon.



First up was the TV antenna. I scrounged up about a 3' section of pre-terminated coax from the stash of cables in my closet (I'm an IT guy, I have an entire closet full of boxes of sorted cables, etc lol). Got the new section of cable fished through the antenna frame, then cut the broken section on the roof of the trailer with extra slack and attached a new connector to that end. Mated the two with a barrel connector and finished off the work with a USB-powered 20DB booster behind the TV. Pointed the antenna in my best guess of a good direction and performed my first auto-scan on the 32" Furrion.



30-something channels, this in the pine barrens surrounded by thick trees and 50 miles as the Jayco Eagle flies to Philly where most of them come from. Pleased.



Next up the **** LED awning lights. On my trip home I grabbed more tools for the camper toolbox, as well as a volt/ohm/amp meter also to be dedicated to the camper. Tested the leads for the LED lights right where they exit the trailer (accessible in the overhead cabinet over the couch). Nada. Zip-zero. But the light under the steps works, so the switch is getting power. I then turned my attention to the switch area. No easy way to open up the access to them without pulling stapled-in interior cabinet trim, so I pulled out the switch itself (double which controls the awning lights and interior overheads). Pulled the wire out a bit and found a vampire tapped fuse. On the end of that fuse was another vampire tap. Not connected to anything. Some creative maneuvering of my phone camera with LED light on showed me that there was an orange wire hanging inside this enclosure. I fished it out with a piece of j-hook bent wire and plugged it back together. And we have lights. Taped it up and called it good, put it all back together.



Feeling better. Really starting to settle into the new rig, and for all it's QC issues, we really, really still love it. The fridge really soured the experience, and that's not yet fixed, or even looked at, but today I feel much better than yesterday, so I got that going for me, which is nice



Thanks again everyone for letting a guy vent a bit.

[bankr63]

You know reading this makes me feel reasonably optimistic about buying a used unit this time. ALJO has the right our idea. Our brand new 1007 was nothing but problems for the first couple of years - I always felt that it was probably the last unit built on a Friday afternoon from the spare parts they had lying around. Now I realize that they are all apparently like that.


And I suppose we shouldn't be too surprised. I hear very similar stories from people who buy brand new homes. Lots of initial quality issues to be addressed with the builder (and the builder generally not interested in fixing them). And a trailer has all the same systems, plus wheels, hitch, and the need to stand up to hurricane force winds and major earthquake forces on a weekly basis. I guess it's no wonder that the first years are the toughest until the kinks are out.


That is kind of what I am hoping with buying a 4-year old unit. That the former owner took care of most of the initial quality issues, and I am only stuck with normal wear and tear now. Sure there were deficiencies noted on our new (to us) TT when we bought, but they were mostly cosmetic and easily fixed.


I too have a ton of mods in mind for this year. Looking forward to getting them going.

[norty1]

You would be surprised at the number of used units purchased where the previous owner never even tried to fix these pesky problems.

[bankr63]

Originally Posted by norty1

You would be surprised at the number of used units purchased where the previous owner never even tried to fix these pesky problems.

Agreed, but we spent a lot more time going over this used unit than we would with a new one. Visited it 3 times at the dealership before we pulled the trigger, harder to do when you are buying new. But only time will tell the wisdom of our purchase...

[Cosmik Debris]

Another thing I found with Jayco and local dealer was that I could get repairs documented, approved by Jayco, and then schedule repairs for late season when done using it. This even worked at end of two year warranty, got one last major repair done after expiration.

[Isaacs]

I guess we've all had our problems. My fridge and furnace both needed new electronics.

My favorite was when I was camping in a heavy rainstorm with my (then) one year old camper. The water was pouring into the bathroom from under the wall so fast I couldn't towel it up fast enough. A very alert friend opened an inspection panel under the rear bed and found the water was coming in through the left tail light. The water from the roof was pouring onto it so I temporarily fixed it with good old duct tape.

When I complained to the dealer, he said he could not replace the cheap tail lights with the newer style that came along the next year. All he would do is caulk the lenses in place. I did it myself after putting LED bulbs in to minimize replacement. I guess they were just designed to leak!