First Week with new 2016 31DS

[tom463219]

Well we picked up the new 2016 Greyhawk 31DS last Wednesday from the dealer in Middlebury, In. Winds were getting rocked by 30 to 40 mph crosswinds on the way to the campground and had trouble keeping it on the road. After spending the first night with only a couple small problems. We departed the site and went to a different one. When we attempted to let out the rear slide the trim work on the slide was dragging on the carpet and started to rip off, the staples got pulled out. So I held the bottom of the trim while the wife let the slide out so it wouldnt get ripped off. Not too impressed with tankless water heater. It worked ok when I took a shower, but it wastes a lot of water while your waiting for hot water from a faucet. Today there was no wind while driving it, but it constantlly pulls to the right, I guess it needs an alignment. I checked the hellwig helper springs and the ubolt is adjusted about 5 inches down from the spring, maybe that needs adjustment too. I installed a 4 inch drop receiver to the hitch to tow my toad, it did pull nicely and the rear camera was nice to keep and eye on it. I found its not hard to drag the receiver on the ground entering the slightest slope on a driveway, don't like that. Any thoughts on this post are welcomed. Thanks.

[The Logans]

Jayco expects the camber to be about 2 degrees off on the finished Motorhome. Get the alignment done, and send Jayco a copy of the receipt, and they will reimburse you.

We're having ours done this week.

[tom463219]

Having springs adjusted and alignment today. Thanks.

[caroga]

We picked up our 2016 31DS in January. Exact same problem with the bedroom slide trim catching on the carpet. We went to Outbanks 3 weeks ago and it drove and handled great. Tankless water heater was a problem at the end of our trip. We would get hot water then it would not ignite. We noticed that although there are sun and privacy shades on all the windows, there isn't one on the door. How about yours? Don't like the fact that the radio comes on when you turn on the house battery switch. We keep it plugged into a land line at home with the battery switch on to keep the batteries charged. Problem is the radio has come on I guess due to possible power surge or flicker. The couch is too close to the front passenger seat. You cannot move the seat back or recline it. Problem if you have long legs. Shades on the hall window are not attached on one side so it is a little difficult to raise and lower them. The outlet on the bedside wardrobe is partially blocked by the slide and the one on the other side of the bed is partially blocked by the mattress.
We are taking it in to have all these things addressed in two weeks.

[The Logans]

LOL, you'll find that one of the first things that many new owners do is get rid of the "thankless" water heater. Our dealer does a brisk business in replacing them with normal gas/electric water heaters. They are so bad that Jayco will pay to replace them as a customer good will gesture.

That's one of the reasons we got the Redhawk, so we didn't have to deal with the annowying stuff like the tank-less water heater, in-dash navigation system, side-view cameras, light bulbs that can't be changed out, 500 pounds of levelers, etc.

[Larry Mac]

Originally Posted by The Logans

LOL, you'll find that one of the first things that many new owners do is get rid of the "thankless" water heater. Our dealer does a brisk business in replacing them with normal gas/electric water heaters. They are so bad that Jayco will pay to replace them as a customer good will gesture.

That's one of the reasons we got the Redhawk, so we didn't have to deal with the annowying stuff like the tank-less water heater, in-dash navigation system, side-view cameras, light bulbs that can't be changed out, 500 pounds of levelers, etc.

I understand some of the unnecessary fluff, but it would seem the side cameras would be handy. What do you think is wrong with having side cameras?
So far are you having any problems with the RedHawk? How does it ride and handle?
Anything need tweaking such as the alignment issues some are having with the Greyhawk?
The RedHawk has a floor plan ( 29MK) that is not available in the Greyhawk we like.

[Harvard]

Originally Posted by The Logans

Jayco expects the camber to be about 2 degrees off on the finished Motorhome. Get the alignment done, and send Jayco a copy of the receipt, and they will reimburse you.

We're having ours done this week.

Perhaps you meant the 2 degrees of caster as opposed to camber ?

Too little +caster will manifest itself as loose steering (and wandering) at highway speeds.

[cschiller]

We looked at the larger class C units and decided to go Redhawk. At that lenght you have maxed the chassis and have to watch for the tail drag you mentioned. We drove the 26 the Logans have and that is fantastic. If I went larger that the 26 I would go Precept. Best of luck on the updates/repairs.

[The Logans]

Originally Posted by Larry Mac

I understand some of the unnecessary fluff, but it would seem the side cameras would be handy. What do you think is wrong with having side cameras?
So far are you having any problems with the RedHawk? How does it ride and handle?
Anything need tweaking such as the alignment issues some are having with the Greyhawk?
The RedHawk has a floor plan ( 29MK) that is not available in the Greyhawk we like.

When we test drove the Greyhawk and didn't like the side view cameras, as there was a delay when you put on the turn indicators, and it also cut out the navigation screen. Just one more unnecessary thing to go wrong.

Also the Redhawk was about 800 pounds lighter, which gave us a lot more carrying capacity.... being about $30,000.00 less didn't hurt either!

It handled fine right out of the box, and the 6 speed transmission got us 11.2 MPG... sweet! We're going to go ahead and have the alignment checked, as Jayco is paying for it.

[tom463219]

Originally Posted by caroga

We picked up our 2016 31DS in January. Exact same problem with the bedroom slide trim catching on the carpet. We went to Outbanks 3 weeks ago and it drove and handled great. Tankless water heater was a problem at the end of our trip. We would get hot water then it would not ignite. We noticed that although there are sun and privacy shades on all the windows, there isn't one on the door. How about yours? Don't like the fact that the radio comes on when you turn on the house battery switch. We keep it plugged into a land line at home with the battery switch on to keep the batteries charged. Problem is the radio has come on I guess due to possible power surge or flicker. The couch is too close to the front passenger seat. You cannot move the seat back or recline it. Problem if you have long legs. Shades on the hall window are not attached on one side so it is a little difficult to raise and lower them. The outlet on the bedside wardrobe is partially blocked by the slide and the one on the other side of the bed is partially blocked by the mattress.
We are taking it in to have all these things addressed in two weeks.

My door has a privacy shade on it, no sun shade. Your right about the couch. Also got a big scratch in sliding door going to bedroom, first time I closed it. Something inside the wall is scratching it. Maybe a screw head or staple. Taking the RV in a couple weeks to repair the problems.

[tom463219]

Originally Posted by cschiller

We looked at the larger class C units and decided to go Redhawk. At that lenght you have maxed the chassis and have to watch for the tail drag you mentioned. We drove the 26 the Logans have and that is fantastic. If I went larger that the 26 I would go Precept. Best of luck on the updates/repairs.

Thanks for your input. I also had the helpers adjusted so the rear end sits a little higher now. That should help with the tail drag.

[Larry Mac]

Originally Posted by The Logans

Jayco expects the camber to be about 2 degrees off on the finished Motorhome. Get the alignment done, and send Jayco a copy of the receipt, and they will reimburse you.

We're having ours done this week.

Did I read somewhere where they suggested having your "normal" travel weight( full gas, tanks filled, other misc. cargo) in your RedHawk/Greyhawk when you have it aligned?
Edit-- I thought you had a RedHawk 31? The misalignment is probably more pronounced on the 31's than the 26's.

[tom463219]

Originally Posted by Larry Mac

Did I read somewhere where they suggested having your "normal" travel weight( full gas, tanks filled, other misc. cargo) in your RedHawk/Greyhawk when you have it aligned?
Edit-- I thought you had a RedHawk 31? The misalignment is probably more pronounced on the 31's than the 26's.

Yes, I had mine loaded very close to "normal" travel weight when I had it aligned.

[Jopopsy]

Originally Posted by The Logans

LOL, you'll find that one of the first things that many new owners do is get rid of the "thankless" water heater. Our dealer does a brisk business in replacing them with normal gas/electric water heaters. They are so bad that Jayco will pay to replace them as a customer good will gesture.

That's one of the reasons we got the Redhawk, so we didn't have to deal with the annowying stuff like the tank-less water heater, in-dash navigation system, side-view cameras, light bulbs that can't be changed out, 500 pounds of levelers, etc.

One man's trash is another man's treasure, isn't that what they say?

On some model Greyhawks I too find the available CCC to be a deal breaker, however some models have enough to make me feel pretty comfortable. Mine has around ~2100 pounds; which given the added stuff you mention above is pretty healthy as far as we were concerned.

Personally I wouldn't be without the levelers as they also have the added benefit of making the coach more solid while deployed (almost no bounce). And I'm one of the few who actually finds the tankless system to be a blessing (once you get it dialed in, which does take some fiddling when you arrive at your destination). Of course, we don't boondock; for those that do the tankless system is a complete waste I agree. The only thing I'd change w/ the tankless; I wish they built in a few second delay for it to ignite. Often times the kids will wash their hands and pull the handle on the faucet straight up before swinging it to the cold side. The tankless system needlessly cycles when that happens which I DO find rather annoying.

[jgerhard]

I love all the features of the Greyhawk EXCEPT the "thankless" water heater. We do a lot of boondocking and it fails miserably without hookups. Good news is, the replacement water heater is $150 less than I can sell the used Girard tankless for.

[Trippers]

I have a 2011 31DS and also find the side cameras to be useless, the side mirrors do an excellent job, and without delay.
The tankless water heater was a stupid idea for a motorhome in so many ways. It wastes water and propane, and grey tank volume, and is a pain to use. And costs more besides. What was the reason???

[Jopopsy]

Unlimited hot water while showering w/ full hookups. Which is how I camp, so it works out for me quite well. Grey tank and fresh water supplies are non-issues for me b/c I always camp with full hookups.

I've said it a bunch of times, the system sucks for boondockers.

[The Logans]

Originally Posted by Trippers

I have a 2011 31DS and also find the side cameras to be useless, the side mirrors do an excellent job, and without delay.
The tankless water heater was a stupid idea for a motorhome in so many ways. It wastes water and propane, and grey tank volume, and is a pain to use. And costs more besides. What was the reason???

Well, consider how they pick motorhome designers... They find several folks who have never camped before, give them an ice chest full of beer & many crayons, and a clean white wall, then....

Oh well, you get the picture....

[Trippers]

Originally Posted by Jopopsy

Unlimited hot water while showering w/ full hookups. Which is how I camp, so it works out for me quite well. Grey tank and fresh water supplies are non-issues for me b/c I always camp with full hookups.

I've said it a bunch of times, the system sucks for boondockers.

We also almost always have full hook ups too. Only boondocked once, not for my wife.
The two of us have never run out of hot water using the standard 6-gallon tank on 'hook-up free' electric energy.
And if for some reason I thought we needed even more hot water in a hurry I can simply add the propane to the electric.
Plus we have a tank of hot water for the road when we leave the campground.

Is the tankless water heater fired-up with both electric and propane?