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Old 02-17-2013, 10:24 PM   #1
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Question Researching a Jayco 31.5 RLTS with Duramax 2500 TV Need some ?? answered. Please

Just started looking for 5th wheel. Don't know anything about Jayco. Sorry but I thought they were a low end company. I think I'm very wrong. Checked out a 31.5 RLTS at a show and love the floor plan. Towing a TT now with a 2011 Chev Duramax cc short bed. Haven't picked my 5th wheel hitch yet. I measured a 31.5 at the show and it was 59" from ground to bottom of front where bed side rail are. My truck is the same height. So here's some of my questions and sorry to be so long.
1. How is the quality of the Eagle 31.5 5th wheels?
2. Any issues with the hitch pin weights?
3. Any suggestion on hitch?
4. Is it going to be a issue that my stock truck height and the front clearence the the same?
This will be our first 5th wheel and as you can tell are very new to this. Again thanks.
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Old 02-18-2013, 04:33 AM   #2
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Welcome to the Jayco Forum.

Jayco is definitely not a low end company but is a solid family owned company that builds good quality, solid RVs and supports their products with a 2 year warranty.
We are on our second Jayco 5th Wheel and have been very happy with both.

The Eagle 31.5 is a good fit for your 2500HD Tow Vehicle

When we got our first Jayco 5th Wheel in 2005 we had a 2003 1500HD 6.0 Gas truck, then moved up to a 2007 2500HD Duramax truck.
When we bought our Eagle 251RLS in 2005, we got a 16K Husky hitch which was overkill for our 29 Ft 5th Wheel with a Gross Weight of under 10k.
Sure glad I went with the bigger hitch as we still have it today in our current setup with our Jayco Pinnacle and 3500HD truck.
Our Husky Hitch has now been in 3 trucks and is still in great shape.
Only change is we had a slider mount on the hitch in the first two trucks since they were short wheelbase, currently we have a fixed mount since our current truck has a 8 ft bed.
Hitch pin weight for the 31.5 RLTS shows 2,090 lbs, your actual weight your stuff will be about 10% to 15% higher which is not a problem for the 2011 2500HD.
Also when looking at towable RVs, look for the Yellow Sticker on the entry door and on the left front outside that shows actual weight shipped.
This yellow sticker is a government requirement of all manufacturers to inform consumers of the actual weight as the RV leaves the factory with all options and propane bottles full caculation.

As far as hitch height of you truck, many people have flipped their axles to raise the trailer to accomidate trucks that sit up higher.
During our travels I have seen several Jayco 5ers with the axles flipped, I have no experence with this but hopefully someone will chime in on this.

Best wishes on your decision and hopefully your future Jayco 5th Wheel.
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Old 02-18-2013, 06:40 AM   #3
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Welcome to the user friendly Jayco Owners forum! Our members just love to answer questions or help out other members when possible and have fun sharing their experiences . They also love pictures of your RV, tow vehicles, and campsites!! So do not hesitate to post pics of your Jayco in the "Pics of your Jayco forum" and pics of your tow vehicle in the "Tow Vehicle forum".

Feel free to participate in our many fun polls (first thread in New Members forum has them all listed, second thread has more new member welcoming info). Post often, have fun with the forum, and enjoy your Jayco!
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Old 02-18-2013, 12:56 PM   #4
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I have 2011 , 35.1 RLTS. Loaded ready to camp, no water, tanks empty. Gross 10800, Trl axles 8120, Pin wgt 2680, weighed on a cat scale. First pulled trailer with 2005 GMC 2500 CCLB 6.0 gas eng. Truck handled and pulled trailer with no problem, except when in mountains or hills it struggled somewhat. Now pull with 2012 Ram 3500 Dually with CTD. Now I hardly know it is back there. Your truck will be just fine. No problem with bed clearance on 2500. On Ram, had to raise trailer to lowest hole on axle hanger. Adjustable, no need to flip axle. My trailer come with 15 inch wheels and goodyear junk tires, changed to 16 inch wheels and truck tires. Yours should already have 16 inch wheels. We like the trailer, spend about 6 mos at a time in it, and love the truck, good combo. Go for it, I don't think you will be disappointed.
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Old 02-18-2013, 10:35 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LDMoore06 View Post
Just started looking for 5th wheel. Don't know anything about Jayco. Sorry but I thought they were a low end company. I think I'm very wrong. Checked out a 31.5 RLTS at a show and love the floor plan. Towing a TT now with a 2011 Chev Duramax cc short bed. Haven't picked my 5th wheel hitch yet. I measured a 31.5 at the show and it was 59" from ground to bottom of front where bed side rail are. My truck is the same height. So here's some of my questions and sorry to be so long.
1. How is the quality of the Eagle 31.5 5th wheels?
2. Any issues with the hitch pin weights?
3. Any suggestion on hitch?
4. Is it going to be a issue that my stock truck height and the front clearence the the same?
This will be our first 5th wheel and as you can tell are very new to this. Again thanks.
Hmmm.. well, we just purchased a 31RLTS Pinnacle, this past July.... pulling it with a 2012 F250 6.7L diesel. Used it for camping on several trips last fall; pulled it to Arizona in January, living in it right now, until it warms up again up north!

The F250 handles it fine now... had issues at first, with not enough springs in the back of the F250. Fixed it with air (bags) springs in back. Be sure you have enough springs in the back of that Chevy... you will need it with the 31RLTS Pinnacle, anyway... not sure about the other Jayco lines. The Pinnacle has huge wardrobe, king size bed up front... very front heavy. And, then, with the 5th wheel only 31 feet, not much weight behind the rear wheels on the 5th wheel, so get a "balance" issue (so, put some load in the back when you haul it).

Actually tows great, with the air springs and care in loading. Probably would not go to any larger, longer trailer, however, without going to the 1-ton truck... 31 works with the 3/4 tons, but that is about it. (Although I have a brother-in-law pulling a 39 foot Montana with his 2500 Duramax Chevy.. so, it can be done)....

Also, diesel power is great... especially in the mountains... not only for pulling, but for engine braking. Barely touched the brakes going down 6% grades on the way into Mesa... the tow/haul feature on the F250 diesel is awesome! F250 6.7L diesel, a loaded (extra chrome, etc) truck with all the goodies (and lots of weight as a result) and 31RLTS Pinnacle, loaded, comes in at 20,000-21000 pounds... so, need a truck with power and capacity.

Just some thoughts... have fun shopping and putting together your package... you will really enjoy the Jayco!!!
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Old 02-21-2013, 04:18 PM   #6
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We have a 2012 31.5RLTS and we pull it with a 2007 Ford F250 6.0 We have the B&W Turnover Ball with Companion hitch system and absolutely love the combination. The trailer is of average quality in my opinion but some of the features that come standard with Jayco don't come on other brands like the MorRyde suspension. As far as construction goes, they made some significant changes from the early 2012s like ours to the later 2012 and the 2013 models. Some I like but many I'm not fond of, but that is a matter of personal taste. We like the roominess of the floorplan and the amount of storage and cabinets is really good. Having had this trailer for a year now I have learned a lot about RVing in a 5th wheel. We are very happy with this trailer but having used it for a year now there are things I would look for in another unit that did not come with this trailer. I have made a number of upgrades over the last year to make the whole experience better for us.

Here are some of those items:
1. Reico Titan Ground Control leveling system.
2. SteadyFast stabilizers to keep the trailer from shaking and moving when you are set up.
3. Welded 2" square tube between the spring hanger mounts to re-enforce the axles and generally strengthen that area of the chassis.
4. Converted all the interior 12 volt incandescent lights to LEDs.
5. Installed a Dirt Devil central vacuum system. The wife loves this one.
6. Leveling indicator mounted on the pin box.
7. Custom hitch receiver fabricated and mounted to the rear for double towing our 14' aluminum boat.
8. 4.75" square tube mounted to rear bumper with slide out tray to hold the stinky slinky.
9. Added a "starter ladder" for the rear roof access ladder.

It seems to never end but I'm a gadget freak and seem to always need something to make our trips a bit more enjoyable.

Steve
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Old 03-11-2013, 08:38 PM   #7
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I bought a jayco 365bhs 40 ft and my 2011 pulls it like a dream, no problem at all. I did put airbags on it, to help with the hitch weight. You will love it.
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Old 03-12-2013, 11:12 AM   #8
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When we made our latest trade, we solved the rv height issue in 2 steps- First, we replaced the stock rear spring brackets with longer brackets to lower the rear of the D/A tv- This made the tv level instead of the rear being 3" higher than the front- Next, we "flipped" the axles to raise the rv approx. 4"- The result is a tv that sits level, an rv that tows level and has approx. 6" clearance between top of box and bottom of rv overhang- JMHO- DD
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Old 03-12-2013, 05:17 PM   #9
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Have the TV (standard bed) and 5W in sig. Only mod I've added to the TV was to install air bags to help the level and improve the ride quality when hitched up. I have a Reese 16K hitch with tilting head. In our first year we towed approximately 7500 miles without problems. This setup will take us to Alaska this summer.

Good luck! That Duramax will yank that 31.5 with ease!
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Old 03-14-2013, 09:43 PM   #10
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Hey Panhead, what are the changes in construction from 2012 to 2013 that you mentioned earlier? You said some you liked and many you did not like. Can you provide more details? Many thanks.
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Old 03-16-2013, 02:20 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by JimRinOC View Post
Hey Panhead, what are the changes in construction from 2012 to 2013 that you mentioned earlier? You said some you liked and many you did not like. Can you provide more details? Many thanks.
Most of these are not of concern structurally but rather a matter of personal taste. Over all I'm glad we have the pre-change 2012 model. We ended up having to look for a dealer who still had one and were lucky to find one in AZ, only had to drive 750 miles to get it. Our local dealer could not get us what we wanted.

On the plus side,
1. the flooring is no longer a sandwich of 3/8" plywood Styrofoam and luan, it is now the same 5/8" tongue and groove as the Premier and the Pinnacle
2. New Shape front cap
3. TV antenna and 12 volt socket in the living room tv cabinet where it belongs.
4. Moved the battery storage compartment from the side to the front compartment under the overhang. This is both good and bad to me.
There are others on the plus side but my memory is failing me now.

On the Minus side.
Changed the bedroom cabinets next to the front closet to eliminate the TV cabinet and make it a regular cabinet (matter of preference here and we like the old way better)
Eliminated the ability to lower the front basement wall to make one large storage area.
Front cap paint, I don't like this one because they seem to fade and show sun damage very early on in the trailers life if exposed to the sun a lot.
Not a big fan of the dark colored compartment door jams and dark edge moldings on the exterior of the trailer.


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Old 03-16-2013, 02:40 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LDMoore06 View Post
Just started looking for 5th wheel. Don't know anything about Jayco. Sorry but I thought they were a low end company. I think I'm very wrong. Checked out a 31.5 RLTS at a show and love the floor plan. Towing a TT now with a 2011 Chev Duramax cc short bed. Haven't picked my 5th wheel hitch yet. I measured a 31.5 at the show and it was 59" from ground to bottom of front where bed side rail are. My truck is the same height. So here's some of my questions and sorry to be so long.
1. How is the quality of the Eagle 31.5 5th wheels?
2. Any issues with the hitch pin weights?
3. Any suggestion on hitch?
4. Is it going to be a issue that my stock truck height and the front clearence the the same?
This will be our first 5th wheel and as you can tell are very new to this. Again thanks.
I have a 2009 GMC 2500 gasser pulling a 2010 31.5RLDS, towed it to california and back last May. No issues at all. Love the truck and the 5ver.
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