Help deciding, Jayco White Hawk 24MBH or...

[BadRock]

After a bunch of shopping and research I'm torn between the Jayco White Hawk 24MBH and the Flagstaff Micro Lite 25BRDS. Both have comparable features but the Jayco is a little more expensive. Can you help a noob out with some sales points?

Thanks in advance!

[rgardjr]

I have a 2017 24MBH. I really like the interior space you get with the Murphy bed set up. The primary use ours will get is tailgating on football weekends. I think the biggest weakness is storage. I like the outdoor kitchen. I added my own bumper mounted Weber Q grill. I have a thread showing some of the mods that I've made so far. I know there were plenty of changes to the 24MBH in 2018. If you have any specific questions let me know.

[sennister]

Originally Posted by BadRock

After a bunch of shopping and research I'm torn between the Jayco White Hawk 24MBH and the Flagstaff Micro Lite 25BDS. Both have comparable features but the Jayco is a little more expensive. Can you help a noob out with some sales points?

Thanks in advance!

In all honesty. Since I am not that familiar with either unit specifically... Though we were interested in the JF 23MBH which they didn't have at the RV Show when we bought our 25BH so we looked at the WH 24MBH mainly to see what the Murphy Bed would be like. The thing I didn't like was it ate into front pass through storage too much. With the bed down it kind of gets in the way of going in and out of the camper. It is really nice to not have to set up a bed every night. We hated the jack knife sofa. The Tri-fold is much more comfortable as a sofa but not sure if that is an option with the Murphy Bed since it is kind of under it. Kids have more room with the double bunks. I thought the back door entry to bath was kind of strange being on the opposite side of the camper from where one would normally be. Just thinking if I were in a KOA type RV Park, would I really want to leave that door unlocked? I would probably upgrade the lock to an electronic lock and keep it locked. That is from what I recall anyhow.

Really when looking at campers, most of the major systems are made by the same set of suppliers. When I look around my Jayco Jay Feather 25BH and my inlaw's Heartland 5er, they are totally different manufacturers. I see LCI (Lippert Components) all over both of them. There are only a couple manufacturers of RV Fridges, Furnaces, Ranges and such. Construction methods are often not all that different from manufacturer to manufacturer. So do some homework and look at where they specifically differ. Maybe the WH is a better fit (weight wise) to your tow vehicle. Maybe the Flagstaff is a better floor plan for your intended use. How about your storage needs? If it is your first camper, that may be hard to predict. These of course are all factors. HOWEVER.....

Really the number 1 thing I would look at is dealer support. Sure the Jayco has a 2 year warranty (not sure on Flagstaff) but if you have a crappy dealer with one and a great dealer with the other, I would take a great dealer with a 1 year warranty over a crappy dealer with a 2 year warranty that won't work on anything. Look to Google Reviews and other review sites to see how well that dealer performs. What are your options if you don't like the dealer? Is there another option in 100, 200, 500 miles?

I would almost review the dealer harder than the camper. Of course that is within reason. We wanted a queen up front and bunks in the back. Well every manufacturer has that rough floor plan. So then it came down to the dealer. Ours seems to get great marks. We have a few things that need addressing so we will see how they do.

[BadRock]

Originally Posted by rgardjr

I think the biggest weakness is storage.

Thanks! Storage is one of my big concerns and one of the reasons I am leaning toward the Micro Lite. It seems to have a lot more storage however the Jayco seems better built/finished. So tough! I'll have to check out your mod page. Thanks again.

[rgardjr]

Originally Posted by BadRock

Thanks! Storage is one of my big concerns and one of the reasons I am leaning toward the Micro Lite. It seems to have a lot more storage however the Jayco seems better built/finished. So tough! I'll have to check out your mod page. Thanks again.

I've torn into most of my trailer and I'm not very impressed with the build or finish of the trailer. Part of this is probably because it is an ultralight so the construction materials are very flimsy. Plenty of finish issues once you start looking around. I've read elsewhere that demand for travel trailers is very high right now which probably relates to my finish complaints. I was checking out my buddy's 5 year old non-ultralight trailer last weekend and fit/finish was much better. I dug into his cabinets/drawers and they had a more substantial feel than my trailer. Unless you're capable of making repairs yourself having a good servicing dealer should be a big factor in your purchase.

[sennister]

I just looked at the floor plan of the 24MBH. The one I was in was the 2017. Looks like they changed it quite a bit for 2018. Got rid of the door we didn't like in the back of the camper. I can't really tell from the floor plan and it might not be an issue but one thing I don't like about our 25BH is with the slide in, you can't open the bathroom door. It is kind of nice to be able to get in there while flushing the tanks. I have to run my slide out about 6" to open the door. This one might have enough room but try it. I do like the 2018 entertainment center better. The 2017 I was in had a tiny TV. Not that we use ours much. I thought it had single bunks in the back. Maybe that was different model. Not sure as I know they didn't have a JF 23MBH. As you know you run through so many campers they all turn into a blur. As mentioned storage would be my big concern. Maybe you have a full size pickup with more than enough cargo capacity to account for the fully loaded tongue weight and loading it with gear. That is kind of a pain though. We have the full pass through and with 4 chairs, hot dog roasters, outdoor carpet and other stuff packed in there, it is full. I would have a hard time with storage in that rig which was a big factor for us. A lot depends on how you camp though. There is probably some storage under the sofa but it isn't outdoor accessible so that would make it less useful. The big thing I hated about our old smaller camper was having to break down the dinette and other spaces for sleeping every night. Sure sometimes you can leave them made up as beds but if you are stuck inside on a less than ideal day, it isn't fun to constantly reconfigure.

[jamaddox]

We had a 2014 MBH and we did have to use our truck bed for extra stuff. We had a short bed truck and did not feel we left things behind. We even carried an extra grey tote tank and trolling motor with us one thing I did not notice from the picture is a place to put the kids clothes. I am sure you will find the room (we did on our new trailer) but that might be a consideration. It does look like you can access the bathroom with the slide closed. Can be important for what you mentioned and for other reasons


John Maddox
2017 Ford F-250
Jayco WhiteHawk 27DSRL

[mmwhit]

We have a 2017 model 24 MBH. I thought I would not like a murphy bed model – I was wrong. It is great to put the bed away and have all the room the bed would take up in the TT. The bed is easy to pull down for sleeping and put away in the morning. I can take it down or put it away in about the same time it takes me to tie my shoes. It is very easy to do. We got rid of the cheap mattress that came with the TT and replaced it with a nice one. The minimal storage could be an issue for some. We downsized this year to the 24 MBH. Previously we have owned a large fifth wheel, several large TT, and a large class A motor home. They all had lots of storage. The 24 MBH has limited outside storage, but I have found it adequate. I just don’t haul as much as I used to haul, which is okay because I used to haul things I never used (I had them just in case). I have two plastic storage containers that both fit into one of the front storage compartments (where the pass through would be). I store sewer connections in one container and electrical and other things in the other. They stack very nicely in that storage area. I keep chocks and things like that in the storage area on the other side. I store water hoses and other things in the outside storage located in the slide (I don’t think the 2018 model has that storage compartment). I store things in the large storage area under the bottom bunk. I also store things under the dinning seats, under the sofa, in the front two closets where I can hang clothes, in the pantry, in the cabinet above the kitchen sink, in the entertainment center cabinets, in the cabinet below the bathroom sink, and in the two storage areas under the kitchen sink/counter and in drawers. I also store lawn chairs and a barbeque in the bed of my truck. I find I have adequate storage space for our needs. The outside door to the bathroom is handy (I don’t think the 2018 has that door). I find it very useful when I empty the black and grey holding tanks. The double bunks are sturdy and work great for storage or for sleeping when we have the grand kids with us. The outside kitchen is great too. I pull the TT with my half-ton pickup and it tows nicely. I feel it is an appropriate size for a half ton. The build quality of our 24 MBH seems in par with other Jayco White Hawk products and is suitable for us.

[BadRock]

Thank you all, these are great comments. I'm going to go check them both out again and see if I can live with the limited storage of the White Hawk. The Flagstaff Micro Lite 25BRDS has a ton of storage in comparison so I am really starting to lean that way.