Not too happy with Jayco

[LarryG2]

Thanks for the replies regarding my leaking roof on my twenty three foot Jay Flight travel trailer. It appears to be from a lot of places. The tub, probably from the skylight. The front bedroom dripping on my side of the bed. The front window over the pillows is slanted and condensation forms and rains on us. We were impressed with the floor plan and this was our first venture in an RV. NOT impressed with the quality. The panels around the shower are buckling, trim is coming off. the closet floor is sagging. And having used it about 9 times in the last ten years from Seattle to Portland and once to Chelan. I've discovered a number of things in the design that I would have done differently. It seems to me that weight and storage should be at a premium. The kitchen drawers don't go all the way back. They're cut short because the water pump is in the way. The nice looking cabinet doors are 3/4" thick adding unnecessary weight. The shower drain pipe is under one dinette seat and the subwoofer is under the other screwing up both storage areas. The TV shelf won't even hold a 13" TV and the hookup can't be reached when a TV is in place. You need an 8' cable so you can screw to the outlet way back in the corner then to the back of the TV while it sits on the table or have someone hold it up in the air until it's hooked up. The shower curtain sticks to your wet body. The water pump wakes the other person up if someone flushes during the night. I could go on but I think I've made my point. Has anyone else experienced similar stuff? If so, what brand/make did you switch to from Jayco for your next travel trailer.

[thomasmnile]

Not to be a wise guy, but I don't think a travel trailer has been made yet that isn't lacking in overall quality, or doesn't cause a lot of "why did they do that?" moments. I had a HitcHiker LS fifth wheel before my current WhiteHawk. Hands down, the HitcHiker was better built and more thoughtfully designed............but it wasn't perfect. Paid more for it used than I paid for the WhiteHawk new. The WhiteHawk is an entirely decent rig and works for us, but the overall workmanship leaves something to be desired (finish detail), yet I've only experienced one nagging problem with it.

Some RV's may be better than others, but I've seen a million dollar plus Prevost conversion brand new at a show that wasn't ready for primetime............

[PugetSoundguy]

x2

I think we all have had our moments of "Grrrr, why couldn't Jayco have spent an extra $10 and __________ (you fill in the blank)."

But for the price we paid (very reasonable, I think) our 184BH is a great trailer. Overall we just love it, especially when it starts raining and we think back to our tent days.

It reminds me a bit of our pre-kids Catalina sailboat. A lot of "grrr" moments there as well, but we did love that boat and it too was a great value. If there are any other Catalina owners out there, wouldn't you agree that Catalinas are sort of the Jaycos of the sailboat world? We lucked out and bought the right sailboat for us on the first try, and, knock on wood, I think we've done the same thing with our Jayco.

[Tunce the traveler]

Sorry about the problems for the past 10 years of ownership and I would like know if you kept it covered between trips.

[Larry G.]

Originally Posted by Tunce the traveler

Sorry about the problems for the past 10 years of ownership and I would like know if you kept it covered between trips.

I would ask this also for a 10 year old trailer only used 9 times.

What kind of maintanace or protection have you done to make sure things will be right for a trailer that has sat for most of it's life?

[clubhouse]

Originally Posted by PugetSoundguy

x2

I think we all have had our moments of "Grrrr, why couldn't Jayco have spent an extra $10 and __________ (you fill in the blank)."

But for the price we paid (very reasonable, I think) our 184BH is a great trailer. Overall we just love it, especially when it starts raining and we think back to our tent days.

It reminds me a bit of our pre-kids Catalina sailboat. A lot of "grrr" moments there as well, but we did love that boat and it too was a great value. If there are any other Catalina owners out there, wouldn't you agree that Catalinas are sort of the Jaycos of the sailboat world? We lucked out and bought the right sailboat for us on the first try, and, knock on wood, I think we've done the same thing with our Jayco.

What a great example that only sailer might realize. Our family (really my dad) went from a Catalina to Islander to Beneteau. Catalina was great for what it was -- but certainly it isn't a Beneteau. Jayco offers a great value for what it is -- but it certainly isn't _____ you fill in the blank.

[Lifespalette]

We haven't camped yet in our Jay Series 1206, but have been going though it with a fine tooth comb confirming that everything works as it should and getting familiar with the systems. But I have noticed some serious quality control issues that are glaringly deficient. Like my door, when set in position in the side wall, from the bottom of the door frame to the top of the side panel there is at least a half inch difference in the gap from bottom to top. Now it could be a door frame out of square, but since the door open and closes easily and is consistently gaped between the frame and the door, I can only surmise that the opening in the panel is not square. I've all so found a few kinked water lines. The one the worried me most was the gas line going back to the stove top feed coming up through the floor and the sink cabinet, it was routed loosely and was actual in contact with my axle assembly. It would just be a mater of time before the rubbing would have eventually caused a leak.

Small thing yes, but it cause one to wonder about things that aren't easily seen.......thinking it's time to raise the whole unit and get under it on my rolling board and do a thorough inspection of the underside. Have already noticed a few penetrations of the underside water barrier by screws that haven't been sealed.

Was talking with a guy in another forum who said when he picked his Pup up and drove the 15 miles to his home, by time he got home the wheel rims were to hot to touch. After they cooled he popped the grease caps to find burnt bearings and little if any bearing grease. Called the dealer to send a flat bed hauler to pick it up. Dealership pointed finger at Jayco, Jayco pointed finger at dealership failing to perform the dealer prep..........outcome was they replace the whole Dexter axles and replace rims and tires. You can bet I'll be checking the bearings to see that they were properly greased.

As I find things that maybe nothing more than poor quality control, I'm reminded of something my grandfather used to say about short cuts.........."if you can't afford to do it right the first time, you certainly can't afford a second time in money or time....."

[troutslayer]

Originally Posted by LarryG2

The shower curtain sticks to your wet body. (

Now, THAT would really tick me off!

[UPCamper]

I switched to a Keystone. And now I have another Jayco on order. Any problems I had with my Jayco were minor in comparison to a Keystone product. Also, my friend drop about $70 on an Airstream two years ago. Supposed to be the best there is, right? It's been back to the Airstream factory twice for major problems and it's been a fight to get Airstream to pay for the repairs. Look at complaints of every RV manufacturer. Jayco is much, much better. I've had a Forest River too, and I wouldn't have kept that trailer if you had given it to me.

First off, leaking? Have you done proper roof maintenance over the last 10 years. Not saying you haven't but its necessary. Leaks still shouldn't occur but you either bought it used, in which case there should have been observed damage, or new and it should have been taken care of within the warranty period. If it didn't occur during the first couple years in the warranty period, it's likely the result of improper maintenance vs poor craftsmanship.

If you don't like the nice looking panel doors, then remove them and replace with paneling, saving you some weight. Nice doors may add a nominal amount of weight and the weight of the trailer is accurately published when you purchase the vehicle. Don't like it, don't buy it.

The shower curtain sticks to your leg? Really? Shower curtains suck in every shower. If you don't like it, put it on your list to avoid in a new trailer.

As far as the water pump goes, have you ever listened to a water pump on any other brand? No quieter, possibly louder. Could be the location of your pump vs the pumps on others but you could do something here to help.

Just because you would have done things differently, doesn't mean somebody else would have or Jayco should have. Just your preference. Jayco or any Rv manufacturer has to engineer these things and most things are the way they are for a reason.

If you've only used it 9 times in 10 years, perhaps renting your next vs buying may be a better way to go. These things, like everything else are made to be used and require continuous maintenance. By renting you don't have to worry about any of it and I imagine you'll save lots of money and headache.

[Seann45]

I too had a Keystone before.. the curb side wall fell off going down the highway..

Owned for 10 years and only used 9 times??? What maintenance did you do on the roof? Most leaks are from the dicor roof sealant cracking this is a yearly maintenance issue required for ALL RV's.

[DocBrown]

After 10 years I'd be surprised it if didn't develop a leak or two, especially without maintenance. Did you follow the owners manual and inspect the roof, windows, and all joints for cracked and dry caulking? Like it or not that's the owner's responsibility. It's not a quality issue. It's just the way RVs are made.

There is no design that's perfect for everyone except for the one you build yourself. For example, our current trailer lacks a couple of things, notably a drawer. Seems like a no-brainer, right? Well the rest of the floor plan is ideal for us so the lack of drawers was not a show stopper. I'm having some custom drawers made and will be mounting them in the bottom section of the pantry cabinet where there is lots of extra room.

Our current hybrid trailer was purchased new last year. We traded an '03 Jayco Kiwi 17a that we also bought new. That trailer replaced a '93 Jayco 1208 PUP that was purchased new. I kept up with the maintenance and the only leak I ever had was a small one on the Kiwi that was easily fixed with Eternabond tape. Overall Jayco makes pretty solid trailers but their fit and finish is lacking. On every one of them I've had to make adjustments to things like door latches, tighten screws, etc. Despite taht I'd buy a 4th Jayco in a heartbeat.

[1wayhighway]

Well that stinks. We did a lot of shopping before we bought our jayco and from what I could tell all of the construction is similar the difference was in finish and we felt that Jayco did a "better than most" in this area. Then it came down to price and weight. There were another unit I liked more but it was both out our price range and it weighed too much.

In he end we liked the Jayco better than the others and the 2 year warranty helped provide a since of security just I case there were problems. My goal is to use it as much as possible before the 2 years are up to get all of the bugs out. I want to put about 10000 miles on it before the 2 year mark.

Also as with other manufactured items like cars, older products really don't compare to newer ones, I think they have come along way in design and construction and quality.

Hope you can get you problems solved.

[grandmawoods]

Originally Posted by DocBrown

Overall Jayco makes pretty solid trailers but their fit and finish is lacking.

2 years ago we bought a used 2007 Jayfeather Export, until then we were in a 1977 Jaydove pop up. No maintanance issues with either one. Tons of great memories though, raising kids and grandkids in a Jayco is the way to go.

This said, hope you can get your issues resolved and start using your unit.

[Green1361]

I have had numerous RV's over the years and had problems with all of them. I feel your pain. Some type of cover helps a lot. Any problem is urgent and should be resolved as soon as possible. I have always felt like the people designing this things have never spent a single night in one. The manufacturers need to have people testing these and making design suggestions that actually use them. 9 outings in 10 years, You need to be renting.

[nfisherman]

I just moved up from a popup to a new 2021 White Hawk 26RK. I made a 1,700-mile round trip to get it because I wanted it and it was a great deal compared to the 2022 27RK that I could get locally. I love it so far but I think Jayco could do better on a couple of things.

I installed a surge protector/EPO. When I took the panel off of the cabinet to access the wiring, it looked like a science fair project. The wires were a tangled mess. There was also sawdust and wood scraps laying around where they cut holes in the floor for wiring. Really, guys? Take a minute and clean up.

My only other beef is the warranty. Jayco makes a big deal of their 2+3 warranty. It might be longer than others, but it’s worthless if you can’t get to your selling dealer. The selling dealer told me I could go to any Jayco dealer for warranty service. Not true. I towed my camper home through a rainstorm. I found a small amount of water on the floor when I got home. I called all three local (St. Louis) Jayco dealers. None of them would help because I didn’t buy from them. It turned out to be a minor thing and I fixed it myself but now I know I’m screwed if I have a serious problem. Jayco should require dealers to me more honest about the warranty if they’re not going to make their dealers honor it.

[Learjet]

nothing new to ALL RV brands

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by nfisherman

Jayco should require dealers to me more honest about the warranty if they’re not going to make their dealers honor it.

Dealers are independent and sell multiple brands so they can't force them to work on something they didn't sell. JAYCO has always stressed, "buy local".

[Stan&Sharon]

Most mobile repair service companies can do the work and bill Jayco for the parts/labor for warrantied items. Jayco is very good about reimbursement for warranty claims and service technicians know how to submit the claim. In your browser, type "Certified RV Repair near me" or use this link provided in RV Life

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by Stan&Sharon

Most mobile repair service companies can do the work and bill Jayco for the parts/labor for warrantied items. Jayco is very good about reimbursement for warranty claims and service technicians know how to submit the claim. In your browser, type "Certified RV Repair near me" or use this link provided in RV Life

There are even some that are authorized for warranty service by JAYCO. RV FORCE in Winter Garden FL is one. They handle a large area around Orlando and Tampa.

[Jopopsy]

Originally Posted by Learjet

nothing new to ALL RV brands

Untrue. Winnebago allows you to service at any Winnebago dealer. It’s one of their selling points. I’ve been getting service from my local dealer with 0 problems, even though I did not buy from them.