Good RV dealers around Bay Area California?

ChristinaS · 08-16-2020, 12:00 PM

Dear Jayco owner family,

I want to buy a Jayco travel trailer in the next half year. Can any of you recommend some good dealers that carry Jayco around Bay Area California (within 150 miles)? What I care most is that the dealer can be reliable and can provide good maintenance/repair service.

I have been searching dealers on Yelp for a long time. The strange thing to me is that the dealers with good Yelp reviews don't carry Jayco...The ones that carry Jayco don't have good reviews.... What should I do....

I would really appreciate it if anyone can share your experience! Thank you so much!

Thomson · 08-16-2020, 01:56 PM

I would look at Grand Design. Tech's here say they are more reliable.

Grumpy · 08-16-2020, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomson

I would look at Grand Design. Tech's here say they are more reliable.

Until you find an unhappy owner(s).

Just to put things in perspective. They all use the same components, fridge, a/c, water heater, frames, axles, furniture, etc. Besides, JAYCO outsells them at least 2 to 1. So the Techs will see fewer in for repair.

RV INSIDER reviews give them both 4 stars.

Thomson · 08-16-2020, 02:52 PM

First, the techs here are buying Grand Designs and some are living in them. So I believe them regarding their experiences and their purchases. I wish I had talked to them, but the dealer tries to minimize contact with them.
Next, I am on first name basis with the techs at the dealership closest to me. How can that be? I've been in there so many times (51 things wrong). A couple of weeks ago I brought three bottles of wine for them because of their great work. So I believe them.

mokurt · 08-16-2020, 03:50 PM

We bought ours at Pan Pacific in Morgan Hill.
We did have a couple issues with them but overall satisfied.

When shopping we did not like the dealers in Gilroy even though they don't sell Jayco.

ChristinaS · 08-16-2020, 03:55 PM

I don't know much about Grand Design but it looks luxury and spacious. However it is too big, even the smallest floor plan is too big for us. I like something cute, compact, flexible and if it can look modern, that would be ideal.

And yes I also use RVinsider as a reference. I mainly looked at the Factory Warranty/Support and Overall Quality. I guess these two factors are important?

I like Jayco 145rb's floor plan and size. I was planning to do some customized change to make it look more cozy. However I am afraid I have to wait months to get a repair job done. If it is what it takes, with a waiting list, that is fine. But from the reviews, many times it is because the communication problem between dealer and factory. So a reliable dealer is important for me to feel confident.

Thank you both for your input on this!

Thomson · 08-16-2020, 05:43 PM

I lived full time at the Maple Leaf RV park in Morgan Hill for 6 years. The dealer in Morgan Hill had a great reputation. However, it wasn't Pan Pacific at that time. So I agree with mokurt. Just because the owners chage, usually the people don't

**JFlightRisk** · 08-16-2020, 05:52 PM

If there's going to be a huge waiting period, I believe you can get authorization from Jayco to use a mobile repair company, or another dealer you prefer. Maybe someone will confirm or deny this for me.

Thomson · 08-16-2020, 06:02 PM

Last winter our heater died for the third time. Jayco authorized either of two local mobile repair places because the closest dealer was over 200 miles away. I did have to pay for the service call.

ChristinaS · 08-16-2020, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomson

I lived full time at the Maple Leaf RV park in Morgan Hill for 6 years. The dealer in Morgan Hill had a great reputation. However, it wasn't Pan Pacific at that time. So I agree with mokurt. Just because the owners chage, usually the people don't

Hmm, probably I didn't use the correct word 'reputation', I should have said 'reviews'.

Actually the sales who I met and am talking with is a very good person. He is not pushy, willing to show us around/introduce different models and answers my questions fast. He is also the one who received many compliments in the reviews.

But he is not in the service team. That is my concern.

ChristinaS · 08-16-2020, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomson

Last winter our heater died for the third time. Jayco authorized either of two local mobile repair places because the closest dealer was over 200 miles away. I did have to pay for the service call.

Was that under warranty? Or not?

Thank you!

Xboaters · 08-16-2020, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChristinaS

Dear Jayco owner family,

I want to buy a Jayco travel trailer in the next half year. Can any of you recommend some good dealers that carry Jayco around Bay Area California (within 150 miles)? What I care most is that the dealer can be reliable and can provide good maintenance/repair service.

I have been searching dealers on Yelp for a long time. The strange thing to me is that the dealers with good Yelp reviews don't carry Jayco...The ones that carry Jayco don't have good reviews.... What should I do....

I would really appreciate it if anyone can share your experience! Thank you so much!

Manteca trailer and RV has been fantastic to us. We purchased our 2019 280RSOK from them and they have been most responsive to our warranty Requests. We have never experienced any of the delays in getting the trailer in for work or getting it back. We will buy from them again!

Thomson · 08-16-2020, 11:56 PM

Now would be the time to meet the techs. They don't want you to talk to them. However, you might buy or not . Meet the people and the people who check you in.

mokurt · 08-17-2020, 03:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChristinaS

Hmm, probably I didn't use the correct word 'reputation', I should have said 'reviews'.

Actually the sales who I met and am talking with is a very good person. He is not pushy, willing to show us around/introduce different models and answers my questions fast. He is also the one who received many compliments in the reviews.

But he is not in the service team. That is my concern.

So is this at Pan Pacific?

I did meet one who was very helpful explaining the E2 hitch I had them install.
He also went over a few things on the trailer and hooked it up for me when I took delivery.

NorCal Eagle · 08-17-2020, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xboaters

Manteca trailer and RV has been fantastic to us. We purchased our 2019 280RSOK from them and they have been most responsive to our warranty Requests. We have never experienced any of the delays in getting the trailer in for work or getting it back. We will buy from them again!

X2

We bought ours in 2018 from Manteca. They were friendly, helpful and have been great to us. Our warranty work has all gone smoothly too.

GarlicDude · 08-17-2020, 09:40 AM

We bought ours at Pan Pacific. When we bought in 2017 it appeared they were changing hands (?). Our only problem was a broken propane regulator and instead of the dealer replacing with another made in China POS I replaced it myself with a made in America regulator.

jpgale · 08-17-2020, 10:35 AM

Hi ChristinaS,

I got my trailer at Pan Pacific in Morgan Hill, spent quite some time talking the service manager who seemed quite nice and a few of the techs who seemed good. The dealer was ok to work with the sales process was good and the hand over went well. I actually took in the PDI list here and went through it. I gave the tech who did the walk through a copy and his comment was that it was a really good check list. I asked to borrow a ladder to check the roof, they complied did not want me to get on the roof for liability but were not sacred of me taking a look either. As for the service department I have not had many problems with mine and what I have had I have fixed myself. The biggest problem for me was the bed frame breaking due to my excessive weight, I did not want the same one replaced which is all the dealer could do so I did it myself and upgraded it. The only other issues I can think of was the dometic capacitive touch thermostat was difficult to use as it did not always take the touch, I upgraded this to a bluetooth one and had no issues, and I also had an issue with the cable input for the trailer which with a new tool

I was able to root to being the winegard power input thingy (technical term) which I replaced. Otherwise everything has been good for me. I have done more in terms of upgrades than fix broken stuff. As for the service dept at Pan Pacific all the work is done outside, there are no inside bays, that said Pan Pacific have a large place just off I5 in French Camp which looks like it has inside bays and Manteca advertise taking any Jayco for service even if you did not buy it from them. Although I did not like having to have a salesman with us at Pan Pacific he was actually quite good and helpful.

I like to try and be a helpful soul, so if you want some help as I am not all that far from Saratoga I would be happy to help, I am willing to help show you how I do things on the trailer such as wheel bearings and sanitize the system, but I learnt everything from here and YouTube so I am sure you can as well.

My final point is more of a question, do you have somewhere to park the trailer? I found that the storage yards around here can be full and if you do not already have somewhere to park then it can be difficult to find somewhere after the fact. I store at Coyote Storage just off Monterrey Hwy.

ChristinaS · 08-17-2020, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mokurt

So is this at Pan Pacific?

I did meet one who was very helpful explaining the E2 hitch I had them install.
He also went over a few things on the trailer and hooked it up for me when I took delivery.

Yes Pan Pacific. The salesman that I met is Dave. He is very nice.

This store is close to my home so if their service is okay I would prefer going their store than driving hours on the way.

ChristinaS · 08-17-2020, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NorCal Eagle

X2

We bought ours in 2018 from Manteca. They were friendly, helpful and have been great to us. Our warranty work has all gone smoothly too.

Thank you for sharing your experience with us! Much appreciated!

ChristinaS · 08-17-2020, 01:21 PM

Thank you jpgale! Those are valuable advice! I greatly appreciate your offer to help!

I want to find a public storage to park my trailer if possible. Yes I heard of that problem from some forum - people are looking for storage space. Pan Pacific salesman told me that they have some cooperative storage facilities that have enough space. They seem not worrying about this problem at all. I haven't asked how much it will cost though. And I am not in a hurry anyways. My plan is to get the trailer in the fall, hopefully before the winter.

The model that I am interested in is the smallest among all the floor plans. It should be the easiest to handle since it is so simple(no slide out for example) compared with others. So I should be able to learn to handle it if everyone else is able to handle the models that are much more complicated. I think I will give it a try.

Thanks everyone here who answered my questions so patiently and you've been so helpful! I will keep you all updated about my future purchase and adventures!

Thanks a lot!

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