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Old 08-25-2017, 03:18 PM   #1
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Hmm, Got a Feeling

I hate to be negative, and I hate say it - But . . .
I really do not care for what Jayco has done to the White Hawk and Jay Feather models. I was reserving judgement until I could get my hands on them. We went to our dealer to look at them in person. They feel and look cheap all over. I cannot stand the exterior colors and graphics, and the decals on the cap that give the appearance of a molded cap are an absolute joke and eye sore - Ditto the cheap glued on plastic mirror pieces under monikers on the side walls - Very Cheesy! I also do not like the weird ugly paneling colors inside. They have decent looking dark cabinets in the living space, but they put that funky light paneling in the bath and bedroom. And while I am at it - man, do they use some lame under constructed and poorly padded furniture in their units.

I have a gut feeling that we are going to see and experience more cheaper crud in their parts and assembly. I hope that I am wrong, but my radar is up. My well-seasoned, extremely reliable, internal shock-proof crap detector senses that something is amiss at Jayco. We shall see.
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Old 08-25-2017, 03:52 PM   #2
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I hate to be negative, and I hate say it - But . . .


. My well-seasoned, extremely reliable, internal shock-proof crap detector senses that something is amiss at Jayco. .
Don't you mean, "Thor"??

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Old 08-25-2017, 03:58 PM   #3
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That's a 'Thor' subject...
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Old 08-25-2017, 04:13 PM   #4
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They are all getting like this, cause people buy them. Not me though.
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Old 08-25-2017, 04:13 PM   #5
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Don't you mean, "Thor"??

Murff
Sure Thor. I guess I should not believe that Jayco will remain Jayco. Even with a ton of experience and knowledge, I am still prone to "believing" when I should be more circumspect. I hate when jaded me wins.
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Old 08-25-2017, 04:30 PM   #6
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We love our White Hawk.
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Old 08-25-2017, 04:34 PM   #7
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We love our WH too! Very well built trailer! Ours is one of the last 17's and I'm glad we got it instead of an '18!
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Old 08-25-2017, 05:29 PM   #8
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That's a 'Thor' subject...
LoL, love that humor
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Old 08-25-2017, 06:29 PM   #9
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So what other brands are you looking at? Are they better?
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Old 08-25-2017, 06:38 PM   #10
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If your looking for the highest quality why are you looking at Jay Flight and not the Premier lines or even the Northpoint?
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Old 08-26-2017, 04:59 AM   #11
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FWIW, we went with the Eagle HT because of length and floorplan. None of the Northpoint or other higher end trailers (or even other brands) had what we wanted.
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Old 08-26-2017, 05:24 AM   #12
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There were some people who were saying Jayco would be the same after being bought by Thor as they were before they were bought. I was not able to buy that thinking 100%. Even though the Bontrager family was still running the place, they still had to answer to Thor mangement, and Thor's management did not invest all that money in order to make less money. The Jayco family still was under new pressure to provide those profits to Thor.

What is the easiest way to keep profits up? Slowly start cutting corners, or downgrading product, or using cheaper materials.

I would not be shocked in 2 or 3 years that the 5/8" plywood flooring will be replaced with 5/8" OSB.

We shall see.

On the other hand, somethings haven't changed across the industry for years. The sofa on my previous trailer, a 2012 Skyline Koala 21CS, was an abomination. It was a terrible sofa to sit on.

I can already tell the sofa in my 23RB is going to not turn out much better. Just the little bit I've used the sofa so far, I can tell it's not going to sit very well for very long. The foam used in the sofa is way too light and too soft. Much stiffer foam should have been used, but that cost more money.

So some of the problems stretch across multiple years, and different manufacturers.
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Old 08-26-2017, 06:06 AM   #13
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There were some people who were saying Jayco would be the same after being bought by Thor as they were before they were bought. I was not able to buy that thinking 100%. Even though the Bontrager family was still running the place, they still had to answer to Thor mangement, and Thor's management did not invest all that money in order to make less money. The Jayco family still was under new pressure to provide those profits to Thor.

What is the easiest way to keep profits up? Slowly start cutting corners, or downgrading product, or using cheaper materials.

I would not be shocked in 2 or 3 years that the 5/8" plywood flooring will be replaced with 5/8" OSB.

We shall see.

On the other hand, somethings haven't changed across the industry for years. The sofa on my previous trailer, a 2012 Skyline Koala 21CS, was an abomination. It was a terrible sofa to sit on.

I can already tell the sofa in my 23RB is going to not turn out much better. Just the little bit I've used the sofa so far, I can tell it's not going to sit very well for very long. The foam used in the sofa is way too light and too soft. Much stiffer foam should have been used, but that cost more money.

So some of the problems stretch across multiple years, and different manufacturers.
What is decent brand for upgrading the sofa? Our jack knife is a total joke.
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Old 08-28-2017, 06:07 AM   #14
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Depends on your expectations and what you want in an RV I guess. Some folks have been doing this all their lives and others are like me and are new to the sport. We looked at this as a way to get the family out together once or twice a month, take the dog, have our own bed and our own little kitchen. No over-priced "pet friendly" hotels, no airport security, no bedbugs. At the same time we were well aware this whole trailer thing might not be our bag of doughnuts and so we weren't willing to commit to a high-end camper and a 250/350 truck to pull it. We're your basic "let's ease into it and see if we like it" customers and companies like Jayco would be foolish to ignore us. Already we know this was a good move for us and we've even been tossing ideas around about our next camper. Repeat customers are the lifeblood of every business.

So what if the sofa's not as comfortable as my chair, and the bed's a little hard, and the paneling is cheap - beats the hell out of a hotel, and it's not like we live in it. For the $20,000.00 we paid for our Feather we feel like we did well. We didn't expect it to be built like our house, and it isn't, but that's OK. We don't expect it to hold it's value either, and that's OK too. It was a relatively small investment in a nice little entry-level trailer that introduced us to the world of RV's, and it turns out we like it!

We got what we expected with our Jay Feather and have no complaints. Maybe we'll trade it in a few years, maybe we'll keep it - who knows? And as far as the looks...different strokes for different folks. I happen to like it.
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Old 08-28-2017, 09:14 AM   #15
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I have no clue. I need to see if I can get the foam out of my current sofa. If I can, then the answer might be to go up to the foam store up in the air park to see if they would cut some HD foam to fit the current sofa.

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What is decent brand for upgrading the sofa? Our jack knife is a total joke.
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Old 08-28-2017, 09:29 AM   #16
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That's a 'Thor' subject...
I just spit coffee all over my freaking desk...
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Old 09-20-2017, 01:26 PM   #17
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If you find a perfectly build please let us all know.
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Old 09-20-2017, 01:52 PM   #18
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I'm glad Jayco made the shell on a chassis at least I can make it my home they way I wanted it. Market demand always will solve their own problems. We consumer create the demand with our "must have" so don't blame it fully on the RV industry.
Glad I'm happy with what I have: "A beautiful Jayco Jay Feather built by Jayco, Perfected by me".
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Old 09-20-2017, 02:09 PM   #19
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No one that I know of produces a perfect product. If you find one please let us all know.
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Old 09-20-2017, 03:03 PM   #20
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I hate to be negative, and I hate say it - But . . .
I really do not care for what Jayco has done to the White Hawk and Jay Feather models. I was reserving judgement until I could get my hands on them. We went to our dealer to look at them in person. They feel and look cheap all over. I cannot stand the exterior colors and graphics, and the decals on the cap that give the appearance of a molded cap are an absolute joke and eye sore - Ditto the cheap glued on plastic mirror pieces under monikers on the side walls - Very Cheesy! I also do not like the weird ugly paneling colors inside. They have decent looking dark cabinets in the living space, but they put that funky light paneling in the bath and bedroom. And while I am at it - man, do they use some lame under constructed and poorly padded furniture in their units.

I have a gut feeling that we are going to see and experience more cheaper crud in their parts and assembly. I hope that I am wrong, but my radar is up. My well-seasoned, extremely reliable, internal shock-proof crap detector senses that something is amiss at Jayco. We shall see.
What's really great is that no one has to purchase an RV. Ive seen some fantastic motorhomes...starting at around $600,000 you can pick out most anything and they will build it in...but..it's a tad expensive for a unit typically used 3 or 4 weeks a year..

We have had this discussion 100 times before. Yes a RV mfg can give you everything you want in a product...but people would not purchase it because of cost....or...they can give you a decent product with good bones and you can customize it how you want after you get it...Soft, chairs, tires etc are not all that much money. I replaced my chairs with a Lazy Boy...but... we spend most of our time outside..so I have a really good camp chair I enjoy...

What one person feels is needed another may think it's a waste of money. Most mfg all use the same sources for frig, heater, water heater, stove, hoods etc.. I like my JayFlight and it's 5/8" T &G American made plywood floor, and I like the taller ceiling and roof structure.. Stuff inside I can change to suit my personal needs, if I feel it's worth it.

I know of no company that can fulfill every persons desires...but Jayco does a good job of fulfilling MOST peoples desires. Guess you can look at all the things you don't like, or, look at the things you do like and be happy, knowing your one of maybe 1% worldwide that can afford the luxury of an RV and the joy to be able to travel

I am a happy camper in my Jayco 27.5 RLS

Hope others are also.
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