Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
Jayco RV Owners Forum
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 10-19-2016, 05:42 AM   #1
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: buffalo
Posts: 3
Jayco Jay flight vs. keystone outback

Hello,

I am new to the forum and could use some help please. I have had 4 previous Jaycos, the most recent being a 2008 model year. We decided to buy a brand new camper this year, and factory ordered a 2016 Jayco Jay Flight 26BH.

I'm not unrealistic, I expect there to be minor issues with a new camper. Trim that pops out, wiring brackets that are loose, shower curtain screws that come out, all of which has happened. However, in addition to the minor issues, we have had some serious, and downright dangerous ones. Using our charging port would cause the TV power antenna to stop working, then the charging port stopped working all together. Our water pump leaked from day one, and finally had to be replaced after 3 attempts to fix it. There is a brown fluid leaking from the refrigerator that the dealership has not been able to identify or find the source. And the worst, our gas water heater started on fire while my children were sleeping in the bunks just above it. The cause of the fire was due to a combination of a missing gas coupler and someone leaving the manual near the ignitor.

We are so disheartened. The dealership has fixed some of the problems, but I have reached out to Jayco customer service directly, an no response! We saved for this f or quite some time. Our family loves to camp, especially our 13 year old son who is autistic. We were so excited about our purchase, but every time we use our camper, there's another issue. I don't know if we just got a lemon, or if the quality of Jayco has declined this much. Either way, there is no excuse for Jayco's lack of response.

So long story short, we are thinking about cutting our losses and trading in for an 2017 Keystone Outback 293UBH. We do not want to go through this again. Any input on this model vs. The Jayco Jay flight would be greatly appreciated!
nicdem is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-19-2016, 07:41 AM   #2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Worcester
Posts: 1,428
I did hours upon hours of research before selecting Jayco. I looked at Keystone Outback, Keystone Springdale. Crossroads Zinger and many other brands before selecting my Jay Flight 38FDDS. Both Keystone trailers I looked at had rusty frames beyond belief. The fit and finish was sub par compared to the Jayco.
That being said, any new trailer, any brand, is going to have it's problems. I had a few issues with my Jay Flight as well, including dead USB outlet, defect in the awning fabric, the Furrion entertainment system and outside shower plumbed backward. Once my issues were repaired, I've had no other problems. I would not give up on the Jayco. If I read right, it sounds like you've gotten through most issues. Keep pushing to get the charge port and the fridge issues remedied. You may get lucky with a new Keystone, or you may end up with a whole new can of worms. If you're not happy with your selling Jayco dealerships competence in resolving issues, I would maybe try another dealer. I would definately not buy the Keystone from them. Keep hounding Jayco directly! They have been very good to most owners here.
Good luck with what you ultimately decide to do.
__________________
2016 Jay Flight 38FDDS
jloco is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-19-2016, 07:45 AM   #3
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: buffalo
Posts: 3
Thank you for your response. I guess my biggest disappointment is the lack of response from Jayco customer service. You would think that they would respond when your camper starts one fire with your family in it, but nothing! How old is your Jayco? Like I said in my post, I had owned 4 with no problems whatsoever. My concern is that quality has fallen off with newer models.
nicdem is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-19-2016, 08:19 AM   #4
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Worcester
Posts: 1,428
Mine is a 2016. I took delivery this past April. I think we've gotten all the bugs out at this point. My dealer has been great. I've always said that choosing the right dealer is as important as the brand you choose.
I've never owned an older Jayco, so I can't comment on declining quality. From what I've seen, I honestly don't think you'll be happier with a Keystone. Once you get your Jayco all straightened out, if you decide to keep it, you'll be glad you did IMO.
BTW as of this past July, Keystone and Jayco are both owned by the same company. Thor industries.
__________________
2016 Jay Flight 38FDDS
jloco is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-19-2016, 08:49 AM   #5
Senior Member
 
3'senough's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: New York
Posts: 2,210
I owned a new Outback light prior to my first Jayco. I will say that the workmanship was less than the Jayco on the fit and trim level. I had 2 warranty issues while owning the unit with one being electrical for the AC unit not being connected properly and the unit arching. Also only one year warranty with Keystone.

The construction of the Outback was not as rigid as the Jayco. i.e. soft floors and ceiling bowed and pulling away in spots.

Honestly your experience sucks with the current Jayco unit you have, but I think with the explosion of popularity of unit sales all manufactures are feeling the pinch. The units are being put out very fast and QA is doing a poor job as are the dealers in their PDI's which should catch most of this stuff.

Regardless of brand I think your going to have issues to deal with. Jayco is usually pretty good at communications via email with all the necessary information. If you list your dealer in your message it helps with coordinating the repair work, or at least that has been my experience.
__________________

2014 375 BHFS Eagle Premier
2014 Ram 3500 Longhorn DRW CC
6.7 CTD, Aisin, 4.10's
Yamaha EF3000iSEB
3'senough is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-19-2016, 09:38 AM   #6
Senior Member
 
NVGun40's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Eagle River, AK
Posts: 900
Just my 2 cents here, and though my experience has been with two different automotive dealerships regarding a warranty repair at one and a annual service gone bad at another; the method of getting the issue resolved works and works well.

Write a letter. Explain the facts, leave it free of emotion. Point out the lack of response from Jayco. Again without emotion explain your thoughts about cutting losses and purchasing from a competitor. Explain how the lack of consideration from Jayco will lead you to a lack of faith and a desire to steer away any potential buyers.
Finally, in the last paragraph, offer a solution. Do not go overboard, just suggest an immediate response from Jayco and a complete inspection, test and fix of all items at no cost to you. Do not try to ask for extra.
Send a copy of this letter directly to your dealership (head office if it's a corporate entity), Jayco CEO, Better Business Bureau (both in your city and in the Jayco headquarters city/state), and the RVIA.
Do not send the letters to customer service or warranty departments. Address them to the CEO/company heads.
List at the bottom of the letter a distribution of where the copies of the letters are going.

When I did this with auto dealerships, I received calls from all entities and the issues I had were fixed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
__________________
We are just a humble drinking couple with a hunting and camping problem.
2018 Jayco Octane 260
2019 Dodge Ram 2500, 6.4 Hemi, 8 spd A/T
2021 Argo Aurora 8x8/2008 Arctic Cat M1000 SnoPro
Previous: Komfort 5er/Jamboree MH/Lance Cabover/Jayco Whitehawk 25BHS TT
NVGun40 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-19-2016, 05:20 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Fulton, NY
Posts: 958
Quote:
Originally Posted by nicdem View Post
My concern is that quality has fallen off with newer models.
Your concern is a valid one! We have owned 4 brand new Jayco's now since 2006! Our first one was a 2006 pop-up, Select 12HW. Awesome pop-up but we had mouse issues the first winter and while the dealership was replacing $1600 worth of the fabric, screening and windows, they gave us what we owed on it for trade in on a Hybrid, 2007 Jay Feather EXP 232. We had this great camper until 2012 when we traded in on a 2012 26BH. All 3 of these campers were built quite well with only very minor issues taken care of after the summer camping was done.

We traded the 26BH in on a 2017 28BHBE and definitely have found the quality to be a lot less than the 2012. Soft, squeaky floors, barely adequate A/C, trim falling off, slide seal torn, shower that leaks around the door onto the floor, bathroom faucet that was too shallow to allow our hands to be washed without hitting the back of the sink, lack of trim tape in the front bedroom, front bed frame that sagged with less than 200# on it, a very un-comfortable bed that had to have memory foam just to sleep 1 night on it, Furrion radio that had broken buttons (Furrion sent us a new one), and lots of wood and metal shavings everywhere. We also have right side fender skirting that isn't centered on the axles and the range hood vent cover flap blew off during a trip (it never closed from day 1).

I have fixed much of this myself as it costs me a tank of gas just to haul it to the dealer and home. The dealer is going to fix the slide seal, range hood vent cover, fender skirting and trim tape plus anything else we find during next summers camping. Overall we love the camper and are glad we upgraded. I can honestly say this won't be our last camper! I don't feel it would last more than 10 years the way we use it. We camp over 40 nights a year from May to October. Not sure our next one would be a Jayco!
__________________


2017 28BHBE Kitchen skylight, remote control and Aluminum wheels hitched by ProPride 3P
2017 Ram 2500 CC LB 4x4 Big Horn Cummins
LiftedAWDAstro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-20-2016, 05:31 AM   #8
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: buffalo
Posts: 3
Our dealers service department told us yesterday that they are doing a ton of warranty work on Jaycos now because there is no longer are real quality control dept!? I'm just scared of going to another manufacturer and having the same thing happen. Outside of Arctic Fox by Northwood, it seems to be 50/50 on all manufacturers, half the people love them and half the people hate them. I would really like to see a publication like consumer reports do a thorough rating on campers.
nicdem is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-15-2017, 04:08 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
John7349's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Fairview, Oregon
Posts: 450
Quote:
Originally Posted by nicdem View Post
Our dealers service department told us yesterday that they are doing a ton of warranty work on Jaycos now because there is no longer are real quality control dept!? I'm just scared of going to another manufacturer and having the same thing happen. Outside of Arctic Fox by Northwood, it seems to be 50/50 on all manufacturers, half the people love them and half the people hate them. I would really like to see a publication like consumer reports do a thorough rating on campers.
nicdem
Seven months have passed.... If your still around, Curious as to what your ultimate decision was. I know "buyers remorse" is no fun. Hopefully your Jayco has all the bugs removed and your now enjoy camping. Let us know how things turned out!
__________________
John & Pam Moore
Fairview, Oregon
2017 Jayco 321RSTS
2015 Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD
John7349 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Jayco, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:00 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2002-2016 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.