Make sure you know what you're buying?

[Aggie79]

Momma said, "If you can't say something good, don't say nothing." Ok. I will say SuperdutyFord there are many more out there like you (us) than post on these sites. January will be my eighth "warranty" trip to the dealer.

[Bippygma]

Originally Posted by SuperdutyFord

My 2015 Jayco Jay Flight 28bhbe that I purchased brand new, has been nothing but a headache with constant issues. There is not a week or month that goes by that I don't have to fix something that breaks. With this piece of garbage I bought. I wish they had a list like this before I purchased it so I wouldn't have made the mistake I did.
(What travel trailers brands to avoid in 2020
Forest River travel trailer brand: 45%
Keystone travel trailer brand: 26%
Jayco travel trailer brand: 15%
Coachmen travel trailer brand: 5%
Winnebago travel trailer brand: 3%
Fleetwood travel trailer brand: 2%
Gulf Stream travel trailer brand: 1%
Aug 29, 2020
outdoorfact.com › travel-trailer-...
8 Worst Travel Trailer Brands to Avoid at All Costs | Outdoor Fact

I have a 2018 Jayco 154BH that I purchased over 2 years ago and have traveled extensively in it. The only problem that I have had is that one of the stabilizing jacks went wonky when we were on a trip. I had a Mobile RV truck come out and they fixed it on the spot and we were on our way again.

However, I previously had a Scamp that I have to say it was much better made. I can tell the Jayco is made much more cheaply than the Scamp.
Although, I do love my Jayco!

[brandsberg]

I'm sorry I couldn't stop laughing reading your post. I pictured the whole thing in my mind. You have quite a way with words. I think you could get your money back by making a movie about this POS. Thanks for the laugh!

[nynethead]

They have been getting worse. My 2007 Laredo (Thor) only had minimal issues the last year I had it. My replacement a 2018 Jayco had issues day 1. All fixed now but first year there were many repairs

[Johnynorthland]

This is a frequent post. I don’t know if it will ever get better. I feel for some people, especially those who expected to buy a big ticketed item like this and have it not have mechanical issues and repairs other than normal maintenance. We are on our 3rd RV. Our first one was a nightmare, just like the OP, our 2nd was pretty good to us but just wasn’t a good fit for us, ( my DW), now on my 3rd, a 2 year old 2019 Jayco Redhawk 25R has had very minor issues compared to our first RV. And our red hawk what is the least expensive of them all! I see us
Going into another rig in the future but I’m seriously considering buying used and having it restored.

[DamonBecky]

We have been fairly happy with our Northpoint. We had one minor issue under warranty, the fireplace, which due to a faulty control module was replaced fully. We had a good dealer, Hope RV in Monroe, LA. They were great. We've moved since then, so hope we find a good one up here in northeast Arkansas.
Meanwhile, one other issue, not a Jayco issue, was a fan cage breaking in the main air unit up top. It was not covered under warranty (we'd been in it over 3 yrs) but I did find Coleman issues for that exact problem on this forum, and others. I tried contacting Coleman and emailing links to "service" to see if they would refund me $225 for the cost of repair, but no responses, of course.
One other issue...I've had the shaft and pins break in my Lippert 3.0 middle stabilizers...I replaced those myself, but it's not a easy job. (I wrote another post on that issue.)
But overall, we can't complain. We've had good luck with our Northpoint (2016) and service when we needed it.

[Bayoutalker]

Originally Posted by jloco

It’s actually been the opposite... many say quality has dropped since the Thor acquisition in July 2016.
Many feel pre Thor units are better built. I’ve had minimal problems with our 2016 38FDDS.

I don't know what has changed since 2010 when the industry took a hit. I have owned 2 Crossroads Cruisers built by Thor, a 2009 and a 2011 and both were great units. I had only a couple issues on the first one and they were fixed promptly thanks to a good dealer and factory customer relations. Parts were shipped quickly and they were very friendly over the phone. I would have bought another one but after the crash they cut several models and didn't have a floorplan I liked. I certainly hope they get back to doing business like they used to. I would definitely look at them again.

[Herlugson]

Inspecting what you buy before you buy it can save you a ton of troubles after signing on the dotted line. I know this easier said than done, particularly for those that are less mechanically inclined. I ordered my 5th wheel (RSTS321) in February of 2020. It delivered in March. I spent close to 4-hours doing my own PDI before I signing on the dotted line. I was thoroughly impressed by the absence of discrepancies that I failed to find on my custom unit, and haven't had a problem throughout the 4-weeks used to date (about 2200-miles later).

[BigSteve]

Sorry to hear about the problems you've had. When I was researching for my first (and current) RV, I decided I would never buy a new one, based on one horror story after another. We bought a TT 2 1/2 to 3 years old. It's been fine. The previous owner left behind his service papers. Wow. It went back any number of times in the first 18 months. But at least it was dialed in when I got it.

[DrSmart]

Originally Posted by Crabman

What I have noticed is that RV forums in general where mass produced units are represented there are horror stories as well as songs of praise by owners. Brand is less important then the attitude and quality of the crew that build YOUR particular unit on any given day. As Grumpy said components are the same and construction methods are similar at these price points. I can't say what the $2 million rigs have in them or how happy their owners are, don't hang in those circles.

I agree with Crabman. We've had no issues with ours except for the wonky LED lights on the awning. Dealer will replace the awning/LED light combo. It's like crews building a house in a development. If you get a good crew, you lucked out. Walls are straight and rooms are squared. With trailers, there's also those running and connecting electrical, propane lines and plumbing. Good crew, good work. Crew having a bad day, poor workmanship.

[weezer]

The trailer in my signature has been a giant PITA; about 1/3 parts supplier problems with the remainder being Jayco generated issues. After one month of ownership and 0 trips (my wife had major surgery the day after we signed the papers on it) I took it back along with a 2 page, single spaced, 26 item list of problems... at least 1/2 were major issues. It spent 7 months of the first 14 months we owned it sitting on the dealer's lot waiting for repairs. A large part of the problem was the dealership's management and service department... several months ago the owner fired most of the management/service personnel and put in competent people. The last time it was in there it was like dealing with a brand new, and caring, place. Amazing how things changed there but still the problems with Jayco and it's suppliers remain the same. Warranty has now expired and we are prematurely looking at new fifth wheels (none Jayco, never again) to replace this female dog (not said with sexist intent, but intended as polite wording only) of a trailer. Dealer good (finally but too late), Jayco bad...

[DrSmart]

weezer. Since the dealer has cleaned shop and may be good to move forward with, do they sell other brands? Ours had Jayco and Montana along with various others.

[weezer]

They're just moving to add another line but it's not one I'm interested in. We had a 2016 Montana High Country 353RL that we traded in on the Jayco. The only problems we had with it was with the window shades (every one was eventually replaced and several more than once). Right now my wife has her heart set on a Vanleigh Beacon 36GBB but we want one made before Thor bought out Tiffin (Vanleigh's parent company) last month as Thor seems more interested in profit than quality. Such is life...

[weezer]

Open Range is the other line they're adding...

[GeorgeDX213]

2018 Jayco X213 Kitchen counter delaminated warrantied, Refrig two issues warrantied, propane regulator warrantied. Kitchen draws poorly constructed almost all the nails missed there mark. Luckily Wes Campers have done right by me and fix all these issues.

I reinforced most areas in the camper as the work was not up to grade.

Love there camper though.

[robert9999]

Bought my 2017 Jayfeather new back in July 2016 right near the factory, drove it home from Middlebury to Fl. Probably over 25,000 miles of towing it across country multiple times. I have had minimal issues with it & it was nothing I couldn't fix myself but I had the 2 yr warranty. Only reoccurring issue is the cheap toilet. I have had to change the valve 3 times over the past 2 years. Leak detected at top of vent hole, a $25. part & 15 minutes of work. They sent me one for free after complaining & I bought one on Amazon at the same time before they sent me one. I had to change that one also. I'm on my third valve now. I picked up my TT a few weeks after Thor announced the buyout. I had to wait 12 weeks for it to be completed

[WPPatrick]

I know what you are experiencing. I bought a 2017 Jayco Eagle HT 28.5 RLS, and constant issues. Though after 3yrs now, I may be good ..... for now! Having talked to several different owners with other than Jayco machines, there seems to be issues with most everyone. My next one....if I get another one .....not sure.

[t18skyguy]

I think the RV industry is at roughly the same point as GM was in the early 80's. GM use to build the best cars in the world, but due to a confluence of factors, quality started a downward spiral that never recovered. The same is happening to RV's. Even though prices continue to rise for RV components, they still need to come in at a price point that people can afford. Wages have not gone up in real dollars for most people in many years, so there is no alternative but to build rigs cheaper and faster. Sure there are problems even with high end rigs, but in general they are not as serious or widespread as the cheaper built unit. A good example is water tanks falling out out the highway. Thus far I haven't heard of that happening on a high end unit, but who knows maybe eventually. I would rather work on a higher end unit to keep it in shape than to flog myself on a junk build that is never going to be right regardless of money or work.

[oldcodger]

Picked up my 2021 Jay Flight 28RLS on October 2, 2020 and hauled it back to my home resort. As I'm setting up I realized the front edge of the slide out didn't seal against the camper side. The factory should never have let it out that way, nor should the dealer but mostly I should have caught it before taking possession.


I grumbled a little while pulling out a couple of wrenches but 10 minutes later all was fixed. No big deal and nothing else was wrong but the damn digital thermostat. I'm 70 and I needed a teenager to sort it out but the wife figured it out eventually. I love my Jayco.

[Randel J]

We bought our 2019 Jay Flight 264BHW brand new about 15 months ago and have enjoyed the unit, while experiencing a minimal amount of things breaking and/or not working. Except for the roof needing a complete replacement by the Dealer, I've been able to fix the little things myself that needed attention.

During the walk-thru PDI with our Dealer Service Rep, a sizable rip in the roof fabric was discovered that required a total roof replacement. Since we were leaving on a trip with the new TT the following week, the Dealer did a decent patch job to get us thru our trip. When we returned home, we brought the trailer back for the roof replacement and had the unit back in 1 month as promised.

I will agree with most of these thread posts that trailer quality of parts and workmanship is minimal at best. But I believe that customer satisfaction comes more from the RV Dealer than it will from the make/model of the unit purchased.