Almost a new jayco jay feather 23RL owner

Fyouberg · 01-05-2018, 10:09 AM

Hello from Albuquerque! Setting up the 1976 Apache hard-sideded popup finally became a bit more of a chore then my wife and I wanted to deal with every time we wanted to go camping. So, after many hours of research we've pretty much decided on a 2018 Jay Feather 23RL travel trailer. I would love to hear from other owners about their experiences with this model. In particular, can someone tell me how many BTUs the furnace generates. The AC is 15K, but I can't find anything regarding the furnace. The underbelly is enclosed, but I don't know about heated. Thanks for any information that members can share.

Hazman65 · 01-05-2018, 10:46 AM

I don’t have this model but I grew up camping in Apache campers. They were amazing campers and love seeing them still in use!

Fyouberg · 01-05-2018, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hazman65

I don’t have this model but I grew up camping in Apache campers. They were amazing campers and love seeing them still in use!

I thought there might be one or two out there familiar with the Apache name. It's a real classic and we've enjoyed it for years, but now it's time to move into something a bit easier (and luxurious) to use.

Iraq 69 · 01-05-2018, 11:42 AM

Hey!!
We also had an Apache hard side camper! It was many moons ago and we have had several pop ups, TT’s and 5’ers since.
Congrats and Welcome to the ZOO!
Marc

jkaras7 · 01-05-2018, 09:55 PM

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your upcoming new travel trailer.

rkresge · 01-05-2018, 10:44 PM

Looks like you're getting the optional A/C, at 15,000 BTU - you may need it living in the southwest. I have the 2016 23RLSW, which is almost identical, and we love it. No idea what the BTU number for the furnace is, but I do know it works well. A couple of thoughts on the trailer - the furnace does not tie to the A/C ducts, so it puts hot air in the main cabin only. We have found that we can trick the A/C blower into running in ours while the furnace is running (no cooling, just circulating air), which helps a lot if it gets really cold.

We have the enclosed underbelly, but I'm pretty sure it's not heated under there.

The short queen bed may not be a good thing if you're tall, like I am. Also, expect to replace the mattress pretty quickly. Maybe you can get your dealer to throw in a good one to replace the (usually) pretty crappy one that comes with most travel trailers. I got a replacement online for less than $300, we've been very happy with that.

I've found that at 22.5 gal for each of the storage tanks, I have to drain the grey tank daily. 2 adults. Sometimes we can get 2 days use from the black tank. Full hookups are pretty much mandatory for us, although I do have a 25 gal portable tank, just in case.

A slide topper is a good optional investment.

Enjoy!!

Roger

robkelly · 01-06-2018, 07:27 AM

Welcome!

**Mustang65** · 01-06-2018, 04:20 PM

WELCOME TO JOF!!!

The members here are GREAT!!! There is a lot of GREAT information to be found here. I am sure that you will have information and pictures to share with us... so please do!!

Don

My Registry

RVing with SOLAR

geezerbob · 01-06-2018, 07:13 PM

Like rkresge we have a 2016 23rlsw. Like Roger said 22.5 gal gray water tank is smaller than we would like but the specs. indicate that the 2017 and 2018 models have a 30 gal gray water tank. We have a 3 inch foam topper on the bed that helps a lot. We have the 13.5 a.c. unit. We like the floor plan a lot. Mounted a vcr and tv in the bedroom but usually we fall asleep before we can watch anything.
I went with the 1000/10,000 equalizer hitch. I agree with Roger about the heat system.
We haven't figured out how to steady the dinette table yet. Bought it mid summer of 2017 and have about 4,000 miles on it, so far so good. Pulls great with our truck.
I have a few small issues with water leaks no big deal. You can look at my last few posts regarding that.
Still debating on getting the slide topper. Headed for N.E. Canada later this year New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Bob

rkresge · 01-06-2018, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geezerbob

Headed for N.E. Canada later this year New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Bob

Be sure to wave at us in Maine as you go by!

I'd like to return to NB and NS sometime and catch some more of the sights. Visited once, back in '03.

Roger

geezerbob · 01-06-2018, 07:51 PM

Roger.. We might visit Maine also.
Regarding the gray tank. It looks like the 2015, 2017, 2018 had 30 gal gray tanks. Are you sure ours and yours the 2016 is 22.5 gal? Why would they skip that year or was it a miss print on Jayco's web site. or??
I'm going to send a note to Jayco to confirm that.
Bob

rkresge · 01-06-2018, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geezerbob

Roger.. We might visit Maine also.
Regarding the gray tank. It looks like the 2015, 2017, 2018 had 30 gal gray tanks. Are you sure ours and yours the 2016 is 22.5 gal? Why would they skip that year or was it a miss print on Jayco's web site. or??
I'm going to send a note to Jayco to confirm that.
Bob

I dunno about the gray tank, other than that the Jayco website specs for the 2016 23RLSW say both gray and black are 22.5 gallons. Doesn't matter too much when you get right down to it. As I said earlier, we rarely go more than a day before having to drain it. Which is OK, as we've *never* been anywhere without full hookups, even though I do have a 27 gal. SmartTote2 portable tank if I need it.

Roger

FeatherFam · 01-07-2018, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkresge

Looks like you're getting the optional A/C, at 15,000 BTU - you may need it living in the southwest. I have the 2016 23RLSW, which is almost identical, and we love it. No idea what the BTU number for the furnace is, but I do know it works well. A couple of thoughts on the trailer - the furnace does not tie to the A/C ducts, so it puts hot air in the main cabin only. We have found that we can trick the A/C blower into running in ours while the furnace is running (no cooling, just circulating air), which helps a lot if it gets really cold.

We have the enclosed underbelly, but I'm pretty sure it's not heated under there.

The short queen bed may not be a good thing if you're tall, like I am. Also, expect to replace the mattress pretty quickly. Maybe you can get your dealer to throw in a good one to replace the (usually) pretty crappy one that comes with most travel trailers. I got a replacement online for less than $300, we've been very happy with that.

I've found that at 22.5 gal for each of the storage tanks, I have to drain the grey tank daily. 2 adults. Sometimes we can get 2 days use from the black tank. Full hookups are pretty much mandatory for us, although I do have a 25 gal portable tank, just in case.

A slide topper is a good optional investment.

Enjoy!!

Roger

I second Roger. Our 2016 Feather 23RBM is the same construction. We have a non-ceiling ducted 15K AC. It is okay. We live in the Deep South. I wish it was ducted; I think the 2018s are ceiling ducted. The furnace has 3 ducts (two for the living area and one for the bath). It works quite well. Our underbelly is also enclosed. I do not understand why Jayco uses the smalll tanks. There are a number of other "ultra-light" brands that offer 40, 50, and even 70 gallon waste tanks (Grand Design/Imagine, numerous Keystone and Forest River units).

I would like to see Jayco step it up with the tank capacities and the cruddy fans they use. Less expensive models of other makes come with Fantastic Fans and Maxx Air fans, and they place them in coaches of our size and smaller in at least two locations (typically bath and kitchen/icing area or bath and bedroom area).

My input would be to also consider a TT with a 5/8 plywood floor. I wil not buy another laminate floor RV of any make or model.

geezerbob · 01-07-2018, 08:46 AM

Our 2016 23 rlsw has ducted air conditioning. 13.5 Dometric unit that I installed a soft start capacitor on. But unducted heat. The 8 gallon difference between 22.5 and 30 gallon gray tank makes a difference for us as we very seldom have full hookups.
I sent a note into Jayco along with our vin number to see what we actually have for a gray tank.
They do make errors on their web site specs. I saw a unit that had a 48 gallon water heater on the specs.
Bob

Vince · 01-07-2018, 06:55 PM

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the new TT. We have a 2017 23RLSW and love it! My only complaint is no room to walk around the bed, otherwise it’s a great unit. We had 8 trips this past summer and was never hot nor cold, so I wouldn’t worry about the size of your AC and furnace. Since it was our first summer camping, our long trip was six hours north and everything else was no more than three to four hours...Illinois and Wisconsin. We had no problems with her. We can’t wait to get back out this spring. We are planning a trip to Mount Rushmore. Love the camping live! Enjoy!

rkresge · 01-07-2018, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vince

My only complaint is no room to walk around the bed, otherwise it’s a great unit.

Can't argue about that one, either!

We keep our laundry bags under the foot of the bed, and I get the driver's side since DW is slightly handicapped. So my access to the bed is through the bathroom. Also, our replacement mattress is several inches thicker than the original, which makes is a little challenging to climb up there!

We do love ours, that's for sure.

Roger

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