So far, not a fan...

[JDsRVcrzy]

So, I bit the bullet and bought a fifth wheel coming from a pull (conventional) trailer. My first was a 2020 Keystone Outback and my second was the 2021 Stryker ST2916. But, the trailer's had mediocre build quality...or so I thought..
I'm finding, other than towing like poop, my Stryker was actually a really nicely appointed trailer in comparison to this Seismic. It has solid corion type counter tops in in kitchen, room darkening shade throughout and was built not too shotty..

Well, this Seismic 359... wow.. they really slapped this thing together. I'm sure they had different people working on it. Some did good work while others just stapled here and there(who cares), threw on back boarding onto plumbing, stripped screws left and right, hung cheap window "thin" shades and treatments crooked/uneven, stuck the main cap "Seismic" decal crooked, installed bent doors, didn't finish welding "the custom" chassis/frame separator plates (propane compartment next to electrical compartment???), stapled in drawer bracketry (and where they used screws, they used only one), incorrectly installed patio doors, bent up stove top, installed sideout bracketry misaligned and just left sawdust hidden behind finish work...EVERY WHERE!!!

There's more to the list. But its just disgusting to say more. My upgrade list is 3 pages long.. This is a trailer with an MSRP at $122,000 mind you!! IT DOESN"T EVEN COME WITH ROOM DARKEN SHADES, "UN"FORMICA COUNTER TOPS, RUBBERIZED LINKED SPRINGS, SHOCKS, OR SEWAGE TUB HOLDERS FOR CHRIST SAKE!!!

All I can say is. The lay out is nice. I like the wheels, the graphics, the stable FW for towing, hydraulic auto leveling and the thought out design...

jayco is no better than anything else out there.. heck I'm beginning to think they might be worse...

sorry to say..

[Ogerjohn]

I have to agree, I bought my 2020 due to the quality of my first Jayco. My second trailer was a keystone raptor and it lacked quality of my Jayco. I searched for reviews when I bought the seismic and everything looked good. What I didn't realize was that the Company was sold 4 years earlier, and now 2 years in the present there are many complaints.

[JDsRVcrzy]

Ogerjohn I'm sorry to hear as well. I'm on week two in having the trailer and I'm still sorting through it. Fixing here and there what I can. I've been shoring up the drawers and moving onto securing the electric and plumbing. I can't wait until the day I can walk into it and not find something else broken or mis-installed. I haven't even started my upgrades yet. I have a trip planned in middle March and it'll just have have to roll incomplete.

[The Gritz Carlton]

Originally Posted by JDsRVcrzy

So, I bit the bullet and bought a fifth wheel coming from a pull (conventional) trailer. My first was a 2020 Keystone Outback and my second was the 2021 Stryker ST2916. But, the trailer's had mediocre build quality...or so I thought..
I'm finding, other than towing like poop, my Stryker was actually a really nicely appointed trailer in comparison to this Seismic. It has solid corion type counter tops in in kitchen, room darkening shade throughout and was built not too shotty..

Well, this Seismic 359... wow.. they really slapped this thing together. I'm sure they had different people working on it. Some did good work while others just stapled here and there(who cares), threw on back boarding onto plumbing, stripped screws left and right, hung cheap window "thin" shades and treatments crooked/uneven, stuck the main cap "Seismic" decal crooked, installed bent doors, didn't finish welding "the custom" chassis/frame separator plates (propane compartment next to electrical compartment???), stapled in drawer bracketry (and where they used screws, they used only one), incorrectly installed patio doors, bent up stove top, installed sideout bracketry misaligned and just left sawdust hidden behind finish work...EVERY WHERE!!!

There's more to the list. But its just disgusting to say more. My upgrade list is 3 pages long.. This is a trailer with an MSRP at $122,000 mind you!! IT DOESN"T EVEN COME WITH ROOM DARKEN SHADES, "UN"FORMICA COUNTER TOPS, RUBBERIZED LINKED SPRINGS, SHOCKS, OR SEWAGE TUB HOLDERS FOR CHRIST SAKE!!!

All I can say is. The lay out is nice. I like the wheels, the graphics, the stable FW for towing, hydraulic auto leveling and the thought out design...

jayco is no better than anything else out there.. heck I'm beginning to think they might be worse...

sorry to say..

Most of these things seem obvious to the naked eye on a quick walk-through. Did you buy it sight unseen?

[JDsRVcrzy]

Originally Posted by The Gritz Carlton

Most of these things seem obvious to the naked eye on a quick walk-through. Did you buy it sight unseen?

The Gritz Carlton! I read what your saying. It was a long distance purchase. We only had seen pictures online. We drove four hours to get there and they didn't open till 10am. We immediately went through a walk through that was more of a "how things work" instead of letting us walking around and checking conditions. My first "kick in the pants" was that it didn't have all wood cabinets as advertised by Jayco. Apparently, Jayco defines wood as laminate too. The second "kick" was the cheap laminate counter tops. After that, we walked away after venting to them our displeasure with quality of some of the components.

Well, of course, hours later down the road, we were reconnected with the sales manager and lured back with a deeper reduced price satisfactory enough to cover the cost of new counter tops and upgraded kitchen appliances.

oh..I don't have "xray vision" and forgot to bring my drill to pull panels off to see the "craftmanship"....or lack thereof...

Again, we did like the layout and most of the other components..

[THE MEEKER]

ELKHART, Ind., July 1, 2016:

Derald Bontrager, President and CEO of Jayco stated, "The core values that are synonymous with Jayco shape the way we run our business, and these values will remain and guide us as we look to the future. One of the things we found most attractive about Thor was their decentralized business structure, which allows their subsidiaries to continue operating independently. Most importantly, within this structure, our current leadership team will continue to manage Jayco, just as we have been running it since our founding. We will continue with the same focus our father had on serving our dealers and consumers better than anyone else in the industry."

A few days later, Mr Bontrager said the following to Thor President and CEO Bob Martin; “Thanks for the big bag of money, see ya!”

[JDsRVcrzy]

Hahaha!!! I Bet he did!!

[Cincinnati Kid]

So many stories out there of someone building a reputable company then the heirs run it into the ground.

[Kmo]

I am glad I took the loss and sold my Seismic bought a older Monoco Motor Home and now enjoy camping again.

[Murff]

Originally Posted by Cincinnati Kid

So many stories out there of someone building a reputable company then the heirs run it into the ground.

A lot of truth in that statement! Fleetwood is a great example. They built Terry, Wilderness and Prowler Brand trailers plus a number of motorhome brands, and at one time, commanded 45% of the RV market. When the founders turned it over to the heirs, they were more Interested in playing golf and buying real estate. The brand quickly went into the toilet.

Murff

[Hollander Mutthaulers]

We inspected a 2017 16XRB Jayco at the factory and ordered a custom build. A few months later we received what was perhaps the first 2017 16XRB Thorjayco. Had a couple major cuts in quality, especially galvanized steel downgraded to plastic fender wells. They explained they can do whatever they want so shove it. Overall, the trailer was good enough and Thorjayco was good enough with warranty work and the customer service and techs at Terrytown were very good. Over the years we kept working on it, making it better and more customized to exactly what we want and it has paid off. We now have a trailer perfect for us and have never seen one we would rather have. From what I read, I'm glad we were able to get the quality we did.

[Superseneca]

Thor has a habit of destroying good rv manufacturers.

[Yooper906]

Originally Posted by Superseneca

Thor has a habit of destroying good rv manufacturers.

No love for Thor, but consider this. No manufacturer was forced to sell out to Thor. Decisions were made.

[goducks]

Wonder why you even bought it? Did you not notice any of those cheap items when you toured it before deciding t buy it?
Hard to blame Jayco after the fact.

[JDsRVcrzy]

latest findings...broken cabinet hinge, missing cabinet trims, wiring ran through heater ducted work and main pinched main hot water lines... its going to be a proper unit when I'm done...

[KCSA75]

Originally Posted by THE MEEKER

ELKHART, Ind., July 1, 2016:

Derald Bontrager, President and CEO of Jayco stated, "The core values that are synonymous with Jayco shape the way we run our business, and these values will remain and guide us as we look to the future. One of the things we found most attractive about Thor was their decentralized business structure, which allows their subsidiaries to continue operating independently. Most importantly, within this structure, our current leadership team will continue to manage Jayco, just as we have been running it since our founding. We will continue with the same focus our father had on serving our dealers and consumers better than anyone else in the industry."

A few days later, Mr Bontrager said the following to Thor President and CEO Bob Martin; “Thanks for the big bag of money, see ya!”

I've worked for two companies that were purchased by a larger company. In both cases the new powers that be told us over and over not to worry because they pride themselves on local autonomy. Don't worry you will notice very little change.

In both cases, it was a load of BS. I learned after the first acquisition to refer to these folks as corporate liars.

[JDsRVcrzy]

Originally Posted by KCSA75

I've worked for two companies that were purchased by a larger company. In both cases the new powers that be told us over and over not to worry because they pride themselves on local autonomy. Don't worry you will notice very little change.

In both cases, it was a load of BS. I learned after the first acquisition to refer to these folks as corporate liars.

Sad. Just sad.