Not A Happy Camper!

[KHabie]

Well, I have been trying to keep things in prospective; "It's Just A Motorhome".
But, It should perform the function it was built to perform.
My wife and I are about to retire so we purchased a 2018 Jayco Alante P31.
We bought it about a year prior to retiring to "get the bugs out". We all expect some.
I drove a model similar to the one I bought and although it was a typical rough riding F53 chassis but it was acceptable. The one I took delivery on drives like crap. It wanders all over the road. I pulled a trailer for many years, driving sometimes 8 hours a day; no problem. After 3 hours of man handling this coach, I AM EXHAUSTED! I took it to an alignment shop and turns out that the camber is off on the front axle and the rear axle is shifted 1.5" to the right side of the chassis AND the rear axle is off 3.5 degrees thrust angle. (Crabbing Down The Road). I know because I followed my wife down a straight road
and can visually see the coach rolling (crabbing) down the road. The alignment shop attempted to take some of the play out of the gear box only to find that the gear box would bind up if the play was adjusted properly....needs to have gear box warrantied. The Jayco Dealer threw their hands up......"Ford Warranty Issue, NOT US". I contacted Ford. "we will not warrantee the chassis.........."It has been Modified."
New issue...........After retuning from a 250 mile trip, I removed some item from the front pass through compartment only to find the plastic floor was MELTED due to a clearance issue between the exhaust and the coach compartment. The wiring harness is also burnt. " Oh ya.....we have had a few issues with that........""We need to put a metal plate in the compartment and a shield on the exhaust". Why was this not done before I took delivery if they were aware of the problem.....?
I have repaired numerous water leaks, toilet, shower, water station. I understand some issues......but come on.....

The magic is gone just want to get it fixed and move on.......back to a truck and a trailer. Expensive mistake........especially at retirement time.

Happy Camping.

[2edgesword]

Originally Posted by KHabie

Well, I have been trying to keep things in prospective; "It's Just A Motorhome".
But, It should perform the function it was built to perform.
My wife and I are about to retire so we purchased a 2018 Jayco Alante P31.
We bought it about a year prior to retiring to "get the bugs out". We all expect some.
I drove a model similar to the one I bought and although it was a typical rough riding F53 chassis but it was acceptable. The one I took delivery on drives like crap. It wanders all over the road. I pulled a trailer for many years, driving sometimes 8 hours a day; no problem. After 3 hours of man handling this coach, I AM EXHAUSTED! I took it to an alignment shop and turns out that the camber is off on the front axle and the rear axle is shifted 1.5" to the right side of the chassis AND the rear axle is off 3.5 degrees thrust angle. (Crabbing Down The Road). I know because I followed my wife down a straight road
and can visually see the coach rolling (crabbing) down the road. The alignment shop attempted to take some of the play out of the gear box only to find that the gear box would bind up if the play was adjusted properly....needs to have gear box warrantied. The Jayco Dealer threw their hands up......"Ford Warranty Issue, NOT US". I contacted Ford. "we will not warrantee the chassis.........."It has been Modified."
New issue...........After retuning from a 250 mile trip, I removed some item from the front pass through compartment only to find the plastic floor was MELTED due to a clearance issue between the exhaust and the coach compartment. The wiring harness is also burnt. " Oh ya.....we have had a few issues with that........""We need to put a metal plate in the compartment and a shield on the exhaust". Why was this not done before I took delivery if they were aware of the problem.....?
I have repaired numerous water leaks, toilet, shower, water station. I understand some issues......but come on.....

The magic is gone just want to get it fixed and move on.......back to a truck and a trailer. Expensive mistake........especially at retirement time.

Happy Camping.

It is very frustrating to find these "surprises" when purchasing a new vehicle. A big reason for buying new is to avoid these surprises so it's double annoying when they happen. Hopefully Jayco will come through for you and make things right. At this point the "magic" may never reappear but it would be nice to at least get to the point where this experience doesn't detract from enjoying the journey going forward.

[KHabie]

Thank you Nice words. My whole family has camped, boated, fished, skied and hiked for ever. When you get to the point where you get to do it full time and juggle a job and other commitments........................it really sucks.

As far as Jayco........not yet..........I am doing all the running around to get this done. I hope they are enjoying there commission.

[Roux 'b Doux]

Originally Posted by KHabie

Thank you Nice words. My whole family has camped, boated, fished, skied and hiked for ever. When you get to the point where you get to do it full time and juggle a job and other commitments........................it really sucks.

As far as Jayco........not yet..........I am doing all the running around to get this done. I hope they are enjoying there commission.

What a horrible experience, and at retirement time, that's adding insult to injury as my mom used to say. Personally I'd go straight to Jayco Headquarters, and keep going up the line of management until I got someone who cared. Head to the top, president or CEO, and see if that helps. Sometimes you can actually reach these people.

Good luck and my sympathy with luck you'll get this turned around and at least get enjoyment in your retirement soon.

[curver900]

it is so sad that the warranty they sell everything on now days is only as good as the paper it is written on... If I was to ever spend that amount of coin on a RV I would take the warranty and other documents to a lawyer and have them figure out what the loop holes are... those "warranties" are written for the seller not the buyer.. anything north of $100k probably is worth the effort to have the document reviewed... cheaper than a 40% hit on a 100k outlay...

[Vicr]

Forget your dealer and call Jayco directly. They will make it right.

[FeatherFam]

Originally Posted by Vicr

Forget your dealer and call Jayco directly. They will make it right.

Perhaps they will. Jayco should have "made it (the MH) right" to begin with. And so it goes . . .
Very sorry for your experience, but I am not the least bit surprised. Hang in there, man. Do what you can to get Jayco to be legit. This RV industry after the fact warranty crud is a joke. 75-80% of it could be eliminated with better assembly and design practices.

[bdreinv]

We just sent are third certified letter to President, no response no call, no nothing.Trying to get are last warranty list from August of 2017 completed.Writing Attorney General and Federal Trade Commission next!Some one should start a thread titled Jayco Garbage!

[1955farm]

The heat shield ( or lack thereof) on the exhaust is a common problem on some units. Call Jayco Warranty directly and deal with them. And see if they will let you take it to another service center that can and will fix it. They have allowed this for many people I know who have had a lame dealer.

[KHabie]

Thank you for the kind words of encouragement. We will as you all have suggested.........keep plugging along.
Karl

[Eclipse]

Hi KH,
We bought the same unit as you, 2018 31P, and have had none of the issues you unfortunately have encountered. We are also newly retired and also new to RVing, and I have to say our “ride”, seems fine. You have made me a bit concerned though...I’ll be checking my exhaust etc.
I love this forum and really appreciate the input by all. I have learned alot being new to the group and RVing. So far have enjoyed our experience.

[Cutting]

I would encourage everyone who is having issues to write the Attorney General and the Federal Trade commission. Then maybe we could get some of these issues od poor design fixed

[KHabie]

Well the local dealer installed a heat shield and a new metal floor in the affected storage cabinet....we will see. The frame issue.....”it’s Ford’s problem....”it’s Jayco,s problem”. “ Jaayco put a house on the F53 Frame...warranty void” Do you see the pass the buck? I finally found a great RV Repair Shop....
Redlands Truck and RV....WOW. They really know thier stuff. They listened to my problems and took care of the rear axle problem. Jayco refuses to help with the bill in any way. I will take a few trips in the coach and sell it.... not a Jayco fan.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by KHabie

The frame issue.....”it’s Ford’s problem....”it’s Jayco,s problem”. “ Jaayco put a house on the F53 Frame...warranty void” Do you see the pass the buck?

FORD sells the F-53 to all RV manuf as an "incomplete chassis" with the intent that something will be built on it. Same applies to the E-350/450 and the SENECA chassis from Freightliner. Your FORD dealer is blowing smoke, it does not void the warranty. FORD actually has a complete set of "up-fitter" specs that it provides JAYCO, FOREST RIVER and the others to make the modifications. If that was the case no motorhome, school bus etc, sold would have any kind of chassis warranty. You need to find a FORD/STERLING truck shop.

[cabinetmaker]

The problem with the chassis is the wheelbase. Any wheelbase class A under 200" is not ever going to handle well and the ride will be very harsh.

228" wheelbase for a Class A should be minimum for proper ride and handling. 208" is acceptable but I personally would not go below 228" in a class A.

I have had short and long gas and diesel and this applies to them all.

The wheelbase on your 31P is 190" which is not enough. There is a 55% rule that says your wheelbase should be a minimum of 55% of the length of the coach. Your overall length is actually 31.5' so the minimum wheelbase should be 208" and your way under that.

This is one of the reasons we moved back to a class C motorhome. We also at this stage of our lives wanted to stay around 30' overall length. Very difficult if not impossible to find with the longer wheelbases that meet the 55%.

Our class C wheelbase is 223" which is over the 55%. Our overall length is 32.5' and 55% would be 215" so we are over that.

This is not a Jayco problem...it is a industry across the board problem. I speak to you from many years of ownership experience here.

[cabinetmaker]

I hate to show you this because you already purchased but I think you need to understand what is the cause of your handling problems. Read this...it's not my words but I fully agree with his math and explanation.

Wheelbase-to-Length Ratio for Motor homes:

Most RVers have never heard the term (or didn't until the RV Consumer Group began concentrating on the subject). The RV Consumer Group, referred to frequently by anybody who knows what they're doing, originated this concept. It refers to one of the most critical factors to be considered in selecting a motor home.

I'll give you the basics. Say the overall length of the MH is 36 feet. That's 432". Say the wheel base is 228". The ratio is calculated as 228 � 432 = .528 = 52.8% (call it 53%).

Anything under 50% is unsafe for highway travel.

50 to 53% is a bit dicey (will wear out the driver causing fatigue and stress).

Only ratios of 54% or more are considered safe.

Lower ratios will wear out your suspension as well as being unsafe.

[RetiredLEO]

Just want to say that my heart go's out to you. I'm disabled but waiting for my wife to retire in a couple of years to make the plunge to buy.
I am sold on Class C's as it will be just my wife, golden retriever and myself.

I can only inmagine the heart break and frustration you must be having. If we have similar bad luck I won't be able to look my wife in the face.
I was 17 years law enforcement, my Daughter In law is a Lawyer...Prosecutor (one of the good Attorneys) She worked in the State's Supreme Court for a couple of years. You are on the right track. Get hold of your Attorney Generals Office. Also your State Rep. and Senator. Better Business Bureau. Who ever the Ford Dealer was that told you that Ford wouldn't stand behind the steer box needs to be reminded of the Lemon Law. It's a safety issue.
I wish you the best and please keep us informed.

[JesseS]

Originally Posted by cabinetmaker

The problem with the chassis is the wheelbase. Any wheelbase class A under 200" is not ever going to handle well and the ride will be very harsh.

228" wheelbase for a Class A should be minimum for proper ride and handling. 208" is acceptable but I personally would not go below 228" in a class A.

I have had short and long gas and diesel and this applies to them all.

The wheelbase on your 31P is 190" which is not enough. There is a 55% rule that says your wheelbase should be a minimum of 55% of the length of the coach. Your overall length is actually 31.5' so the minimum wheelbase should be 208" and your way under that.

This is one of the reasons we moved back to a class C motorhome. We also at this stage of our lives wanted to stay around 30' overall length. Very difficult if not impossible to find with the longer wheelbases that meet the 55%.

Our class C wheelbase is 223" which is over the 55%. Our overall length is 32.5' and 55% would be 215" so we are over that.

This is not a Jayco problem...it is a industry across the board problem. I speak to you from many years of ownership experience here.

This is true, but there are things you can do, My Alante 26AY has a short wheelbase, and handled like crap when I got it, but I expected that. We settled on the 26AY as it is actually 27'9", and our Rv area will take up to 30', plus we loved the large tanks, and floor plan. I added a rear Trak Bar, safety steer, air suspension, rear sumosprings, and Koni shocks, set my tire pressure at 85, and the RV now handles just fine, no wandering, sway, or harsh ride. Was it expensive, you bet, but worth it as we will keep it for many years to come, and what's another $10K after spending so much to start with. I am now happy with the coach...... finally!

[longleen]

We have the Alante 31P also. I have done the CHF and it improved the handling quite a bit. My next thing will be a rear track bar, found out with a strong side wind and big rigs passing I get pushed around a bit. The other things I have done to improve handling is watch my tire pressures and keep any heavy things out of the rear storage and move them to toward the front compartments. This helps to balance the short wheelbase. The large area behind the rear wheels catches the wind so hopefully the rear trackbar will help. With no wind the RV goes straight and doesn’t jump lanes. Big rigs don’t push me around as much since the CHF was done. It rides better with 87# in the front tires 91# is noticeabley harder riding.

[JesseS]

Originally Posted by longleen

We have the Alante 31P also. I have done the CHF and it improved the handling quite a bit. My next thing will be a rear track bar, found out with a strong side wind and big rigs passing I get pushed around a bit. The other things I have done to improve handling is watch my tire pressures and keep any heavy things out of the rear storage and move them to toward the front compartments. This helps to balance the short wheelbase. The large area behind the rear wheels catches the wind so hopefully the rear trackbar will help. With no wind the RV goes straight and doesn’t jump lanes. Big rigs don’t push me around as much since the CHF was done. It rides better with 87# in the front tires 91# is noticeabley harder riding.

The rear Trak Bar will help a lot with any tendency to 'wander' due to truck ruts or side wind gusts. Those large leaf springs on the rear allow the axle to shift laterally causing the 'tail wagging the dog' action, the Trak Bar locks the rear differential to the frame allowing only vertical movement. #85 psi seems to work best for my smaller 26AY, tried 90# and it was to hard. The new springs that came with the air suspension really made a huge improvement in the harshness of the front end to bridge transitions and pot holes, really smoothed out the ride. I can now drive one handed and relax without arriving at the camp site with sore neck and shoulder muscles from fighting the wheel for hours. The addition of lots of sound proofing in the dog house and under the wheel wells as well as under the dash has really quieted the cabin down. to where we can actually talk or hear the radio.