Jay Flight 174BH little review and simple mods

[Irishcannoli]

ah yes! love it when a mod can do multiple things. perfect, thanks for the tip. Looking more an dmore like the 174BH is the winner. Now do you have a mod for not having the dog jump on the bed when you are eating? haha

[IamSpartacus]

I really like your light setup and I love how you were so willing to cut into the wall for your shower setup, man, that really is YOUR trailer!

For my shower I constructed a PVC collapsible shower stall with an attached curtain (for discretion), and built a wooden grate to stand on. Outdoor summer showers that dont increase my grey water are awesome, although I dont use soap or I need to get some environmentally friendly stuff. Convienantly, the shower stall breaks down and slides into the rear bumper, the plastic caps are now secured by cotter pins. I really do think this might be my favorite mod btw.

Enjoy, nice trailer there!

[16WhiteColly]

Originally Posted by fisher

Great thread, brand new owner on 174BHBJ.

Reached out to jayco service to ask for some drawings and this is what I received.

"Good morning,

I understand your request, however because your unit is under warranty I am not permitted to send you any diagrams on the plumbing or electrical of your unit. I apologize for the inconvenience and look forward to assisting you in the future. Have a wonderful day.

(removed name)
Customer Service Specialist"



From what I could gather on this thread, I wasn't expecting that response. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

I got drawings way before warranty ended, but that was on my 2016 model.

[16WhiteColly]

Originally Posted by rigger4343

I know there are some WDH that also help with sway but I am no expert on them. I looked into them when I first got my rig but after loading and towing, I didn't feel it was needed.
Our rig tows great and sits just fine with how it's loaded and only using friction style anti sway.
Maybe if you are towing with a really softly suspended vehicle or you have a lot of weight up front in the trailer, then I'm sure it may help out a lot.
My Tacoma is actually a pretty soft truck though. I have thought about putting bags under the rear of mine but not because of trailer weight. More so because sometimes the bed of my truck gets loaded down with other stuff.

I tow my 18’ single axle trailer with a Colorado, and use the Curt 17300 WD Hitch rated at 5,000 lbs./ 500 lbs. tongue weight, and I use two of the Curt 17200 Sway Controls, one is good enough, but I added two. No problems with this combo. Cheap insurance. Better to have than not.

[16WhiteColly]

Originally Posted by deepsea5

Good deal on that topper!

The original mattress in ours had a stain, so that mattress was a no-go by the Mrs.
We ended up replacing the mattress with a Sealy Posturepedic residential mattress. We found it at a discount liquidator for $250. (its brand new). Very comfortable! The mattress was not heavy, I was able to install it by myself.

Could you check and maybe post the manufacturers number on the mattress? Thanks.

[deepsea5]

Originally Posted by 16WhiteColly

Could you check and maybe post the manufacturers number on the mattress? Thanks.

The mattress is in the camper and the camper is covered for the winter.
We bought the mattress from a local liquidator (Mardens, in Lewiston Maine). It is just a standard residential queen sized mattress.

[rigger4343]

Originally Posted by IamSpartacus

I really like your light setup and I love how you were so willing to cut into the wall for your shower setup, man, that really is YOUR trailer!

For my shower I constructed a PVC collapsible shower stall with an attached curtain (for discretion), and built a wooden grate to stand on. Outdoor summer showers that dont increase my grey water are awesome, although I dont use soap or I need to get some environmentally friendly stuff. Convienantly, the shower stall breaks down and slides into the rear bumper, the plastic caps are now secured by cotter pins. I really do think this might be my favorite mod btw.

Enjoy, nice trailer there!

Got any pics of your shower set up? We use one of those pop up tent things for an outdoor shower. I also built a wood grate to stand on. Having something simple like that to stand on makes it a lot nicer.

[IamSpartacus]

I dont unfortunately, but it is just 1/2 inch PVC, with pvc joints to make a box and a cheap opaque shower curtain wrapped around it. The wood grate was just some chop sawed 1x2 wood, screwed together. Super simple and it took about 15 min to put together the first time.

[rigger4343]

Originally Posted by IamSpartacus

I dont unfortunately, but it is just 1/2 inch PVC, with pvc joints to make a box and a cheap opaque shower curtain wrapped around it. The wood grate was just some chop sawed 1x2 wood, screwed together. Super simple and it took about 15 min to put together the first time.

Sounds simple enough. I was considering making some sort of a shower ring with a curtain or something like that hanging. Then make some sort of a mount and attach just the mount to the trailer. Then you could grab the shower ring and just clip it to the mount.

[selectgear1]

Originally Posted by TheJoshSweeney

Rigger4343 - Awesome thread with mods, thank you for this!

I was debating the 154bh and then when I found this thread I am now considering the 174bh. If you didn't have dogs with you, would you have or do you ever think you would have been happy with the 154bh? Especially since you said you mainly spend most of the time outside?

Thanks!

I had a 2011 154BH and traded it in for a lightly used 2019 174BH. No question about it, the 174BH is much, much better. Two major improvements - (1) more storage (2) the dinette stays up all the time. In the 154 you lose your dining table to the forward bed. Get the 174BH!

[TheJoshSweeney]

Selectgear1 - thanks for the heads up but it’s too late, plus I wasn’t worried too much about the dinette. The 154bh I got also only costed me 13,700 included taxes so I couldn’t pass it up.

[rigger4343]

Well I finally got around to adding some additional lighting to the outside of the camper in key areas that I always seem to need some. For most of our weekend trips, we almost always arrive after dark so extra lights are nice.

Ordered up some LED porch lights with an on/off switch on them. I think they were about $30 for all four lights off of EBay.

I installed one on the front of the trailer to make it easier when hooking up and unhooking the TT in the dark. Also I lock up the bikes to the front of the trailer sometimes when it is dark.

Put another back by all the hookups.

One at the rear corner because that is normally where we use the outdoor shower.

And the last one I mounted up a bit high under the awning. Kind of shining down where I normally have a table set up to cook on.

They are pretty bright and came with a yellow lens too so if needed, I can try a yellow one.

Going camping this weekend so I will find out how well they really work.

[rigger4343]

Recently I picked a few inflatable paddle boards. After pumping up one with a hand pump, I decided there was no way I was going to pump all three by hand! I ordered a 12v air pump for them and figured I would throw a 12v plug on the front of the trailer.

Ordered a really simple 12v plug off of Amazon. It is actually a nice little 15amp rated rig. It came ready to go too. I just wired it straight to the battery. Really simple and it should work great for inflating water toys. Could be useful for other things too.

[rigger4343]

Another simple thing I did this week was to throw some cup holders inside. My wife and I normally sit on the bed to eat while the kids are at the dinette. I hated not having a good spot for my drink. Just got a couple of flip-out cup holders and mounted them high enough to clear the mattress when it is lifted up.
I found out they also work great as cell phone holders too. After mounting them, I ordered two more and I am going to throw them on the front corners too. That way when we are sleeping, there is a nice spot for a phone to sit or a bottle of water.
I have a feeling I will be adding a couple more to the bunk beds too.

[rigger4343]

And for my last fun discovery this week.....
RATS!! Or I should say a rat. A Big SOB too!

I normally keep our TT covered because we have a lot of trees in our yard and they get the camper really dirty. Lately, I have been pretty disappointed in how the cover seemed to be falling apart for being less than two seasons old.

When I uncovered the TT, I found rat crap around the AC unit. Once I got the cover off, I found a lot of my missing cover was stuffed inside the AC unit along with sticks and leaves.

When I lifted off the plastic cover, that big ass rat ran out and launched himself right off the rooftop. Hit the ground with a thud and hauled ass.

He did chew two holes in the upper foam cover that direct airflow inside but no other damage. Thankfully he left the wiring alone and never made it inside the camper.

After cleaning out the unit, I took the foam part off and into the shed for repair. Since we are camping this weekend, there is no time to wait for a replacement. I just took some handyman aluminum, some AC foil tape and some expanding foam to rig up a repair.

It worked so well that I think I am just going to leave it as is. I don't see a need to replace it.

No issue found with the AC and I did not find any other rat issues anywhere. I think I got lucky with this one.

Since the rat seemed to be using the cover as a ladder to the top, I am now thinking we may not cover it anymore. This is really the first issue I have had with the cover. I hate not to cover it, but I guess as long as I keep it clean, it will be okay.

[FishNFarm]

Nice work. What did you use to mount the box for the hoses on the back bunper?

[rigger4343]

Originally Posted by FishNFarm

Nice work. What did you use to mount the box for the hoses on the back bunper?

I just used some small square tubing I had laying around and some big square U Bolts. Then just bolted the box to that.

You could probably use just about anything. It was really easy and I love having that box to hold all the nasty stuff. Keeps everything out of the camper and out of my truck.

[rigger4343]

I guess since this thread has certainly become an ongoing "Mod's Thread", should this get moved to the Mods Thread area?

[rigger4343]

Had these little cargo net things sitting in my toolbox at work. Decided I would mount them in the bunk bed area for the girls to stash their phones and whatever.
Figured they could make use of them.

[JFlightRisk]

Originally Posted by rigger4343

I guess since this thread has certainly become an ongoing "Mod's Thread", should this get moved to the Mods Thread area?

I can move it for you, if you like.