2017 Jayco Jay Feather 23RLSW

[chesterBurnet]

Originally Posted by LDM

Greetings. I'm new to the board and would appreciate any opinions some of you may have. I've just purchased a 2018 Nissan Frontier crew cab, with a V-6 and 4x4. Towing capacity is 6,100 Lbs., To glue Weight of 630 lbs., and GVWR OF 5,800 lbs. front axle:3,296 lbs., and rear axle: 3,331 lbs.
Just the wife and myself. Don't plan to tow with water in the tanks, and minimal cargo.
Very interested in the 23RLSW. Looking at all the numbers, and after discussions with the local Jayco dealer, it appears I should be fine. With that said, I would really appreciate any real world thoughts from some of you that have experience with this TT.
Thanks for any feedback.

I owned a 2010 & 2012 Frontier. Nice strong motor makes around 265 horsepower. I also have a201723RLSW which i tow with a 2016 Tundra. I love all 3 vehicles but wouldn't consider pulling a 23 ft trailer with a frontier. i towed a 2013 x17z with my frontier and felt it was fine at about 3ooo pounds. i think you could tow a X19H at about 3600 pounds. Those are both nice campers for reasonable money. A camper can push the tow vehicle pretty easy Buy your camper from rv one and if you decide to upgrade your camper and truck and you can get out of them into vehicle in pretty good shape.Good luck making a great decision.

[LDM]

Thanks for the replies.
I traded up for a Titan. 15,300 lb. GCWR, and towing capacity of 9,300 lbs. I’m figuring TT weight should be in the 5,600 lb. range, do feel much better about towing with the new Titan vs. the Frontier I previously had. Really like the rear living layout. Are most folks that have this model pleased with it?
Thanks

[87Yugo]

Glad you got the right tow vehicle. We love our 23RLSW., It’s go enough room for 2 and the bathroom is great.

[TxTwoSome]

I think you made the right move with your tow vehicle.

We have had our 23RLSW for a little over two years and love the layout for two people.

We are very happy with our decision to get the 23RLSW.

[rkresge]

Originally Posted by LDM

Thanks for the replies.
I traded up for a Titan. 15,300 lb. GCWR, and towing capacity of 9,300 lbs. I’m figuring TT weight should be in the 5,600 lb. range, do feel much better about towing with the new Titan vs. the Frontier I previously had. Really like the rear living layout. Are most folks that have this model pleased with it?
Thanks

The "official" GVWR for the 23RLSW is 5995. Mine weighs in at 4850 dry, and one of these days I'm going to hook up and head for the CAT scale to find out what my real loaded weight is. Meanwhile, I work based on the assumption that I'm towing 5995 back there. That means a hitch weight of around 800 lb., more or less.

That sounds like you should be fine with that truck, but pay attention to its payload capacity, starting with the loaded hitch weight of the trailer.

We love ours - the 23RLSW is almost ideal for 2 people, and of course you can sleep up to 4 more in a pinch. We've had one grandkid at a time and it works out nicely, although I don't like giving up the dinette (we leave it made up as a bed when we have a kid along).

Good luck, and enjoy!

Roger

[Fyouberg]

I’m sitting in ours right now. We love it! This little sofa and the living space with the slide out are perfect for the two of us. Since this thread gives me access to a number of 23RL owners, I’m going to ask an unrelated question here so please excuse me. Can someone suggest what type of preventative maintenance I can do on the slide to keep it working properly. When it is going in and out it groans and creeks and it makes me think that I should be doing something to make it operate more smoothly. If there is another thread somewhere that covers this question please point me in that direction. Oh yeah, trash can sits in front of the entertainment center. ��

[rkresge]

Originally Posted by Fyouberg

Can someone suggest what type of preventative maintenance I can do on the slide to keep it working properly. When it is going in and out it groans and creeks and it makes me think that I should be doing something to make it operate more smoothly. If there is another thread somewhere that covers this question please point me in that direction. Oh yeah, trash can sits in front of the entertainment center. ��

Mine groans and creaks, too. Haven't worried about it. However, I have treated the seals on the slideout each year. And this year I'm going to lube the mechanism underneath - use lube that's made for slideouts, because it has to be something that won't collect dust & dirt.

Roger

[fjkenny]

Originally Posted by rkresge

How about feedback you won't like?

First, most dealers will tell you what you want to hear.

Long discussion follows:

The GVWR of the 23RLSW is 5995, which means when loaded you're going to put at least 700 lb. on the truck, perhaps up to nearly 900 lb. depending on how you load it (travel trailers are designed to put 10-15% of their weight on the hitch). This makes the truck's PAYLOAD capacity much more important than the TOWING capacity. What's the truck's payload capacity? It must be able to carry that 900 lb. hitch weight, PLUS passengers, fuel, luggage and other cargo. You may have to consult the yellow sticker - subtract curb weight from the GVWR, that's your PAYLOAD capacity. I found one resource that says max payload is 1460 lb., which leaves you a max of about 500 lb for payload other than your trailer. Looks like a possible ooops.

The truck's listed max hitch weight is 630 lb. You're already over that no matter what you do. That's another ooops.

And the truck's towing capacity is just a few pounds over the GVWR of the trailer. That's cutting it pretty close.

I'm thinking you're going to be marginal towing a 23RLSW with that truck. I tow mine with a 2010 F150, payload capacity is 1670 lb. Based on 2 years with this rig, I wouldn't want to tow anything bigger.

Too often we focus on the theoretical TOWING capacity and forget the tongue weight of the trailers we're going to tow. You can get into trouble that way.

Good luck!

Roger

Well said. Too many people think that simply moving the trailer is equal to safe towing.

[geezerbob]

You can see below what we tow our rlsw with.
I wouldn't want any bigger tt.
Has anybody installed two recliners instead of the jack knife sofa in a rlsw
Bob

[rkresge]

Originally Posted by geezerbob

You can see below what we tow our rlsw with.
I wouldn't want any bigger tt.
Has anybody installed two recliners instead of the jack knife sofa in a rlsw
Bob

I think "wireman" here on the Jayco owners forum has done that. Or he's replaced it with a much better dual loveseat, can't remember which.

Check this thread: https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...ers-54003.html

Roger

[TxTwoSome]

Originally Posted by rkresge

I think "wireman" here on the Jayco owners forum has done that. Or he's replaced it with a much better dual loveseat, can't remember which.

Check this thread: https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...ers-54003.html

Roger

We also made this switch to the Loveseat with recliners like Wireman did and it is a great addition. Check out the link Roger left for you I think you will like it.

The only downside is it partially blocks the three kitchen drawers. They still open just not all the way.