Jay Feather owner question. Help?

[kimd]

Hi!

Last fall we purchased our first travel trailer, A 2007 Jay Feather 31V. I stay in it a lot of the time as I use it for work. Short version of this story, it seems the dealer who sold it to us may have covered up a major water damage leak, and didn't tell us about it. We were first-time buyers, and I think they pulled a fast one on us. Paid $13,000 for it, and come to find that the repair shop says it needs that much in repairs! My husband and I can't afford that. I am trying to get the dealer to help us out here.

Question: Does your Jay Feather have carpet in the upper cabinet ceiling above the bed? I suspect this was put in mine to cover up the existing water damage, but want to make sure it wasn't made that way. The carpet was put up with about 40 drywall screws (not exaggerating!). We also found that a false ceiling panel was put in over a huge water leak and rot in the bedroom ceiling.

Thanks for your help with this. We are just sick.

[Tunce the traveler]

Call Jayco and give them your VIN# and they can pull up YOUR trailer build info. I think they pulled a fast one on you and you might have to see an attorney if they don't take it back.

[THE MEEKER]

It may have been the trailer's previous owner who did the handy work to cover things up in order to get a good trade-in amount. However, the dealer should have inspected the unit for major issues before selling the unit and should disclose those issues to potential buyers.

Review your paperwork. If it was sold in "As is" condition, you may be out of luck in recouping any money from the dealer.

Good luck! I hope things will work out for you.

[DocBrown]

This doesn't sound like something a dealer would do. Most likely the previous owner. I doubt any dealer does a leak test on any used unit. This is going to be very hard to prove they knew, and very hard to fight.

Is it leaking now? If not you may best selling it outright and cutting your losses. Or fixing it yourself. They really are not all that hard to work on. There are several threads here and on rv.net where folks are rebuilding their trailers for the same type of damage you have. If it were me, I'd look at rebuilding it myself.

[kimd]

Originally Posted by DocBrown

This doesn't sound like something a dealer would do. Most likely the previous owner. I doubt any dealer does a leak test on any used unit. This is going to be very hard to prove they knew, and very hard to fight.

Is it leaking now? If not you may best selling it outright and cutting your losses. Or fixing it yourself. They really are not all that hard to work on. There are several threads here and on rv.net where folks are rebuilding their trailers for the same type of damage you have. If it were me, I'd look at rebuilding it myself.

Maybe they didn't, but surely they would be able to look at it and tell it had been modified.

Because we have only made a year of payments, we don't have enough equity in it to even trade it in, and can't really afford to pay someone to fix it. We are working on it ourselves. We have already redone the floor, and are working on the sidewall. Not sure what to do with the ceiling/roof, as it is really one big piece end to end. And we have to replace the front cap for $1000. Ugh.

We didn't think we bought a fixer-upper. It's very stressful. And we're very good with taking care of things. Just really upsetting.

[kimd]

That's what I thought. They should have at least told us. I would have picked a different unit!

[Touch N Go]

Jayco does not use carpet on or under cabinets. I would go back and try to make a deal with the dealer for something else or for a new one. you might lose a couple of $$$ but you will have a good one, my 2 cents/

[Crabman]

You can try the good graces of the dealer, but I suspect you will not get too far with that as most of these used sales are "as is", hope I am wrong. That only leaves fixing it up yourself as the most inexpensive option because it would be hard to sell a unit in that condition. It seems to be a no win situation, but since you are handy you can likely do the repairs, use it, and make the best of a difficult situation. I hope it all works out for you. Please keep us informed. I also agree it is likely the previous owner did this to cover up the leak and sell the unit.