X18D Options, Value, what extras do I need?

[TTChamp]

Hi All,

My wife and I are looking to upgrade we have a 1991 Jayco PUP, and are going to upgrade to a hybrid. The X18D floor plan works great for our family.. the boys are alwas fighting over who gets a bed and who has to sleep on the table folded down. -- X18D problem solved

We have two dealers in our area and they were within $500.00 of each others price. But when I statred looking close the cheaper one was missing a few features.

1. Aluminum Wheels
2. Oven
3. 2nd propane tank
4. 13,000 BTU furnace vs 18,000 BTU

So I am not sure what the value of those options are, but it seems that they would be worth more than $500.00.

Also being new to a TT vs a PUP - I would appreciate any other advice on what I should be looking for, adding to our new Jayco.

Thanks

[Crabman]

Welcome to the forum, TTchamp! I would go with the extra options, you may wish you had them later if you do not. We use our oven quite a bit and the second propane tank can come in handy. As for the second part of your post, here is a thread recently discussing the top ten "must haves" when equipping a new trailer that you may find useful.

http://www.jaycoowners.com/showthrea...ight=saltymick

[el.jefe]

Congrats! We upgraded from a '94 PUP last year to the X18D as well. It's a great trailer, we are loving it.
Definitely the 2nd propane tank is well worth having. i hate only having 1 and worrying about running out.
After a trip or two you'll compile a list of things that you will want to add or to help you organize.
I would suggest some kind of cover for the stove, even if it is just a wood plank. The first time you try to use the kitchen area indoors, you will realize there is absolutely no counter space. You may not have had it in the PUP either, but your expectations with the HTT will be a little different and you will probably treat it differently.

[PhxKim]

Hi Rick - We just got a 2012 X18D last September and are loving it. We already have quite a few trips under our belts and plan to camp every month this year. It's a goal. :hihi:

We have a 20# tank and have realized that we don't need more than that. We usually dry camp so we put lots of stress on our resources. We just went for 5 days and needed the propane for everything. We barely scratched the surface of the tank. We usually camp for three days (Fri - Sun) and use around 2# or 2gal per trip. We have been filling up it at every trip until we can access how much propane we use per day.

We bought our RV from rvdirect.com and picked it up in Iowa. It included the value option, outside grill, extra table, stove and upgraded ac, I think. We got a super prices and it only went down as negotiations continued. It's worth contacting Jeff at rvdirect to get a quote. He's in the NY office. Super guy.

We have three boys and they fight to sleep ON the dining table bed! It's the warmest place in the trailer. Tent ends are drafty and cold. Solved this a bit last time by placing those shiny, mylar-like windshield reflectors in between the "windows" in the tent ends. That really, really helped.

We are planning to get a solar charging kit; change out the light bulbs to LEDs; and change the thermostat to a digital one.

There is a great black top that goes over the stove that doubles as a cutting board. It really helps gain some "counter" space.

I bought tons of those Command white hooks and spray painted them a cool color that matches our interior. Then I put them everywhere. Even wrapped the curtains in ribbon and used the hooks to get the curtains out of the way. I use them to hang a storage rack behind the stove, hang headlights, caps, towel and coats.

I use those soft, padded, criss-cross shelf liners to line every drawer and cabinet to keep things from slipping. And baskets in the pantry to keep staples together.

Lots and lots of baskets from the dollar store to put in all the cubbies to store our games, books, coloring things, etc.

We use these really large mess pop-up laundry baskets for both our dirty laundry (keep it in the shower which we have never used) and one lined with garbage bags for outside.

Get an extra battery if you do a lot of dry camping. We pull ours out of our boat when we go. In January we used up our entire battery in one day and had no heat for our second night. Our last camp we stayed out for five days and trickle charged the battery with our truck about an hour per day. We hung battery-operated LED under-counter lights (3) in the trailer and used LED lanterns hung from S hooks at the beds and in the bathroom. We used the heat every night and still didn't run out of battery. If you wisely monitor your resources, you can really make that battery last. We didn't even hook up our second battery this last time.

My husband installed this little door push thing that opens the screen door from the inside without having to slide the little door covering the screen door handle over. It was like $5 at Camping World and totally worth it.

The bars that push out the tent ends make great places to hang lanterns. You can use a carabiner and hang a small lantern from them. We use these S hooks that we had left over from our stroller days. Or you could use a velcro strap.

There are so many ways to customize this trailer. We're just getting started.

You will love this trailer. It is the perfect trailer for us. The back bed is a bit cold so we don't use it too much while it's chilly but it will be fabulous the rest of the year. We're just so blessed to be able to camp year-round in Arizona.

Enjoy! The best things we've ever spent money on is our boat and our trailer. There is nothing like both quantity and quality family time!

Warm regards,

Kim in Phx

[TTChamp]

Thanks Guys for the great feedback!

This will be really helpful - when deciding where to purchase and what options are a must!

[Denise]

Welcome to the JOF Rick! Happy shopping