Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
Jayco RV Owners Forum
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 07-31-2020, 10:32 AM   #1
Senior Member
 
Jim_in_WA's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Richmond HIll
Posts: 132
Angry Greyhawk Prestige 30XP horror story with a little bit of a silver lining

Good morning forum. I want to share our story regarding what can be termed a horror story of a buying and owning experience with our MH. I have read posts on here that this is not a place to bash Jayco, RV dealers etc etc but I feel our story needs to be heard and put out to the community. I will give credit where credit is due but I am also going to go thermonuclear and warn folks on this forum about a particular dealership. Consider it information for those who want it.

First I am not mechanically inclined. Basic stuff yes. Step by step tutorial yes but I have never claimed or will ever claim to possess the mechanical abilities of many on this forum.

Lets begin in early 2018. If you go back through my posts you will see we were PROUD owners of a Jayco 29 QBH tow behind. Bought brand new in WA in 2010 that camper set the standard for quality, useability we knew Jayco for. Towed well over 10k miles back and forth across the nation the camper served us incredibly well. Upon retiring in SE GA and experiencing our first hurricane evacuation we began looking for a motorized unit that we could self sustain with our son and two dogs in the event our area suffered a direct hit. We made the decision to sell the towable and search for a class C capable of towing my wifes Jeep. Naturally Jayco was our first and only option based on previous experience. After a lot and I mean a lot of searching we settled with RV One/RV Direct out of Tampa FL as their prices simply could not be beat by anyone in the entire country. We even afforded Camping World in Savannah an opportunity to earn our business but the price they wanted for a non Prestige model was more than the Prestige model in FL. So we took our business to FL. I drove down to pick up the unit. Had what I thought was a great PDI and was on my way back in preparation for our annual family camping trip in MI. Unit performed flawlessly and was the talk of the town as we were able to gather around the outdoor TV and watch the world cup. Fantastic time. Then we brought it home.

With only 3.5k miles on it the first thing that went south was the Lippert auto leveling system. Backing out of the drive way I hear a scrapping sound, stop and see that one of the jacks did not retract and drug on the pavement. No worries, covered under warranty right? So we make our first appointment at Savannah Camping Word for warranty repair and a recall affecting the awning. We drop off the unit in late August.

Please keep a running tally of these times and subtract that from the 2 year bumper to bumper warranty.

In Nov I start a new career in the DC area and figure a good way to save money is to full time at a local military campground. It becomes imperative that we get resolution on the unit so I can use it.

After approximately three months of being in the shop the unit is finally "repaired". Even though upon pick up I am told the parts to fix the awning will be shipped to me, I pack it up and move out to be a geo bachelor. I set up at the Fort Belvoir, VA Fam Camp and settle into a routine.

I am there for a little under one month and come back to find the MH without power. No biggie right? I go to check the outside powerbox, nothing tripped. I go back into the unit, pop the fuse panel and see GFI is tripped. No biggie, I reset it. It trips immediately. Do this a couple more times and hear a "sizzling" sound and smell electric "smoke". I jump out of the unit, and turn off shore power and go back in. I pull the fuse box panel off to expose the inside and find the attached. Visible heat damage caused by some sort of arc that looks like created a small fire. Basically the unit is dead and not only useable but possibly dangerous.

I immediately contact Jayco who work with me to find an "authorized and recommended" dealer to take the MH to. I emphasize to Jayco the need for expeditious turn around due to my living conditions. Jayco directs me to Chesaco RV in Gambrills MD. I call them to set up a drop off date. Mind you this is January, 2019. I am told the EARLIEST drop off time will be March since they are backed up and don't have the ability to hold a unit. Shaking my head but accepting what they tell me on face value I am forced to purchase a storage lot at $160.00/ month. I am now also forced to find an apartment as my plans of doing the RV thing seem to have derailed.

March comes around and I contact Chesaco to confirm my appointment one week out. I am told they cannot take me and that it will be around another month. So I continue to my storage contract.

End of March comes and I finally bring it in. I describe the issue, show the pictures and also let them know that the heating pad from one of the holding tanks has come loose and that there are gouges in the floor caused by something in the slide. "No problem" we will get on it and let you know. I request a weekly check in/update call and am told again, no problem. Feeling good about what is happening I go about my life.

I also contact my insurance company in case a total loss claim has to be made due to possible irreparable damage to the MHs internal electrical system. Insurance relates they will send out an adjuster to Chesaco RV

No calls the first and second week. I call on the third week, several times as no one returns my calls or is willing to give me an update.

June passes. Calls to Jayco to intervene amount to nothing. Insurance company calls and relates they were denied entry onto the property to inspect the MH. They relate they will continue to try.

First week of July as I am taking a little vacay and driving up to OH I have a heated telephone discussion with one of the managers. I complain that I am not being kept in the loop as to why it is such a problem to get feedback from their service department and that it seems my issues are not being taken care of at all. At this point he tells me the only thing they are waiting on is the heating pad and that all other things are fixed.

July passes with no updates or call backs. My wife even calls and gets exactly the same treatment as me. No information, waiting on a part and finally that if the service is so bad come and get your RV. Calls to Jayco to intervene amount to nothing.

August passes, no calls, no returned calls and I come back from a work assignment. Waiting for me is a registered mail that when I open it is a letter from Chesaco RV. It relates that my MH is at risk of being auctioned off and that I am liable for storage fees amounting to well over $1000.00.

I take off the very next day for another work assignment in Dallas. There I contact the HQ of Chesaco and seem to make headway with a regional manager and his secretary who does a good job at downplaying the entire incident. But I never get a call back. I attempt to call Chesaco in Gambrills and interestingly when I ask to speak to a manager the secretary asks who I am, I tell her, she says "Oh" and I am hung up on. This occurs two more times and then my phone calls are not even picked up.

Halfway through my work assignment a manager calls me and coldly relates that I can come and pick up my RV without any charges. They just want my RV off their lot and relate they are simply not going to repair it due to my "attitude". He related he told my wife to come and pick up the RV and since we didn't they were going to auction it off. Other than the registered mail I received I did not receive one, not one other form of correspondence telling me this.

I have been in contact with Jayco and relate all of this is happening in regard to a dealership they recommended I take my MH to but they are helpless on the quality of service I "receive". Even though the dealership proudly displays their Jayco affiliation. Jon Haines (five star customer service in my book) from Jayco searches their database and finds a private RV repair shop, 70 miles from my DC home, that I can take the MH to. James Guy of Southern Maryland RV.

I get back from assignment, take time off get to Chesaco RV to pick up my MH. Upon arrival I am treated like absolute trash. My MH is driven out to me and I am told to vacate the premises. My rear driver side tire is visibly low, my check engine light is on and there is absolutely no paperwork given to me regarding any work done or not done. NOTHING. I requested to have my tire inflated as it has to be unsafe to drive the 30 miles to the new repari location. They refuse and call the police to report me. Being LE myself I am not concerned so I pull out my little portable inflator and comence to filling up my rear tires from the 30 psi they are at to the recommended 80 psi. Imagine how long that took. I am told to I have to remove my F150 I drove to dealership as they will have it impounded if I leave it there while I drive to the new shop and have to $40.00 Uber back to get my truck. Luckily there is an outdoor shop across the road that allows me to park my truck there. Again not one ounce of paperwork is given to me. No record of the time or effort or lack thereof regarding my unit which has been there for almost SEVEN MONTHS!!!!! It as if it never happened. No record with Jayco as they were even blown off by the dealership, that still continues to advertise their brand.

With that nightmare getting smaller in my sideview mirrors I drive the 30 miles to James Guy and drop off the unit. He is located in a very rural area with no visible shop but this is the guy Jayco recommends. This is the beginning of Sep.

Later that week James calls me, after repeated text messages and calls, his VM box was constantly full. He related he should have the unit up and ready to go in two weeks. Insurance calls back and relates they will also go to the new location and asses the unit for a possible total loss claim. Attempts to get paperwork from Chesaco are met with negative results by their adjustor and after repeated attempts and messages left the insurance gives up and relates they have NEVER encountered something on this level before where a dealer outright refuses to work with them in the least.

End of Sep. Hardly any call backs from James, but he did his initial look and says he has ordered the parts from Jayco but they have not arrived. He asks ME to call Jayco to get an update on the delivery of parts! I said that is really not my lane but I am willing to do anything to get this nightmare resolved. I call Jayco and am told they are waiting for him to call back to confirm some information and that if I could call him and relay that message that would be great. I refuse! I am not a go between regarding the warranty repair on my MH. I am beyond mad. Finally James calls me and says there was a hang up and that the parts are being "priority shipped".

Middle of Oct. The "priority shipment" has arrived. Remains unopened until late Oct. When James opens the package he discovered Jayco only sent cosmetic pieces and not the actual parts required for the repair. I am so frustrated I don't care anymore and tell him just to fix it.

Nov, Dec, Jan maybe two or three telephone updates from James

February "fixed" come and pick it up!

Buddy and me drive the 70 miles to his shop from my DC home to pick it up. All tires are underinflated, inside of unit looks like a pig stye, no means to inflate tires (my portable I had burned out after I filled the tires outside Chesaco RV). Drive to closest Autozone, 10 miles away, purchase $150.00 slime 12v compressor and fill all tires. No paperwork, no receipt, no work order. None of the other warranty items have been addressed. Heating pad still hanging off holding tank, gouges are still in the floor, and BTW parts to fix awning never arrived.

I drive it to Fort Belvoir for a weekends worth of storage before taking driving down to Savannah GA where I have my main residence.

Prior to that weekend I contact Jayco to voice my absolute frustration about the entire process.

Now this is where I want you to pull out running tab and figure out how long out of the 2year, 24 month warranty the unit has been unusable. Now you start to get the picture.

I ask first line customer service person about the possibility of extending the warranty for the period of time the MH has been in for repair, approx 17 months. She relates that will not happen. I am kind of taken aback as Jayco has been a pillar of standing behind their product and customer service and request to speak to a higher level manager. She, in a very ticked off attitude puts me on hold. I wait and speak to a gentleman who outright rejects out of hand my request. I explain that the unit has not been utilized enough to make me comfortable knowing as many bugs have been addressed. He says Jayco does not do that and they will not in my case either. In a last attempt I explain how Jeep/Fiat without missing a second offered us a 100k miles platinum warranty after we had severe engine problems in her Wrangler. (just recently that warranty covered an ENTIRE engine replacement with 60k miles on the Jeep). He related that Jayco is not Jeep and they do not compare themselves to other manufactures. He closed the conversation saying that if issues did arise to bring it to their attention and they will consider it. The conversation ended.

Late Feb, early March 2020

My MH is in my driveway and I am preparing to de-winterize. First thing I notice is that the Power Management system displays not connected even though I am plugged into shore power. Oh well I will take that to the shop as I have a little over a month left on the warranty. I continue to de-winterize and when I start to bled all waterline with water a FLOOD of water comes out from under the shower and runs down the length of the camper. I immediately stop and in complete disgust pack up the unit, and drive it to Camping World in Savannah. Issues to be addressed are the obvious water leak, malfunctioning of the power management system, a broken toilet seat, and the still present gouge in the floor and heater pad hanging from the holding tank.

Late March, and with no weekly or even biweekly updates other than us calling them we are told that whoever "fixed" the power issue that started this nightmare had drilled through waterlines. And they were waiting on Jayco to send a new power management system to replace the one that is "obviously" broke.

April, still waiting on part from Jayco.

May, still waiting on part from Jayco, Corona to blame for shipping delays.

June, part is shipped.

Mid June part has arrived.

Late June "fixed" come and pick up the unit. Water leak, coverd by warranty, Power management System covered by warranty, Heating Pad covered by warranty, gouge on floor due to trim on slide rubbing, covered under warranty. Broken toilet seat, not coverd, $116.00 bill.

Get the unit home and start to prepare it for that annual camping trip to MI mentioned in beginning of post.

Gouges are still in floor, power management system still shows no power even though unit is getting shore power.

Call Lippert who leads me through trouble shooting. Determine that the telephone cable used to connect to the control panel to the actual power management unit was NEVER plugged in and that the install in the fuse panel was not done properly. Plug it in now now it shows power. (after having to extract screws from the fuse panel that had been stripped for some reason. Now though house batteries are not providing DC current when unplugged from shore power. On my own open vent in bedroom and look the power management system. Notice three 25 amp fuses. Pulled those fuses and each and every one is burnt out. Can tell these fuses are OEM. Replace all and the system works like a charm. Not once during this entire ordeal did any tech take the time trouble shoot the two easiest fixes. Plug in a cable and check fuses.

Third week of July, we move out for our camping trip. Overnight in WV KOA. Go to auto level and hydraulic line bursts. Get assurance from during a telephone conversation with a very friendly mobile repair guy that if the jacks did not deploy no issue to drive the unit to destination and get a mobile repair guy to fix it. That is what we do.

I email Jayco, on the original thread almost two years old describing this incident and why for this exact reason I requested a warranty extension. No feed back for the two weeks we are gone. Get to MI and mobile RV guy replaces hydraulic line. Relates that is appears line was replaced with a very cheap one. $345.00. System performs flawless.

No issues at all on the way back and up to this point. On a whim with very little expectation I contact Jon Haines (remember him?) at Jayco. Within five minutes and a couple of emails he is cutting me a check to cover repair. I am so surprised I am beside myself. I thank him profusely. He relates looking at my file that it was the only acceptable thing they could do for me. Again I am so thankful.

So that is the story. I want to share this for others and let others digest what they see fit. With all of this here are my bottom line take aways:

1. We love our MH (when it works)
2. Jayco customer service goes from hero to zero and back again.
3. Find it very hard to recommend a Jayco motorized unit to anyone, but I refer back to 1.
4. Chesaco RV in Gambrills MD is the worse of the worse and I beg folks not to to give them your business. I have literally never in my adult life encountered such an incredibly inept, rude, and downright hateful "service" center. I do not understand how Jayco still lets them sell their products.
5. Jon Haines in Jayco Customer Service is on my Christmas card list.

If you made it this far in this post, thank you. I wish everyone happy trails and hope to see you on the road.
Attached Thumbnails
20181217_175328 (1).jpg   20181217_175333 (1).jpg  
__________________
2018 Greyhawk 30XP Prestige
2019 Ford Raptor SCREW in beautiful Velocity Blue
2014 Harley Ultra Limited
Jim_in_WA is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-31-2020, 10:47 AM   #2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Denver
Posts: 4,218
wow.


speechless.




just wow.


__________________
2016 Greyhawk 31FK
pconroy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-31-2020, 11:54 AM   #3
Senior Member
 
K9Nardu's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: South Jersey
Posts: 208
I am without words! Utterly ridiculous what you have had to endure.
__________________
2021Newmar Baystar 3616 Class A
2022 Chevy Colorado Z71
2021 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara
2015 EZ-GO TXT Golf Cart
South Jersey
K9Nardu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-31-2020, 01:18 PM   #4
Site Team
 
JFlightRisk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Newark, NY
Posts: 15,764
Kudos for sticking it out, and getting your MH squared away, and what you went through to get it that way!
__________________
Moderator
Think you're too old to cry or swear out loud...walk into your hitch in the dark.

2012 Jay Flight 19RD
2016 Ford F150 XLT 2X4 SC 3.5L Eco Max Tow
2010 Tundra TRD DBL Cab (Traded)
2 new fluffy Corgis, Bayley and Stanley
JFlightRisk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-31-2020, 07:40 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
JimD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Inland Empire, California
Posts: 1,986
Too bad the electrical fire didn't burn the unit to the ground so you could have gotten a replacement.
__________________


Jim

Retired electronic technician (45 years in the field)
2017 Greyhawk 29W (solar & many other mods)
wife (maybe I should have given her top billing)
JimD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-31-2020, 08:03 PM   #6
Site Team
 
norty1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: James Island, SC
Posts: 22,771
Unbelievable experience! You have the patience of Job.
__________________
Moderator
2011- 351RLTS Eagle, MorRyde suspension/pin box,
2017- F350 6.7 PSD Lariat FX4,SRW, SB,CC
Hughes PWD SP-50A, TST TPMS
Gator roll-up bed cover
B&W Turnover ball, Companion Std hitch
Can't find what you're looking on JOF? Try Jayco Owners Forum Custom Google Search
norty1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-31-2020, 08:54 PM   #7
Lost in the Woods
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Ocean County
Posts: 2,807
The OP has the patience of a saint. I wouldn't have been that tolerant. I would have just picked up the rig and hired a mobile tech to fix the issues.

For me, loss of time and lack of stress is worth a few extra bucks out of my pocket. This is why my rig hasn't returned to my dealer for any repairs. I just handled them myself. I would of went postal on the OP's dealer, if that happened to me.
RetiredOne is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-01-2020, 10:14 AM   #8
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Denver
Posts: 4,218
I've been thinking about this and am now at the point where I believe I'd schedule a long vacation in Indiana, an appointment w/ Jayco and just drop the coach off with their service department.




That, or sell it.
__________________
2016 Greyhawk 31FK
pconroy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-01-2020, 04:42 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Springfield
Posts: 558
If someone isn't mechanically inclined, I wouldn't advise them to buy an RV, boat, or airplane for that matter. They all just become a giant hassle and money pit, and it's even worse with the new units with their complex electronics. Then they get worse as they age. Of course, if your swimming in money, and have lots of time to wait, it's not as big an issue. The complexity of these rigs has advanced far beyond the ability for them to fix them right and in a timely manner. Add to that the extreme shortage of techs, and you have a perfect storm. So sorry for your experience. I hope you have a long period of enjoying the rig before something else breaks.
t18skyguy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-01-2020, 05:56 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
MrKABC's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: Corona
Posts: 259
Holy cow! I'm glad it worked out in the end, but what a blood pressure raising journey to get to that point.
__________________
TRADED IN: 2019 Jay Flight SLX 7 195RBW
MODS: Dual GC2 LiFePO4 System, BAL (4) Stabilizers, Hengs vent fan, Dual Propane conversion, Furrion FOSO7TASF Rear Camera, Digital Thermostat, See Level 709P3W1003 Tank Monitor System, 200w solar panels, other cool things.
MrKABC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-01-2020, 06:22 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Pensacola
Posts: 667
Here is your answer to all of your problems,,,mysterious fire burns Motorhome to the ground while in storage lot parked in very back of lot,,which kept local Fire Dept. from being able to drive Big fire truck to put out the fire. Call Insurance Company Problem solved...
Florida Ranger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-02-2020, 09:02 AM   #12
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Ishpeming, MI
Posts: 477
Thank you for your service. I am an army vet but only for the bare minimum after I returned from Vietnam. The fact you made it a career helped provide you with the patience to face the situation with your RV.
I agree with PConroy that if anyone has a multitude of warranty issues which precludes the use of the RV that the best option is to make a service appointment with Jayco Motorized CS and bring it to Middlebury. Yes, it will be inconvenient. That is the downside.
The upside is that Middlebury is where your RV was assembled and they only work on Jayco products. Your repairs won’t be done on the factory assembly line. They will be done by service technicians who troubleshoot all day every day at the service center. I’m sure they have seen just about everything. And though they may have to order parts, too, there won’t be a dealer in the middle.
I have firsthand experience with this process and I am not alone in saying that it was the best thing I could have done under the circumstances. You will leave Middlebury with the RV that you thought you had purchased in the first place. And like you, Jim, I met a Jayco rep who will restore your faith in customer service.
I get that this may not work for everyone for a variety of reasons. It would be nice if everyone had a local dealer who provided great customer service but as evidenced by this thread there are more horror stories than there are successful ones. I have yet to hear of a bad experience from anyone who took their coach to Middlebury. Thanks for sharing your story and good luck to you going forward.
__________________
2016 Precept 35S
Rice1951 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-15-2020, 12:42 PM   #13
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2020
Location: Ontario
Posts: 24
Wow wow wow. Twitter has been our best contact with Jayco and we also have spoken with Jon several times. Thanks Jon for doing what others can’t or won’t.
Happy newbie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-15-2020, 01:52 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
Forelyndogs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Kingman
Posts: 166
I'm with the others who expressed shock at your experience. We have all heard of similar experiences with auto and trucks, but given the volume of autos and trucks the percentage is tiny. In the end, the auto industry rarely messes up as badly as the RV industry. For some completely inexplicable reason, the RV manufacturers and dealers get away with this kind of service and nothing happens to them for it. Maybe it's time for some lawyers to buy a few RVs. That will shake up the industry.
__________________
2014 Greyhawk 31FS/2013 Chevy Captiva Sport
Forelyndogs is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-15-2020, 02:31 PM   #15
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: San Marcos
Posts: 228
A different approach

If your rig is in the shop, never express frustration, anger, hostility to the managers or employees. Always be kind. It’s fine to check in frequently, but be nice and understanding. If things aren’t proceeding acceptably, pick up your rig. Take it somewhere else or call a mobile tech. I highly recommend finding a well-reviewed mobile tech (check Google and Yelp). This owner shot himself in the foot.
Marmot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-15-2020, 03:05 PM   #16
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: W Jefferson
Posts: 51
We also had exemplary service from Jon Haines.

Our 2018 Greyhawk 29MV has really been quite good, with only the power steps, a circuit board for the water heater and a Shurflo water pump causing us grief. All were dealt with more or less promptly, the steps by Jayco and the others by the component manufacturer.

A Word to the Wise #1: Jayco Motorized units are under warranty for 24 months OR 24k miles, whichever comes first. We were in Alaska when the power steps failed and would be over 24,000 miles by the time we got home. We called the factory customer service and they made a note in our file, and our dealer in Ohio honored the claim once we got home.

Our other issues were cosmetic and most were in the warranty-by-owner category. That included replacing every countertop and related laminated piece in the whole camper. Jayco supplied the parts to the dealer, who was thrilled to let me do the installation. Who in their right mind makes something that is near water out of MDF?

A Word to the Wise #2: If you need a part and are able to fix it yourself, Jayco will happily ship it to you wherever you are. Or, give you the phone number of and name of the person at the component supplier who can best help you. They are usually much faster. Again, kudos to Jon Haines.

A Word to the Wise #3: Even if your unit is new, find a local RV repair shop and make friends with them. Many have already established relationships with Jayco (or other brands) and can be authorized by Jayco to perform warranty work.

A regarding getting work done at the factory story. We camped next to a couple in a new Redhawk who had just completed a visit to Middlebury for what turned out to be a major job. Serious road vibration. The solution involved the frame, rear axle location and coach body location and a new driveshaft. Cut and weld stuff. Fixed in about 2 days. Spent every night in their rv in Jayco's campground. I asked them how they got that arranged. He said they called a guy named Jon Haines who made it happen.
Mzellers5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-16-2020, 02:59 AM   #17
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Warner Robins
Posts: 16
My Jayco TT

We have a 2016 Jayco Travel Trailer. Jayco provided us good warrenty service. However Camping World did not. The quality of their work was horrible. Fortunately we now have a great independent service technician. He told us that ever since Thor bought out Jayco their quality control and service has gone down.

Also PDIs at the dealership s are a joke. The hope is that most of the problems with the units will not be discovered until after the warrenty has expired.
Junmy3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-16-2020, 02:49 PM   #18
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Manchester
Posts: 23
Burnt connections in power panel

Like others have said, the cause of this damage was a loose connection. I'm the kind of person that gets paranoid about such things, partly because I worked for 45 years in electrical/electronic maintenance in an aluminum mill and also a steel rolling mill, and bad connections causing burnt wiring was repeatedly found. In my previous house, I went into the bathroom to shave, reached up to turn up the light and it didn't come on. I checked and found that the black wire had power on it, but the white wire which should have read zero volts, also had 120 volts on it. I found a white wire in the breaker panel that hadn't been tightened and was several turns loose. There was no damage to the wire so I merely had to tighten it properly. I went through the entire breaker box and found several that were relatively loose, but nowhere as bad. After seeing the damage in the power panel shown here, I decided to check my 2018 Eagle HT. I removed the 5 screws for the plastic cover (one at each corner and one in the center) and inspected and found no indications of damaged connections. When I went to check the tightness of the connections on the breakers, I found that the ones that had solid wire attached merely tightened less than 1/8 of a turn which was good. However 2 breakers had stranded wire attached (the breakers for the fireplace and the 12V power panel input) and they were more than 1/2 turn loose, which isn't good. Also the white wire for the 12V power panel was also over a 1/2 turn loose. This isn't a Jayco fault. I'm certain that 3 years ago when the RV was built they all were properly tightened. Copper wires compress after force is applied and connections like these need to be checked at least once after they are originally connected. The fireplace draws quite a bit of power (15 amp?) and the 12 Volt power panel could draw a lot of power if it was charging a dead battery, and this and a loose connection would make a lot of heat.





PLEASE CHECK YOUR BREAKER CONNECTIONS. IT IS EASY TO DO. UNPLUG YOUR CAMPER FROM SHORE POWER, REMOVE THE COVER, AND TAKE YOUR 4 SIDED CAMPER SCREW DRIVER (S2) AND SNUG THE BREAKER AND ALSO THE WHITE AND GROUND (BARE COPPER AND GREEN INSULATION) BEFORE YOU HAVE A FIRE.


The large wires above the 12V fuses are the battery and 12V power panel DC connections. I checked mine and they were tight. Mine took a 4mm allen wrench to check the tightness. It'd be best if you disconnected the battery negative terminal before checking these. The battery disconnect switch does NOT disconnect these wires from the battery.
Attached Thumbnails
whole panel.jpg   breaker connections.jpg   neutral and ground bus.jpg   cover.jpg  
KA9J is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-16-2020, 03:16 PM   #19
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Denver
Posts: 4,218
Yeah, I'm a believer. CHECK EVERY ELECTRICAL CONNECTION you can see and pop the covers off the ones you cannot.


This morning, I checked a few outlets. For Two Outlets, there should have been a total of 8 screws found.


Guess how many Jayco used???




One.


Seven missing.
__________________
2016 Greyhawk 31FK
pconroy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-17-2020, 03:31 PM   #20
Senior Member
 
Wireman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Murrieta
Posts: 690
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marmot View Post
If your rig is in the shop, never express frustration, anger, hostility to the managers or employees. Always be kind. It’s fine to check in frequently, but be nice and understanding. If things aren’t proceeding acceptably, pick up your rig. Take it somewhere else or call a mobile tech. I highly recommend finding a well-reviewed mobile tech (check Google and Yelp). This owner shot himself in the foot.
??????? You got to be kidding. Read the post again.
Wireman is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
chesaco rv gambrills md, customer service, frustrated, nightmare

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Jayco, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:33 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2002-2016 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.