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 06-14-2016, 05:40 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
Ustabslim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Spicewood, Texas
Posts: 913
Looking at 2016 Seneca HJ

We had a jayco 2015 RETS tounge pull eagle premier that we towed to Alaska, lots other places and back last summer. We had no issues or none that I can remember so if any they were minor. Since then we've had a 2015 fiver raptor toy hauler, not bad...but roof had to be replaced under warranty and minor normal RV stuff. Wife couldn't reach cabinets so we traded for a new Forest River Cardinal 3030 fiver. Worst piece of crapolla ever. It's in shop now for roof and other under warranty. We just returned from Yellowstone and others stops, about three weeks. I even had to rebuild bed in New Mexico nod was not strong enough to support mattress without sagging. Tons other stuff as well.
I'm thru with it. Totally. We unloaded it last night before we took it in for new roof.
We lucked out on these RV change outs with minor cost.
I'm looking at a new Seneca HJ MSRP $239,000 for $169,000.
Cummins 340 , 8 k gen set cummins etc.
I will Get out of the Cardinal with a little loss. It was $98,000 msrp new for $58,000. And will prolly only get $45,000 but I'm ready no matter what. Plus big discount from msrp helps.
Biggest question is what are your thoughts on the Seneca. I like to run 70-75 when speed limits ok.
Toad will be 2016 explorer.
Please tell me the good, bad and ugly. Will gen set under bed be a problem?
We love Boon docking.
__________________
2015 338RETS Eagle Premier gloss sides., king.
2012 Ram 3500, crew cab 4x4 duelly Deleted
16k miles, 530HP, 1000 +torque.
Ustabslim is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-14-2016, 07:15 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
anav8or's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Grove City, OH
Posts: 238
We have a '15 Seneca FK and absolutely love it. Spent some time boondocking and haven't had any trouble sleeping with the Genny going - I just turn on the bedroom A/C (or fan if cooling isn't needed) and I don't hear the Onan.

Overall reliability has been good. The chassis is solid, the house quality is better than our previous Thor product, but we still had little fit and finish things to deal with. Most I've found I can fix myself.

Jayco warranty support has been excellent - they have no problem shipping parts directly to me if I want to fix myself (outside TV, door lock, etc).

We tow a Honda CR-V and can't tell it's back there most of the time. I tend to cruise right at the speed limit when we don't have to toad and we see around 10-12 mpg depending on the terrain.

Happy to answer any questions you have!

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
__________________
Ty & Deb Montag
Columbus, OH
2015 Jayco Seneca 36FK
2014 Honda CR-V toad

anav8or is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-14-2016, 08:03 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Ustabslim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Spicewood, Texas
Posts: 913
Can you cruise at 70-75?
Wind noise?
On demand water heater Ok?
Sat work ok?
__________________
2015 338RETS Eagle Premier gloss sides., king.
2012 Ram 3500, crew cab 4x4 duelly Deleted
16k miles, 530HP, 1000 +torque.
Ustabslim is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-14-2016, 08:24 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
anav8or's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Grove City, OH
Posts: 238
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ustabslim View Post
Can you cruise at 70-75?
Wind noise?
On demand water heater Ok?
Sat work ok?
Yep, I have had no trouble cruising at 70+. Although it will slow somewhat on uphill grades, I usually outpace the 18 wheelers with no trouble. It helps if you flip the Overdrive off when going up a hill, especially with the cruise on.

There is some wind noise (it is a truck after all), but it isn't too bad. The M2's are notorious for a whistling sound coming from the side mirrors, but a couple of strategically placed pieces of electrical tape solves that. The cabin is considerably quieter (cooler, and more spacious) than our previous Ford E-450-based coach which had half of the motor inside the cabin.

I have a complicated love/hate relationship with the tankless water heater. Now that I know how to "dial it in", it works great when we've got hookups. It's not the ideal choice if you do a lot of off-the-grid camping, though, as you will waste more than a little water waiting for the initial heat-up. I don't mind a cool shower, but the DW isn't happy without unlimited hot water. I've heard that Jayco will swap the tankless out for a traditional 10-gal gas/elec if you make a big deal about it.

We have a Dish Tailgater from the previous camper that we use with the Seneca. Most of the places we camp have a lot of trees around, so the roof-mounted antenna ends up being pretty useless. I can move the tailgater antenna to an open area and usually get at least 2 of the 3 satellites.
__________________
Ty & Deb Montag
Columbus, OH
2015 Jayco Seneca 36FK
2014 Honda CR-V toad

anav8or is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-14-2016, 10:03 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: North Central Texas
Posts: 428
If your wife had trouble reaching the cabinets in your old rig, then check the Senecas carefully as for 2016 and later Jayco removed the lower galley cabinet where we keep our dishes. Also take a coat hanger to check out the closets. The hangers have to be angled for doors to close...lose a fair amount of space. HJ is the best floorplan in that the mattress thickness is not limited to 6 inches. Worse mattress ever which we replaced with a Sleep Number so it could be deflated to fit when slide is closed.
We replaced the on-demand water heater with a 6 gal gas/electric. Way better.
Power to weigh ratio is lots better than my former DP which had the same engine and trans.
__________________
Walt

2019 Renegade Valencia 38RW
Gone: 2015 Jayco Seneca / 2010 Tiffin RED / ...
Toads: 2016 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited / 2012 Kia Soul
WaltW is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-15-2016, 05:28 AM   #6
Senior Member
 
Ustabslim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Spicewood, Texas
Posts: 913
Quote:
Originally Posted by WaltW View Post
If your wife had trouble reaching the cabinets in your old rig, then check the Senecas carefully as for 2016 and later Jayco removed the lower galley cabinet where we keep our dishes. Also take a coat hanger to check out the closets. The hangers have to be angled for doors to close...lose a fair amount of space. HJ is the best floorplan in that the mattress thickness is not limited to 6 inches. Worse mattress ever which we replaced with a Sleep Number so it could be deflated to fit when slide is closed.
We replaced the on-demand water heater with a 6 gal gas/electric. Way better.
Power to weigh ratio is lots better than my former DP which had the same engine and trans.
The toy hauler was way to high, she's used to keeping small step handy.
I need look at bed as we use a temperpedic type. That could be a deal breaker.
Hot water heater seems a issue but I can replace that.
__________________
2015 338RETS Eagle Premier gloss sides., king.
2012 Ram 3500, crew cab 4x4 duelly Deleted
16k miles, 530HP, 1000 +torque.
Ustabslim is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-15-2016, 07:47 AM   #7
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: North Central Texas
Posts: 428
On the HJ the mattress is easy to replace as none of it slides under anything. All other models are limited to 6 inch height.
__________________
Walt

2019 Renegade Valencia 38RW
Gone: 2015 Jayco Seneca / 2010 Tiffin RED / ...
Toads: 2016 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited / 2012 Kia Soul
WaltW is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-15-2016, 08:58 AM   #8
Senior Member
 
Ustabslim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Spicewood, Texas
Posts: 913
Will the replacement water heater fit and is wiring there.
I can get this? In black or white or paint myself. Will it work.
Suburban SW6DE RV Water Heater camper Trailer DSi Elec LP 5093A with White Door | eBay
__________________
2015 338RETS Eagle Premier gloss sides., king.
2012 Ram 3500, crew cab 4x4 duelly Deleted
16k miles, 530HP, 1000 +torque.
Ustabslim is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-15-2016, 08:23 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Cincinnati
Posts: 229
we have a '15 HJ and really like the floor plan.
good mechanicals with a few fit n finish issues.
__________________
Mike
2015 Seneca HJ
mikew968 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-15-2016, 08:37 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: North Central Texas
Posts: 428
Ustabslim, have Jayco replace the water heater. They paid for mine and some others. One of the owners did a 10 gal unit install on his own. Get what you want resolved by the dealer and Jayco before you buy.
__________________
Walt

2019 Renegade Valencia 38RW
Gone: 2015 Jayco Seneca / 2010 Tiffin RED / ...
Toads: 2016 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited / 2012 Kia Soul
WaltW is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-16-2016, 02:30 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Robbbyr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Akron
Posts: 3,196
Quote:
Originally Posted by WaltW View Post
Ustabslim, have Jayco replace the water heater. They paid for mine and some others. One of the owners did a 10 gal unit install on his own. Get what you want resolved by the dealer and Jayco before you buy.
I am someone who replaced the original Girard with a 10-gallon Atwood XT water heater. Did all the work myself except painting the new exterior door. I could have requested Jayco do it under warranty, but they only would have installed a 6-gallon unit and I wanted more. I couldn't be happier, it works great whether on the pump or with full hookups. Also the campground heats the water on the 110-volt side, I have only used my propane when I have no electric hookups.

I did have to run new wiring for the 12-volt and 110-volt functions, but was easy on my TS floorplan. Not sure on other models what might be involved. The interior switch panel replaced the flame control knob, looks like it came that way from Jayco. I got a black panel and it matches the switch panel already there.

Jayco did paint the new exterior door for free when I took it to the factory service center to have other work done. Since I saved them many $$$s doing the heater myself they seemed happy to do it!
__________________
Rob R.
Akron, OH
2014 Seneca 37TS
Toads: 2019 Ford Edge ST or 2013 Ford Focus ST
Robbbyr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-16-2016, 03:15 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
Ustabslim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Spicewood, Texas
Posts: 913
It seems no one likes the tankless so why do they keep using them.
__________________
2015 338RETS Eagle Premier gloss sides., king.
2012 Ram 3500, crew cab 4x4 duelly Deleted
16k miles, 530HP, 1000 +torque.
Ustabslim is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-16-2016, 04:23 PM   #13
Member
 
meyerjohnc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Mulino
Posts: 51
Ours TS goes in tomorrow for the water heater exchange. Jayco is taking care of the cost. The tankless works great with hookups but is a fail for us when we only have onboard water. Other than that it is a great workhorse. Have towed a three place horse trailer fully loaded and a 10,000 lb. boat on a three axle trailer, length is a bit awkward but tows fine and climbs mountains like a semi, just turn OD off. Exhaust brake works good for those heavy loads.
meyerjohnc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-16-2016, 07:08 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
anav8or's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Grove City, OH
Posts: 238
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ustabslim View Post
It seems no one likes the tankless so why do they keep using them.
For those of us who camp with hookups the vast majority of the time, the tankless heater works great. It did take some time to figure it out, but I'm happy with ours.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
__________________
Ty & Deb Montag
Columbus, OH
2015 Jayco Seneca 36FK
2014 Honda CR-V toad

anav8or is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

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 12:15 AM.


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