Seneca owners with Freightliner M2 chassis's

[The Bus Driver]

I am looking into getting a 2015 or 2016 Jayco Seneca 37HJ to go Full timing but have so many questions, all my research has been on Class A diesel pushers. We have buses uses Freightliner M2 chassis with the same engine and transmission so I know how they perform, my question is on everything else. I know Jayco has the best warranty with 2 years, I was doing all my research on the Entegra’s but realistically the Seneca is all we need with the right floor plan.

1. How much propane do you go through?. I see the stove, tank less water heater and refrigerator uses the propane. Does the refrigerator run on house batteries before propane when not on shore power??.

2. Is there anyone Full Timing with a Seneca and how are you doing with living space?.

3. The Seneca has a small DEF tank, how often do you have to fill the tank?.

4. I don’t see the CB antenna on the option list but I see most of the Seneca’s have it on the driver’s side mirror, is this standard equipment?

These are just a few questions I have but I know I will have more. If you have other positive or negatives on the Seneca please share them with us.


Thank you in advance to all the members.

[Abaco Boat]

We bought a new Seneca HJ a couple of months ago so my experience is limited. So far my propane use has been minimal. The refrigerator does not operate on battery power. It operates on propane when the motorhome is not plugged in unless the generator is on. I don't live full time in the motorhome so can't comment on that. I fill the DEF tank about every other fuel tank filling. Keep your eye on the indicator gauge. I carry a container of 2 1/2 gal of DEF just to be safe. One of the most helpful things to me is the Pilot/Flying J app that I have on my smartphone because most if not all of these locations have DEF at the pump which is way cheaper than from the can. Mine doesn't have a CB radio.
All in all I am really satisfied with my Seneca. It drives and rides really good and has plenty of space and towing power for my needs. I sometimes pull an aluminum open 20 foot auto trailer loaded with a 2015 GMC Acadia and all is well.

[The Bus Driver]

Thanks Abaco Boat for the reply, I was doing most of my research on Class A with all electric the Entegra's, but now turned to Jayoc's Class C's. I can enjoy the Full Timing and not totally blow the retirement fund. My biggest concern was the amount of propane I would be using, tankless water heater, stove and refrigerator. As for the CB radio's I have 2 from my old trucking days, installing them in truck chassis's aren't a problem. I just saw the CB antenna on the drivers mirror but didn't see it on the spec sheet if it was a option or standard equipment. I was looking at the 2015 Seneca 37HJ, the floor plan with the TV/ fireplace across from the coach and the nice wardrobe space works perfect for us Full Timing.

[anav8or]

We bought a 2015 36FK in November and have done about a dozen camping trips in it so far. We don't full time in it, but we used it quite a bit through the cold season.

We've found propane use to be pretty minimal for the fridge, cooking and water heating. Keep in mind that with the tankless heater, you are heating water on-demand rather than trying to keep several gallons hot all the time. Using the furnace will drain the propane quickly as expected - we went through about 2/3 of the tank in the course of a weekend with temps in the 20's. The heat pumps help a lot in the "in between" seasons. The Seneca is definitely not designed for winter camping without some modifications - even with the interior heated, the water system will freeze up.

As far as DEF use, I fill that tank every couple of fill-ups and carry a container of it with me just in case. As Abaco Boat mentioned, the Flying J / Pilot's and most other truck stops have DEF pumps co-located with the diesel pumps so it isn't a big deal to fill.

I have been thinking about adding a CB, but haven't pulled the trigger on that yet. The antenna on the mirror is, I believe, for the radio. I'm not sure if it can be used for a CB as well. I've seen some others ask questions about adding CB's to the Seneca on the forum, but haven't seen replies from anyone that's done it.

Overall, we've been very happy with the Seneca so far. We moved up from an E450-based Class C and find that we have a ton of additional space - both inside and outside in the Seneca. It has ample power for dragging along the Honda CR-V we have as a toad. The local Freightliner shop loves it compared to the Class A's because it is so much easier to work on.

Jayco has been great to work with on the warranty side with the couple of minor issues we've had. We also have an excellent local dealer which helps a lot. I've read a few stories on here about folks having trouble getting warranty work from dealers if they didn't purchase the unit from them.

I'm happy to answer any other questions you have - feel free to PM me or ask here!

Ty

[WaltW]

I've been lurking here too as I was interested in moving to super C from a class A. So how one views it depends on where you're coming from (or what you've been looking at). From my point of view the shortage in the HJ is in the galley. Those drawers in the pullout are pretty skimpy and the chef doesn't see how that will suffice. Counter space is also on the small size when looking from a class A. Electrical outlets are too few in both galley and rest of coach. Visualize where you will be hooked to your laptop and printer. Don't get me wrong, I think Jayco has the best of the super C's today but still have a lot of tuning to do on floor plans before it will work well for someone thinking about full-timing.

My criticism aside there are advantages to the super C from servicing, comparative fuel economy, ease of driving, etc. Tough call.

[Robbbyr]

In regards to the antenna, the other poster is correct that the mirror-mounted antenna is used for the dash radio as it is configured from the factory. But in researching Freightliner's electrical system to install keyless remotes and factory fog lights on my 2014 Seneca 37TS, I did see where Freightliner uses the same antenna on heavier trucks, running the coax to a module in the dash where the dash radio antenna is broken out. Perhaps someone else could confirm that a CB antenna connection is available on that module, or it could be swapped out with a module that does have the CB antenna connection. Running other coax outside would be a real pain, I speak from experience since I did it to mount a Browning satellite radio antenna on the passenger mirror!

[ghuffman3]

I work at the Freightliner Plant in Cleveland, NC. We don't build the smaller trucks there, but almost all of the trucks we build have a multiplexer in the dash that all antenna wires run to and then to the outside antennas. On our large class 8 trucks there is a removable panel built into the overhead console and the CB coax pigtail is back there, along with power and grounding provisions. I would check the owners manual and see if there is a common space for the CB and check there.

[The Bus Driver]

Thanks for the reply WaltW, I know it’s a touch call for sure. I was looking into Entegra’s and even the Aspire B or the DEQ it would put me on to tight of a budget so looking realistically at the Jayco Seneca HJ it would be paid for. Where I drive buses for a living Class A coaches was a natural thought of what I want but the Seneca Class C is all we really need, we just have to make it work for us. I was talking to Sicard RV today and he told me there are a lot of changes on the new 2016 Seneca’s but not so much on the floor plans.

[The Bus Driver]

Thanks ghuffman3, I will try to find out about the multiplexer on the Freightliner M2 Chassis if they place one there as well. I know most people don’t care for CB’s today because of the bad language or all the new tech with smartphones but I had 3 class 8 trucks in my other life and I still have 2 CB’s. I still think they are very useful but I guess I’m just old school.

[WaltW]

The Bus Driver, not sure what changes you were told about for 2016 but I heard Jack OTA antenna (no more cranking/ leaks!!), air brakes, and wood finish.

I saw that Nexus modified their International chassis to have one large fuel tank (100 gals?) with single fill vs 2 tanks requiring fill from both sides. Unfortunately the fill is from passenger side so you may still need a truck stop for fueling. Would like to see Jayco do something like that but get it right.

And give me a wood look floor again

Walt

[The Bus Driver]

Originally Posted by anav8or

We bought a 2015 36FK in November and have done about a dozen camping trips in it so far. We don't full time in it, but we used it quite a bit through the cold season.

We've found propane use to be pretty minimal for the fridge, cooking and water heating. Keep in mind that with the tankless heater, you are heating water on-demand rather than trying to keep several gallons hot all the time. Using the furnace will drain the propane quickly as expected - we went through about 2/3 of the tank in the course of a weekend with temps in the 20's. The heat pumps help a lot in the "in between" seasons. The Seneca is definitely not designed for winter camping without some modifications - even with the interior heated, the water system will freeze up.

As far as DEF use, I fill that tank every couple of fill-ups and carry a container of it with me just in case. As Abaco Boat mentioned, the Flying J / Pilot's and most other truck stops have DEF pumps co-located with the diesel pumps so it isn't a big deal to fill.

I have been thinking about adding a CB, but haven't pulled the trigger on that yet. The antenna on the mirror is, I believe, for the radio. I'm not sure if it can be used for a CB as well. I've seen some others ask questions about adding CB's to the Seneca on the forum, but haven't seen replies from anyone that's done it.

Overall, we've been very happy with the Seneca so far. We moved up from an E450-based Class C and find that we have a ton of additional space - both inside and outside in the Seneca. It has ample power for dragging along the Honda CR-V we have as a toad. The local Freightliner shop loves it compared to the Class A's because it is so much easier to work on.

Jayco has been great to work with on the warranty side with the couple of minor issues we've had. We also have an excellent local dealer which helps a lot. I've read a few stories on here about folks having trouble getting warranty work from dealers if they didn't purchase the unit from them.

I'm happy to answer any other questions you have - feel free to PM me or ask here!

Ty

Thanks Ty for your reply, go to hear the good, bad and the heads up on real life experiences. It’s also great to hear you are happy with your Seneca and Jayco customer service is good to work with. We have ( 6 ) buses here at my work that are Freightliner’s with the S2C chassis which is very similar to the M2 chassis used on the Seneca’s. As far as the serviceability and reliability of our Freightliner’s its been very good.

I know the insulation in Class C’s are not as good as Class A’s when comparing the way they are built. I hope to be getting away from the cold part of Atlantic Canada to warmer climate. It's been a hard winter this year, must get away.

ghuffman3 a member on this forum who works for Freightliner mentioned a multiplexer unit that are installed in class 8 trucks behind the dash area for connections for CB antennas, so I need to check if they do it for M2 chassis’s or commercial trucks only.

Needing more research to pin point each component used on the unit and checking the reviews from all sources on the reliability or problems. Getting information from this forum from users like yourself and from other users is invaluable to help me with my decision.

Thank You all in advance.

[The Bus Driver]

Originally Posted by WaltW

The Bus Driver, not sure what changes you were told about for 2016 but I heard Jack OTA antenna (no more cranking/ leaks!!), air brakes, and wood finish.

I saw that Nexus modified their International chassis to have one large fuel tank (100 gals?) with single fill vs 2 tanks requiring fill from both sides. Unfortunately the fill is from passenger side so you may still need a truck stop for fueling. Would like to see Jayco do something like that but get it right.

And give me a wood look floor again

Walt

I would like to see the wood floors back too but there still going to be using laminate tiles. My contact at Sicard RV is checking on a few things on the 2015 Seneca 37HJ that they have in stock including a few things you mentioned. He said they just received an update sheet on things that are changing for the 2016 Seneca’s so once I get a copy I will share it everybody on the forum.

[Zinkow]

According to the 2014 Freightliner's M2 Body Builder Book, Wiring Diagrams, CB Antennas (File #GO6-42293 CB Antennas.pdf), all M2's have an antenna multiplexer installed. It's under the dash. The CB_ANT_U_Multiplexer has 2 antenna outputs wired to each door mirror, and 2 inputs - 1 for a CB radio, the other for an AM/FM radio. I didn't crawl under my dash to confirm that it's there, but I've got to believe if Freightliner went to the trouble of providing the wiring diagrams, then it's probably there.

[Shultz01]

I was told by Freightliner that the antenna on the driver's door mirror is both AM/FM and CB. I've had the dash panel off to add the fog light switch and did notice that there are power terminals back there so powering the CB would be no issue. I wasn't considering a CB at the time, so I didn't look for that antenna connector. I'd like to add a CB now and would be interested in exactly where under or behind the dash it is.