Talked to Jayco yesterday, not good

[vagabond 1]

I talked to Jayco yesterday and was told that the 2016 Greyhawk will have a new tankless hot water system and not a hot water tank.

Production of the 2016's is being held up because of the vibration in the drive train so no 6 speed as of now.

No listing in the Greyhawk specs for a new mattress so the Denver could still be the mattress of production.

I also was told the Greyhawk could always handle the 7500 lb tow rating, Ford just had to agree to change the stickers on the vehicle to make it legal.

[edatlanta]

I guess I'm missing something. I just don't get why I would ever want a tankless water heater. Why should I have to use my propane when I'm at a site with electricity included? I host 8 months out of the year and free hot water is a good thing since I have a Splendide and use it a lot.

[alvinator]

Does the vibration problem mean that they are continuing to build 2016 Greyhawks on 2015 chassis? I just ordered one and sure do not want a 2015 chassis.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by alvinator

Does the vibration problem mean that they are continuing to build 2016 Greyhawks on 2015 chassis? I just ordered one and sure do not want a 2015 chassis.

There is a good chance the actual chassis itself will be a 2015 they are purchased well in advance as an "incomplete" vehicle. One time we were at the plant and there were at least 75 chassis sitting there, some stretched others not. They don't have the stretch done until they know what model is ordered.

As to the vibration problem the chassis are stretched, as is the drive-line by Mor-Ryde (or that is who use to do it for JAYCO) and that is probably where the issue is. Not a 2015 vs 2016 model year problem.

[alvinator]

Except the 2016 has a much improved 6 speed tranny; that is the reason I do not want a 2015 chassis.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by alvinator

Except the 2016 has a much improved 6 speed tranny; that is the reason I do not want a 2015 chassis.

But you may still end up with a 15 based on how they are built and what chassis were in the yard when it was ordered and went into production.

[Up North]

The dealer I am negotiating with told me he would install a tank heater in lieu of the tank less free of charge if I ordered through him. I just hate the idea of having a brand new motor home hacked on by the dealer before I even drive it off the lot.
A tank less heater doesn't make a lot of sense to me in a rv. I think it's just one of those we have this feature that our competitor don't things.

The vibration problem is more of a concern to me. Also is the 6 speed a new transmission to Ford or is it just new to Jayco?
I'm not ordering anything until February so I'm keeping a close eye on these issues.
I may revisit the Forester dealer in the mean time.

[vagabond 1]

Ford has had a 6 speed for a while now i doubt they designed a new one for Jayco.

[LI-Camper]

I bought a 2016 Greyhawk 29 MV on July 10th. It is on a 2016 Ford chassis not a 2015. It does not have a Denver mattress. It does have a vibration at about 60MPH. The info I got from Jayco told me that Jayco is meeting with Ford engineers to determine a solution. Also that Ford says it is OK to drive in the meantime. I put about 3000 miles on it going to Ashville, NC and a second trip to central PA. I drove up (and down) a 6% grade on I 40 in NC near Ashville with no problems. I previously owned a 2004 27DS Greyhawk and the new one handles better and is a dream to drive. I am concerned of course about the vibration, but I'm confident it will be worked out.

[LI-Camper]

The info I got from Jayco about Ford engineers came after I reported the vibration issue. I would have waited to buy if I knew about the vibration. My test ride did not indicate a vibration. I might have accelerated right past 60. Or maybe the road was rough..

[Up North]

I emailed Jayco yesterday and told them I am considering ordering a new Greyhawk and asked about the vibration issue as well as the tank less hot water issue and what they were doing to address these problems.
Also asked to be informed of any other engineering design changes.

The Forest River owners forum sounds like they have the same issue with the vibration over there.

[Jopopsy]

I posted all about this is issue in a earlier thread. I ended up with a 2015 Greyhawk because I didn't what to deal with it and DW liked the color scheme better.

For the record the chassis was also a 2016. With the 6 speed.

[vagabond 1]

As far as I am concerned I don't think it takes this long to find the vibration problem.

I know for a fact it has been well over a month this problem has been known about, I think it is more of a question maybe between Jayco and Ford over who is going to pay for what on what has been built already.

If say just 20 motor homes have been sold with the problem thats 20 motor homes that might need a very expensive fix, or to be bought back.

[Plowtoy]

It will be interesting to see what comes of the vibration issue. Although I don't have a lot of knowledge in the MH side of a cutaway, I do know the E-series cutaways better than most. These chassis are used to build the busses I work on. Ive noticed a vibration in some of our vehicles, but will say its only the extended wheel base vehicles. A lot goes into extending the wheel base, including cutting a perfectly good frame, lots of welding, balancing the additional lengths of drive shaft, and fine tuning driveline angle (which im sure the last two is where the vibration is from). Ford does authorize those modifications to shops that meet their QVM requirements.

[Up North]

Originally Posted by vagabond 1

I talked to Jayco yesterday and was told that the 2016 Greyhawk will have a new tankless hot water system and not a hot water tank.

Are they going to a different tank less heater from the Girard or didn't they specify?

[vagabond 1]

It was in the 2016 Greyhawk specs in the Jayco Home papge so I asked and all i was told was the new tankless water heater was from a different company.

But from what i know the vibration is only in the 2016's the older Jaycos of the same length do not have the vibration problem, so why did it start this year?

[The Logans]

When I researched tank-less water heaters for the house, I found out why they are so expensive, and why the don't work well on a RV.


There is a computer that monitors 3 parameters: the input water temperature, the input water pressure, and the rate/volume of the water flow. The systems on the RV's don't do this, and thus the problems. A sudden change in any or all of those parameters can result in getting scalded.


Home systems run on 120v only, at high amperage, and are far more sophisticated. The tech who explained it all to me said that the systems available for RV's just aren't quite ready for that application as yet.

[vagabond 1]

What you say Mr. Logan is correct. I did a little checking into a home unit about 4 or 5 years ago and yes there were quiet a few items that had to be perfect for it to work correctly.

[BigJohnD]

Not all home systems run on 120v. Ours was a Noritz CNG unit, but the ignition was 120v. The electric ones drew too much power. We went with CNG as they use minimal gas, plus being able to use it in hurricanes with only the small 120v draw for ignition. I have no experience with the Truma tankless water heaters, but I think they're one worth watching, and appear to be far superior to Girard, Atwood, or any of the other ones that are problematic. I know Fleetwood starting using the Truma units. Hadn't seen too many bad reviews on them yet.
Truma AquaGo® provides instant hot water while on the road

[WaltW]

Just happened to be looking at CW catalog and Suburban has an on demand heater that "monitors" inlet water temp, flow GPM, outgoing water temp and flow GPM. Sounds like that's closer to the residential systems. Curious to see what Jayco uses.