If you did not own a Jayco Brand RV, what would be your second choice?

[Mad5581]

Personally I would probably buy another jayco. If you have deeper pockets then I do I would look at Vanleigh as part of tifton they have a good dealer network and make a beautiful 5thwheel. Probably DRV are also built like a rock and have talked to many rv techs and they love them. Easy to work on and easy to get warranty claims approved. In the same price range as the pinnacle would be the solitude by grand design. Again its gonna be like a copy of what you already have. They are now owned by winnebago so the dealer network is pretty vast. But its probably not gonna be any better then jayco to deal with. Outdoors RV is a solid built unit but again small dealer network. I've been told they are easy to deal with and really try to please everyone. In the same price range as the jayco you also have artic fox and for the money they are by far the best for structural build quality. But not going to come with the fancy bells and whistles like the luxury lines have. Personally I would stay away from anything built or owned by forest river with exception to the Flagstaff line. Forest river has a terrible reputation for warranty claims and a high per unit claim rate. I like the Montana line (not high country). They have great reputation and a vast dealer network. I have never been impressed with the high country line. It looks like its halfway between a cougar and a Montana. But it's really a cougar with lipstick on it and a bigger price tag. I recommend go and look at them. I always do the "island test" walk in watch the island if it moves walk out. If it doesn't move go shake it. If it is easy to shake walk out. If the rv manufacturer cant build a solid island i dont want it. Remember it's a 9.0 earthquake driving that trailer down the road.

Montana: passed the island test
High country: failed bad
Pinnacle: passed
Northpoint: passed
Artic fox: passed with an A+
Solitude: passed barely
Open range: failed barely
Outdoors rv: passed
Flagstaff: passed
Cougar: failed
Eagle: failed
DRV: passed
Vanleigh: have never tested yet

I do this at every rv show and dealer I go to and believe me I get funny looks. But like I said an island is visible if they mess that up what that you can't see is trash.

[Jaycojim]

Check out the new company ALLIANCE RV, seem to be ultra high quality.
Thanks'Buckeyejim'
Columbus Ohio

[Tryintoretire]

We had a very similar experiance.the drivers side rear corner of our Pinnacle.We we were sideswiped by an 18 wheeler,while turning in to a Pilot station.Body shop got ours 12-12-19,we picked up two weeks ago.There was a lot of problems with decals ,wrong ones sent etc.the cost of the decals from Jayco was around $2000. I think the body shop absorbed some of Jayco's problems.Point , it wasn't $7000.00.

[parallax]

My secondary choice would have been the ATC aluminum toyhauler trailer.

[respearrin]

We had the same paint problem along with a long list of other problems on my 2017 Eagle had switched from Montana because of problems but nothing like the this going back to Montana

[Siamese]

I'd be inclined to stick with a Jayco. Not out of any loyalty, as I don't have loyalty to any brand regardless of the product. Show me the company that's loyal to me.

But, it appears to get a higher quality trailer, the price goes up disproportionately.

My personal solution is to go with the Jayco, which has the same sketchy quality as any other Thor product, but to keep it inexpensive and simple (26BH).

[tec]

I think a Grand Design, although they didn’t have a floor plan that I was looking for when I bought my 2018 Jayco Eagle. Like you this is my 3 rd Jayco, but have been disappointed in the quality and with all the small problems I’ve had. I live in my 5 th wheel full time right now, and can’t afford to take it in to get the things done because I know it will take much to long to get it fixed.

[bankr63]

I was leaning towards Grand Design, but we have been touring them for several years at the local RV show, and I feel that quality is rapidly falling there too. A couple of the units on display this year had some serious fit and finish issues (trim falling off, misalignments) and obviously cheaper materials. Their bathroom sinks have gotten comically small, a child couldn't wash their hands in them let alone an adult.

We have started to downsize our expectations so that we can travel more, so I am now leaning towards a Lance TT. Great quality, but a premium price. Doesn't help much in 5er forum as they are truck campers and TT's only.

[Levinehikeski]

Originally Posted by Danno

My next purchase might be a Dutchmen. The couple we camp with bought a new Dutchmen last year at the same time we bought our 2020 Jayco 235 RKS. Both units were the same price ($28K), but the Dutchmen came with so many extras. Little things like battery boxes, propane cover, powered front jack, lights inside the storage area, outside handrail, porcelain toilet and a bunch of other items were not on our Jayco. Just recently I noticed one of the interior wall panels was not stapled correctly and started to bulge. It's only a 10 minute repair so not worth dragging it back to the dealer for them to fix it, but I did ask them to supply the wall tape because the original can't be reused. This stuff is 99 cents/foot and I need 8 feet. I've been trying for 3 weeks to get an answer to see if they could send me this and cover under warranty, but still no reply after 6 e-mails. It's not a matter of money but more principle. Even though we are talking about $8 worth of tape, Jayco said they may not warranty it and said if I wanted the tape it would cost me an extra $20 to ship it to me because I'm in Canada. So basically, Jayco is going to lose a future customer ( I buy new every 3 years) over $8.
Not cool customer service!

Never had an issue with my jayco, it was a sport 8 popup, so not much to mess up! It was a great camper for the 2 years we used it. I bought a forest river 16BHS black label. The similar Jayco couldn’t come close with the features or price.

[SeventyGTX]

I really liked the Open Range 5th wheels we looked at. Although there aren't that many dealers around.

[Flounder67]

We have a Jayco Class C Envoy - but if we went back to a 5vr which could happen in the future, we would look at a new company "Alliance RV" - 2 brothers from Heartland have created Alliance RV with customer service as #! - their RVs are awesome with a customer input attitude - they made changes to the first RVs off the line with customer input from RV shows. They are starting some new models built with what customers have said are important to have in a RV....Bill Martin who did an awesome job with Grand Design is also part of the team...They have a FB page for the manufacturer and one for the owners of the units. Please take a look...

[RetiredLEO]

Lance, then ORV & Northwood MFG. If on a budget....Keystone Cougar HT

[dabrown]

i priced decals for red hawk and as you said they would only sell the whole set, dealer said they would cost $3000.00 sounds phoney to me

[Aggie79]

Toss up between Newmar and Allegro Bus. Used of course.

[Crabman]

I owned a pre Thor Jayco for 7 years and my current Forest River Coachmen for going on 4 years. I would say they were about equal in fit and finish, construction, and overall quality. Zero trips back to dealer for service with either trailer. Just some minor issues I dealt with myself. The Jayco was 15k new an the FR was 20, so not bad results for that price point.
The thread below explains why I switched brands. https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...yco-42879.html

[EvilDoer]

Originally Posted by Midnightmoon

How is the dealer network for Northwood in your area? We just have one left in West Milton PA, which is approx 4 hours away from us. That is the only dealer in the surrounding states.

I'm about 45 minutes from a dealer. I've stopped by and browsed a couple times. The next closest is a few states away.

[Midnightmoon]

Originally Posted by EvilDoer

I'm about 45 minutes from a dealer. I've stopped by and browsed a couple times. The next closest is a few states away.

That's really good that you have one that close. They are almost nonexistent east of the Mississippi anymore.