Jayco - Are you listening?

SparkDr · 03-06-2016, 06:56 AM

Life has smiled favorably upon the DW and I recently and we are now able to move forward with our goal of traveling and full-timing much sooner in life than originally expected. In anticipation, we spent the entire day yesterday at the CNY RV show is Syracuse, NY previewing floor plans. When all was said and done, we both agreed that the new Keystone Montana 3950BR with the mid-ship bonus room was clearly our preferred layout. Obviously, we were not alone as this unit was an absolute beehive of activity. Sadly, jayco does not offer this floor plan as yet but we are optimistic other manufacturers will follow suit soon enough due to it's popularity. There is no immediacy for us, thankfully. We've decided to take our time in preparing for this transition and don't expect to hit the road until 2018 (but hey, we'll still be in our 40's when we do!). We'd just prefer to do it in a Jayco when we do.

Magnolia Tom · 03-06-2016, 07:08 AM

Take a look at the North point 377 RLBH. Same plan

klassic · 03-06-2016, 07:16 AM

Spark... How could you have missed the NorthPoint 377???
It's the most talked about 5ver in the fifth wheel forum
Yes.. Jayco was listening and led the way. Lol

BrentB · 03-06-2016, 07:20 AM

That's interesting. I don't think I've seen that floorplan before.

klassic · 03-06-2016, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrentB

That's interesting. I don't think I've seen that floorplan before.

Oh my!
I'm going to have to post the floor plan for everyone who has missed out.
And Tom and some others have posted a bunch of mods they've done to thier 377's

SparkDr · 03-06-2016, 07:48 AM

Well, I'll be ******...there it is. I guess I shouldn't try to scope out floor plans on the iPhone in the future. Glad to see it's on a higher trim level unit as well. I guess I'll take my newbie scolding on this one. Until a week or so ago, a 5er wasn't even on the radar. Thanks for setting me straight. It looks like I've got a bit of catching up to do...and a new truck to shop for, too.

klassic · 03-06-2016, 07:52 AM

The Jayco site has a 360 degree walk though for your viewing pleasure

**Crabman** · 03-06-2016, 08:04 AM

It looks like Jayco listened!!

kmergen · 03-06-2016, 09:22 AM

Yep, we sat in both the Montana and Northpoint mid-bunk designs at the Tampa show in January as well as several others (Solitude, Big Country, etc). While the Montana comes with a few things the Northpoint doesn't (tank heaters, hydraulic leveling, etc.).....the Northpoint just seemed to be a better design and quality to us.
It seemed to have slightly more counter space than the Montana, more kitchen drawers and cabinets. The pantry on the Northpoint seems huge in comparison the corner pantry in the Montana.
The Northpoint also had a cabinet over the toilet and a second medicine cabinet in the bathroom that the Montana didn't have. And if there's any interest in any sort of outdoor kitchen, the Northpoint has the gas stove and refrig while I don't believe the Montana had one at one.
Also, while maybe just bad luck for the Montana.....it had a piece of furniture trim damaged and also a cabinet door was hanging down by one hinge while the Northpoint had hundreds upon hundreds of people in and out of it (we sat in it and tested it out for probably 3 hours ourselves) and we didn't see damage.
The one thing we liked about the Montana was the larger window in the bunkroom as we aren't really needing the bunk above the sofa in the Northpoint.

kmergen · 03-06-2016, 10:11 AM

To be fair to the Montana though.....I do believe it warranties for full-time usage (1 year) and has a 12 inch I-beam (like the Heartland Big Country mid-bunk), while the Northpoint only has a 10 inch I-beam like the Solitude.

From what we've heard from people around the shows and websites concerning the 377RLBH (in no particular order):
1.) Wish it had a sink in the outdoor kitchen
2.) Lack of "Full-time" warranty speaks to a companies confidence in their product.
3.) Over-head cabinets with hinges that stay open
4.) Put the DVD player in a more convenient (lower) spot, and have a better configuration to the entertainment center for the addition of a sound bar/external speakers.

But it does seem to be a favorite as the wish list for the other mid-bunks are much longer. We've looked at so many and the 377rlbh continues to be #1 on our list.

glsimms · 03-06-2016, 10:37 AM

Beautiful 5fer!

Here is a thorough video walk-thru of this model. This dealer does a very good job on all of his Jayco units they sell, not just this one. The vid is over 15 minutes long....

https://youtu.be/F2XoRV06-uk

Enjoy

troutslayer · 03-06-2016, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmergen

To be fair to the Montana though.....I do believe it warranties for full-time usage (1 year) and has a 12 inch I-beam

That is probably because Montana's had terrible problems with frame failures. I had a Montana, and luckily didn't have that problem, but it was one of the hottest topics on their forum. I've not seen any of that on the Jayco forum.

Knauby · 03-07-2016, 02:27 PM

I think somewhere on here someone started a thread comparing the Montana to the Northpoint. I tried to search it but I guess I can't utilize "keywords" very well. I know it is here though.

Loboclone · 03-07-2016, 03:29 PM

Time to chime in on fifth wheel frames and I beams. 10" vs" 12" I beams? There is a lot of misconceptions on how the I beams are constructed. Most Fifth wheel I beams are not a one piece extruded I beam, they are a welded I bean with the flange top and bottom.

You have to look closely to tell the difference. Most all the frames are made by Lippert, they produce "Stock Frames" for F/W manufacturers. Stock frames are welded I beams, not a 1 piece extruded I beam. Jayco doesn't use "Stock Frames" from Lippert, however they spec a frame and Lippert builds it. Jayco uses a true I beam on all their products.

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