Jayco Eagle HT vs Grand Design Reflection

mgparr · 01-18-2021, 07:54 PM

Good evening all,

We're considering the Reflection 31MB and comparing it to the Jayco Eagle HT 31MB. This is a new floor plan for Jayco but is identical to the Reflection. We've looked at both Eagle HT and Reflection in person and honest can't tell a quality difference. The Eagle HT is appealing as it can be optioned with a 12v fridge and a king bed. The Grand Design is cheaper by 3-4K and they seem to have a better reputation for customer service. Recognizing this is a Jayco forum, I'm curious what the general thought is on comparing these two lines? I can live without the king bed but I'm not sure about the RV fridge in the Grand Design versus the 12v in the Eagle HT. We live in Florida and will be camping in a lot of hot places. This is our first RV and I keep reading horror stories about gas/electric absorption fridges.

So to sum up...

What are the real differences between Jayco's Eagle HT line and Grand Design's Reflection line?

How concerned should we really be about an absorption fridge in hot climates?

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

-MGP

Jagiven · 01-18-2021, 08:55 PM

Welcome Aboard!

Honestly I cannot tell you the difference between the two. No matter what brand you go with, they all can have the same issues. They all use the same basic subcomponents (Frigs, AC, furnaces, water heaters, lights, etc). They are all handmade.

Jayco has a 2+3 warranty. I believe GD still has a basic 1 year warranty. I can tell you the two year warranty is nice, especially if you are not handy. As noted above some rigs have more issues than others, and it can take two years to work out the bugs at times. Some rigs have no issues at all. For me, year two, I had a main decal start bubbling up, it was covered. Converter started making noise, covered. I think I had one other bigger item in year two, Jayco covered it. I had a number of small things in the first year they fixed, that I could have done, they covered it. Repairs were always quick. Since year two, I have had no major issues, and no reason to bring it into the shop. No matter what brand, there is annual maintenance that must be done. If you are not handy, you can get very frustrated at times, as it seems like the camper is always in the shop.

Personally, I do not think the manufacture is the main issue with repairs (except for quality issues). I truly believe it is the selling dealership's reputation. I would NEVER buy an RV from a dealership that had a poor Service Department reputation! I would buy from somewhere else first, even if it was a different brand, I would even go with a non ideal layout. RV dealerships only like working on campers they sold. For some crazy reason, they do not want to work on a RV they did not sell you.

As for frigs. It really comes to personal choice. I like absorption frigs, primarily because I like to go off grid, and it does not tax my battery. There a few upgrades you can do to help improve their performance. I have heard people say it takes forever to cool down an absorption frig, mine is cool/cold within a few hours. I do have a small fan on my cooling coil. Some people have added a small fan in the access area behind the frig to help pull the heat out of the top of frig compartment. A roof vent in my opinion is better than a upper side wall vent, allows for better natural cooling.

Residential frigs, when boondocking or while long distance traveling will operate via an inverter using your onboard battery bank. Pending on your setup the inverter can drain a battery bank fairly fast. Depending how you like to camp, you might want to consider battery bank upgrade, solar and/or a generator. If you are always camped with shore power, generally speaking it should not be an issue.

Ultimately, I would go with the unit that you like the best, and has the better selling dealer, Service Department reputation, especially if your not handy.

mgparr · 01-18-2021, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jagiven

Welcome Aboard!

Honestly I cannot tell you the difference between the two. No matter what brand you go with, they all can have the same issues. They all use the same basic subcomponents (Frigs, AC, furnaces, water heaters, lights, etc). They are all handmade.

Jayco has a 2+3 warranty. I believe GD still has a basic 1 year warranty. I can tell you the two year warranty is nice, especially if you are not handy. As noted above some rigs have more issues than others, and it can take two years to work out the bugs at times. Some rigs have no issues at all. For me, year two, I had a main decal start bubbling up, it was covered. Converter started making noise, covered. I think I had one other bigger item in year two, Jayco covered it. I had a number of small things in the first year they fixed, that I could have done, they covered it. Repairs were always quick. Since year two, I have had no major issues, and no reason to bring it into the shop. No matter what brand, there is annual maintenance that must be done. If you are not handy, you can get very frustrated at times, as it seems like the camper is always in the shop.

Personally, I do not think the manufacture is the main issue with repairs (except for quality issues). I truly believe it is the selling dealership's reputation. I would NEVER buy an RV from a dealership that had a poor Service Department reputation! I would buy from somewhere else first, even if it was a different brand, I would even go with a non ideal layout. RV dealerships only like working on campers they sold. For some crazy reason, they do not want to work on a RV they did not sell you.

As for frigs. It really comes to personal choice. I like absorption frigs, primarily because I like to go off grid, and it does not tax my battery. There a few upgrades you can do to help improve their performance. I have heard people say it takes forever to cool down an absorption frig, mine is cool/cold within a few hours. I do have a small fan on my cooling coil. Some people have added a small fan in the access area behind the frig to help pull the heat out of the top of frig compartment. A roof vent in my opinion is better than a upper side wall vent, allows for better natural cooling.

Residential frigs, when boondocking or while long distance traveling will operate via an inverter using your onboard battery bank. Pending on your setup the inverter can drain a battery bank fairly fast. Depending how you like to camp, you might want to consider battery bank upgrade, solar and/or a generator. If you are always camped with shore power, generally speaking it should not be an issue.

Ultimately, I would go with the unit that you like the best, and has the better a selling dealer, Service department reputation, especially if your not handy.

Thanks for your input! I'm a pretty handy guy so I've got that going for me. The extra year of warranty is a solid point. Thanks for that.

Regrettably, the dealers that are local to me aren't great. I'd be paying many thousands more than appropriate and subjecting myself to terrible customer service in order to buy local. I can't do that out of principle.

I do have a dealer (that ironically doesn't sell either brand) very close to me that says they will service anything. They went out of their way to tell me this when we were looking at a couple of units on their lot and were pretty transparent they just didn't have what we needed in their lineup. The salesman basically told me they like the revenue that service brings. I also get that his comments aren't worth much until I try and service something there.

ynpmoose · 01-19-2021, 08:07 AM

I have two friends that work in the service department for an RV dealer. They will tell you that Grand Design has the best quality of all manufacturers, by far. Their production inspection processes and final inspections before shipping are significantly more thorough. They rank Jayco #2, so still good, but then a big gap to 3 and lower.

mgparr · 01-19-2021, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ynpmoose

I have two friends that work in the service department for an RV dealer. They will tell you that Grand Design has the best quality of all manufacturers, by far. Their production inspection processes and final inspections before shipping are significantly more thorough. They rank Jayco #2, so still good, but then a big gap to 3 and lower.

Thanks for this. Very helpful!

Big1 · 01-20-2021, 01:09 AM

I have look at the GD and I like the quality I think if you get either one you can't go wrong, good luck and let us know what you decide to go with.

mgparr · 01-20-2021, 05:32 PM

I think we're close to making a decision and are likely going with the Jayco.

Do you guys have an opinion on the Overland Solar Package? We probably won't be off grid very much but the option is only $395 (dealer cost on the quote) so seems like cheap insurance should we choose to boondock for a night or two somewhere. I'm having a hard time figuring out what the components actually are outside the dealer telling me it's a 190w solar panel, 30a controller, and a display for the system.

Other options we're getting - 12v refrigerator, king bed, and 2nd AC.

Lastly, we're right at about 32% off. Seems good, especially right now. How much harder should we push?

Quantum · 01-20-2021, 06:53 PM

I would assume the GD fridge is probably propane/electric, which would be better for off grid than 12V.

From what I've seen, GD sets the standard for quality and customer service.

I will be looking very seriously at a GD next time we upgrade. Our Jayco has been fine, but I like what I see on GD website better.

Jay2504 · 01-20-2021, 08:52 PM

It really boils down to personal preference. When we upgraded, we looked at Grand Design, and they were very nice. We bought a Jay Flight instead. The farmhouse interior really sold the DW. Jay.

Big1 · 01-20-2021, 09:04 PM

Good luck, so whatever you go with get the 2 A/C, ask me how I know, believe me I been their done that, do yourself a favorite and get that 2nd one. As far as the Solar I'm not up on that, my wife and I we only goes to campground but their are a lot of these good folks will tell you all about it.

Lake Huron · 01-20-2021, 09:21 PM

When we were looking back in 16 we looked at a GD also. We felt they build a pretty nice unit, a lot better than most of the other stuff we looked at. However, the Northpoint is what we purchased. It just seemed to fit the bill of everything we were looking for. Northpoint doesnt make our 375 anymore. Little bit of a bummer but we are very happy with the one we have.

Bill2e · 01-21-2021, 01:24 PM

All I can say is we went to the RV show and I was not impressed with GD. We ended up with a North Point over Eagle, but the Eagle would have been fine. Just look at both and decide.

02camp · 01-22-2021, 11:21 AM

We took delivery of our Eagle HT 27RS December 8, 2020. We did a 2 day shakedown with no issues before leaving home on a longer trip. We have been in central Florida for the last 3 weeks and are very happy with the overall build.
We stuck with the Dometic fridge. I just wasn't comfortable with the "new" Furrion 12 volt fridge, There are 5 cold settings on the Dometic with 5 being coldest. I moved the setting from 3 to 5. After freezing a few items in the fridge, I lowered it to 4 and this appears to be the sweet spot for now.
With regards to the Solar package, I wish we would have gotten it even though we keep ours plugged in at home.
The options I got were the booth dinette, 16" tires, observation cameras and TPMS. I didn't know it at the time but there is no knee knocker holding the table up which is a real plus. The only option I wish I didn't get is the TPMS. The reason is it pairs with your cell phone and I haven't found a way to adjust the settings. I would prefer to have a monitor on the dashboard.
Finally we were continually running out of hot water while showering regardless of whether I was on gas or electric. I changed the shower head to an Oxygenics water saver and no more issues with a cool ending to our showers.
Overall we are very happy with our purchase. I will say I agree with the poster who stated to look closely at the service department. We considered a Cougar and GD Reflection 150 before purchasing our Jayco. We bought from our local small Jayco dealer. I would say his price was competitive but his service after the sale won hands down over the other nationwide dealers.

Quantum · 01-22-2021, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 02camp

We took delivery of our Eagle HT 27RS December 8, 2020. We did a 2 day shakedown with no issues before leaving home on a longer trip. We have been in central Florida for the last 3 weeks and are very happy with the overall build.
We stuck with the Dometic fridge. I just wasn't comfortable with the "new" Furrion 12 volt fridge, There are 5 cold settings on the Dometic with 5 being coldest. I moved the setting from 3 to 5. After freezing a few items in the fridge, I lowered it to 4 and this appears to be the sweet spot for now.
With regards to the Solar package, I wish we would have gotten it even though we keep ours plugged in at home.
The options I got were the booth dinette, 16" tires, observation cameras and TPMS. I didn't know it at the time but there is no knee knocker holding the table up which is a real plus. The only option I wish I didn't get is the TPMS. The reason is it pairs with your cell phone and I haven't found a way to adjust the settings. I would prefer to have a monitor on the dashboard.
Finally we were continually running out of hot water while showering regardless of whether I was on gas or electric. I changed the shower head to an Oxygenics water saver and no more issues with a cool ending to our showers.
Overall we are very happy with our purchase. I will say I agree with the poster who stated to look closely at the service department. We considered a Cougar and GD Reflection 150 before purchasing our Jayco. We bought from our local small Jayco dealer. I would say his price was competitive but his service after the sale won hands down over the other nationwide dealers.

Which Oxygenics shower head did you buy? I've been thinking about this upgrade with 5 of us taking showers and only a 43g water tank.

02camp · 01-22-2021, 12:37 PM

This one from Walmart in the RV section:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Oxygenics...waAjbwEALw_wcB

The brushed nickel matched the faucet.

Aggie79 · 01-22-2021, 02:42 PM

Grand Design all the wat, period.

FLButler3 · 01-26-2021, 04:32 PM

My husband and I just took delivery of the Eagle HT 31MB yesterday. We purchased at the RV show in Tampa. Prior to seeing the Eagle there we looked at the Reflection 31MB several times and almost purchased it, but there were a few things it was lacking that we just couldn't get past. Finally seeing the Eagle 31MB in person sealed the deal for us. The Reflection is a really nice coach, but we felt the Eagle was better in so many ways. Here are some of the differences that really stood out to us.

1. No carpet in the Eagle. This was on the top of my wish list.
2. Two options to make the refrigerator larger. GD has only an 8 cu foot gas/electric available in the 31MB. For the past 7 years we have been camping in an Eagle TT with a 4 cu foot fridge in the outdoor kitchen, and we used the heck out of that extra fridge space. Both the GD and Eagle have only a 1.6 cu foot fridge in the outdoor kitchen so we would be struggling with space for cold storage if not for the larger fridge inside. We went with the 10 cu foot 12 volt which so far is very impressive...it's ice cold 30 minutes after you turn it on.
3. Placement of electrical outlets and cell phone USB chargers. These are all over the Eagle, and none of the outlets are in an upper cabinet either. The GD still has outlets in upper cabinets and very few convenient locations for USB chargers.
4. Bigger TV with a better placement. The TV in the GD sits on part of the kitchen countertop and looks like an afterthought. The plus side of this is it gives you more counter space, but we just didn't care for the look. We also prefer the fireplace in the Eagle.
5. 22 inch Blackstone grill with integrated grill table included with the outdoor kitchen.
6. Theater sofa seats 4 vs. only 3 in the Reflection
7. Better use of space in the Eagle. They packed storage into every conceivable area, and it makes the coach much more liveable.
8. Nicer bathroom fixtures and better storage
9. More floor space in the mid-bunk. We only have 1 child so we preferred the Jayco setup of a sofa with a bunk above rather than the double bunk on bottom and single bunk above in the GD. My husband intends to use the bunk room as a mobile office so the extra floor space for a portable desk is nice.

There were 3 things we liked better about the Reflection
1. The swivel table in the dinette
2. The solid surface countertops
3. 2nd AC included in the master bedroom

Since the Eagle 31 MB just rolled out of the factory within the last month I might be the only person here that has one. If you want more information to help you make your decision I'm happy to answer any questions you have. We are camping in it this weekend to make sure there are no issues that need to be addressed, so I should have a better feel for it then.

Vista · 01-26-2021, 08:42 PM

I have been reading this thread with interest since I posted a very similar one about a month ago. Thanks to all for their input in both threads.

We are leaning toward Jayco (HT) over Reflection (150) for some of the reasons in the post above. The no carpet in the slide is a big one. The smaller GDs also have no fire place option.

Still have not finalized the choice, but the lean is getting much more severe toward the Jayco Eagle HT.

mgparr · 01-26-2021, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FLButler3

My husband and I just took delivery of the Eagle HT 31MB yesterday. We purchased at the RV show in Tampa. Prior to seeing the Eagle there we looked at the Reflection 31MB several times and almost purchased it, but there were a few things it was lacking that we just couldn't get past. Finally seeing the Eagle 31MB in person sealed the deal for us. The Reflection is a really nice coach, but we felt the Eagle was better in so many ways. Here are some of the differences that really stood out to us.

1. No carpet in the Eagle. This was on the top of my wish list.
2. Two options to make the refrigerator larger. GD has only an 8 cu foot gas/electric available in the 31MB. For the past 7 years we have been camping in an Eagle TT with a 4 cu foot fridge in the outdoor kitchen, and we used the heck out of that extra fridge space. Both the GD and Eagle have only a 1.6 cu foot fridge in the outdoor kitchen so we would be struggling with space for cold storage if not for the larger fridge inside. We went with the 10 cu foot 12 volt which so far is very impressive...it's ice cold 30 minutes after you turn it on.
3. Placement of electrical outlets and cell phone USB chargers. These are all over the Eagle, and none of the outlets are in an upper cabinet either. The GD still has outlets in upper cabinets and very few convenient locations for USB chargers.
4. Bigger TV with a better placement. The TV in the GD sits on part of the kitchen countertop and looks like an afterthought. The plus side of this is it gives you more counter space, but we just didn't care for the look. We also prefer the fireplace in the Eagle.
5. 22 inch Blackstone grill with integrated grill table included with the outdoor kitchen.
6. Theater sofa seats 4 vs. only 3 in the Reflection
7. Better use of space in the Eagle. They packed storage into every conceivable area, and it makes the coach much more liveable.
8. Nicer bathroom fixtures and better storage
9. More floor space in the mid-bunk. We only have 1 child so we preferred the Jayco setup of a sofa with a bunk above rather than the double bunk on bottom and single bunk above in the GD. My husband intends to use the bunk room as a mobile office so the extra floor space for a portable desk is nice.

There were 3 things we liked better about the Reflection
1. The swivel table in the dinette
2. The solid surface countertops
3. 2nd AC included in the master bedroom

Since the Eagle 31 MB just rolled out of the factory within the last month I might be the only person here that has one. If you want more information to help you make your decision I'm happy to answer any questions you have. We are camping in it this weekend to make sure there are no issues that need to be addressed, so I should have a better feel for it then.

Good evening. Thanks very much for this.

I'm pretty certain that you are correct and you are the only ones with a 31MB at this point. The story I was told by multiple RV One dealers was that they are the biggest Jayco dealer and Jayco got a 31MB ready for them in time for the Tampa show. None others exist in the country and even RV One won't have another until late Feb / early March. Now this is all from RV One but that's the story I was given. I've been searching nation wide for one to get pictures and couldn't find any at any dealers so I think it's at least mostly true.

It would be a huge help if you guys could take some pictures of of the unit inside and out. They'd be the first real pictures online as best I can tell.

Also, we just placed our order for the Eagle HT 31MB today

Bill2e · 01-27-2021, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FLButler3

My husband and I just took delivery of the Eagle HT 31MB yesterday. We purchased at the RV show in Tampa. Prior to seeing the Eagle there we looked at the Reflection 31MB several times and almost purchased it, but there were a few things it was lacking that we just couldn't get past. Finally seeing the Eagle 31MB in person sealed the deal for us. The Reflection is a really nice coach, but we felt the Eagle was better in so many ways. Here are some of the differences that really stood out to us.

1. No carpet in the Eagle. This was on the top of my wish list.
2. Two options to make the refrigerator larger. GD has only an 8 cu foot gas/electric available in the 31MB. For the past 7 years we have been camping in an Eagle TT with a 4 cu foot fridge in the outdoor kitchen, and we used the heck out of that extra fridge space. Both the GD and Eagle have only a 1.6 cu foot fridge in the outdoor kitchen so we would be struggling with space for cold storage if not for the larger fridge inside. We went with the 10 cu foot 12 volt which so far is very impressive...it's ice cold 30 minutes after you turn it on.
3. Placement of electrical outlets and cell phone USB chargers. These are all over the Eagle, and none of the outlets are in an upper cabinet either. The GD still has outlets in upper cabinets and very few convenient locations for USB chargers.
4. Bigger TV with a better placement. The TV in the GD sits on part of the kitchen countertop and looks like an afterthought. The plus side of this is it gives you more counter space, but we just didn't care for the look. We also prefer the fireplace in the Eagle.
5. 22 inch Blackstone grill with integrated grill table included with the outdoor kitchen.
6. Theater sofa seats 4 vs. only 3 in the Reflection
7. Better use of space in the Eagle. They packed storage into every conceivable area, and it makes the coach much more liveable.
8. Nicer bathroom fixtures and better storage
9. More floor space in the mid-bunk. We only have 1 child so we preferred the Jayco setup of a sofa with a bunk above rather than the double bunk on bottom and single bunk above in the GD. My husband intends to use the bunk room as a mobile office so the extra floor space for a portable desk is nice.

There were 3 things we liked better about the Reflection
1. The swivel table in the dinette
2. The solid surface countertops
3. 2nd AC included in the master bedroom

Since the Eagle 31 MB just rolled out of the factory within the last month I might be the only person here that has one. If you want more information to help you make your decision I'm happy to answer any questions you have. We are camping in it this weekend to make sure there are no issues that need to be addressed, so I should have a better feel for it then.

First off - Congratulations on your new rig!!!

2nd - What are the true weights on this unit? Listed on the door and factory stickers, not the ones on the web site.

I'd be really interested to see scale weights. This looks a like a good compromise solution for us since we had to cancel the Northpoint order. My wife is set on a Mid Bunk for our daughter.

We were at the Tampa show, I wish we would have walked inside that unit.

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