Jayco - Thor poor Quality and Disappointment

[jloco]

Originally Posted by RAurand

I agree, I brought my 2016 28BHBE in October of 2015.

Had very few problems with it.

I ordered mine October 2015, it was built January 2016. 6 months before Thor takeover. I had a few minor issues the first season. It’s been solid since.

[WayneTaylor]

Jay Thomas, if i read your post right you are in Acworth Ga. I have had very good luck working with Southern RV in McDonough Ga.

[J&T]

I had warranty issues the first season with our new fifth wheel last summer, nothing too major but stuff we wanted addressed so I spoke to the local jayco dealer here in Altoona Iowa and the first thing they ask me was if we purchased the unit from them and when I said no they didn’t have this model on their lot so we purchased out of state, They said they were not taking any new customers. So I called jayco warranty dept and that gave me authorization to have a small mom and pop dealer here very close to us do the repairs. It didn’t help speed up getting parts from the factory but they had all winter.

[tfoliver]

Jay,

Wow, you have had a real nightmare! Well, as you can see from the posts, you are not alone. Many of us are disappointed with the product Jayco is putting out these days. It sounds like Thor ownership is likely the factor.

Our 2019 Pinnacle 32RLTS that we ordered and took delivery in March has been at the dealer more than with us. In fact, it’s been there for three weeks getting it’s SECOND round of linoleum. The first time it had to be done because screws were backing out of the floor and punching through. When we went to pick it up after replacement, the unit was filthy and there was adhesive all over and small rocks inside that had stuck to the workers’ shoes. When they put out the slide, a rock caught and tore the new linoleum. There were a bunch of other issues they hadn’t done also. The cabinets and pantry door were also chipped and dinged from their work.

We’ve had a long list of issues with our unit since day 1. I won't bore you with them (lots) and I have posted about them a few times. I wrote a letter to Jayco’s CEO telling him of our horrible experience with the product. I told him I thought we needed to bring the unit to Indiana because there were so many items. I got a call from one of their folks telling me they were booked out for six months and it would be best to “work with my dealer”.

We’ve had many RV’s over the years and this one (by far) takes the award for the worst workmanship.

In any event, our latest list of items including the new floor should be completed this week. I don’t have high hopes after the last fiascoes with the dealer. We still may need to take the unit to Indiana because now the upstairs (bedroom and bathroom) linoleum is bubbling. Also, one of the interior stairs is punching through the wall (exterior side). I don’t want the dealer to do this after seeing what they did to the unit after installing the downstairs flooring.

Bottom line is we’re doing everything we can to get the rig fixed. It’s been a frustrating and stressful journey and I hope it is over soon. The unit is beautiful with full body paint and we love the amenities. It will be nice to someday enjoy it.

It’s terrible that RV manufacturers can get away with such shoddy workmanship. If an automobile brand operated like that, they wouldn’t last long.

Anyhow, sure hope you get things resolved. Best of luck!

Tom

[Jopopsy]

Part of my reason for downsizing from my C to a modest TT was having less financial exposure to this hobby. I have owned enough manufacturer‘s product to understand most of them are sub-par borderline acceptable and a goodly portion are rolling garbage. I didn't want to give up the hobby but I was done paying a small fortune for what I got. I can stomach the issues much easier with what I’m paying now !

[xrpb11a]

Interesting viewpoint.
We are getting ready to trade in a 2017 solitude 375res for a 2020 Jayco pinnacle 32RLTS, custom build, all options, full body paint.
I'm literally 24 hrs from signing the contract, but now after reading this thread i'm not so sure there is anything out there to buy without major risk...

Originally Posted by Jopopsy

Part of my reason for downsizing from my C to a modest TT was having less financial exposure to this hobby. I have owned enough manufacturer‘s product to understand most of them are sub-par borderline acceptable and a goodly portion are rolling garbage. I didn't want to give up the hobby but I was done paying a small fortune for what I got. I can stomach the issues much easier with what I’m paying now !

[xrpb11a]

Iow, my brain is telling my feet to run!

[AKRUEBBE]

Originally Posted by xrpb11a

Iow, my brain is telling my feet to run!

If you are special ordering you will be better off. Both my Jayco 5th wheels were special ordered.........does it make a difference? Don't know, but I've had very few problems with both of them.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by xrpb11a

Iow, my brain is telling my feet to run!

Why? You are only hearing from those who had problems the other 90%+ are probably very happy.

[tfoliver]

Originally Posted by xrpb11a

Iow, my brain is telling my feet to run!

For what it's worth, we recently met a couple while travelling who also had a 2019 Pinnacle. Theirs, like ours, was a custom order with full body paint and a bunch of options. Theirs was manufactured Feb 2019 just like ours. They have had very few problems (so far) - unlike us. Luck of the draw?? Who the heck knows!

[cariboocreek]

Thousands of Jayco’s sold in the US and Canada. 10 people on an internet forum complain. Jayco’s must be terrible. Everybody keep calm and camp on.....

[eagle55]

Originally Posted by BanjoBob

I looked around on lots of groups before purchasing my 2019 Jayco and trust me, there are stories like this for just about every brand out there. That doesn't make it okay, but it's not just a Jayco thing unfortunately.

And stories of diminishing quality goes back too. My first new tt, a holiday rambler , bought in1985, had problems too. So did other people's RV's that I knew of. My take on this Jayco QC problem is that there are lemons out there in the line, and someone who has recently traded in their older Jayco for one of the new ones may have simply gotten a lemon. My latest rv, a 2019 Jayco Jay feather travel trailer is too new to know if some of these problems will come up, but about 8 nights in it thus far all is well with it.

[EA37TS]

Bought an Entegra Accolade 37TS from General RV in Ashland, VA. The process became a nightmare when we requested Solar, Winegard Connect 2, Maxx Air vent cover, and Mobile Eye as add-ons.

Come PDI day we showed up and the coach was not ready. We walked away without signing the papers after doing the PDI. General RV was willing to work through some issues and a follow-up PDI was scheduled.

During the initial PDI one of the items found was the prop for the bed was not connected to the base of the bed so it would not hold the bed in the raised (open position). A couple of days after we walked away we were told all PDI items were corrected.

When we "re-walked" the coach we found this damage that was not present during the initial PDI.



General RV said they would order the parts and let us know when they come in. After getting the coach home I went to extend and retract the bedroom slide and it sounded that something was being torn apart. When I investigated I found this:

(Sorry the pic is rotated 90 degrees CCW)

General RV had mounted the bed prop bracket in such a manner that it was lower that the bed platform and every time the slide was extended or retracted it would act like a hook or extremely dull saw blade and start tearing things apart. It is even beginning to remove the wood panel holding the breaker panel.

The dealership has not responded regarding this issue/damage. General RV Customer Care says they understand our concern about reliable service and we can use any dealer we want but we need to confirm they accept our warranty.

Now what do you think about that?

It is not always the manufacturer that is the problem.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by EA37TS

It is not always the manufacturer that is the problem.

Exactly.... As to THOR...If you really followed what happened you would realize THOR has nothing to gain by having JAYCO, AIRSTREAM or anybody else cut corners.

Very few know or remember THOR was an equity company which came about when they bought and saved AIRSTREAM in 1980. After turning AIRSTREAM around they used the profits to expand their footprint in the RV industry. The Bontrager's sold in order to get the necessary operating capital to expand when the market started to boom.

If you read the whole story, one reason why they sold to THOR was the fact they would be allowed to operate as an independent, since decetralazation was THOR's business model. That was the same philosophy the Bontrager's followed in 1992 when they bought STARCRAFT and then in 2014 when they bought OPEN RANGE, now HIGHLAND RIDGE.

[xrpb11a]

Pretty sure this says more about the internet savvyness of the majority of RV owners...

Originally Posted by cariboocreek

Thousands of Jayco’s sold in the US and Canada. 10 people on an internet forum complain. Jayco’s must be terrible. Everybody keep calm and camp on.....

[namusmc65]

I am on my third Jayco product. My first one I kept for over 10 years. My second unit I only kept for 4 years as I finally decided to make that jump to a 5th wheel. I must say, the first two units never had a single problem, and that is going on the road almost every month for a week at a time. I must have had the exceptional employees build my units. My last unit is a 2014 Jayco Eagle 33.5 RETS fifth wheel. It did have 3 problems that were not caught in the PDI. I must also have the best dealer in the world as well. That even sent out a mobile repair man to the campground we were at on a week long camping trip. We called our dealer and he scheduled us in to his shop the Monday we returned and everything was fixed in less than 4 hours while we went shopping and had lunch. That was 5 years ago and we are still happy campers. Yes, we have had some minor things go wrong since but if we could not get it fixed, our dealer was glad to. We are enjoying our Eagle 5th wheel and will be out again for 10 days shortly. Go camping and enjoy. Using your rig is the best remedy and keep up with the minor repairs. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

[JohnWedell]

Originally Posted by cariboocreek

Thousands of Jayco’s sold in the US and Canada. 10 people on an internet forum complain. Jayco’s must be terrible. Everybody keep calm and camp on.....

I’d like to know how you would feel if you got one of those really bad lemons. Life is good when it’s not your problem.

[goducks]

Originally Posted by JohnWedell

I’d like to know how you would feel if you got one of those really bad lemons. Life is good when it’s not your problem.

x2. No brand is immune from building a lemon. Sad thing is you can have two identical models on a dealers lot and one could be a lemon and the other could have just a few issues.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by goducks

x2. No brand is immune from building a lemon. Sad thing is you can have two identical models on a dealers lot and one could be a lemon and the other could have just a few issues.

X-2

And it has nothing to do with who owns the company or anything else, which is what this Thread alluded to when it was started.

[Riverman]

It's real easy to be negative, but I will take the positive road on a Jayco and Thor. I've had several Jayco's and no problems.