Our first big trip in 27.5 RLTS recap

[bogadel]

We left Florida a week and a half before the hurricane which we did not know about then. We traveled 2,780 miles round trip (Fl to Del., Pa, and Md.) driving I-95 and 301. We used 315.6 gallons, $775.00 of regular gas and averaged 8.8 MPG with my F350 Ford 6.2 L engine and 4:30 rear ratio.

We had a few things that I will be taking back to the dealer to have repaired or replaced soon.
MIRROR- It fell off before we even left, the double back tape holding it on let go, crashed to the floor in pieces.
MATRRESS SAGGING- as many online have spoken of, ours felt good for 5 or 6 days and then it was like laying in a big hole, and we are not heavy people.
SLIDE STICKING- the door side slide makes a loud noise because it sticks at the top when it finally lets loose. The back of the slide moves out 3 or 4 inches before the front moves. It needs an adjustment
WATER HEATER- on Electric the water is so hot it's possible to scald someone if they are not careful.
FRONT CAP LIGHTS- they worked when we picked up the RV new but stopped working before we used the RV for this trip.
SHOWER DOOR NOISE- I had mentioned this online before. The noise is a popping noise coming from the bottom of the slides. It's irritating and if someone was trying to sleep you could never open or close this quietly.
DOOR FRAME- the door frame appears to be dented and the top lock will not keep the door closed while traveling. I have used the lower dead bolt lock to keep it closed so far. The plus is the folding grab bar that keeps the door from swinging open going down the road.
WATER HEATER LEAK- This one I fixed after taking the wall apart separating the kitchen sink and the water heater. That took me longer than the fix did. The connections to the water heater were not very tight and allowed water to leak from the upper level to the floor and ran into the sink area and also into the front storage area.

None of these things are enough to say this Jayco is a bad item. I think that things happen and I am hopeful that the dealer will look at these and make repairs, efficiently and in a timely manor.

But that is a recap of our first major outing in our 2017 Jayco Eagle Ht. It towed like a dream, hardly new it was back there until we hit the hills in Virginia and Maryland. With the gas engine I lost a little of the power I had with the diesel but I am happy with my gas 6.2L engine.

[redsnapper]

Nice write up.....thanks.

Same mattress blues with mine also.
Service manager snapped a photo, sent it Jayco, Jayco sent out another one.

[jonesykay]

Thanks for the details on the gas mileage especially. When we purchased the F250 w/tow/camper pkg no one would give us gas mileage b/c they don't have to. We've only ventured twenty minutes from home (chicken, chicken! I know. . .) but found a few things that our dealer told us to bring back in and they fixed them in just a few days (we weren't in a hurry or they would've done them faster.) The canopy needed adjustment, the door strike plate needed adjustment, one drawer in kitchen wouldn't stay shut, and a few other really minors that don't warrant mentioning. Obviously we are taking 'baby steps' but will be out again soon!

[bogadel]

Just to follow up on my trip to the dealer Tampa RV, It's been 2 weeks tomorrow and haven't heard anything from them so far. Hope to hear from them soon.
On the list of things that were wrong with my RV, the technician went over everything that I had listed and without exception he agreed that there was a problem and would order a replacement fix for them except the Atwood Heater electric thermostat. He did agree that it was a 140 degree thermostat and suggested mixing cold water to offset the temperature so no one was scalded. That is the only thing that still bugs me but I'll look into that further.
The Front Cap lights had nothing wrong with them, I just misunderstood where the switch was up front. I was trying to turn on a switch near the battery that would control the rear camera which I do not have. So, nothing wrong with the Front Cap lights. I guess I should have paid more attention during the walk through, must have been a Senior moment!

Well, I'll follow up again when I hear back from Tampa RV when the repairs would be made, hope all goes well.

[jonesykay]

We're learning 'trial and error' on some things. On our first trip - Burnidge Forest Preserve in NW Illinois. Nice campground; Camper is very water tight- torrential rains yesterday. Some minor issues added to our 'repair' list but overall really enjoying the 27.5.

[REWahoo]

For comparison, here is my list of issues on our new 27.5 RLDS purchased in March. We've spent 40+ nights in it so far this year.

- Defective battery isolation solenoid (dealer repaired).
- Missing trim around wheel well (dealer repaired).
- Defective connector on outside shower hose (dealer repaired).
- Damaged kitchen slide trim (dealer repaired).
- Kitchen slide inoperative, wiring harness wrapped around motor shaft (dealer repaired).
- Water leak under kitchen sink, loose connectors (DIY repair).
- Mattress failed. Didn't bother with Jayco, trashed it and purchased a nice memory foam.

Other than the slide problem and the mattress, all issues have been minor.

[vcbice]

I won't 'fix' the water heater on ours. Having hotter water means you use less of it so your hot water lasts longer.

If we had little kids around I might feel different, but, we don't and never will.

We have had only minor issues with ours so far. Easy fixes for me. Dealer did fix a wiring harness problem (wires run over the front jacks).

I really don't understand why the front cap light switch is near the hitch. They don't help with hitching cause they are blinding in the dark. They are nice to have as security lights but then they should have a switch inside. So, we never use ours.

[bogadel]

REWahoo, I'm wondering what mattress you went with. I am waiting still for our dealer Tampa RV to call and tell us the parts are in, including a new mattress. But if this one is no better than the last one, we will need to go searching for something better. I don't know much about memory foam mattresses but I can't help but think that the Florida heat might have had a negative effect on it. Just guessing but the heat here is pretty intense and that may have had some bearing on the original mattress failing, even though we only had it for 3 months before our 1st big trip.

[bogadel]

Three and a half weeks later...... Called dealer yesterday to find out status of items needing replacement. Dealer service person says I need to send a picture of the broken mirror and cabinet door, like we might have taken the mirror off and used it in the house? Well, sent the pics and got phone call that Jayco has now approved replacement of the mirror. With all of the problems written about hear on the forum, you would think that Jayco would have taken the word of the service tech that it was broken.
The mattress was approved for replacement also, no time table for those two items to be replaced, just have to wait.
The noisy rollers on the bottom of the shower door are to be replaced but are on order, and the door frame that was bent right at the lock mechanism will be replaced. I never noticed the door frame when we took the walk around, but towing it home the door popped open, and the swing away grab handle stopped the door from completely opening. They say the whole door and frame come as a complete package, I'm not sure how that is going to work out, whether it would need to be painted and decals put on. It makes me worried about the fix. I thought that they could just replace the frame that is bent? Will wait and see.

[tld]

The hot water temp has been a concern. But, there is apparently no thermostat adjustment. I read someone's response to this issue in an article that pointed out that with the water very hot you get a lot more shower time out of the small amount of water stored in the hot water tank since you are using more cold water than hot when mixing the two together to get the desired temp. We have the same Eagle HT but pull with an F250 6.7 diesel and get a solid 12 mpg while pulling. 22 mpg highway when not pulling.

[bogadel]

Just got a message last week from the RVOne dealer service that the parts to take care of my problems with the 27.5 Jayco Eagle HT are in. Now I just have to wait another month before I can get them taken care of. So from the initial trip to RVOne on October 2nd to January 3, and another month wait to install, that's 4 months to get a new mattress, a door frame that was bent from the factory, noisy rollers on the shower door, and hopefully a new mirror for the bathroom that won't fall off in the Florida heat. I guess it could have been worse, but it's not the fastest service, but I won't complain as long as it all gets fixed ok.
Have to wait till February to find out how it goes.

[bogadel]

Oh, and one more thing I found out camping recently. There is probably about zero insulation in the walls of the 27.5 HT. We camped in early December near Disney at Sherwood Forest CG. The temps got down into the upper 40's and low 50's at night. It was very cold at night and the heater and the fireplace was running most of the time. During the day the sun was out and you could feel the heat from the sun on the inside walls. Pretty much tells me that what little insulation there is would not make a good cold weather or hot weather RV to be in. I live in Florida and the only good thing about my trailer is I bought the 2nd a/c to help keep the rv cooler in the extreme heat. So anyone thinking of buying one of these HT fifth wheels should be aware that 30 amp will not cut it here in the south, you need 50 amp and 2 a/c's. Too bad they didn't have a heat pump option available, I would have bought that too. But I got what I paid for, can't complain too much.