Would you buy another, and what should I look for?

[Chet Manley]

Hi all,

I'm in the market for an upgrade, and I've taken a liking to the 37 foot line of Senecas that are available. Looking at the 2018-2021ish years.

Current owners of these rigs: Would you buy one again? If "no", then why not? What have you found that would be a deal breaker if you had to do it all over again?

Since I'm in the used market, and likely won't have much, if any warranty support. What items should I be looking for on these RVs? I've scanned through the forums and have seen some issues with the entryway doors rattling, I've heard rumors of trim coming off and cabs separating from the overhead bunk?

How much of what I'm hearing is selective bias? By that I mean, I'm looking to find out about problems where people complain about their problems... I'm sure there are good stories, but people don't take time to complain about their good times.

I've come from a relatively problem free FR brand class C that just isn't big enough, and another relatively problem free toyhauler prior to that. If I go for a Seneca, will I be rolling the dice?

[Shodan01]

I'd definitely buy another, and really enjoy the Super C chassis....I think its the bunk and for me the bunk beds that make it sleep able for our mission (race track weekends for us, son and his coach and pups), but I wouldnt actually buy another new unless it was in the off season and I was going to do a shake down trip inbetween. I had TONS OF TONS of problems for the first 6 months and since it has been minor things that I could fix myself.

Chassis wise I am near a Freightliner service center (about 40 minutes) so I like that and the long trips for service are not a huge issue for me.

[SloPoke]

We have a good understanding of where you are... We were too six years ago. We had a 26ft Class C and wanted to upgrade to our final RV, instead of jumping 2ft-3ft at a time. DW agreed that we go big and now that we learned a few things about CW and the service that RV dealers provide (claim to provide, but really don't) WE LOVE our 2015 Seneca!

Our suggestions:

First - Find the Floorplan that you love. Not the floorplan that you can live with. Each family has different needs (Bunks, Kitchen layout, Bathroom setup, etc) and you need to be happy in your space... We love the FK floor-plan as it has the entry door in the center of the coach, a private "everything" bathroom, no pocket doors and is well layed out for outside activities as well... Sadly Jayco discontinued that floorplan in the later years on the S2RV chassis with the higher GVWR towing ratings.

Second: Our 2015 has the Onan Generator Energy Command EC30 and Xantrax Inverters. These two features have been very stable and reliable - You won't find many discussions on Jayco-Owners forum(JOF) having problems, and once you understand how to use them and all the features - they cover every need we might have. We DONT have a bluetooth system to control our lights and other stuff... we have light switches in every room on the wall to do that - not one has given us any issues. We appreciate the "Keep it simple" philosophy and don't need the JayCommand to turn on the kitchen lights when my hands are full and my phone is in my pocket.

Consider the differences in the S2RV chassis vs the M2-106 chassis... while there are really only a few, they can be a decision maker when you are towing stuff and need the extra GVWR. The early 2018 M2 Chassis changed to the S2RV chassis and while most components are identical, there are some differences (I'm not listing them all here - others will likely reply and list them) We tow a 10k trailer and still are barely under the GVWR... Depending on the state you live in, defines licensing for vehicles over 28k GVW - look at that if it applies.

Lastly... build quality and how long they will last? If you are handy and not afraid to fix things yourself - then you may have a better satisfaction with these. We have had a terrible experience with CW in getting anything done to service our Seneca. A warranty is worthless if you can't get anyone qualified to fix your stuff when it breaks. A warranty is also worthless when the places that will fix your motorhome need to have your motorhome in their facility for 4-7 months to fix it. And then another 2-4 months to fix it again so that it really is fixed. In our 6 years, we have replaced both AC units, Transfer Switch, Toilet, 3 Water Pumps, Mattress, 2 Dash Stereo's. Most of these items were failures of components that Jayco installed. My point of being handy at repairs is that we have repaired many broken drawer's, Bed Slideout frame, Slideout hardware and other minor issues - But the Freightliner chassis has been an amazing rock solid platform for this house on wheels that has been from Arizona to Idaho and across the USA from Minnesota to Miami Florida. Every one of those miles was easy to drive, at the speed limit and hauling our trailer full of toys/toads and stuff.

If there was another Super C to tempt us to trade... Only if it had the floorplan of the FK and had a GCWR of 50k+ and a aquahot system.

[Mark S]

Well said Steve. We all have different needs and wants. I will add that if you don’t like/can’t work on your own things, RVing will not be enjoyable. I always have a list of things, mostly small items, to work on after each trip. Overall I am happy with our 2018 37TS (M2).

Originally Posted by SloPoke

We have a good understanding of where you are... We were too six years ago. We had a 26ft Class C and wanted to upgrade to our final RV, instead of jumping 2ft-3ft at a time. DW agreed that we go big and now that we learned a few things about CW and the service that RV dealers provide (claim to provide, but really don't) WE LOVE our 2015 Seneca!

Our suggestions:

First - Find the Floorplan that you love. Not the floorplan that you can live with. Each family has different needs (Bunks, Kitchen layout, Bathroom setup, etc) and you need to be happy in your space... We love the FK floor-plan as it has the entry door in the center of the coach, a private "everything" bathroom, no pocket doors and is well layed out for outside activities as well... Sadly Jayco discontinued that floorplan in the later years on the S2RV chassis with the higher GVWR towing ratings.

Second: Our 2015 has the Onan Generator Energy Command EC30 and Xantrax Inverters. These two features have been very stable and reliable - You won't find many discussions on Jayco-Owners forum(JOF) having problems, and once you understand how to use them and all the features - they cover every need we might have. We DONT have a bluetooth system to control our lights and other stuff... we have light switches in every room on the wall to do that - not one has given us any issues. We appreciate the "Keep it simple" philosophy and don't need the JayCommand to turn on the kitchen lights when my hands are full and my phone is in my pocket.

Consider the differences in the S2RV chassis vs the M2-106 chassis... while there are really only a few, they can be a decision maker when you are towing stuff and need the extra GVWR. The early 2018 M2 Chassis changed to the S2RV chassis and while most components are identical, there are some differences (I'm not listing them all here - others will likely reply and list them) We tow a 10k trailer and still are barely under the GVWR... Depending on the state you live in, defines licensing for vehicles over 28k GVW - look at that if it applies.

Lastly... build quality and how long they will last? If you are handy and not afraid to fix things yourself - then you may have a better satisfaction with these. We have had a terrible experience with CW in getting anything done to service our Seneca. A warranty is worthless if you can't get anyone qualified to fix your stuff when it breaks. A warranty is also worthless when the places that will fix your motorhome need to have your motorhome in their facility for 4-7 months to fix it. And then another 2-4 months to fix it again so that it really is fixed. In our 6 years, we have replaced both AC units, Transfer Switch, Toilet, 3 Water Pumps, Mattress, 2 Dash Stereo's. Most of these items were failures of components that Jayco installed. My point of being handy at repairs is that we have repaired many broken drawer's, Bed Slideout frame, Slideout hardware and other minor issues - But the Freightliner chassis has been an amazing rock solid platform for this house on wheels that has been from Arizona to Idaho and across the USA from Minnesota to Miami Florida. Every one of those miles was easy to drive, at the speed limit and hauling our trailer full of toys/toads and stuff.

If there was another Super C to tempt us to trade... Only if it had the floorplan of the FK and had a GCWR of 50k+ and a aquahot system.

[RVermont]

We too would buy our unit again, the chassis is great even with some of the issues people have had lately with the s2 DEF issues. I would be tempted to buy a new unit with the larger capacity and aqua hot as we camp in spring in fall in New England and having a heated floor would be great. We have ts on the m2 chassis, We have the entertainment center in our unit which we love, huge storage space and tv viewable from both couches. Unfortunately they have discontinued this, not a real fan on the tv behind the couch as you loose viewing locations. The units with rear baths are nice if you boondock as they have more tank capacity, that really is the only issue with our unit, only 35 gallons or so of grey space is pretty slim.