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Old 08-05-2020, 08:03 PM   #1
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Join Date: Sep 2018
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174BH Jayco Two Year Review

Can't belive it has been two years already since we brought home a new 2019 Jayco 174BH.

I thought I would do a two year review on this model for anyone that may be intrested in it.

The first thing I will get out of the way on this review is what all has broken on the Trailer in the two years we have had it and more than a dozen camping trips.
- Three of the side marker lights went bad. All three went bad at the same time. I stopped by my local Jayco dealer and they gladly gave me three replacements. It was much easier for me to swap them out myself than for me to haul the trailer to them just for three side marker lights.

And that is it! Those three lights are all that has broken in two years and more than a dozen camping trips. No leaks, no breaks, nothing has fallen off of it, nothing has stopped working and the trailer still looks as good as the day we brought her home.

Now on to the camper itself..... We chose this particular floorplan because we wanted a small, simple, trailer that we could use more as a base camp than something we would spend tons of time inside of. We are not big people and did not feel we needed a big camper. I am only 5'7" my wife and two teenage daughters are all just over 5'. We also have two dogs, one 15 pounds and one 5 pounds.

We decided on no slide, again for simplicity, and to go with more of a base model that I would add and modify with what and how we wanted it.
I have another thread here with just about everything that I have done to this trailer over the last two years of ownership. Here is a link to it just incase you would like to check that out.

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...ods-65579.html

Towing....
This little trailer pulls great. I do run a simple friction style anti sway bar but that is all it needs. I pull it with a 2014 Toyota Tacoma. Normally on the interstate I am running 70 mph and no issues with tires, brakes or bearings. I do occasionally grease the bearings and check the lug nuts and I ALWAYS check tire preassure before a trip. At every stop I put my hands on the tires and the hubs just to feel the temps. The Goodyear Endurance tires on the trailer still look brand new. I have pulled this trailer in some nasty weather too and no issues.

Floorplan....
It works for us. Not big on the inside and if all four of us plus two dogs are all inside, it is tight! But when everyone is in thier spot, it works well. Our girls are both 14 years old and just over 5' tall. Of course they would love to have a bigger trailer with bigger bunks but this one works for them. I can crawl into a bunk and sleep with no issues at all. The queen bed up front is plenty for my wife and I and now one of the dogs sleeps with us too. I am sure by the next trip, both dogs will sleep with us.
Most of the time we eat and cook outside but when we do eat inside, the kids sit at the table and we just eat on the bed.

Storage....
There is plenty of storage for us. No issues with not having enough room for stuff.

Fridge...
I was originally concerned about the size of the fridge but we just spent 4 days on Lake Greenwould SC and did not even come close to running out of food. I do take a cooler for drinks and ice but food and icecream go in the fridge. I did have to tune the fridge a little to get it to cool to my liking but really nothing major. You can check my other thread on that one.

AC....
All I can say is get the roof top AC and it will freeze you out. No issues at all with the camper not getting cool enough in the summer. All three girls complain about it being too cold.

Heat...
I honestly have to say we have only ever used the furnace one time. Normally we take a little electric heater with us to save gas but once I forgot it and we did use the furnace. It was not that cold that weekend but it did seem to work very well. I will experiment with it more this winter and if it does not seem to use too much gas, I may just stop using the little electric heater.

Hotwater heater....
I guess if there was one thing I would really complain about, it is the hot water heater. It can be a little bit of pain to light the pilot. But once it is lit, the water heater works great.

Tanks....
When we first got the camper, I had to educate the girls on the fact that the camper had tanks and you have to conserve. They filled the grey tank the first night! But ever since then, the tank size has worked for us. Most of our trips are Friday after work and come home on Sunday. The black tank has been big enough for me and three girls. This past 4 day trip, the black tank was full on the 4th day with 4 people. I bet with 2 people, you could go a week easily.

Most of the time, all of us are in the camper when it is used. I have taken it on one trip, just me and the dog, to the mountains for a long weekend. It was easy to use and more than enough trailer for just me and the pup.

My wife and I got a weekend once, just us and no kids. Again it was more than enough for just the two of us. One thing we discovered that weekend was how great the bunks worked for extra storage.

We are very happy with this particular trailer and it works well for us and how we use it. If you are a larger/taller family that likes to spend a lot of time inside the trailer, get something larger! If you are more our size with smaller pets and want a good trailer for a basecamp, I would recommend taking a look at this one.

My wife and I have talked about this trailers future with us and what we may do with it. We know at some point the girls may not care about going with us anymore as they get older and at that point we might consider our options. One may be to sell it and find something with a floorplan that is suited more to just two people. It probably will not be much bigger than the 174 if at all. Or we also see just keeping this trailer and as mentioned before, just using the bunks as extra storage. Maybe move the pups to the bottom bunk and use the top bunk for extra stuff.
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Old 08-05-2020, 09:05 PM   #2
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Thank you for the nice detailed review. I would love to be able to talk the DW into a smaller rig like yours. She says we spend too much time inside the camper. Jay
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Old 08-06-2020, 10:57 AM   #3
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Thanks for this detail, and for your other thread - they are great.

I have only had my 175RD a few months, and definitely agree with some (and disagree with others) of your detailed analysis. It is just my wife and I - this was our post kids TT. Maybe what you are looking at in a few years.

Those furnaces are a joke with regard to lighting (and maybe staying lit.) But boy do they produce hot water, and fast.

I tow with a Tacoma as well, and we are strict on weights. I use an E2, I try to keep it at 65, not 70, but no issues with handling (just some RPM fun on the grades out west here).

How tall am I? I am EXACTLY as tall as the interior roof height. To the micrometer. I knew it going in, and actually it has been less of an issue than I thought it would be. But your advice is sound - pay attention to ceiling heights.

The fridge is basically non workable for me for perishables. It just can't handle the 100-115 degree heat. Fortunately the freezer will stay freezing. And yes, per my other thread, I know about thermistors and fans. It just doesn't cut it.

Thanks again for the detailed synopsis.
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Old 08-06-2020, 11:23 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by Vista View Post
Thanks for this detail, and for your other thread - they are great.

I have only had my 175RD a few months, and definitely agree with some (and disagree with others) of your detailed analysis. It is just my wife and I - this was our post kids TT. Maybe what you are looking at in a few years.

Those furnaces are a joke with regard to lighting (and maybe staying lit.) But boy do they produce hot water, and fast.

I tow with a Tacoma as well, and we are strict on weights. I use an E2, I try to keep it at 65, not 70, but no issues with handling (just some RPM fun on the grades out west here).

How tall am I? I am EXACTLY as tall as the interior roof height. To the micrometer. I knew it going in, and actually it has been less of an issue than I thought it would be. But your advice is sound - pay attention to ceiling heights.

The fridge is basically non workable for me for perishables. It just can't handle the 100-115 degree heat. Fortunately the freezer will stay freezing. And yes, per my other thread, I know about thermistors and fans. It just doesn't cut it.

Thanks again for the detailed synopsis.
I can certainly see the fridge not keeping up in those temps. Probably the hottest its been in so far has been about 95 degrees. The first summer, it could not keep up in that temperature. This summer with my few little mods, it has done well. I will probably leave the fridge alone now.
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Old 08-06-2020, 11:18 PM   #5
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Great review! Glad to hear nothing has gone bad for you besides the marker lights! How many miles would you say you've towed the trailer in total?
I'm also planning on writing up a little review of my 2020 174bh baja after this season! We've towed it 8000km (5000 miles) so far all around our province! Nothing has broken or gone wrong besides having to redo some caulking around some exterior edges. fingers crossed!
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Old 08-07-2020, 04:18 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by xizowudao View Post
Great review! Glad to hear nothing has gone bad for you besides the marker lights! How many miles would you say you've towed the trailer in total?
I'm also planning on writing up a little review of my 2020 174bh baja after this season! We've towed it 8000km (5000 miles) so far all around our province! Nothing has broken or gone wrong besides having to redo some caulking around some exterior edges. fingers crossed!
If I had to guess milage, I would say probably about the same as yours. We live in Charleston, SC and it has been all over the state a number of times. We are running back upstate with it in just a few weeks for a white water rafting trip.

I know eventually stuff is going to break, you can't avoid that on something like a TT. But so far so good!
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Old 08-07-2020, 12:32 PM   #7
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i really miss our little 174BH - it was a perfect floorplan for a small family. We upsized to a 23MBH for a different bed layout and a larger fridge, but there are definitely times I wish we still had the 174 as it could go anywhere and was so easily maneuverable.

Thanks for the updates, rigger - I've been following your mods thread and xizowudao I still haven't been able to find that river side by Manning Park!

Happy Camping!
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Old 08-07-2020, 02:20 PM   #8
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18RBM here that we pull with a 2012 Tacoma. It's just the wife and I and we moved up from a pop-up so having the amenities is great! The smaller size is perfect for the 2 of us and with the bed up there is plenty of room if we stay inside. We don't spend much time inside, we prefer to sit under the awning, we also cook outside for the most part. The smaller size is nice as there aren't problems getting into National Parks where the length is held to 30 ft. No real problems with the trailer in 3+ years.
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Old 08-07-2020, 06:59 PM   #9
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I like the smaller trailer. Sure there are times when something a little bigger would be nice but for me, 98% of the time I am completely happy with the size of the trailer. The smaller trailer is nice when you are trying to get into or around tight spots.

Just this past weekend I watched a couple with an older TT that was probably in the 25-30 foot range. They tried to get it into a spot that was not that tight but probably to tight for them. They made a few attempts to get it into place. The wife yelling at the husband about how he was doing it wrong and only after they backed it into a tree, did they finally get it in the right spot.

Watching them made me enjoy the size of our trailer.

We also had a pop-up before this trailer. The pop-up was fun and it was a great family experiment but I DO NOT miss the pop-up. It has been so much nicer having the 174.
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Old 08-07-2020, 07:16 PM   #10
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A word on the hot water heater. I added an electrical heating element that goes in the drain plug hole. It takes longer than the gas heater but it gets a tank of water really hot and is great for dishes and water saver rinse showers. Definitly nicer not to have to go outside and light the water heater. Just flip the switch inside.
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