Advice on possible first purchase. Jayco Swift 184bh

[Bballtwenty2]

Hello all,

Been in the market for a while and found a possible camper that I like. It’s a 2014 Jayco Swift 184bh. •Would $7000 be a good price if it is in good shape?
•It has the side mount a/c, 8000 btu. Is that sufficient for summer camping? Are those easy to change when you need a new one? I would assume you could just purchase another window unit and swap it out.
•Will my Nissan Frontier v6 be able to handle towing this? I plan to get brake controller and weight distribution hitch.

[Ohiofinlander]

I can't say how the Swifts are, but we love our Jayfeather. Happy hunting! Wish you well on whichever TT you end up with.

[Octopus Prime]

I don't know much about that unit. Also, join the Jayco group on FB. Someone there might know.

How long is the camper? If it is small, that 8,000 btu ac may work, but you might still want to make some mods of you live and camp in a hot climate.

My 26' box has a 15,000 BTU ac, and much of our camping is in 90+ temperatures. It was over 100F for a few days on our most recent trip.
We we're parked in the shade, so we did ok.
At one place, it was about 93, and I had to put up my reflectix sunshades in the skylights and on the door window to cool it down.
Also, we have a bunk model and my younger one likes having a clip-on fan to sleep at night on the bottom bunk, where there is no ac vent.

ETA: Just looked at the specs on that.
It's smaller, so that ac may work if you don't have skylights.

Im not certain about the price either way.

[Pauls72]

The MSRP on that trailer was $14.5K. It could have been purchased new for roughly 25%-33% off of that or around $10K. NADA says the current average retail value is $7.5K, so it's sounds like a reasonable price.

2014 Jayco Jay Flight Swift SLX Series M-184 BH Prices and Used Values | NADAguides



Look up the towing specs on your Nissan Frontier. It can be anyplace between 3500 lbs to 6500 lbs depending on how it's configured. Then compare it to what the trailer weighs. The 2625 lbs is with the trailer empty. Water is 8.34 lbs per gallon or 217 lbs for your 26 gallons. Add another 20 pounds of propane. Then add your clothes, food, bedding, towels, plates, silverware, pots and pans, cooking utensils etc... So it's very easy to hit or exceed that 3500 lbs of a low end Nissan Frontier. If your Frontier is rated at something greater it should not be a problem. Note: The trailer is only rated for a maximum of 3500 lbs fully loaded.



Now where you live and where you plan to tow can make a big difference. With a fully loaded trailer you have effectively doubled the weight of your vehicle. Towing in the mountains might be an issue, is your V6 up to the task? Also in the great planes like North and South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah it is not unusual to have constant winds in the 20-30 mph range. If it's a head wind this is a huge load on your vehicle. So there is no simple answer as to whether your Nissan Frontier will be adequate as a tow vehicle. I towed our 23RB with a Dodge Durango V6 (290hp) for two years and over the winter upgraded to a Durango with a V8 (360hp) and it made a world of difference. Towing in the mountains and plains is much easier with the larger V8.



Weights & Measures

WeightsUnloaded Vehicle Weight (lbs) 2,625Dry Hitch Weight (lbs) 315Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (lbs) 3,500Cargo Carrying Capacity (lbs) 875MeasurementsExterior Width85"Exterior Height104"Interior Height73"Bunk Beds30 x 76Sofa24 x 64Wheel Base161-5/16"Tank CapacitiesWater Heater26Gray Waste Water Capacity (gals)15Black Waste Water Capacity (gals)9OtherSleeping Capacity4-5

[Bballtwenty2]

Thanks for the responses!
-Pauls72 - that is info I was exactly wanting! My frontier is rated for 6500lbs. I’m from Louisiana so mainly flat roads. The furthest I’d probably go would be to Gatlinburg, TN. I figured with the appropriate hitch and brake controller it shouldn’t be a problem.
-Any info on the side mount a/c. Assuming it’s the 8000 btu unit should it cool enough?
-Probably going to look at it today. Any specifics to check besides the obvious?

[ttavasc]

Originally Posted by Bballtwenty2

Thanks for the responses!
-Pauls72 - that is info I was exactly wanting! My frontier is rated for 6500lbs. I’m from Louisiana so mainly flat roads. The furthest I’d probably go would be to Gatlinburg, TN. I figured with the appropriate hitch and brake controller it shouldn’t be a problem.
-Any info on the side mount a/c. Assuming it’s the 8000 btu unit should it cool enough?
-Probably going to look at it today. Any specifics to check besides the obvious?

We have the 8K btu side-mount A/C in our 195RB and spend a bit of time in the southwest. I've found that it seems to keep up with temps upwards of 90-95. If you spend any significant amount of time at or above those temps it's likely going to struggle a bit.

[Bballtwenty2]

Originally Posted by ttavasc

We have the 8K btu side-mount A/C in our 195RB and spend a bit of time in the southwest. I've found that it seems to keep up with temps upwards of 90-95. If you spend any significant amount of time at or above those temps it's likely going to struggle a bit.

Well dang! I’m was pretty sure I wanted that camper. I figured I could put a fan and help push some of that air.
I was hoping that ac could help cool it off

[ttavasc]

Using an additional fan does help and that's usually what we do to help it out a bit when we are in the 95-100+ temps. But the A/C unit tends to run almost continuously at temps above that and I think you'd be better off with the 13.5K btu roof-mount if the majority of your time is in the hotter temps. Unfortunately, at least in our area, it seems the dealers don't typically stock the smaller campers with the optional roof-mount A/C units. We had found a good deal on our current 195RB and accepted the side-mount A/C knowing that on occasion we'd likely need to supplement it. Given that we carry both 120v and a 12v table-top fans and over this last winter I added Heng's Vortex powered-fan conversions to the two roof vents so we feel a bit better about being in the hotter areas.

[garyg23]

We have had ours since 2013 and love it. The 8000btu AC does a very adequate job. We use reflective insulation in skylights and a window or 2 when it is extremely hot.

We wouldn't want the roof mount air because of worse aerodynamics and we have a shed to store our trailer that has a 10' door height. We always put our 184bh in the shed when we aren't traveling. Can't believe the number of people that purchase larger expensive trailers and then park them in the weeds on the backside of their property!