Bomb drop question?

jsj248 · 01-01-2018, 01:33 PM

Please don't ban me from this forum but........ after speaking with hundreds of RV techs, it is a general consensus that all travel trailers are quickly and poorly constructed. I have NOT found one salesman or tech that will argue that point. I have owned and built many self-contained boats and RV's and I am currently in the market for what I hope, will be my final RV. I have NO faith in warranties and prefer to buy at least a 2 year old unit (2016) and I love the 29 rear kitchen floor plan (a 26 is a bit too small for me). NOW the bomb question. I have looked at jay flights and Springdale's (Money is not a major issue). Why should I buy a Jayco over other units? I'm NOT saying Jayco is less than others, it's just a question that "those experienced with Jayco" may be able to answer and assist me. My humble thank you!

DonaandDon · 01-01-2018, 01:44 PM

My purchase Book;

#1 Rule, is tonged and groove plywood floor
- The newer composite flooring, even with the newer science marine (OSB) sandwiched wood is bogus. Creates soft-spots down the road 3-5yrs. Residential RVs from high-end class manufacture's BS their products, but at the end of the day it's still not T&G.
#2 Rule, it's must have two AC's (for the wife)
#3 Rule, it must have Elect auto-leveling (for the husband), hydraulic may work good but not so good in cold weather.

Stay frosty out there my friends..

Kravchenko · 01-01-2018, 01:48 PM

Depending on the line, real tongue and grove plywood in the floor and real plywood in the roof. Screw OSB. Resale value and quick resale. Here, a Jayco in good shape is worth more and does not last for sale long. All I tried to see before I bought new were sold before I had time to see them.

jsj248 · 01-01-2018, 01:58 PM

I agree with how terrible OSB is. Does jayco use plywood in floor/ceilings?

Atlee · 01-01-2018, 02:05 PM

I'd say, look for at least 5/8" T&G plywood floor and at least 3/8 plywood roofing.

Kravchenko · 01-01-2018, 02:16 PM

Jayflight and Jayflight SLX 8 use plywood in the floor and ceiling as of 2018. Exception is SLX 8 models slides. They seem to have OSB in the floor.

jsj248 · 01-01-2018, 02:41 PM

Thank you - I never realized Jayco used real plywood - especially T/G Flooring. Does anyone know if it was used in the 2016 jayflight 29rks. This is the model I am most interested in. Thanks again for taking your time to reply.

Atlee · 01-01-2018, 03:49 PM

Yes, T&G flooring was used in all regular Jay Flight models and SLX models that are 8' wide.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsj248

Thank you - I never realized Jayco used real plywood - especially T/G Flooring. Does anyone know if it was used in the 2016 jayflight 29rks. This is the model I am most interested in. Thanks again for taking your time to reply.

**Crabman** · 01-01-2018, 05:21 PM

We have the Coachman equivalent, the Catalina 283RKSLE. After owning a Jayflight for 7 years quality and construction seem similar in Both brands. Both have the 5/8 plywood floor. We love the floorplan. Link below is the rest of the story.

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...yco-42879.html

jsj248 · 01-02-2018, 07:54 AM

Thank you again for the replies. This is actually one of the best forums. I have now expanded my search to include the catalina 283rks. Thank you for opening up a whole other avenue. You time goes very appreciated.

Kravchenko · 01-02-2018, 08:02 AM

Go and take a look at the fasteners that are used in the Catalinas. Smaller and two screws rather than 4 in the jayco. Look at the wood used for the dinnette. Thinner than the Jayco. Given anything a little shake in the Catalina. Not as solid as full JAYFLIGHT.

**Crabman** · 01-02-2018, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kravchenko

Go and take a look at the fasteners that are used in the Catalinas. Smaller and two screws rather than 4 in the jayco. Look at the wood used for the dinnette. Thinner than the Jayco. Given anything a little shake in the Catalina. Not as solid as full JAYFLIGHT.

I did not find that to be the case, if so I would never have posted an equal comparison. I have table and chairs no dinette. Things do not shake as if not solid. Smaller screws and only two of them in what?

Jayflight is a great product, we loved ours and it was basically troublefree, just giving the OP some comparison options.

bdreinv · 01-02-2018, 10:31 AM

Two year warranty you will need that much time to get everything fixed. We are in month 27, still waiting on repairs final list! Thanks

retiredtech · 01-02-2018, 10:34 AM

OSB should be banned from all construction. T&G plywood is the only way to go. Putting engineering and materials aside for the moment, a lot comes down to who was driving the staples and screws on the trailer you're about to buy.

Most squeaks are caused by staples and screws that were driven too close to the edges of the flooring and have loosened up. Don't buy without setting the trailer up the way you would camp - leveled, stabilizers & jacks down, etc. Then walk around inside and check for floor squeaks. Any squeak is only going to get worse not better, and very hard to fix due to underside coverings.

But back to the OP's question, having had 4 different brands over the years, I would rank Jayco the best of them.

**Crabman** · 01-02-2018, 11:25 AM

Yes today it seems buying an RV is a crapshoot. Some report no problems whatsoever and others have a nightmare experience. It's luck of the draw and how it was built on that particular day by that particular crew.

Atlee · 01-02-2018, 11:45 AM

If Catalina dinettes use thinner wood than Jayco does, then they would be thin as paper.

I had to reinforce the back of the dinette in my 23RB. Originally there was just one brace that held the back to the side wall. Heck, just the other day I had to fix that one. The short screws used to hold the brace to the relatively thin dinette back pulled out. I ended up drilling through and put in short bolts and nuts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kravchenko

Go and take a look at the fasteners that are used in the Catalinas. Smaller and two screws rather than 4 in the jayco. Look at the wood used for the dinnette. Thinner than the Jayco. Given anything a little shake in the Catalina. Not as solid as full JAYFLIGHT.

schrederman · 01-02-2018, 12:03 PM

I'm on my third TT... The other two were from different manufacturers. First one was a Shadow Cruiser, owned less than a year. Second was a Surveyor, owned 4 years. Eighteen months ago I bought a new '16 Jayco White Hawk. In that same time I have had far less trouble with the Jayco than in the same time period with the Surveyor. I had no problems with the Shadow Cruiser but I had it only for a very short time, and used it only twice. I'm over 6,000 miles and over 45 nights in the Jayco. I'm no expert about any of it, but my experience tells me that this is a better brand.

jsj248 · 01-03-2018, 10:58 AM

Crabman, does the coachman have the 3/8 inch screwed plywood in the roof. I can now see how important this roof construction can be. Thank you

wags999 · 01-03-2018, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsj248

Crabman, does the coachman have the 3/8 inch screwed plywood in the roof. I can now see how important this roof construction can be. Thank you

Yes they use screws on the roof, but only the perimeters, the rest is stapled. I do like the construction of the Jayco roof and I do appreciate US made T & G 5/8" flooring. Squeaking can happen when the RV is not properly leveled. It is easy to get it tweaked and cause squeaking. We typically are in one place for months at a time. Almost every month I have to re level the TT because of ground settling, and my first indication, is the floor squeaks in different areas. When I get it right, I have no squeaks anywhere.

I think much of the issue with quality is the owners mind set. What I consider something minor and just fix it, someone not as handy or as willing to do the work themselves it will be a bigger issue. I'm not putting anyone down for taking their RV back to the dealer when something happens, but to me, life is too short, it's easier to just fix it myself and move on. Even little things as extra screws in the rubber trim around cargo doors, it's not a big deal to buy a few screws and put them in, but, it would be a royal PIA to have to take it back to the dealer to repair.

I rarely take anything back for warranty work on any product I purchase. It's easier to take a few minutes and repair it myself and move on with life. If a major component failed yes of course I would go for warranty, and I have. But Jayco was happy to just send me the part no cost and I installed it myself.

Its part of the reason I had no qualms purchasing from RV express, saving $2500 to $3000 just in freight alone. I felt if something happened that I has to have repaired and I could not find a dealer to do it since I had not purchased from them, I had that $2500 to $3000 to work with. Never had to use is.

As with so much of life, it's how you look at things and our own attitude. What's a minor issue to one is a major issue to another.

Neither are correct nor are either correct, just how we choose to deal with issues.

Happy Camping...5 weeks till Pitchers and Catchers start reporting for Spring training !

Sundancer330 · 01-03-2018, 02:20 PM

I would not worry if the floor is plywood or OSB, but I would worry about the so called lightweight sandwich floor with foam that seems to get soft spots. Everyone gives OSB a bad rap, I built houses for over 30 years and most of the floors were T&G OSB. The few times we used plywood and it got wet over and over some of it delaminated and had to be cut out and replaced. Never once did this happen with OSB, you do get some minimal edge swelling if exposed to a lot of water but since its mainly glue it holds up great.

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