Jay Flight 26RLS vs. 26RKS

[FLGatorgirl]

Hello everyone,

I am a new member and previous Jayco owner. Our first coach was a Granite Ridge which was eventually traded for a large diesel pusher to tow our race trailer. We are no longer racing and are camping very infrequently, so we recently sold the pusher. We are looking to simplify and downsize, so we came back to Jayco because of our great experience with the Granite Ridge.

We are looking at the 26RLS and 26RKS. I would love to go a bit larger, but we have some maneuvering concerns on our property that could be an issue. It will be just my husband, myself and our Vizsla (48 pounds, sleeps in a soft fold up crate) with a random occasional guest. We both really like the more open feeling of the rear lounge, but have concerns over heat/cold transfer with the rear window. We probably will not camp in much extreme weather, but we are in Florida and hubby likes it very cold inside.

The salesman seems to think the 26RKS is a more functional floor plan and said there will be a definite loss of R value on the RLS. I plan on the thermal package regardless of model and also thought of an outside sunscreen (we had one on the windshield of the pusher) for the RLS if we were to buy it.
Thank you in advance for any pros/cons on these two models or any suggestions.

[David472]

We chose the 26RLS over the 26RKS because we wanted the two swivel chairs. We have the thermal package. For the last 4 weeks we have been camping in south Florida and 9 days of that in the keys with 90 degree sunshine. The A/C was able to keep it cool no problem. If the sun is directly on the large rear window, it helps quite a bit to pull down the blind on that window. Up north we have also camped in freezing 32 degree over nights. The only complaint there is the pass thru storage area under the bed is not heated. This makes the bed quite cold at night. An electric blanket would solve this problem, but we have not yet added that.

[FLGatorgirl]

Thanks David. Do you have the larger AC? How cool do you keep it day/night? My husband likes it 70 at night and probably no more than 73 during the day. I am hoping that a travel trailer cools down faster and is easier to keep cool than a motorcoach with the big windshield.

I did not think about the under bed area. Knowing how cold the floors can get, I bet the bed gets quite chilly. Not a deal breaker though. I am leaning towards the RLS, however it looks like if I order one, now it is a 27RLS and even longer. I am already pushing my limits on length.

[frieed]

We chose the 2013 26rks for the Kitchen Island, but they have since done away with it

[JimHam]

We have the 2012 298RLS and have spent 3 winters in it in a cool area of Florida. We have been quite comfortable in winter and the floors don't really seem cold. But cold air was coming up through a big gap between the mattress and the sides of the storage box. Foam insulation boards from the home improvement store were easy to cut and glue to fill the gap and block off the breeze. Finally, a heated mattress pad to pre-warm the whole thing, we are very cozy.
We never open the rear window blind, it's awkward to do and the chairs are in the way. As snowbirds, we really need the chairs.

[David472]

Originally Posted by FLGatorgirl

Thanks David. Do you have the larger AC? How cool do you keep it day/night? My husband likes it 70 at night and probably no more than 73 during the day. I am hoping that a travel trailer cools down faster and is easier to keep cool than a motorcoach with the big windshield.

I did not think about the under bed area. Knowing how cold the floors can get, I bet the bed gets quite chilly. Not a deal breaker though. I am leaning towards the RLS, however it looks like if I order one, now it is a 27RLS and even longer. I am already pushing my limits on length.

We have the standard AC, which I think is 13.5
In the hot weather, we keep the thermostat set at 74 during the day and 68 at night.

When running the furnace, some of the heat is ducked under the floor, so it doesn't really feel cold. The bed is another matter.

[Crabman]

I somewhat helped the cold bed situation by insulating and finishing off the front of the underbed storage with foam block insulation and luan plywood. Also put foam block under the bed. The problem is there is still that gap between the mattress and the nightstand where you can run your hand down right into the front storage, and cold air can come in through that space, unless you tuck in something to block it.

[FLGatorgirl]

Thanks so much guys! This alleviates my concern of not being able to keep the unit cool enough for us if we go with the 26RLS. I called Jayco today and was told the new 27RLS is 30 feet overall length. The 26RKS is 28'8". We are going to try to rig up an experiment of sorts this weekend with our 24 foot car trailer to get a better idea of what length we can maneuver ok on our property and into the RV shed. The 41' coach did fine, but the truck and trailer combo is a whole different equation. Lots of trees and a poorly angled driveway and narrow bridge to deal with.

[redenbacher]

Wow. Thanks, Crabman. I love seeing what others have done to their rig and you've given me some great ideas.

[certified106]

Originally Posted by Crabman

I somewhat helped the cold bed situation by insulating and finishing off the front of the underbed storage with foam block insulation and luan plywood. Also put foam block under the bed. The problem is there is still that gap between the mattress and the nightstand where you can run your hand down right into the front storage, and cold air can come in through that space, unless you tuck in something to block it.

That's awesome! I need to do something like that to store all my fishing rods!

[certified106]

Originally Posted by frieed

We chose the 2013 26rks for the Kitchen Island, but they have since done away with it

My wife an I wanted that floor plan with the bunks and a couch but sadly they did away with it a year or so before we were ready to trade.

[frieed]

We got swivel rockers instead of the dinette

[FLGatorgirl]

Frieed---Rockers instead of the dinette, I did not know that was an option. Interesting. Do you use TV trays or a small portable table to eat? We did our length test today and without question the 26RKS will work. Husband is pretty certain the 27RLS will work also, but it will be a tighter fit maneuvering wise because of the bridge in our driveway.

[frieed]

Originally Posted by FLGatorgirl

Frieed---Rockers instead of the dinette, I did not know that was an option.

It was in my 2013 since the Kitchen Island seats up to 6 (if you bring another bar stool)

[Nighthawk 96]

Check out the White Hawk 27DSRL. We have 15k air and I have installed a Coleman digital thermostat ($70 Amazon) which keeps a much more steady temp. We have Glacial package. Have camped from 45 to 95 with no problems. Of course it will take a while to cool down to 72 if you start from 95. No problem with cool bed. The under bed area is not directly exposed to the pass thru area.

There are various threads on Jay Flight vs. White Hawk.

Good luck with your choice!

[Polk]

I had a camper explain to me one time that the reason he went with the rl is because most places he camps the view is out the back.
I had not really thought of that before.

[FLGatorgirl]

Nighthawk 96, I did consider the Whitehawk, but it was a few grand more expensive, short queen instead of standard and about a foot longer than the 27RLS. Besides trying really hard to stay within budget , the short queen is a concern and the extra length is the biggest problem. We have a complex situation getting the trailer onto our property and in the barn. The biggest issue is a narrow bridge at a terrible angle with brick on either side. The 30 foot length of the 27RLS is already really close.

[FLGatorgirl]

Spent time at the dealer today doing a side by side comparison on the 26RKS and the 27RLS. Decided on the 27RLS. More storage, more efficient kitchen, more seating and feels overall much larger even though it is less than 2 feet longer. Not in love with the walk through bathroom, but it's not a deal breaker.

Stupid question, we have never owned a trailer before----can you actually hang normal hangers in those wardrobes in the rear? They look too shallow because of the curve in the front cap.

[maromeo]

We had a 2011 26RLS, it also had a curved front and I used regular hangers but I hung them backwards, open hook facing front and never had any clothes fall down in the closets while traveling. We traveled over 9000 miles and never had any issues. Hope this helps.

[Brownie]

I bought the Eagle 266-RKS because it had more countertop space and larger wardrobe than a similar RLS unit. It works better for me as a full-timer, but I did give the RLS models a very close look.

As for the cold pass-thru under the bed, I followed Crabman's example and used 1-1/2" pink foam-board to insulate mine (although I didn't cover mine with luan because I was worried about the weight. The foam-board helped a lot. I found that adding a 3" memory-foam mattress topper under the mattress not only acted as a box spring, but it filled in the gaps between the night-stands and the plywood mattress support. I also added a 3/4" corrugated foam rubber mattress pad on top of the bed, and an electric mattress pad on top of that. It is seriously the most comfortable bed I've ever slept on. I set my furnace at about 60 (just to keep the water lines from freezing), and the electric pad on #2. It's gotten down into the upper 20's at night here in Michigan's northern lower peninsula, and I've been warm and toasty every night.