Jayco Quality Down or Fluke?

[Ryan1974]

Originally Posted by goducks

RV mfg's are making a butt load off profit of their RV's. I highly doubt that the majority of buyers get the 30% off msrp that everyone thinks you should get. They can afford a couple $1000 every now and then for a dealer to fix stuff. Most units don't see the dealer that often. Some never do. They see no reason to change. Sales are thru the roof. So much so that dealers are back logged a month or two out for repairs. JMO but there needs to be more dealers for repairs. Most are incompetent and take forever. That only compounds the problem. The RV industry is out selling it's support base.

i couldn't agree more. Earlier I had posted about buying from a service heavy dealer other than a sales heavy dealership.

[clutch]

Our 2011 Jayco Eagle had more problems in the first 18 months than any trailer should have and all were Jayco problems like poor fit, finish, and workmanship.

Problems 1--4 are either things that wear or are supplied to Jayco. The missing screws equal poor workmanship. Just my opinion

[Ryan1974]

If you want to talk to someone about what's being produced today go and talk to a manager of a campground. I recently was in a situation where we had a problem and I heard story after story of the uncontainable things that people have had happen with all brands of brand new rvs not just travel trailers either. One that I thought I would share that the manager told me about. A family with three kids showed up at there campground on the beach it was 95degrees outside and the forecast was to be that hot all week. The man drove his family to this campground with a brand new camper that they didn't even know if they were going to get it in time and they ordered it 5 months prior. So at the last minute it came in they took delivery of it drove 12 hours south to there beach vacation. They got everything set up and called the manager to see if they could check there a/c as it wouldn't come on. And it was extremly hot in the camper. Manager checked his side of things power was all good from campground etc. they called the local rv repairman to look at it the next day. To find out that the only problem with the a/c was there wasn't a single wire ran to it not one. No 110volt no thermostat wires not a single wire ran to the unit. He went on and on. But could you imagine having a brand new rv with family all excited with there brand new camper 12 hours from home to find this out. On what's supposed to be a enjoyable family vacation. I guess these folks were livid and have every right to be. 95degrees and no a/c in a sweat box that they just spent a ton of money on for there family to vacation. No wires ran to unit unreal in the world I live in.

[jaycojay]

I truly believe the biggest problem with Jayco, and many others, is they are trying to cover all types of camper configurations. I can be the first to say, Jayco has never built the perfect trailer that i have owned. All have had some minor issues , one with a major issue .... but i have learned to accept the fact i did not buy an air stream. Gone are the days where they built the Designer, The Eagle, The Qwest and 3 lines of pop-ups , with a hand full of floorplans ( not including motorhomes). Now they have many models, with many floorplans. You are bound to have production issues somewhere. I'm sure they will never go back to the basics, theres no money in it for them ....just like a car/truck ... options options options! Thats where the money is, and yes, the consumer is the one to suffer. But Jayco is no different than the rest.

[Wireman]

goducks, 10-4 on all of your last post. I'm waiting to get some issues fixed, and for various reasons have had to settle on a appointment on Dec 1st.


As you say, these dealers have outrun their coverage when it comes to fixing our problems.


My dealer is the largest Jayco dealer in the country. They are my last resort if needed. I try and fix anything I can, and take it to them for any warranty issues.


This will be my 3rd time back since I bought it new in April. I won't go into how competent their service dept. is, but bigger isn't always better.


The sales dept. is great, have known my salesman for all of his 25 years at the dealer. 33% off MSRP.


It's just trying to get things the same things fixed 2 or 3 times that bother me.

[norty1]

I camp a lot and have seen so many people pick up a new camper with a large family, drive hundreds of miles to a cg and not know how to even disconnect the truck from the camper, let alone set the rig up and level it.

It is not a simple problem to solve or understand. Education is one important thing that is lacking.

[My garage]

My new one. Is like a 20 year old disaster supposed to be done at factory service since MAY dreading going there forth time checking on progress wish me luck still no reply for payment on new tires as promised back in December

[Wireman]

You are right Norty1. Did the new owners pay attention during their PDI? Was the dealer at fault in not educating them in the basics.

Hopefully some old timers at the campgrounds will help them out with any problems they are having.

I try to help anyone who looks like they need it and back off if they are not receptive to my advice.

[norty1]

Same here Wire
man. Help if it's wanted.
The last one was sold a hitch pin that did not need a slider but both were sold. Then they installed the slider base backwards on the truck and sent him on the way.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ninjahbob]

Why should the dealer be responsible for the quality of the RV, ie PDI. so many want to blame the dealer. The dealer should have caught this or the dealer should have caught that. The dealer should have to do little or no repairs to a new unit.
Deming once said if there is a problem and you ignore the problem then you become part of the problem. Despite the quality issues we still love and enjoy our little camper and the camping experience.

[Ryan1974]

Originally Posted by ninjahbob

Why should the dealer be responsible for the quality of the RV, ie PDI. so many want to blame the dealer. The dealer should have caught this or the dealer should have caught that. The dealer should have to do little or no repairs to a new unit.
Deming once said if there is a problem and you ignore the problem then you become part of the problem. Despite the quality issues we still love and enjoy our little camper and the camping experience.

I agree so then why are the dealers selling this stuff? If they get units that show up all messed up why don't they refuse to pay for them or accept them and send them back to the manufacturers and tell them to send them a good camper and they will buy it? I can see a conversation between dealer and manufacturer going as such. We will knock $5,000 off of your cost if you will finish this unit at your dealership and get it sold. Dealer thinks ok we won't have $2000 in cobbling this thing together and we can make more profit and we sell on the internet so maybe we can ship this unit across the country on a internet sale and stick somebody with it and another dealer can deal with all of the non profitable warranty repairs as it won't come back to us. Does this happen? I would guess every day. The dealer is the first consumer as they purchase these units to resell. The dealers that will take whatever the manufacturers send them and cobble them together are the ones that I would stay way clear of. So this is why the dealers have the responsibility to ensure the unit meets quality standards when they take delivery. If the dealers sent the units back I would think the manufacturers would have a whole different attitude on internal quality control prior to leaving the manufacturers facility. Shipping isn't exactly cheap neither is an entire lot of non conforming trailers sitting at a factory waiting to be repaired to ship. Just my two cents worth.

[Wireman]

ninjahbob, exactly the point. They shouldn't have to do all the fixes on a unit. If the factory won't do acceptable quality control before shipping the unit to the dealer guess who has to?


They sure shouldn't pass on a unit that has problems to the buyer and let him fix everything.


Like ryan1974 says, the dealers accept them as is, and most will do the minimum to get it acceptable to the buyer.


It all starts at the factory and you know what flows downhill.

[bigmeaux12]

Hello, I'm a little late on the conversation but here's my bit. I don't know about other manufacturers except Jayco. My dad and myself each bought 2015 Jayco Eagle Premiers not sure of the model numbers. But in less than 2000 miles a leaf spring broke on my dad's.
By the time that trip was finished (around 6000 miles) we both had 4 or 5 cabinet doors that had fallen off. My hot water heater went out and his light strip went. Since then about 75% of my cabinet doors have been replaced and a/c stopped blowing air into the back bedroom.

The service department has done a great job putting things back together. (under warranty)
So I blame Jayco for doing a worthless job of putting them together at the factory.



we don't rent pigs

[Darren]

I had similar issues with my 185RB. I wasn't given the Propane hose when I left the dealership and strangely no one could figure out what kind of hose it used. I ended up talking to Jayco customer service and they made it right. The Water heater issue is something I've been trying to get the dealer to fix but it's an issue with a very small pilot light. In a service bay it works just fine but it's so small that even a slight breeze will blow it out and then, no hot water. Otherwise it's a great home away from home!

[bigmeaux12]

Mine was the circuit board. But the difference for me was it would light the first time and heat water but wouldn't cycle after water heated. So in the bay it was fine. After the forth visit to the rv hospital I told them to start changing parts and got lucky one the first one.

we don't rent pigs

[camper brown]

Believe I read that Thor has bought jayco but done know when. Not sure of Thor's track record.

[Ryan1974]

My understanding it was in July when Thor bought jayco. I bought my new jayco in May. Why? Because they were the last family owned rv manufacturer and I belived because of that at the time that I would get a better product and better service from a family owned company. So far lets just say that I have been less than impressed with either. Time will tell.

[tdk2765]

I guess I'll be the voice in the wilderness here. We have a 2015 SLX 264BHW and we've put 3-4,000 miles on it with no problems other than: had to connect a wire in fridge compartment that likely was unhooked for shipping and dealer didn't plug back in, and replaced an outdoor storage door lock which my son broke trying to unlock with wrong key. Yes, there is normal wear and tear after 6 trips or so, but it seems to be holding up well. We weren't in a hurry to buy, and once we did, I checked things very carefully--I'm the kind of person who can't rest until I've read all the lit, pushed and turned and tried every button, knob, and feature. We also reminded the kids constantly at first that nothing was exactly like being at home so to treat everything gently. I hope much is still the same in the next several years. We're sold on Jayco.

[bigjake392]

This year we bought a Jayco X23, going a bit bigger than the X20 we had and they sat together in my driveway for awhile.While the new one had several of the extras I had added to the old one, the quality of manufacturing was quite different.I could walk right over and compare things that were done just 4-5 years before. Quality control is most definitely DOWN and the warranty repairs just as bad ! Had both window valances fall of the walls after first trip. Dealer was going to fix them right - used bigger screws and they fell off the second trip too ! Noticed the hinges on the storage compartments were at a different angle (maybe why they leaked) Sure glad I can fix the majority of things myself. Repaired 8 different things that in my opinion should not have left the factory. So much for that Amish quality anymore. Another poster was right , that they have outgrown their repair base also. Large dealer were I bought it said it would be 3-4 weeks to get first warranty fix after I had just handed them a check for $24,000 three weeks before ! They don't care as they are on a roll right now.

[koko]

We've taken so many trips since we purchased our Melbourne in May that I've lost count, but 7000 miles already! We are in Laughlin, NV. right now for a couple of weeks. We love our Jayco, and we feel the quality is good.