Looking @ the 224BH

[KCS1809]

Hello everyone,my family and I are currently looking into purchase a travel Trailer. We had our eye on the 174BH but once the 4 of us were inside we realized it was a bit small for us. We are now eyeing the 224BH (Don’t want to go much bigger) but I can’t seem to find any reviews. I did see that at least 1 person here in the forum owns this model and hopefully they and anyone else that may own it can chime in and let me know how they like it and give me a small “Review” with pros and any cons they may have. Thanks in Advance !!!

[stateboy]

We just picked up a 2016 X254 brand new from a dealer in Michigan (a leftover that we got 40% off msrp). I believe 2016 was the last year it was made. We considered the model you are looking at but we have a 3, 7 and 8 year olds and figured the bedding would become an issue not to long from now (we plan to keep it several years). The X254 is about a half a foot longer, 400 pounds heavier, has quad bunks in the front and a rear slide out king bed and a U-shaped dinette that could become bedding if needed.

We wanted to stay in the range of the 224BH but felt it was a bit small for the five of us. We used a pop-up last year and now have our TT that should take us forward for several years to come. Hopefully, you get some 224BH types to chime in for you.

Jerry

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[KCS1809]

Originally Posted by 36fire412

We just picked up a 2016 X254 brand new from a dealer in Michigan (a leftover that we got 40% off msrp).

That is a GREAT deal Hope you guys enjoy !!

Originally Posted by 36fire412

Hopefully, you get some 224BH types to chime in for you

I hope they do as well. Hopefully I’ll be getting into my unit soon and would appreciate hearing from owners.

[Psucivil13]

My wife and I purchased a 2018 224BH earlier this year. This is our first travel trailer and we plan on starting a family soon so we will grow into the BH. So far we love the layout and the storage. Also the outdoor kitchen was a huge selling point for us as we were tent campers and are used to cooking outside on a Coleman stove.

The only thing that I do not like is the location of the hot water tank bypass valves. They are located under the bottom bunk in the far back and I had to completely remove the mattress in order for the bed support to hinge up for me to get into the storage area to access the valves. Another thing to watch is the cargo capacity on the trailer. Mine is not much on since it is only a 5500lb GVWR however on the Jayco Website it has the GVWR listed as 6000lbs. With that in mind make sure you look at the weight sticker on the camper door.

I should add that this camper tows very nicely behind my 2016 F-150 5.0L with an equalizer hitch. If you have any questions or want any photos of anything please let me know.

Good luck!


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[KCS1809]

Thank you for the reply and the advise. I will be sure to check the wight sticker on the door. I plan on towing with my 17 Silverado 5.3 and Absolutely plan on using a equalizer. I checked out the pic that you posted in another thread and it looks GREAT!! Any other pics that you would be willing to share would be greatly appreciated. Have you had any issues with the trailer itself or any complaints besides the water valve ?

[Psucivil13]

Being that this winter seems to never want to end we haven't really had a chance to use the camper since we brought it home. We have our first trip scheduled for the end of the month over Easter weekend.

I have added a second 12v deep cycle battery, oxegenic shower head, tonight i boxed in the pass through storage area and placed foam gym matting in the pass through storage area to prevent stuff from sliding on the laminate flooring. I will try and post some photos tomorrow n


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[Psucivil13]

I'll add that we ended up getting ~32% off MSRP when we made the purchase earlier this year.


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[KCS1809]

Very Nice !! I hope you guys have a Great time on your trip, please let me know how it went. That is a awesome deal on the price. I’m looking forward to seeing the pics you post tomorrow. Thanks Again

[CowboyCoffee]

I also have a family of four, our two kids are preschool age. The 174BH was also the first trailer that we looked at because of the surprisingly reasonable price, modest size, and we have a nearby Jayco dealer. After looking at it and the same floor plan in another brand many times, we decided to try to find a similar floor plan that was a little bigger overall.

We ended up buying the 224BHW, which is the Western region's model but I believe it is mostly the same as the 224BH. Ours has the Rocky Mountain package which adds a lot of great features. This is a brand new floor plan for Jayco and I was thrilled to find ours because I really wanted to buy local, but neither of our local dealers carried brands with a similar floor plan when we started looking.

The double-over-double bunks are fantastic and I wouldn't consider a trailer with smaller bunks. I have ended up in the bunks several times due to the nighttime shuffling that can happen with small children. The top bunk is a little tricky to get in and out of. We really wanted a tub for the kids and this was a sticking point at first with the 224BH, but we got real and came to the conclusion that we'd never use the tub, and the huge shower is a wonderful bonus. The huge bathroom (with sink) in general is a wonderful bonus. The addition of the large refer/freezer, oven, extra counter space, and double sink (over the 174BH) is great. The dinette that is actually large enough for four people is a great advantage over the 174. The island queen bed (no murphy bed, no climbing over each other) was a huge selling point and after using the trailer I am so glad to have it. I'm happy to have decent sized grey/black holding tanks.

I'm very glad to have a trailer that has everything we wanted without the need for a slide out. I did not want the added expense, weight, and complexity of having one.

As mentioned by Psucivil13, access to the water heater bypass is awful. I need to build a ladder or something for the top bunk. The little plastic grip to climb up there feels like it's going to pull right out of the wall. I don't see us using the outdoor kitchen too much, but the sink may come in handy. Despite Jayco's reputation for quality, when you look close enough (or not even that closely sometimes) you see how quickly and carelessly these trailers are thrown together. I think this is par for all manufacturers though and I'm thankful to have the 2-year warranty and a good nearby dealer.

I don't consider this to be a large trailer, after looking around at the monsters that dealers have on their lots. But as a beginner RV'er I'll say that it is most definitely not small. I find pulling it and especially trying to back it into campsites to be very intimidating. Camping is incredibly popular in my region and I kind of dread this aspect when campgrounds start getting really busy.

[KCS1809]

VERY Nice review, Thank You!!
At first we were really gun ho about the 174 but, I’m 6’2 and so is my oldest ,so our heads were a hair away from scraping the ceiling Lol.
Also, if for any reason we had to stay indoors for any length of time it would have been really cramped moving around. Needless to say, as much as I didn’t want a “Big” trailer, we need one larger than the 174.
The fact that I’ve seen MULTIPLE complaints about how a lot of these trailers are put together has me a bit worried so that is another reason I wanted to see what everyone else had to say about the 224.
I guess it’s just a thing that we’ll REALLY have to look it over before taking possession ( any particular things to check extra well that you can think of ?)
I have not seen the BHW model, do you have any pics of your unit that you can share ?
How is your tow set up ?

[CowboyCoffee]

I guess my long winded post did turn into a bit of a review, huh? I also noticed the strangely low ceilings of the 174. We looked at the same floor plan from other manufacturers that had higher ceilings.

I'm sure trailer quality is a bit sketchy for every brand in their more budget oriented lines. For me so far it's not anything to be worried about though, mostly stuff that just makes you roll your eyes and wonder why they couldn't have taken a little longer to do it better. And you just put together a list of issues and eventually take it in for warranty work. I haven't got much advice to give as far as taking possession. My brain got quickly maxed out just trying to understand how to work everything and get it safely hitched up. I took the big PDI checklist from this forum but honestly I thought the list is pretty ridiculous so I just highlighted a dozen or so important things to check.

My tow vehicle is a '17 F150 with the 3.5 ecoboost and max tow package. The hitch is an Equalizer with 1000 lb bars. It pulls with plenty of reserve power and stops well. No complaints there. I'm still concerned that I haven't got everything adjusted correctly though because I experience a bit of porpoising and at times the steering feels a bit light.

I'll try to attach some pics to this post.

[KCS1809]

Thank you once again!! VERY NICE looking Unit . We went to see a unit this past weekend that I was talking to the dealer about for a week. Long story short we were told one thing via email and once we were there a $4000 difference (actual trailer cost)popped up out of nowhere. When we asked about it they basically said “We’re not sure what happened”. Needless to say we have another dealer in the works already that mentioned they had heard about similar stories from that dealer. Anyhow, I noticed your unit has a ladder, did you ask for that or did it already have one? We were told that there isn’t a spot for a ladder hookup on the SLX models .

[CowboyCoffee]

Sorry to hear about your experience with dealer game-playing. Ours was optioned with the ladder from the factory. For some reason it looks to be an option with the BHW model but not the BH.

[alexykranjec]

Does anyone know if you can get a W version (224BHW) on the east coast? I like some of the options available that don’t seem available in this region...

[maxdonport]

Hello everyone, my husband and I are on our way to Ohio to purchase a 2018 Jay Flight SLX 265RLS. I can’t seem to find any reviews. I did see that at least 1 person here in the forum owns this model and hopefully they and anyone else that may own it can chime in and let me know how they like it and give me a small “Review” with pros and any cons they may have. I did see something about Jayco quality has slipped?? Thanks in Advance for your help.

[K&P]

We bought the 264BHW in PA. Didn't come with an outside ladder. Had our dealer order a ladder and install it, they had to call jayco to get the right ladder. The wife wanted to be able to put the grandkids to bed without having to put the table down, or couch down.
Glad we went with this, will sleep 10 adults if needed. Light enough (6000 gvrw) to pull with Jeep Commander of the truck is down.
Have had a couple small warranty issues which our dealer took care of.
Have been to a couple TH shows in our area, made me glad we went with this unit. The other brands we saw have had more issues when walking thru them, and we're over $5000 more. Without being able to sleep 10 for only 6000lbs.

[alexykranjec]

Originally Posted by K&P

We bought the 264BHW in PA. Didn't come with an outside ladder. Had our dealer order a ladder and install it, they had to call jayco to get the right ladder. The wife wanted to be able to put the grandkids to bed without having to put the table down, or couch down.
Glad we went with this, will sleep 10 adults if needed. Light enough (6000 gvrw) to pull with Jeep Commander of the truck is down.
Have had a couple small warranty issues which our dealer took care of.
Have been to a couple TH shows in our area, made me glad we went with this unit. The other brands we saw have had more issues when walking thru them, and we're over $5000 more. Without being able to sleep 10 for only 6000lbs.

So it looks like you can get a “w” (west coast build) in PA? Do you mind me asking what dealer you used and how your experience was?

[K&P]

Rhones RV in Williamsport, pa.
Wonderful to work with. We looked at some used campers first, they were very upfront with any problems the campers had. They weren't what we were looking for. No high pressure, they weren't going to suggest a new one until I asked about an add I saw on a company's bill board. He showed us a couple of new ones in the price range we could afford. We left to think about it, that one got sold. They let us know and told us another was on order. Called us when came in. We've had a couple minor warranty issues, they took care of with no problems. A rear ladder did not come with it. We decided after having home we should get one. They found the proper one from jayco and installed it for us, while I waited. So far we are very pleased with them. Especially after a couple bad experience with other dealers when looking.
We went from an old pop-up to our first travel trailer.

[alexykranjec]

Originally Posted by K&P

Rhones RV in Williamsport, pa.
Wonderful to work with. We looked at some used campers first, they were very upfront with any problems the campers had. They weren't what we were looking for. No high pressure, they weren't going to suggest a new one until I asked about an add I saw on a company's bill board. He showed us a couple of new ones in the price range we could afford. We left to think about it, that one got sold. They let us know and told us another was on order. Called us when came in. We've had a couple minor warranty issues, they took care of with no problems. A rear ladder did not come with it. We decided after having home we should get one. They found the proper one from jayco and installed it for us, while I waited. So far we are very pleased with them. Especially after a couple bad experience with other dealers when looking.
We went from an old pop-up to our first travel trailer.

Thanks for feedback. Would love to see photos of your rig if you don’t mind posting!

[K&P]

How do you post pictures?