Master Bed reinforcement and insulation

[Jeepin1]

We just bought a 2016 Jayflight 28BHBE. One of the first problems I had was a flimsy master bed frame(picture #1). The reinforcing wood on the back side of the plywood broke the first night we camped. The front sides don't have enough support under them(picture #2) causing too much stress on the reinforcing boards on the back side of the plywood. So While at CW having some other repairs and a slide topper installed I had them fix the broken board. Once I got it back I decided to support the frame properly(picture #3). I installed support in two different locations. One about midway to the head of the bed frame(picture #4). One at the very front by where the hinge is(picture #4) This seems to provide adequate support for the entire bed frame. This seems like a really bad design and I hope Jayco changes this aspect when designing in the future.

I also installed some foam board insulation to try and keep the heat and cold from the bed and bedroom. I installed some in the midway wall and the covered with plywood and I also put some on the topside under the mattress.

I've found a couple other posts with the same issue but not very much in for the repair.
I hope this helps!

[oldmanAZ]

Thanks for the description and photos.

We'll need to do a similar mod to ours when we bring it back from the dealer (getting a few warranty items and a couple of other things done).

[olyelr]

Nice trailer there

I have noticed that they are built very flimsy as well (pretty much everywhere, not just the bed frames). I believe they do this simply because of the weight savings (and possibly cost also). I would like to do a little beefing up in areas as well, but would like to do it in such a way that I do not add much weight to the trailer (especially tongue weight). For example, the 2x4 walls you constructed probably could have been 2x2 and still been plenty strong enough. Although I am not sure how much actual weight you would have saved (probably half of what you added, though).

The framing on the bunk beds is also a joke.

Thanks for the pics and ideas!

[Jeepin1]

Thanks! You too!

Yeah I thought about that but considering I had many 2x4's around I figured it wouldn't make that much of a difference.

[canuckowner]

That's interesting. Ours is a 2011 flight and it was built with the dividing wall you created. Not sure why they would open that up and have it unsupported. Good job finishing off the work for the factory ��

[krcarter54]

We had the same problem with our 18 SRB. I replaced the plywood with a slightly (about 2/32 inch thicker) sheet of plywood. I also replaced the flimsy 1X3" runners with true 2X4 boards. I also installed the new 2X4s east to west instead of north and south as the Jayco folks had done. I also did pretty much what you did by designing and installing a brace from the floor up to the center 2X4. The end result was a VERY big improvement since the bed no longer sags in the middle. Another big improvement was purchasing a 4" memory foam mattress topper. Now the sheets fit much better with the aid of a pair of X style garter sheet straps and a good nights sleep is very easy to come by! I figure I added about 50 lbs of weight to the trailer but I had plenty cargo weight to spare since we carry very little cargo with us.

2015 Jayco 18 SRB
2008 Toyota Taco 4.0L V6
Equal-i-zer WDH

[Swinepartner]

Thanks for the pics and info. Our bed broke the same way last year and I haven't taken it back for this single issue. I've thought about doing the same repair and wall.

[Parcany]

Funny on our 2011 we had the wall already built. I can see how your bed broke. You did a nice job on fixing it Good job.

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by krcarter54

We had the same problem with our 18 SRB. I replaced the plywood with a slightly (about 2/32 inch thicker) sheet of plywood. I also replaced the flimsy 1X3" runners with true 2X4 boards. I also installed the new 2X4s east to west instead of north and south as the Jayco folks had done. I also did pretty much what you did by designing and installing a brace from the floor up to the center 2X4. The end result was a VERY big improvement since the bed no longer sags in the middle. ...Snip

To fix our sagging bed, I may add the braces to the floor like you and jeepin1 have done. But first I'll do an 'east - west' stiffening (maybe with aluminum angle) and then add a layer of 1/4" plywood on top of the factory plywood. The added plywood would extend roughly half the length of the bed, from the 'waist' area up to near the hinge, and be secured by screws down through both layers of plywood and into the supporting braces. I haven't read of anyone doing anything similar. If I follow that plan, I'll let folks know if it worked or not.

After that, I'm going to do something to stop the air flow through the bed area in into the front passthrough. I don't mind heating that area, but the A/C struggles at times and when I open the passthrough on a hot day, it's like a cold air wind tunnel.

[BigJohnD]

That's on our to do list. I'll be doing it a little different, but achieves similar results. Will install a divider similar to what you have done, but will put my hinge at that point. So 2 pieces of plywood, with the one over the front compartment being permanently secured. The part over the front compartment will be insulated and paneled inside with a small hatch under the mattress to access inverter later on. Will finish out everything in front compartment with 3/4 foam board and luan as we've done on previous rigs. No doubt the stock set up is far from enough. Mine is bowed pretty bad.

[Jeepin1]

BigJohnD-
I like your idea on the compartment lid being hinged at the cross support. How much will the mattress hinder opening the compartment lid on the rear section? I've been thinking of cutting in an access into that area to avoid lifting the mattress during camping but still get access to the storage area.
Thanks for the ideas!

[Roaddane]

I like this idea, and will look into copying it when my trailer comes in. Thanks for posting this.

[Hohenwald48]

Instead of insulating the under side of the bed I installed some vents and a small fan to introduce warm interior air into that space. Solves the cold bed problem without having the possibility of condensation. Additionally, gives me a heated storage area for things that don't need to freeze (water, soda etc.) when winter camping.

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by canuckowner

That's interesting. Ours is a 2011 flight and it was built with the dividing wall you created. Not sure why they would open that up and have it unsupported. Good job finishing off the work for the factory ��

Originally Posted by Parcany

Funny on our 2011 we had the wall already built. I can see how your bed broke. You did a nice job on fixing it Good job.

Our 2014 28BHBE came with the wall installed as well. I wonder why some had them and some didn't? Since we had the wall already from factory, our bed is solid enough. I did have to replace one of the struts because it kept popping off, but that was easy.

[DieselDevilDog]

We have our 2017 Jay Flight BHBE on order...thanks a lot for the pics....good job.
I'll be doing ours when it come in.

diesel

[TinaandSteve]

Thanks for all the feedback on this issue. My husband and I purchased a 2016 Jayco Jay Flight 38RLTS in March 2016 as a way to explore and get off the grid.

The bed broke/sagged after our 2nd camping trip. Very disappointed. We brought it back to have it fixed under warranty. All was good, but then discovered when we opened this season the pieces that are next to nightstand had staples popping through on my husbands side of the bed - there were about 8. The bed still sags. Ugh.

Sadly we are not bringing it back to the Jayco dealer locally but will instead fix it ourselves. So the feedback on this site has been extremely helpful.

There have been a few other issues that we have discovered -- the charging station does not work and our jack at tailgate is blown (again) which was originally addressed in our warranty work at the end of 2016.

Overall, we LOVE our camper but am very disappointed with the service time response from the dealer we purchased it from. We may be contacting Jayco directly for some feedback and to advise them the warranty work is not being done to accurately correct the situation.

[98volfan]

Originally Posted by BigJohnD

That's on our to do list. I'll be doing it a little different, but achieves similar results. Will install a divider similar to what you have done, but will put my hinge at that point. So 2 pieces of plywood, with the one over the front compartment being permanently secured. The part over the front compartment will be insulated and paneled inside with a small hatch under the mattress to access inverter later on. Will finish out everything in front compartment with 3/4 foam board and luan as we've done on previous rigs. No doubt the stock set up is far from enough. Mine is bowed pretty bad.

My wife and I 4 weeks ago bought a SLX 29QBSW and went on our 1st trip for Mother's Day and had the same problem with our bed. We spent 2 nights sleeping on the edges of the bed. I had the idea of doing the same mob as big John. I think I will use 5/8" plywood and move the hinge to the cross section as well. I don't think I will lift the bed to access the front storage, we will only lift the bed to access area directly under the bed.

I will be using 2x2's and will. Closing off the gaps to stop air flow from the storage area. I will also install some hooks on the forward side of the support at the head. This will allow me to store fishing poles without them getting tangled together. I will try and post pics at a later date.

[StupendousMan]

I had the same thing...so I went a little over kill... Added 3/4 plywood and 2- 2x4 supports underneath with lots of anchoring via screws... No insulation yet. But so far the bed is very solid, no bending or sagging!

[poesweet]

I know this was a while ago but do you have the measurements? I have the same trailer with the same problem and I am less than great at carpentry.

[jaycojay]

I refabricated our bed very similarly ..... the only difference is, i made the front half permanent, and cut the bed in half ( not really) and just have the back 1/2 hinged and open ..... why lift the whole bed if you only need the storage area inside the trailer