Quote:
Originally Posted by Fdnavy
We are looking to upgrade our 2016 264bhw to a 2022 White Hawk 29BH. My first question is does something come to protect that huge front facing glass window while traveling? Seems like an accident waiting to happen. What are some common issues with this model we can expect? How stable is the kitchen table leg. It is a single leg that mounts to the bench not the floor. What upgrades and mods are most needed. How responsive is customer service. Lots of nightmare stories about quality issues. For those of you that upgraded did you trade in at the dealer or sell on your own privately. Lastly, any other problem areas to look at closely before we buy? Thanks in advance.
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You have a lot of questions, I can answer some. All replies are my opinion only based on my own experience.
Does something come to protect that huge front facing glass window while traveling? Seems like an accident waiting to happen.
The huge front window on White Hawks is actually a laminated windshield, the same type of glass used in car windshields. There is no OEM cover for it. Can it break? Yes, of course, but it's more likely to chip as any vehicle windshield would with the same amount of chance that it may happen. If it does happen, the chip can be repaired at the dealer or an auto windshield repair facility. Or the windshield can be replaced entirely if badly cracked. This can be done in a shop or you can have a mobile service come out and replace it just as they do with cars. I've seen this done in RV parks. The repair most likely won't be covered under warranty, but it may be covered by your RV insurance policy. Check your policy details to see. Basically, the RV windshield is as likely to have a problem as a typical vehicle windshield. If you're not comfortable with that, chose one without a front window. But keep in mind that the front of any RV can be damaged. At least a window is easily replaceable, if an aluminum, fiberglass, plastic, or metal front were damaged, that might be harder and more costly to repair. Windshields are a lot tougher than ordinary glass, it's not likely to be blown out by a small projectile from the road. It would need to take quite a significant hit to badly break, and that would be rare.
The bigger problem with that huge, single-pane front glass is condensation. In certain weather conditions, such as low temperatures at night and high humidity, a significant amount of condensation will form on it and run down the window. This may cause water damage to a bed if placed underneath it or to the woodwork. Jayco claims this is "normal" and does not offer any solution. Also, on cold nights, the air around the window will be cold because the glass is not insulated. You'll need to decide if this is something you can live with. The window can be easily insulated to resolve the problem, but of course, you'll lose the nice view it provides.
What are some common issues with this model we can expect?
Overall, the White Hawk series are excellent travel trailers. They have a very good build quality and features not generally found in this weight/price range and some excellent interior and exterior designs. For the price, it's hard to do better. All RVs have issues, and the White Hawks are no exception, but overall they're very nice with no major issues. There have been some recalls on them which Jayco was not so timely to fix, mostly the propane regulator issue, but that affected a lot of brands and models. Hopefully, that's resolved now with newer builds.
What upgrades and mods are most needed.
This greatly depends on your preferences and what you're going to use it for. It can be used as-is or you can add whatever mods you want such as an inverter, 12Volt Refridgerator, LiFePO4 batteries, solar panel(s), second air conditioner, electric stabilizer jacks, propane tank gauges, furniture options, etc. It doesn't really
need anything as-is, but most people like to add options to suit their preferences. For the 29BH, I would recommend the following factory options: 10 cu. ft. 12V refrigerator, the Electric stabilizer jacks, Theater seating w/ table trays in place of tri-fold sofa, 2nd A/C
or the 50 amp service w/ 2nd A/C prep so you can add a 2nd A/C later if you don't know if you need one right away. If you plan on boondocking, add the Solar Power Package.
How responsive is customer service? Lots of nightmare stories about quality issues.
Jayco Customer Service is
very responsive. If you call or email them you
will get a quick response. However, the question should be "How
effective is customer service?" The answer to that is, not very. Mostly Jayco will tell you they can't help you and if you do anything yourself then you may void your warranty. They do try to help if they can, but usually they can't or won't for a multitude of reasons and mostly they'll refer you to your dealer for anything that you need.
Again, Jayco's quality is not outstanding, but it's not bad either and far from the worst. Overall, Jayco's quality is decent. There will always be nightmare stories with almost any brand, but people often go online to complain when something goes wrong whereas when things are fine few will go online to speak about that. So the bad stories are not as prevalent as they may seem, people will complain more than praise. Expect decent quality from Jayco if not great.
For those of you that upgraded did you trade-in at the dealer or sell on your own privately?
You'll usually get more money selling privately as the dealer can only give you a fair trade-in price for less than it's worth because they then need to resell it for a profit. That's only fair. A trade-in will result in less money back but is considerably more convenient to get rid of your current RV.
Lastly, any other problem areas to look at closely before we buy?
You will have only
one chance to accept or reject an RV with the dealer and that's when you do the final walk-thru before you close the deal. Have a list ready and go through
every inch of it before you accept it. You have the right to test out all of its systems. Don't take
anything for granted. If you see something wrong or a feature missing, make a list and present it to the dealer for a resolution to your satisfaction
before you finalize. If you wait or see a problem after you buy, it may be significantly harder to get a resolution.
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