New Jayco X213

[Jarm2]

Hello all from Harpster, Idaho. We have been looking at many RVs for the last two weeks and have decided on a Jayco X213 from Rangitsch Bros in Missoula, MT. We will pick it up next Thursday. We have camped for years starting with tents and backpacks, then to a Montgomery Ward tent/trailer hybrid, a small Coleman pop-up, and lately a Coleman/Fleetwood Westlake popup. We are really excited to finally have a hard sided camper with all the goodies(for us at least). We will be towing with a 2012 Chevy Traverse and look forward to some good camping. We spend time with family on the Oregon and Washington coast every summer, flying Rev kites and exploring coastal sights and scenery.

 

[JFlightRisk]

Welcome to here!

 

[bankr63]

Welcome!

Very similar story (and TV) to ours. We have just upgraded to the X19H, but the X213 was on our wish list too. We were buying used, so were looking for the first good condition one that came along.

I really liked the idea of the King bed in the slide, and being able to stow our bikes in the back bunk area would have been a real bonus. Both units have a very usable floor plan, and a kept us well within the GCVWR, and that's what sold us on these two.

Hope you really enjoy the new unit! Happy trails!

 

[Jarm2]

Thanks

Thank you for your reply. I was hoping someone who had towed similar TT with a Traverse. Any issues I should be aware of ahead of time. Have pulled the Westlake with a 2004 Ford Ranger and the Traverse with no issues so don't anticipate problems with the X213.
Joe

 

[RoyBraddy]

That was on my early wish list in 2009 for just the two of us... Almost did it but finally just stayed with what we have.

We are more into the RV CAMPING and not much interested in the RV TRAVELING... I liked the idea i could use the F150 to pull the X213... It had good writeups...

I even went as far as thinking about how to mod the bicycle storage area into a smaller storage just inside the outside door and use the rest of that area for my Ham Radio/Computer Office layout... It would have worked out great. The front wall has a large empty space area for all kinds of extra wiring using the wall to wall 12-inch raised platform for all Battery Bank Support systems for long term camping off the power grid. This wall being close to the tongue area was just what we was looking for.

This was my planned X213 floor plan complete with a desk top to ceiling hutch arrangement with many shelves etc...

Would use one of these L- Desk with hutch plans with the left angle desktop cut down to fit the width of the storage room.

In the end we are still running the East side of the US in OFF-ROAD POPUP trailer.

Roy Ken

 

[fielro-JAY]

Welcome aboard and congrats on new TT

 

[bankr63]

Thank you for your reply. I was hoping someone who had towed similar TT with a Traverse. Any issues I should be aware of ahead of time. Have pulled the Westlake with a 2004 Ford Ranger and the Traverse with no issues so don't anticipate problems with the X213.
Joe

Wish I could help, but in all likelihood I'll be coming to you. We traded late season after spending the second part of the summer looking around. The X19H went straight to storage for the winter; we'll take delivery in the spring when the snow melts. I will be upgrading to a WD/AS hitch as well - not needed for the little pup (sometimes could forget it was back there).
Our pup had a bent axle that was proving difficult to replace so we were motivated to trade. A late season trade-in of the 19H at our original dealership was just about perfect and they gave a lot of goodwill for our damaged pup (better than I had seen them selling privately in good condition).
I did have a quick chat with a guy towing a larger Roo with a slide using a '15 Traverse at our last camp of the season. It was bigger than either of ours. He indicated it was smooth, and it certainly looked level and well balanced when he pulled out of the site Sunday morning. That was probably the weekend or two before we traded, and may have influenced my decision a bit?

 

[SilverEscape]

Here were my responses about a 2011 Traverse and the 2015 X213. The person I responded to actually did further calculations and ended up cancelling their order for their X213.

http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f32/any-x213-owners-out-there-2755-22.html#post349031

http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f32/any-x213-owners-out-there-2755-22.html#post349129

If you're looking at a 2016 X213, the shipped dry weights were heavier than the 2015 on the 3 I looked at.

 

[Need A Vacation]

Jarm,

Congrats on the new trailer, but I have to agree with Silver concerning the Traverse as the tv (tow vehicle) for the X213.

Does your Traverse have the factory tow package? As mentioned in the linked thread, even if so, you are still limited by the max tw of the factory receiver hitch. Without the factory tow package, you are limited to something like 2,000, or 2,500lbs tow capacity.

Also, the "brochure" dry weights do not always include options, even those that are "mandatory" options. That can add 2-300lbs (or more) to the "brochure" dry weight. ALL newer trailers have a yellow sticker stating the uvw as it rolled off the assembly line including propane, but not a battery. Same with the "brochure" tw (tongue/ hitch weight) not including the propane tank(s) or battery weight.

 

[Jarm2]

My Traverse does have the factory tow package and is rated for 5200 lbs tow. Will pick up the trailer tomorrow and see how it does. Purchase is contingent on being able to tow it safely.
Thanks for all the comments.

 

[SilverEscape]

My Traverse does have the factory tow package and is rated for 5200 lbs tow. Will pick up the trailer tomorrow and see how it does. Purchase is contingent on being able to tow it safely.
Thanks for all the comments.

The problem you are going to run into is, the trailer isn't loaded when you pick it up. Here are some points you need to think about it before you decide to tow it with the Traverse:

1. Your tow limit is 5200 pounds with only the driver in the vehicle. Any other weight added to the vehicle must be subtracted off of that number. Any dealer add-ons, cargo and passengers. Please see page 9-47 of your Traverse manual. Depending on how many passengers you have and what cargo and what dealer added options are on your vehicle (floor mats, roof rack, etc.), you are likely able to tow closer to 4800.
2. I believe your max tongue weight is 600 pounds. It's either in your vehicle owner's manual or stamped on your trailer hitch. If it's both places, and the numbers differ, you go by the lower number.
3. Rear axle weight rating. Check what yours is in your Traverse's owners manual. If you're towing a trailer over the max allowable tongue weight, that lends itself to being over your rear gross axle weight.
4. Payload. Your door sticker should state it. Once you add in a 700+ pound tongue, you may find you run out of payload before you have all of your passengers and cargo in the vehicle.
5. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe your Traverse has a class III hitch on it? The stickers inside the cabinets of the X213 state it requires a class IV hitch to tow it.

Using the numbers of 4800 max tow capacity and 600 pound max tongue weight, then consider this:

1. The yellow sticker dry weight of my 2015 X213 is 4376 pounds. The 2016 modles I saw, were around 200 pounds more. Once loaded, we are right at 5500 pounds. And we don't carry water. We don't pack excessively, but we do carry bikes, but the 5 bikes are 130 pounds so still way over your 4800.
2. Our loaded tongue weight is 770 pounds. Even without bikes, it's over 700. This exceeds your max allowable tongue weight of 600 pounds which will compromise braking and handling on your vehicle as well as additional wear and tear. Quite honestly, I don't believe this trailer could ever have a 600 pound tongue weight with propane, battery, spare tire and power tongue jack. This is a tongue heavy trailer.

I've been there, done that, making this same mistake. I've been at the side of road at a truck weigh station, with a brand new X213, pulling stuff off the dang tongue and reweighing and wondering how we were were going to get this trailer home for the 6 hour drive. It's a great trailer, but needs one of the larger SUVs or a half ton truck. Actually, even with our half ton we are close to our rear axle limits and close to our payload, so this is likely one of the largest trailers we can tow with it. We have lots of options on our half ton though so one with less features could likely have more wiggle room.

 

[Wildcat-JAY]

Congrats! I just bought a used 2012 x213, and it was delivered today! I have 3 kids and will be using it as a family TT. I'm interested in hearing about some of the mods (LED, bunk ladder, etc), and accessories people in the forum recommend as well some of the things to watch out for.

I have a 2016 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab TRD Off-Road with tow package. Do you think I will have any issues towing?

-George

 

[Jarm2]

We picked up our 2016 X213 today and pulled it 160 miles home over Lolo pass. Pulled very well with our 2012 Traverse. It was windy and we could feel the wind gusts, but they weren't any real problem. TT was empty and just wife and I and two small dogs in the TV. As expected fuel consumption increased, but had adequate power and felt very stable. WD hitch worked like it was supposed to.

 

[Mustang65]

We picked up our 2016 X213 today and pulled it 160 miles home over Lolo pass. Pulled very well with our 2012 Traverse. It was windy and we could feel the wind gusts, but they weren't any real problem. TT was empty and just wife and I and two small dogs in the TV. As expected fuel consumption increased, but had adequate power and felt very stable. WD hitch worked like it was supposed to.

Congratulations on the new JAYCO!!!

I am a little concerned about your TV's towing capacity vs the weight of the TT. I believe SilverEscape hit the nail on the head regarding towing that trailer with the Traverse. You may feel that towing the trailer is ok, but should something out of the ordinary happen you would be jeopardizing your families lives not to mention others driving around you.

If I am not mistaken Chevy uses a 3.16 ratio which is great for highway economy, but puts a lot of stress on the engine/trans when towing a 5K pound trailer, especially up hills or mountains. Is it safe to assume that it has a heavy duty towing package with external transmission and oil coolers? If not, you will need them.

Let me ask the question of the day... Did the salesman say that "It should be no problem at all towing the TT"? Just curious..

Enjoy the TT.

Don

 

[Jarm2]

Our Traverse does have the factory tow package. As I mentioned earlier, we did not have a lack of power towing over a mountain pass in Montana. I will be monitoring our tv closely. We travel lightly with minimal extra gear, two small dogs, and two of us. I know we are close to upper weight limits, but am confident we will be traveling safely. As mechanical engineer I am quite familiar with calculating stresses and mechanical loads. If I felt that TV TT combination was unsafe, I would not use it. Thank for everyone's input and suggestions. This is a great forum and I have learned a lot from reading the various posts.

 

[Quantum-JAY]

Hi Jarm2,

I have a 2010 Traverse a and a Jayco 213. We've been towing for 5 years with this setup and the Traverse does a great job.

The only thing I added was an a transmission cooler. I know my Traverse with the tow package has some sort of extra cooling, but I wasn't happy with it.

I bought a Scangauge 2 to monitor my transmission temps. Prior to the external transmission cooler, I would see temps between 180-230 degrees. 180-210 was on the highway, 230 was only hit once, when we were doing grocery shopping and going in and out of driveways and traffic lights, and it was 90+ degrees out.

Now that I installed the cooler, my highway temps are 165-205. My last trip in October, we were towing home from Myrtle Beach, SC to Niagara Falls, Canada. We were in the Appalachian mountains and I merged onto the highway from getting gas and immediately ascended a 5 mile long hill in near Fancy Gap, VA. I ascended this hill at 55mph and the transmission hit 213 right at the bottom of the hill, when I was speeding up to get on the highway. The entire way up the high, the transmission temp didn't change.

We are really happy with how the Traverse tows. I'd love to get an F150 someday, but for now the Traverse will do.

We have probably 10,000 trouble free kilometers towing. We are going to Florida in March and we will be towing our trailer down there as well. I have worries about how it will handle my 213.

 

[Quantum-JAY]

Scangauge shows (starting top left going clock wise) - Actual horsepower being used (HPR), transmission fluid temp (TFT), coolant temp, instant MPG



Extra transmission cooler installed.