Warranty and Service.

[Shenandoah-JAY]

In a way, I'm going to be glad when the warranty period expires on our 2021 Jayco Eagle HT 25.5 REOK as this will free the camper from being required to go to a particular service center. As I can either take it to somewhere local or repair it myself.

While I have no issue with the quality of the work done, keeping the trailer for weeks and months (literally, not figuratively) is a poor way to do business. Let me have the rig back if the issue is not safety-related and call me when you get the part in! I have now had two summers fly by while my rig sat on a back lot waiting on parts for minor repairs.

I've come to the conclusion that the only thing Jayco in my rig is the shell and cabinetry. Everything else comes from mainly a couple of suppliers; Lippert (or a subsidiary) and Dometic.

This in itself can be an issue. This spring one of the joints on our Solera awning snapped in half. It happened on a still and quiet night and the noise made the two of us think a limb had fallen on top of the camper. The next morning examining the problem I discovered that the piece was made of cast aluminum and had simply separated, probably due to a poor casting.

I called Jayco and discovered that I was still within 7 days of the 2-year components warranty and the repair was covered. I was considering drilling the joint out and putting a steel pin in up to this point.

Now apparently Solera doesn't have any parts for the XL awning. Which makes one wonder how they can offer a warranty if they can't honor it?

I called the service center today, 2 months and almost a week after dropping the trailer off and they informed me my rig was ready. Never once have they returned phone calls or called me to let me know what the status was.

They replaced both of the arms on the awning because Solera doesn't provide parts. Solera also doesn't seem to have much in stock either as the awning arms are now going to be black instead of the original white. This is despite being offered in white on their website, but then who knows what the delivery time might be, the black ones took two months to arrive.

I suppose I could demand white awning arms, but I really want the rig back.

The part failed in Spring and I had to make an appointment to bring it in for service, and then it sat for 2 months. Now we're 10 days away from it being Fall.

Between my time in the military and up until I retired I was in a customer service position. I know what customer service is, and this wasn't it.

 

[Marcm157]

First, Thank you for your service -

Second it sounds like your issues lie primarily with your dealer which quite often is the case. I have chosen to not bring my camper back for warranty work for exactly the reasons you state. I have repaired many small things on my own at my expense and my dealer who is not the best but far from the worst has worked with me as far as supplying parts and I bring in the defective one. Not all dealers will do that but it doesn't hurt to ask.

The supply chain issues are widespread. I manage a transportation company and have half million dollar motorcoaches sitting idle in my yard waiting months for parts. When the parts finally do show up they are substandard and last 1/4 of the time of the original.

I just paid $4,000 for 2 alternators for a school bus and they were the last 2 before they went on national backorder. 3 years ago these were $600.00

 

[CAG-JAY]

One nice thing about Heartland when I had that one was the ability to take it to a local shop, with Heartland's permission and have work done there. Turn around was a few days or a week at most. I then paid the bill, submitted it to Heartland and they reimbursed. They, of course, had to approve the work order.


I had heard that at one time Jayco did this also but not sure if they still do.


Something to keep in mind, and you mentioned it, most items in the RV are not built or warrantied by Jayco. Those items can be taken to any repair shop that is approved to do warranty work for them.

 

[Crabman]

In a way there is a kind of freedom when being released from a warranty. With both of my trailers I fixed my issues myself even though under warranty. Towing it 200 miles to the dealer round trip, then waiting an unknown time to get issues fixed, another 200 miles to get it home, lots of fuel, just doesn't add up. Unless of course there is a major issue. In fact, I have never taken one to a dealer or service center for anything. I do everything possible myself. I realize that's not always possible or practical for everyone.

 

[Taftcoach]

My dealer fixed a couple minor issues while I waited. Others have had unpleasant experiences with the same dealer. I can't imagine losing months of use.

 

[dvspl]

You are already "free...from being required to go to a particular service center." But you may have to bear the expense of that yourself. What I do is weigh the potential cost of a repair against the risk of time/trouble and decide how to handle each repair. My dealer is 60 miles away so about $60 round trip just for gas. This alone causes me to figure out how to fix most things myself. I'm not clear on all the specifics, but the steel pin solution that you originally considered may have been your best choice.

 

[Sbadocko]

60 miles is pretty close compared to where I've had to go at times for service !

 

[Shenandoah-JAY]

Oh, for Gods sake!

O.K. I didn't discover this until we were at our place this past weekend.

I know, I should have sat in their lot and opened it up right there and then, but we were so glad to finally get the rig back... etc., yada yada...

So I spent the weekend steaming over what I perceived as a dealer screw-up. However, after doing some research when we got back to the house I discovered that there are two versions of the Solera XL; current and obsolete.

So, now I'm not sure who messed up, did the dealer somehow get an old part, or did Solera ship from old inventory because they couldn't produce a new one?

I was fine with accepting a black version over a white version like the original, in fact, you really don't notice the way it blends in with the graphics.

However, I want the awning replaced with all the functionality it came with when I bought the unit.

I have contacted the dealer and sent them these same pictures.

Now to see what kind of response I get.

 

[Marcm157]

My 2022 33RBTS has the "Obsolete" Version but it seems to function as it should. Is your replaced awning not functioning?

 

[BennyC]

Warranty and Service

After going round and round with Jayco's customer service "team", they told me I could have warranty repairs completed at a local repair shop if my selling dealer (>120 miles from home) agreed to sublet the repairs. My selling dealer agreed, and I am still waiting for Jayco to reimburse me...

 

[Shenandoah-JAY]

It's not that the replacement awning doesn't work, it's that they replaced a new version that has a tilt function, with an old version that does not.

 

[Shenandoah-JAY]

I haven't heard back from the dealership yet. However, I have been in contact with Jayco.

The dealership claims Jayco authorized the use of the obsolete part, Jayco says that they denied the entire claim due to the dealership failing to file within the 90-day window.

The part failed on the 14th of May, Jayco gave me a case number on the 15th. The dealership gave me an appointment for the 3rd of July and then while I was en route closed early despite my calling to verify that they'd be open a full day that day. So, after having my rig in the street in front of my house for a day I got it to the dealership on the 5th.

90 days from the 15th of may is the 13th of August. The dealership had 39 calendar days in which to submit the paperwork.

So, what happened?

Did the dealership find an awning off of a salvaged unit? Is this why it wasn't the original color, or the current part offered by the manufacturer?

I've emailed them and said I would like some answers before I look into further options for satisfaction.

there are only 3 authorized Jayco dealers in the Houston Texas area. Two of them are the same dealer only north and south. The other is Camping World.

If you have problems here involving warranty work, go to Camping World.

 

[Newman]

In a way, I'm going to be glad when the warranty period expires on our 2021 Jayco Eagle HT 25.5 REOK as this will free the camper from being required to go to a particular service center. As I can either take it to somewhere local or repair it myself.

I too have a 2021 Jayco Eagle HT 25.5 REOK. I have never taken it to a dealer for warranty repair. It is used almost every month, so for the reasons you state, it does not see a dealer.

There has been plenty to fix, but a dealership was never an option, and I am sorry you have had the experiences you are having.

FWIW, I have the awning version that tilts. I think I would prefer a version that does not, all things being equal.

 

[Shenandoah-JAY]

I liked the tilt as you could lower the angle to keep the Sun out of the windows, this one doesn't have much of a tilt at all.

My 25.5REOK has the Farmhouse interior, sleeper couch, and Bench style eating are that converts into a bed. This allows for 3 (very close) couples (not happening) or two grandkids to be with us.

We had to go to Alabama to find this particular configuration.

 

[dustyww]

Daily life here

Thank you for your service. It’s never encouraging to hear that humans don’t care for other humans or go as far as to screw another over and call it business.
I have had several issues with my new 25RB 2021 Jayfeather but I have never taken it to a service center.
I came here first. Which led me to other places to fix the issue myself. Which led me to discover more issues to fix myself, which then I still found more factory crap to deal with.
I live in my trailer full time as a traveling electrician.
The build quality is terrible. I would not trust anyone to touch part of it.
Now that it’s functioning and performing as it should’ve from Day One, I can now release my anxiety and focus on simple maintenance.
I won’t purchase another new trailer. Not ever

 

[bgelyhome]

We took ownership of our Pinnacle in March 2023. After 1 trip and 6 weeks of ownership, it went to dealer for warranty repairs. Dealer has now had it for 4 months and counting.

 

[VKC]

I had a local small repair shop in North Louisiana that was doing my warranty repair but stopped doing it because it was to hard to get his money. He still does non warranty work for me. Doesn’t have to be the dealership to do warranty repairs.

 

[alan-bc]

I discovered two Jayco problems with my brand new Swift when killing time after the RAM chassis overheated on the way home, 45 minutes after leaving the dealer's lot.

Once cooled, I elected to continue on home, thinking that maybe I simply didn't understand how to use these features.

Back home, closer examination showed that it wasn't me, the Swift had problems and needed repairs. However, while my dealer is only 30 miles away, it takes a FULL day to get there, as there are two ferries involved (with schedules that do not line up), and a lot of driving, and of course a full day to get back home.

The upshot is that if I had to leave my unit at the dealer's, the excursion would take two vehicles, four days, two overnights in a hotel and TWELVE ferries.

So I elected to perform the repairs myself.

The first was a relatively simple plumbing issue. Jayco support supplied me with (excellent and most detailed) engineering drawings. It was obvious that a fitting and a length of hose had not been installed. A trip to the hardware store, an hour of work and I could use my fresh water.

The second was more difficult; the rooftop A/C didn't work. Tracking this down took a long time, but it turned out to be a problem in the wiring harness! The compressor "On" wire was shorted to ground SOMEWHERE in the harness. This was pretty easy to prove with a multimeter, once I figured out what it was, but golly gee, it took a while to do so.

However, this short also damaged the Firefly G12 control unit; high power outputs don't like to be directly connected to ground. No particular skill is required to deduce the damage .. it looks like a SERIOUS overheat and smells like a serious overheat.

Sadly, the damaged chip in the G12 doesn't only control the A/C .. other things weren't working.

My dealer has tried to be as helpful as they can with replacement parts, but Jayco has said no, to everything, these repairs as well as a couple of defects noted while still on the dealer's lot.

Finding the fault in and then fixing the harness would have meant removing darn near everything in the unit and things never go back together quite as nice as they came out.

So I pulled new wires and made up my own harness. With the new harness and a new G12, I could again use the Firefly touchscreen interface.

But a G12 is $700 USD, and I think I've spent enough money on this new, "under warrantee" RV. So I simply installed a regular thermostat on the wall beside the heater thermostat.

I also added old fashioned switches to regain the other missing functions.

I purchased this machine six weeks ago and we plan to sleep in it for the very first time tonight. But we'll do so in the driveway, just in case something else turns up bad.

 

[Jml54]

Our dealer was a mixed bag. They did solve a couple obvious warranty issues for us. They did more damage than good on others. We’ve found solid alternatives to taking our trailer to the dealer. One being a competing dealer.

 

[cmikal]

Jayco has set up their warranty system to make you go away, not fix problems or make happy customers.

My next rig will not be a Jayco.