Jayco JayFlight 24FBS - 5 month review
Hi all, In February this year we bought our first travel trailer, a 2013 Jayco JayFlight 24FBS. We’ve been out about 4 times so far, for a total of 10 nights or so. We’ve towed it around 2,000 mile...
Forum Discussion
Here is a review I did on my Jayco 314BDS. We seem to have a lot of the same gripes ;)
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Just spent a full week in my brand new 2012 Jayco Eagle Super light 314BDS. Awesome week.
2 nights at Silverwood Theme park in Silverwood Idaho.
2 nights in Polson Montana at Flathead Lake. Stayed at the KOA.
2 nights at Glacier National Park Montana
1 night in Missoula Montana for the River City Roots Festival.
Amazing, awesome trip. I will post pictures and summary of the trip in another thread.
Here is my candid review of the 314BDS after a full week of living out of it and towing it almost 1000 miles.
Pros:
* The outdoor kitchen is amazing. I didnt cook a single meal inside. Huge, useful, I really liked it.
* The interior decor is so much nicer than comparable models from Keystone and Forest River. Wood paneling throughout. Nice upgrades.
* Best bunkroom of any trailer anywhere. Hands down. Nice big bunks. Wide bunks. We had a nightmare issue (young kids ) and I ended up sleeping half the night in one of the bunks. Very comfy even for a 6'3'' 190 pound adult.
* Just a nice big trailer. One of the nights at Silverwood we had an entire family of 4 stay with our family of 4 in the trailer. With the inflatable hide-a-bed and the trundle in the bunkroom we had PLENTY of room. 4 adults and 4 kids and it didnt even feel cramped at all.
Gripes:
* Biggest gripe - the front queen is short. The entertainment center butts all the way up to the foot of the bed. At 6'3'' my feet were touching the entertainment center and I did feel a bit cramped. I slept a bit diagonal so it wasn't a big deal, but there certainly isnt room for tall people to stretch out. The model I was juggling between was the Keystone Cougar 31SQBWE. Somehow the Cougar manages to donate about a additional foot in the bedroom area. That would have been nice. I tested the bed at the lot and thought it was long enough, but when I got in and stretched out it definitely is a bit short. Tall guys and gals reading this should be warned.
* Only other real gripe - 36.5 Gal for the grey tank is way too small. Every other comparable unit on the market has at least 2X the grey water capacity. I ran into a problem where my bathtub began to fill up with grey water after the tank was full. Luckly I had a sewer site and was able to dump - but I am going to have to get a tote for future dry camping trips longer than about 1-2 nights.
Every other gripe is either fixable, or very very minor.
* The outdoor speakers are weak. I had to turn the bass up on the unit to +7 and turn the loudness on for it to sound decent. Even so it was a bit hollow. I didnt test the speakers on any other unit, but these only get a solid "C".
* The toilet is situated such that the toilet seat will not stay up no matter how level the trailer is. I literally had to stand there holding the seat up with my hand. With two young boys under 10 this created a lot of problems. I will have to fashion a strap of some kind to keep the seat up when the boys are using it.
* Rain gutters are not level. We hit a small rain-storm in Idaho and the water didnt flow properly to the spouts. Rather - since there was a low spot on each the water it the low spot and then just dribbled down the side of the trailer. I intend to ask Jayco to re-fit these under warranty.
* No lights in the front pass-through storage. My last trailer had lights on either side. Very helpful when pulling in at night to be able to see around in the storage area.
* The compartment that the shore power cord fits into is too small. As such - it is a fight to get the shore power cord back in once you pull it out. There are actually blood stains around the shore power cord housing from my knuckles trying to fight that thing back in.
* The unit is LONG. Freakishly long It is going to take longer than one week to get used to a trailer this long. Maneuvering through gas stations and on tighter city streets requires a thoughtful path. I am not too worried because I remember feeling the same way when I went from a truck camper to a 29 footer. Time will tell.
* The fiberglass behind my RVQ500 got pretty hot when using the grill attached to the wall. So hot that I am going to call Jayco in the morning and ask them about after-market bumper mounted hitches. I just dont want the decals bubbling or the fiberglass burning from use of the grill.
* I definitely ran into the problem of the water running out of the shower onto the floor. It really was an oversight by Jayco not to put a lip on the front of the tub. I am going solve the problem the way Shaner did in thread on this forum on the subject with the 1/4 round PVC. Small issue, but something Jayco should have solved for us.
*********************************************
*********************************************
Just spent a full week in my brand new 2012 Jayco Eagle Super light 314BDS. Awesome week.
2 nights at Silverwood Theme park in Silverwood Idaho.
2 nights in Polson Montana at Flathead Lake. Stayed at the KOA.
2 nights at Glacier National Park Montana
1 night in Missoula Montana for the River City Roots Festival.
Amazing, awesome trip. I will post pictures and summary of the trip in another thread.
Here is my candid review of the 314BDS after a full week of living out of it and towing it almost 1000 miles.
Pros:
* The outdoor kitchen is amazing. I didnt cook a single meal inside. Huge, useful, I really liked it.
* The interior decor is so much nicer than comparable models from Keystone and Forest River. Wood paneling throughout. Nice upgrades.
* Best bunkroom of any trailer anywhere. Hands down. Nice big bunks. Wide bunks. We had a nightmare issue (young kids ) and I ended up sleeping half the night in one of the bunks. Very comfy even for a 6'3'' 190 pound adult.
* Just a nice big trailer. One of the nights at Silverwood we had an entire family of 4 stay with our family of 4 in the trailer. With the inflatable hide-a-bed and the trundle in the bunkroom we had PLENTY of room. 4 adults and 4 kids and it didnt even feel cramped at all.
Gripes:
* Biggest gripe - the front queen is short. The entertainment center butts all the way up to the foot of the bed. At 6'3'' my feet were touching the entertainment center and I did feel a bit cramped. I slept a bit diagonal so it wasn't a big deal, but there certainly isnt room for tall people to stretch out. The model I was juggling between was the Keystone Cougar 31SQBWE. Somehow the Cougar manages to donate about a additional foot in the bedroom area. That would have been nice. I tested the bed at the lot and thought it was long enough, but when I got in and stretched out it definitely is a bit short. Tall guys and gals reading this should be warned.
* Only other real gripe - 36.5 Gal for the grey tank is way too small. Every other comparable unit on the market has at least 2X the grey water capacity. I ran into a problem where my bathtub began to fill up with grey water after the tank was full. Luckly I had a sewer site and was able to dump - but I am going to have to get a tote for future dry camping trips longer than about 1-2 nights.
Every other gripe is either fixable, or very very minor.
* The outdoor speakers are weak. I had to turn the bass up on the unit to +7 and turn the loudness on for it to sound decent. Even so it was a bit hollow. I didnt test the speakers on any other unit, but these only get a solid "C".
* The toilet is situated such that the toilet seat will not stay up no matter how level the trailer is. I literally had to stand there holding the seat up with my hand. With two young boys under 10 this created a lot of problems. I will have to fashion a strap of some kind to keep the seat up when the boys are using it.
* Rain gutters are not level. We hit a small rain-storm in Idaho and the water didnt flow properly to the spouts. Rather - since there was a low spot on each the water it the low spot and then just dribbled down the side of the trailer. I intend to ask Jayco to re-fit these under warranty.
* No lights in the front pass-through storage. My last trailer had lights on either side. Very helpful when pulling in at night to be able to see around in the storage area.
* The compartment that the shore power cord fits into is too small. As such - it is a fight to get the shore power cord back in once you pull it out. There are actually blood stains around the shore power cord housing from my knuckles trying to fight that thing back in.
* The unit is LONG. Freakishly long It is going to take longer than one week to get used to a trailer this long. Maneuvering through gas stations and on tighter city streets requires a thoughtful path. I am not too worried because I remember feeling the same way when I went from a truck camper to a 29 footer. Time will tell.
* The fiberglass behind my RVQ500 got pretty hot when using the grill attached to the wall. So hot that I am going to call Jayco in the morning and ask them about after-market bumper mounted hitches. I just dont want the decals bubbling or the fiberglass burning from use of the grill.
* I definitely ran into the problem of the water running out of the shower onto the floor. It really was an oversight by Jayco not to put a lip on the front of the tub. I am going solve the problem the way Shaner did in thread on this forum on the subject with the 1/4 round PVC. Small issue, but something Jayco should have solved for us.
