Jayco quality?

[Sheepdog78]

I posted yesterday that I’m looking at picking up a Jayco North Point 5er. I’ve found some fairly harsh reviews of them online. Have they really gone drastically down in quality since Thor bought out Jayco? There are just too many variables for me to answer that question on my own, without actually owning one. Obviously any company can have a bad product slip past QC. I tend to think that many negative reviews are from people with unrealistic expectations. I have rarely had a trip that I didn’t have to fix something on my Keystone Sprinter when I got home. To me repairs are just the nature of having a 5er, and catastrophic failures are mostly from poor user maintenance. Anyone have opinions on Jayco quality?

[2edgesword]

Unfortunately the buyer has to be the final QC inspector. Go through the unit with a fine tooth comb and maybe take a buddy that knows something about trailers with you. Do this before you sign anything or turn over any money. I have a Jayco 28RLS. My wife and I checked ever system, opened every door, flipped every switch, checked every outlet, etc., etc. spending three hours doing it. Fortunately we found no issues and have gone through a full season without experiencing any issues. Take your time and do it right the first time.

[laknox]

Sheepdog78 wrote:
@jdb7566. Leaving trash behind is common among all construction trades. I was an assistant superintendent for a builder. That was my pet peeve, I made all trades clean up their mess, If i caught them urinating in a unit (more common than anyone wants to know) I terminated them no questions asked. Even in my own house I found beer cans stuffed in the bathtub frame when I had to replace the whirlpool motor. I get that those things happen, shouldn’t, but they do. I can excuse messyness that doesn’t compromise quality, but I cannot excuse poor workmanship.

Can't remember which brand, Keystone or FR, but the owner's manual flat out states that it's "normal" to see bumps and ripples in the roof material due to debris that might not get removed during the construction process. IN THE F'N OWNER'S MANUAL! THAT's how bad so-called QC is in the industry; they can't even sweep or blow off the roof before they put the membrane on and call it "normal"!

Lyle

[GHop]

Never owned a Jayco, sorry. If Jayco work for your family and you then that is what you buy. Over the years we've had two Northwood fifth wheels and will only have a Northwood due to not having to make repairs. While at RV parks I've had conversations with Jayco owners and they love them.

[old_guy]

for what it's worth I am not a thor person. I was pretty put out with jayco for selling out to them. so much so I did not buy a MH made by them last year. So companies are just not good enough for my business and thor and forest river are two of them

[Randu]

2017 Jayco North Point 381DLQS Built in January 2017 and purchased new July 2017. Live in MI and work so only April-Oct season of extended weekends and a week here and there. I have towed 7134 miles in the year and a half and only 1 issue that went back to a very lame dealer. DEALER IS KEY in getting warranty stuff fixed. Had 5th wheels since 95 and work on everything that I can as I have more confidence in my repairs than many dealers. Overall I think the quality and features for the price are a good value and I really like mine.
Issues:
1. Bubbles in living slide out roof and Bedroom AC not working on high-Went back to dealer. 2.Loose trim, wavy carpet line, Re-route bathroom faucet hose to not bind in drawer -- simple DYI repairs. 3. Weak brakes- DYI Saturday project to pull wheels to discover three had grease in drums from someone blowing rear seals at factory with the zert fitting. $8.00 in seals and a can of brake clean plus cleaning and hand packing bearings. All in the 1st 2000 miles, Trouble free after. ALL GOOD in the life of a RV'er. Randu

[zsdilaw]

I bought my first Jayco in 2015, a 28.5 RSTS fifth wheel. The salesman told me about just returning from a tour of the Jayco factory and how he was so impressed that two ladies would go in each unit at the end of the day and vacuum and clean each nook and cranny of the units. Being quite impressed and knowing a salesman would never exaggerate I was quite surprised when I found large amounts of sawdust, new and cut zip ties and other assorted items. Still liked the product though.

[Sheepdog78]

@jdb7566. Leaving trash behind is common among all construction trades. I was an assistant superintendent for a builder. That was my pet peeve, I made all trades clean up their mess, If i caught them urinating in a unit (more common than anyone wants to know) I terminated them no questions asked. Even in my own house I found beer cans stuffed in the bathtub frame when I had to replace the whirlpool motor. I get that those things happen, shouldn’t, but they do. I can excuse messyness that doesn’t compromise quality, but I cannot excuse poor workmanship.

[jdb7566]

Ralph Cramden wrote:

Sheepdog78 wrote:
Obviously any company can have a bad product slip past QC.

Huh? What? QC? In the RV Industry? Oh my!

It does not have a lot to do with Thor buying them. Every manufacturers quality went out the window first from the 08 recession, then when sales picked up they all built units faster than they were capable of. Some came along since and were going to reinvent the wheel like Grand Design. Good luck. Its not so much posts on forums where people only say the bad about the brand they purchased, its the other way around. They can not post the bad points objectively about the brand they bought. How could they since every decision they make or have made is always perfect?

Jayco is the same as anyone else, they make good ones and bad ones with no consistency whatsover. The 342x that rolled out the factory door at 9:00 AM on 2-11-19 may be perfect, the one that rolled out the door at 9:45AM may be a POS. Look at the exact unit you would purchase. Don't look at a stock one, then order one, because chances are 50/50 the ordered one could be a slapped together Friday afternoon mistake. That goes for any manufacturer, Thor Brands, Forest River brands,Winnebago, Grand Design,even the over rated Northwood or Outdoors RV.

I would tend to agree, but it's worse than that. We purchased a 2019 Grand Design Solitude. I was putting on my tire covers when I notice a piece of wire protruding out of the slot in the side frame member that the toothed rail of the slide goes through. I couldn't remove it as it was wrapped around the rail. I removed enough screws to reach in and remove not one but two pieces of wire about 10" in length each. Wondering what else I might find, I removed more screws, reached in and pulled out a chunk of some kind of plastic, a half dozen unused zip ties and a couple of candy wrappers. WTF?

[memtb]

They ain’t what they used to be! Though, I must confess, my daughter bought one and it had good tires. Good Year Endurance! So....that’s a step up from most of their competitors!

[Ralph_Cramden]

Sheepdog78 wrote:
Obviously any company can have a bad product slip past QC.

Huh? What? QC? In the RV Industry? Oh my!

It does not have a lot to do with Thor buying them. Every manufacturers quality went out the window first from the 08 recession, then when sales picked up they all built units faster than they were capable of. Some came along since and were going to reinvent the wheel like Grand Design. Good luck. Its not so much posts on forums where people only say the bad about the brand they purchased, its the other way around. They can not post the bad points objectively about the brand they bought. How could they since every decision they make or have made is always perfect?

Jayco is the same as anyone else, they make good ones and bad ones with no consistency whatsover. The 342x that rolled out the factory door at 9:00 AM on 2-11-19 may be perfect, the one that rolled out the door at 9:45AM may be a POS. Look at the exact unit you would purchase. Don't look at a stock one, then order one, because chances are 50/50 the ordered one could be a slapped together Friday afternoon mistake. That goes for any manufacturer, Thor Brands, Forest River brands,Winnebago, Grand Design,even the over rated Northwood or Outdoors RV.

[TxGearhead]

I think the dealer you are dealing with is at least as important as who made it. If there is a next time I'm going to have a serious conversation with the service manager and have a close look at their shop.
Before I buy new again I'm looking at what higher quality used unit I can get for the same money.
Look at PPLMOTORHOMES.COM

[Iraqvet05]

We bought our second Jayco in November. The first we bought new (pre Thor) and it served us well for almost 6 years. I never had to return to the dealer for any repairs with that camper but had to do some minor fixes myself. We haven't had our new camper (Thor) long enough to find any issues but so far I'm satisfied with the build quality. I don't put to much emphasis on internet reviews of campers because people will often complain about their camper before they take the time to say something good about it. You may want to check on jaycoowners.com for more on that 5er.