Best lite weight? Jayco TT or not to Jayco TT

[ggolds5]

Hello, new to forum. Looking into a lightweight TT. So far it appears to be maddening trying to decide who makes the best for the least. Right now it seems that the Jayco XLITE 195 seems to be a really good inexpensive TT. However, every TT my wife and I have looked at has numerous drawbacks and quality issues just sitting in the lots and RV shows. We were considering and RPOD by Forest River but they are pricey for the size and just looking around the camper found numerous quality issues. Can anyone tell me what you think might be a well made yet good value TT in the smaller size such as a 14-19 foot. We need a bath/shower, prefer dry and must be able to be towed by a 5000lb. max towing ability. Also, we are very concerned about going to a brand like Scamp as it has no real dealer network as Casita doesn't as well. We want reliable and preferably desirable when time comes to sell if you can have both would be nice. Quality on everything we've looked at seems questionable but that seems to come with the territory of TT period. We are in the New England. Thanks for any help you can give.

[TomG2]

After several Forest River products, I recently purchased a Jayco 154 BH for quick and easy traveling while leaving my larger trailer sit. The Jayco is a very nice unit and well put together. It has its limitations, but those are exactly what I was looking for. Lightweight, small, simple, easy to use and maintain. The simplicity is a great relief compared to the Airstream motorhome we sold last year.

[bobndot]

Don't make yourself crazy reading into this stuff . As someone just said, don't let 3 people with bad experiences outweigh the hundreds of happy owners, the happy ones do not complain here.
Pick the floorplan that works for you well within your trucks specs. Lightweight trailers hold up as long as you don't go rock climbing with them and you MAINTAIN them regularly.

Don't worry so much about the brand. Having a good dealer to stand behind you in case you have an issue is important.
KZ as well as Jayco and Lance are good customer service companies and many people are very happy with their Coachmen trailers.
Also, look at livin lite (camplite) trailers, see if any of those floorplans will work for you. They do not use wood in the build, nothing to rot.

Yes a lighter trailer will have lighter components, therefore you have to be careful to not overload it.
Look at the tire as well as the axle rating of the trailer you choose. Make sure they math adds up to haul the gross weight . ( gross not dry weights) .
Regarding tires, heat is your enemy on any tire. Having the correct size tire in the first place , correct tire pressure, not overloading them and buy new ones every 3 years or so is my best advise. I have never had a TT tire issue .

Use common sense, if you bang into a curb, get out and check the tire...the whole tire. I have seen people run over curbs and scrap concert islands in gas stations and never stop to see if the trailer tire in still in one piece. I guess they think if its rolls and doesn't go flub flub flub, then its o.k.

[cmcdar]

To be fair - There is a plethora of reports on here - across the board - regarding poor workmanship on new RVs.

One main complaint is that when defects are spotted and noted on walk throughs, oftentimes they are NOT repaired by the dealer in a timely fashion.

Manufacturers have little to no quality control and dealers have little to no incentive to fix the shoddy workmanship.

IF you accept that there will be "Issues" with a new purchase and have it gone over by someone who does not work with the RV dealer. Plus do not PAY until all repairs are completed to your satisfaction. Then you may end up ahead of the game.

For every two who complain - how many remain silent? This is what online reviews are for - to give voice to those who use to have to suffer in silence and alone.

[RPreeb]

ggolds5 wrote:
Thats good to hear. When I go on YouTube there are 2 guys talking about their Jayco trailers and how many problems, primarily workmanship issues - lots of quality issues they have. Do you think those are just particular samples as in, the people most unhappy will complain and the most happy might night say anything syndrome?.

Surely you don't think that someone who has had no problems is going to bother to put up a YouTube video? With the thousands of Jayco's sold, the fact that there are only a couple of guys doing a lot of the complaining should be a good sign, not a bad one.

[ttavasc]

ggolds5 wrote:
Thats good to hear. When I go on YouTube there are 2 guys talking about their Jayco trailers and how many problems, primarily workmanship issues - lots of quality issues they have. Do you think those are just particular samples as in, the people most unhappy will complain and the most happy might night say anything syndrome?.

My experience is that most of what is offered up on various forums are problems. Folks are looking for advice on how to resolve issues or just want to unload about a bad experience they've had. You'll find these posts for pretty much anything because every manufacturer has problems from time to time. Entry-level models such as the Jayco SLX line don't have the same fit & finish as a more expensive or better optioned models, but I also don't think they are any worse than other entry-level models.

Something else to consider is how well the manufacturer stands behind their product. Jayco and Starcraft both have 2 year warranty. I believe Lance also provides a second year of warranty on structural components.

If you are interested in more Jayco-specific input you can take a look at the Jayco Owners Forum at http://www.jaycoowners.com

[ggolds5]

ttavasc wrote:

ggolds5 wrote:

SoundGuy wrote:

Dick_B wrote:
Jayco has been around forever so they must be doing something right.

'Though now no longer a family business as it was during all those "forever" years, having been ***Link Removed*** to mega giant Thor Industries. Too early to say if that's good or bad but Jayco founder Lloyd Bontrager would probably be rolling in his grave if he knew the family had finally sold out his beloved creation. 😞

It seems that the consences is that the Jayco JLX ultralights are "thrown together". Is this what most people think of these. Now I'm thinking steer clear of the cheaper anything ?.

We picked up a 2015 Jayco SLX 195RB and have put about 10,000 miles on it over the last two seasons. We have not had any significant issues during that time. Our situation sounds very similar - just the wife and I - so this floor plan works well for us.

A couple of things to point out. I saw a mention early on regarding the small holding tank sizes. For the 2017 model year both the black and grey tanks have been increased to 20g each. Prior to that they were 9g and 15g. Even so, the way that we use the trailer the small tank sizes don't pose any issues.

Regarding the cargo capacity - look at the Baja edition. The GVWR is increased to 3750 for that model. The Jayco web site doesn't list that on the summary specifications. As delivered ours was 3015lbs dry with a cargo capacity of 735lbs. We found that to be plenty for how we use the trailer. A couple of other nice features of the Baja edition are the factory flip axle which gives you several inches more ground clearance and upgraded LT load range C tires (LT235/75R15).

In general, the SLX line is an "entry-level" line with fewer standard options. As with all campers, there will be regular and routine maintenance that you will want to keep up with and various little modifications to make along the way. However, we found for the $$ this was a pretty good value.

Thats good to hear. When I go on YouTube there are 2 guys talking about their Jayco trailers and how many problems, primarily workmanship issues - lots of quality issues they have. Do you think those are just particular samples as in, the people most unhappy will complain and the most happy might night say anything syndrome?.

[ttavasc]

ggolds5 wrote:

SoundGuy wrote:

Dick_B wrote:
Jayco has been around forever so they must be doing something right.

'Though now no longer a family business as it was during all those "forever" years, having been ***Link Removed*** to mega giant Thor Industries. Too early to say if that's good or bad but Jayco founder Lloyd Bontrager would probably be rolling in his grave if he knew the family had finally sold out his beloved creation. 😞

It seems that the consences is that the Jayco JLX ultralights are "thrown together". Is this what most people think of these. Now I'm thinking steer clear of the cheaper anything ?.

We picked up a 2015 Jayco SLX 195RB and have put about 10,000 miles on it over the last two seasons. We have not had any significant issues during that time. Our situation sounds very similar - just the wife and I - so this floor plan works well for us.

A couple of things to point out. I saw a mention early on regarding the small holding tank sizes. For the 2017 model year both the black and grey tanks have been increased to 20g each. Prior to that they were 9g and 15g. Even so, the way that we use the trailer the small tank sizes don't pose any issues.

Regarding the cargo capacity - look at the Baja edition. The GVWR is increased to 3750 for that model. The Jayco web site doesn't list that on the summary specifications. As delivered ours was 3015lbs dry with a cargo capacity of 735lbs. We found that to be plenty for how we use the trailer. A couple of other nice features of the Baja edition are the factory flip axle which gives you several inches more ground clearance and upgraded LT load range C tires (LT235/75R15).

In general, the SLX line is an "entry-level" line with fewer standard options. As with all campers, there will be regular and routine maintenance that you will want to keep up with and various little modifications to make along the way. However, we found for the $$ this was a pretty good value.

[cmcdar]

Check out Retro RVs I saw a couple with one of these a few weeks ago and the one they had looked like a quality camper.

They did order theirs and had the style floor and fixtures they wanted built. Theirs did not look all retro inside.

They actually were living full time in the little camper. They towed it with a jeep.

http://www.riversidervs.net/retro-travel-trailers/floorplans.html

[ggolds5]

ggolds5 wrote:

SoundGuy wrote:

Dick_B wrote:
Jayco has been around forever so they must be doing something right.

'Though now no longer a family business as it was during all those "forever" years, having been ***Link Removed*** to mega giant Thor Industries. Too early to say if that's good or bad but Jayco founder Lloyd Bontrager would probably be rolling in his grave if he knew the family had finally sold out his beloved creation. 😞

It seems that the consences is that the Jayco JLX ultralights are "thrown together". Is this what most people think of these. Now I'm thinking steer clear of the cheaper anything ?.

I appreciate everyones advice. We just got back from a dealer today that sells KZ. We thought they were pretty cool overall. Seemed to be well made but I don't understand how I see so many trim flaws on everything. Even the KZ we looked at had wall paper trim literally glued to the bottom of the window sill. What's with that?. Another had an outlet that was partially screwed into the wall missing the studs and crooked. This is like the stuff you would see in the 1970's Chrysler vehicles. Then, I can't understand this tire stuff. Why put such cheap junky tires on Trailers?. I hear of so many blowouts. Then people talk about axles breaking. We also saw a few Livin Lite's. One looked like a bullet nose 17 foot Vista Cruiser which was really nice, but my wife thought it was overpriced for what you get but it appeared to be very high quality.

[CKNSLS]

Dick_B wrote:
Jayco has been around forever so they must be doing something right.
No excuse for them but the `lite' trailers are lighter in weight for some reason and part of it is lower quality materials ie. frame, cabinets, countertops and they sell for less. Thus the companies can't afford to spend much time on making them and workmanship suffers.
It was the same story when we were in the sailboat world. It took almost as many manhours to build a small boat as a large boat but the companies could not charge as much due to market competition and the desire of the buyer to not spend much.
I like to do business with a dealer close to my home so I can build a relationship where they might go the extra mile to solve any problems I might find.

This myth about "lite trailers" continues to perpetuate itself here on this forum. I have towed an "Ultra Light" 29foot 4,400 pounds dry travel trailer coast to coast WITHOUT ISSUE. Not even a flat tire with the so called "China bombs".

IMHO-yes the are built with lighter materials but that doesn't mean they are going to rattle themselves apart. That's just non-sense. With a "full line" manufacturer-they don't want you to have any negative experiences with their product because they are looking at you as a future customer-buying a bigger, better trailer (or other RV) next time around.

[ggolds5]

I appreciate everyones advice. We just got back from a dealer today that sells KZ. We thought they were pretty cool overall. Seemed to be well made but I don't understand how I see so many trim flaws on everything. Even the KZ we looked at had wall paper trim literally glued to the bottom of the window sill. What's with that?. Another had an outlet that was partially screwed into the wall missing the studs and crooked. This is like the stuff you would see in the 1970's Chrysler vehicles. Then, I can't understand this tire stuff. Why put such cheap junky tires on Trailers?. I hear of so many blowouts. Then people talk about axles breaking. We also saw a few Livin Lite's. One looked like a bullet nose 17 foot Vista Cruiser which was really nice, but my wife thought it was overpriced for what you get but it appeared to be very high quality.

[Eugarps]

All,

Here's a though: the Travel Lite Falcon 20 I could tow it quite easily with my 2013 4Runner.

Bill

[justafordguy]

We just got back from the RV super show in Tampa and the coolest small trailer we saw was the SERRO SCOTTY retro campers. Very nice floor plans, roomy dry baths, nice interior colors, and looked like they were well made. Not sure about the prices but well worth the time to research.

[lawrosa]

SoundGuy wrote:

ggolds5 wrote:
My GVW rating is 5000.

This whole thing is making me very nervous, I just want a good camper that won't fall apart.

This upcoming season will be our 5th with our Coachmen Freedom Express 192RBS and other than requiring the usual minor corrections we haven't had any major issues so I wouldn't have any reservation recommending it as a great couple's model for those with a suitable tow vehicle. However, since your vehicle's tow rating is so limited you might want to take a look at the Coachmen Apex Nano series to see if there's anything there that interests you. My own Coachmen dealer sells quite a few each season, with no more quality issues than with the Freedom Express series. 🙂

Yes see my post below to a link and video of the Nano by coachmen...

Its a nice lite unit with a slide..