Hi all,The wife and I are down to a short list of two travel trailers, and would love some opinions on these units please: 2017 Venture Sonic Lite SL167ms. And the other is 2017 Jayco Hummingbird 17RK.Both units have rear kitchens allowing for good storage for TT's of that size. We are kind of leaning towards the Sonic because of no step up into the small bath.(bad knees), but not sure if the two brands are on a par construction wise.Any comments pro or con are much appreciated.ThanksSteve

The only thing I can comment on is that Jayco stands behind their product, so warranty should be considered, even post warranty.

If you buy new then its up to you to have maintenance done. Most rv's built today will perform well during the early 5-10 yrs of life if you do that . I have a 2016 Jayco that I love but if it was difficult for me to physically use it, then I probably would not love it so much. If the knees are the issue, then I would get a floorplan that works for me.

don't particularly like the wall to wall bed of the Jayco. larger bed takes up a lot of room in a small rv.bumpy

Bumpyroad wrote:don't particularly like the wall to wall bed of the Jayco. larger bed takes up a lot of room in a small rv.bumpyDitto.I am guessing the Sonic is a wider body trailer, with the tires under the trailer, not outside the body like the Jayco.In my quest for a small trailer, the Jayco would go off my list for these reasons:1. Narrow body (less interior room), tires sticking out from the body of the trailer2. Wet Bath (hence, the step up in to the bathroom)3. No pass through storage under the bed, because the water heater is under the bed4. Small Fridge5. Lots of excess counter space. Kitchen could have been laid out differently to put a full size fridge in it, in the corner, instead of that large angled counter where the stove is. Counter space back behind the stove is not a practical use of space based on my RVing experiences.6. Smaller tank capacities than the Sonic.7. No overhead cabinets in bedroomI wish the Sonic had exterior photos on their website.The image gallery of the Hummingbird.... well, Jayco needs to hire a new webdev person... that's all I can say about that.

Thanks everyone for your comments...Here is a video for the Sonic I'm interested in.https://youtu.be/sZWVt8zpXCM

Choice between two TT's | Good Sam Community

Bumpyroad
Explorer
Sep 25, 2016
I don't particularly like that AC setup in the 167, convection oven is nice, seems like a lot of storage. only the one pass thru storage on the outside.
bumpy
Viggen46
Explorer
Sep 25, 2016
Hello all. Haven't posted on the introduction page yet, but had to ask on this post. My wife and I well more me right now is interested in a Sonic Lite 167 also. Would like to know more about this unit. Only dealer in the state no longer carries the Venture brand.
So far I have narrowed it down to 4 different TT's. Curious as to what Steve thought about it, and if he has made his choice yet.

Thanks
Viggen46
Bumpyroad
Explorer
Aug 20, 2016
deltabravo wrote:
Bumpyroad wrote:
my Ascend has an unducted roof AC and wall thermostat. wouldn't have bought it without one.
bumpy

What brand is the A/C unit?

Is there a switch on the t-stat that controls high and low fan speed as well?

Coleman Mach,
system: cool,fan,off,heat
Fan: auto, LH; ON, LH
bumpy
Steve_911
Explorer
Aug 20, 2016
I just threw in the GVWR because someone would surely ask..lol. I agree, actual weight, but I have to start somewhere because we haven't seen this unit yet. As far as a/c, a roof mount is an option on these. Don't know brand of a/c yet, we will travel, a couple of hours drive, to see a new one on Tuesday.
deltabravo
Nomad
Aug 20, 2016
Bumpyroad wrote:
my Ascend has an unducted roof AC and wall thermostat. wouldn't have bought it without one.
bumpy

What brand is the A/C unit?

Is there a switch on the t-stat that controls high and low fan speed as well?
Bumpyroad
Explorer
Aug 20, 2016
deltabravo wrote:
Steve 911 wrote:
It looks like we are going to see a new Sonic lite167 next week. Our tv will be a 2016 Highlander V-6 awd, with tow package. Owners manual says 5000 lbs and 500 tongue weight, but I don't trust those numbers..The Sonic info says GVWR of 4000lbs, and hitch of 350. My question is, does this sound like a reasonable weight for my tv?

Sounds like a good combination to me.

I pulled my Ascend which is similar with my Highlander with tow package and it was adequate. but IMHO it is stupid to use GVWR unless you plan on loading the RV up to that. what is the actual weight, what is the estimated weight you will be at with 1,000 lbs. of "stuff"., etc.
bumpy
Bumpyroad
Explorer
Aug 20, 2016
deltabravo wrote:
Bumpyroad wrote:

I'm not too impressed with the air conditioner setup, looks like a window unit that would be blowing all the time. no wall mounted thermostat for it.
bumpy

Pretty normal for roof mounted A/C units to also not have a wall thermostat, unless it's a Ducted A/C = which eliminates the roof mounted control panel. At least that's what I've seen while looking at many RVs over the last 10 years.

I am also not too fond of the household style wall mounted A/C units used in an RV. I think they do it to save cost, height and maybe a little bit of weight.

my Ascend has an unducted roof AC and wall thermostat. wouldn't have bought it without one.
bumpy
deltabravo
Nomad
Aug 20, 2016
Steve 911 wrote:
It looks like we are going to see a new Sonic lite167 next week. Our tv will be a 2016 Highlander V-6 awd, with tow package. Owners manual says 5000 lbs and 500 tongue weight, but I don't trust those numbers..The Sonic info says GVWR of 4000lbs, and hitch of 350. My question is, does this sound like a reasonable weight for my tv?

Sounds like a good combination to me.
deltabravo
Nomad
Aug 20, 2016
Bumpyroad wrote:

I'm not too impressed with the air conditioner setup, looks like a window unit that would be blowing all the time. no wall mounted thermostat for it.
bumpy

Pretty normal for roof mounted A/C units to also not have a wall thermostat, unless it's a Ducted A/C = which eliminates the roof mounted control panel. At least that's what I've seen while looking at many RVs over the last 10 years.

I am also not too fond of the household style wall mounted A/C units used in an RV. I think they do it to save cost, height and maybe a little bit of weight.
Steve_911
Explorer
Aug 20, 2016
It looks like we are going to see a new Sonic lite167 next week. Our tv will be a 2016 Highlander V-6 awd, with tow package. Owners manual says 5000 lbs and 500 tongue weight, but I don't trust those numbers..The Sonic info says GVWR of 4000lbs, and hitch of 350. My question is, does this sound like a reasonable weight for my tv?
The dry weight of the Sonic is listed at 2898, but I'm going to try not to load so much stuff as to be close to that 4K.
Thanks for responses ...

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