Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Which Travel Trailer - Coleman or Jayco?

Wanting to get some thoughts/feedback. Wife and I are upgrading and purchasing a new bunkhouse travel trailer this week and have narrowed it down to 2 options:

Coleman Light 2855 BH
https://rv.campingworld.com/rvdetai...an-light-2755bh-bunkhouse-20k-MER1820762

Or we spend a little more money and go with:

Jayco Jayfeather 27 BHB
https://www.bishsmeridian.com/inv/2021-Jayco-Jay-Feather-27BHB-Meridian-ID-21611/#mainpic

They both are the length/weight/floorplan we like. The Jayco will cost us about 6k more at the end of the day. These two dealers are next to each other and I have been going back and forth with both for the last week eeking out the best deal possible.

Trying to get feedback if you all think the Jayco brand is worth the additional money? Is the quality that much better?

Also, I would prefer to buy the Jayco at the local dealer, that way I won't be supporting Marcus Lemonis company - but 6k difference is a big deal and not sure his liberal views alone would make me choose the Jayco. Thoughts?

I suggest neither. Both are constructed using wood framing.
My wife and I have been looking at 25-28’ campers for quite a while. The mark up on them is ridiculous. The crazy thing is you’ll pay a lot of money on a camper that will leave the factory with faults and problems. That’s unexceptionable.
We have decided to buy a ATC. All aluminum construction . More costly than comparable campers but they are quality built.
I recommend that you look at the forums on the make and model your looking at. Remember when you go look at them climb up on top and look at the roofing and roofing seams. Make sure you shop the dealerships harder than the camper. Lots of shoddy dealerships.

Those are both cheap trailers. I've not seen a Coleman trailer that interests me in terms of quality.

Fwiw, buying one in Indiana can save you an ENORMOUS amount even after shipping.

Jayco is one of the best built trailers you can buy.

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/what-makes-the-jayco-jay-flight-the-best-selling-travel-trailer/

Look at a Salem Hemisphere 26bhhl and a Forest River Vibe 26bh and a Heritage Glen 26bhhl.

These are all essentially the same trailer, and very close to the floor plan you are looking at. They are aluminum frame with fiberglass exterior.

I’ve seen the Salem as low as $28k-ish. I got one last year for a little over $25k, new.

Type in these models on Rvtrader. You will see prices all over the map, but will find some that are VERY good.

Tag

We settled on a Lance 2285 model with the all weather package and aluminum framing and smooth outer skin. NOt the cheapest by any means but a step above the normal rv in quality and design.

Jayco is not what it used to be. Coleman not a real good reputation either. I would look around a bit more. Having said that, I have owned three Jayco's (before they were bought out) and they were indeed good units with a great warranty. All trailers have issues, it's how they get taken care of that really matters. That comes down to the dealer you buy from.

Also looking at a Heartland North Trail - 29bhs...didn’t think the dealer was getting one for a while but it looks like they will have one coming in soon.

Look no further than Outdoors RV.

I'll second that, Outdoors. RV

Call the dealer's service department and tell them that you have a refrigerator that's out and it's under warranty. Ask how long the wait will be. Around here, they are backed up 6 months and most new trailers have issues that require going back to the dealer. Some folks missed the entire camping season last year waiting in queue to get their 'new' camper fixed.

Buy one that's a year or two old. Those folks have most likely already had everything fixed.

Whatever you get, take pains to prevent water intrusion. Any place water can get in, it will, and that kills more RVs than anything else. I mentioned this to a friend who bought one two years ago. She didn't heed the warning. She now has major structural issues.

Neither have a good reputation

I have had campers of some sort since I was 15 years old and longer if you count my parents..I use them hard with most all of my use on wash bordy roads esoecially when I was working in the hills...Some held up..Some didn't..My favorite of old was the Jayco before they sold out..Rock solid for my use..Lance was the same way in pickup campers until they sold out also..

Now if I was to buy one, Outdoors RV(Backcountry first choice) first and possibly Arctic Fox for a travel trailer and Eagle Cap/Adventurer first or possible Arctic Fox for a truck camper..


Jayco

What problems kept the people you know from camping the entire season?

Jayco over coleman.. but in this class price they are similar. What are you pulling it with? Where will you take it? Personally I will never own a wood frame again. Outdoor RV is nice but they are heavy. My last trailer was a forest river product. It got the job done and I sold it at the 5 year mark. Lousy upolstry(foam) sit in the booths and lay on the mattresses. Put an ikea mattress topper over the oriogional 3" awesome $200. Lived with the booth but it sucked. Replaced the brakes $1k and had to weld frame cross members back into place (steep rough raods). Bought as a dealer demo for $14 k and sold at $11.5k

Personally will go smaller next time.

Since you've got what you want narrowed to these two, go with the Jayco.
I've owned owned 5th wheel, bumper pull, class A's, class C's of many makes and models over the years.

The Jaycos put a lot more quality into the interior, the cabinets always seem better and so on. The interior is what you use the most, might as well have quality there.

As far as aluminum vs wood construction goes, I'd pretty much prefer the wood.

I've wrecked these things, smashed them into stuff and had to repair them.
Every time I've removed the outer metal or fiberglass skins and seen how the structures have held up, the aluminum frame work has had countless broken tack welds along with plenty of deterioration.

RVs flex and bend, wood handles it far better than aluminum and the welds involved.
The wood structure is more easily repaired than the aluminum. The square stock they use is so flippin thin it ain't funny.
They all use the same square stock. It'll be a mix of 1 inch and 1 inch × 1 1/2 inch material.

They'll stand the 1 × 1 1/12 square stock on edge for the roof or the ones claiming to be better winterized will build the walls that way allowing for 1 1/2 insulation. But it's all thin as schit and the welds break.

Roof leaks are a thing of the past with RVs unless something drastically has gone wrong. They all have one piece rubber bladders for roof's and the sealants used today around penetrations is excellent.

They leak around windows, a visual inspection will often show the welt that holds the glass in the frames has shrunk. As much as it may appear to be the source of a leak, it's not.

The windows are installed with butyl seal tape around the flanges of the windows, it dries out and with all the flexing and movement involved with a RV it separates from the outer skin of the RV.

Just pop the windows out and replace the butyl tape, it's cheap, painless and easy. For christ's sake don't go pumping tubes of silicone around the outer edge of a window to try and stop a leak. You just make a big mess and the leak generally reappears shortly.

But anyway, go with the Jayco, it'll have all the same issues as any other RV and require the same maintenance if you keep it around long enough but you'll enjoy the higher grade interior right away.

I had a Jayco for a long time. It wasn't pretty in the end. I would look at other brands than Jayco. My Jayco was replaced with a Sunny Brook. The materials used in the Sunny Brook is the next level higher, All of the outside walls are gel-coat panels that would be used in motorhomes.

TAG