Fiberglass skin heads up..

[Harveyj]

A local RV dealer here in Boise was having their yearly "sale" and we toured several coaches.  The new Jayco Seneca caught our eye due to the new color schemes and the rich Cherry finished cabinetry.
The salesman was showing us around and, when we left he pulled the door to close it and we heard a loud "Crack".  The door was held closed by those "T" bar type of rods and the mating part on the door pulled a 3" x 3" piece of the fiberglass off exposing nothing underneath but foam.  The skin was very thin and was the only thing holding the riveted bracket in place.  After some choice words by the salesman we were looking at the damage and noticed that there should have been some sort of reinforcing block under the latch to give some added strenth....it didn't take much force to cause the damage.
The salesman called the manager over and, apparentlly, this is not tfhe first time this has happened.  They have even notified Jayco about the problem.
So...anyone with this latching mechanisim, and fiberglass skined doors/walls may want to take heed.  Some manufacturers may already reinforce this area but, I know that Jayco does not.
If I had the unit, I would replace the latch with another "post & socket" type to prevent this from happening as they are going to have to order a new, color matched door.

 

[John From Detroit]

Some days... It is very easy to decide which brand not to buy isn't it.

I assume you are looking at something other than Jayco now?

Oh well.  The good thing is you found out during the shopping phase.

 

[Harveyj]

The Jayco immediately caught our eye due to the nice body colors and, looking inside, the rich Cherry finish and the decor was very attractive.  We did like the layout and the comfort of the living/sleeping area.  They apparently upgraded the drawer construction by using full extension ball bearing slides...something that was missing in some of their earlier models.
While looking through this two slide model we wanted to see the 35' three slide unit next door but it was locked up.  We later learned that a hydraulic line for the main slide broke and sprayed oil all over the inside.
I have read about a dozen stories regarding Jayco's quality and was saddened by their (apparent) lack of concern.  Built on the big Kodiak chassis, the CCC was also limited.  I guess looks ARE only skin deep..