Jayco Grayhawk

[grashley]

My original plan was to get our FW cleaned up and sold, THEN look for our next RV. I have been looking at many floor plans to be better prepared to jump when the FW sold. Wellll..... I may have just seen my nearly perfect next camper. I desperately need your input before pulling the trigger.

God told me to sell the FW. It is still a great camper to park at the lake to take on short trips. At 15 years old, the question is not WILL it break, but WHAT will break and where. Near home, it could mess up the weekend. 1000 miles from could ruin a months long trip.

Due to age and health of both the FW and, we are downsizing from the 39 ft FW to a Class C. Our must have features include Auto Level, decent size kitchen, decent pantry storage, Residential Fridge, Recliner, Walk around bed with side tables, decent wardrobe space OR the ability to add / replace to the existing floor plan.

This is what we found. (not sure to add link any other way)
https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2018-Jayco-GREYHAWK+PRESTIGE+29MVP-5030575050#sid=299535
It is an 18 Jayco Grayhawk Prestiege 29MVP. I would have to change out the RV fridge, which I did in our FW. Otherwise it seems to hit every button, and it is only 350 miles away. In addition to the obvious, it has the much touted Jayco suspension upgrades and a fiberglass roof. It is also priced to sell - about $10k under similar units, which gets it into our price range. It also seems this is the premium Thor Class C coach - even above the Thor Quantum.

I have not yet contacted the seller. I wanted to get your comments first. I do understand condition can not make a deal, but it can surely kill one!

Comments from Jayco owners or general Jayco information, please

 

[Kirk]

As I look at the floorplan for that RV, it appears to me that it has the same weakness that we have found in all of the class C units we looked at. That is really comfortable seating for two people so spend an evening watching TV. I imagine that the TV will swing out to see better but that still means that you have a couch and possibly the dinette which can see the TV. Consider spending several hours in the evening or perhaps all day when weather is bad. Have you considered one of the small class A rigs that are being sold nowadays?

 

[Larry N.]

Due to age and health of both the FW and, we are downsizing from the 39 ft FW to a Class C. Our must have features include Auto Level, decent size kitchen, decent pantry storage, Residential Fridge, Recliner, Walk around bed with side tables, decent wardrobe space OR the ability to add / replace to the existing floor plan.

That sounds more like a small class A rig than like most class C units. And the 'A' will have more usable interior space (and often more storage as well) for the same length coach, though it may take a little visual adjustment in driving -- most folks adapt well, though I've come across a couple of exceptions.

And I agree with Kirk that short term comfort (5-15 minutes perhaps) and long term comfort (30 minutes plus, perhaps) are hard to anticipate but very important -- I had a 45' class A that, to our later chagrin, we discovered that the ceiling mounted TV eventually became awkward/uncomfortable, especially from certain positions that we preferred otherwise.

So think hard about those items, as well as about the amount of "cargo" carrying weight the rig has.

 

[rvlifer]

Looks like a nice rv. As a fulltimer our requirements are different and there are things in that floorplan wouldnt work for us but i can see that working very well for vacations.

Dont assume that because it is newer it wont have problems. Your current rv is a known comodity and there is a chance that you could be getting into a unit with a lot more problems than your current one. That alone wouldnt keep me from moving to a new one. Do your due diligence and try to find out as much as you can about that rv and the common problems owners have experienced. Inspect the crap out of it and make sure what you pay is worth it for any rv in the condition it is in.

You have the advantage of not being new to rving so you already know a lot of what to look for in a new rv.

Good luck with it.

 

[grashley]

Thank you, gentlemen.
If you look at the link, the sofa has been removed, along with the right side of the Dinette. In its' place are two Lazy Boy swivel rocker recliners, and the TV is moved out of the loft to behind the co-pilot seat, still on the swivel. Honestly, this is the thing that really grabbed my attention because that comfortable seat is VERY important to me!

Second question: Two of you mentioned small Class A (gasser) How the the F53 chassis compare to the E450 chassis for towing capacity, handling and reliability? Can I get these higher end features on a short Class A? I somehow thought these under 30 ft Class A units were entry level quality. True or No??

Again, thanks to all!

 

[rvlifer]

Thank you, gentlemen.
If you look at the link, the sofa has been removed, along with the right side of the Dinette. In its' place are two Lazy Boy swivel rocker recliners, and the TV is moved out of the loft to behind the co-pilot seat, still on the swivel. Honestly, this is the thing that really grabbed my attention because that comfortable seat is VERY important to me!

You should be able to make that mofication to any rv fairly easily.

I am not a fan of rv furniture in general and we tend to swap it out with higher quality residential furniture. As long as you secure it for travel there isnt any reason residential furniture wont work in an rv

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

OP, Jayco Redhawks are the higher-end Jayco Class C's. Also, on the Redhawks, the leveling jacks are factory standard. You might want to check out the one you're interested in to see if the jacks were a dealer add-on or an option add-on by the factory. Big difference in the operation of the two types. Factory standard or supplied jacks will have the control pad usually along the left armrest, or dash area. Dealer option jacks have this clunky lever system in the middle of the floor between the driver and passenger seats. Friends of ours have a C with the dealer-added jacks which come down from a horizontal plane vs straight up and down vertical. On very uneven ground, his jacks will not lift and level his RV.

Also, I have to wonder why a 6-7 RV needs to have the refrigerator replaced already. My guess is that maybe the rig you are looking at was used as a seasonal camper at some point which an RV will get much more use but it doesn't show in mileage.

 

[grashley]

I beg to disagree on the trim levels. Looking at the Jayco web site, the Redhawk SE starts $122k. The Redhawk starts at $157k. The Grayhawk starts at $179k. In 2018, the Grayhawk Prestige was another level up. Auto level was standard from the factory. However, very good information to have.

The rig has an absorption fridge which is fully functional. DW wants a residential fridge, thus the need to upgrade. Again, good catch.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

That C and most others over 24 ft are built on the E450 van cutaway chassis, not an F450 truck (there are differences). Here's a table showing the specs. Basically 14,500 lb GVWR and 22,000 lb GCWR.

The 2018 F53 comes in GVWRs from 18,000 to 22,000 and a GCWR of 26,000. Equally important, it's an entirely different chassis design from the van, designed to carry a heavy body.

But I think debating C vs A in a 29 foot floor plan is academic. You simply won't find many 29-30 ft class A's and they probably won't be an upscale model.

 

[grashley]

Sorry. My typo. I have corrected it to read E450.

 

[Onyrlef]

" Much touted Jayco suspension upgrades" means it rides like the deluxe chuckwagon, trust me.

 

[RV_Lee1]

Yes ^ and they aren't premium units no matter how they try to market them. I looked at them, they have a plastic-type "fabric" on everything and the counter tops and cupboards seemed like particle board with a sticker over them to replicate real wood. To me they seemed like units destined to be rentals. Have a look at the Coachmen Concord 300DS / 300TS and the Winnebego Aspect / Cambria if you want a nice class C from that era

 

[grashley]

Yes ^ and they aren't premium units no matter how they try to market them. I looked at them, they have a plastic-type "fabric" on everything and the counter tops and cupboards seemed like particle board with a sticker over them to replicate real wood. To me they seemed like units destined to be rentals. Have a look at the Coachmen Concord 300DS / 300TS and the Winnebego Aspect / Cambria if you want a nice class C from that era

What am I missing? For the 6 year old models, the Jayco Premier has auto level standard. It is optional on the Coachman Concord. Premier has a fiberglass roof. Concord is TPO. Premier has power cockpit seats. Swivel NA. On the Concord Swivel seats are optional, power seats NA. Premier comes with Ford trailer tow mirrors with integrated side view cameras. Concord has standard van mirrors with a SMALL convex section. Side view cameras are optional, and are mounted on the cab above the tires. Premier comes with 3 TV. Concord has WIRING for 3 TV, but only one comes standard. The others are optional. (Very easy to add) Many other features, including floor plan are similar. Both have large kitchen with lots of storage. Both have lots of wardrobe storage, but the Concord only has one night stand. Both have decent outside storage for a Class C. Concord has more and bigger windows and a skylight. Concorde kitchen has a cook top and low mount convection microwave, which my vertically challenged DW likes.

While your comments could well apply to a Jayco Redhawk to Concord comparison, I do not see how it applies to the Premier trim level.

I asked for your opinion, and I value it. Please tell me what I am missing.

 

[RV_Lee1]

You are unlikely to find a Concord/Aspect without being fully loaded as dealers usually ordered them full stack. They have full body paint, adjustable air bags in the rear suspension and high end class A diesel interior components - hard wood cabinets, corian counter tops, soft ultra leather, sleep number bed, porcelain toilet etc. All you need to do is walk through one to see the difference, which is apparent right away. They may also have a factory inverter, forged alloy wheels, heating ducts to the tanks instead of heat pads etc. The Concord is all new and the Cambria is coming back as well, but the older ones are the best class C's (E450 based) on the market in my opinion. Go look at the storage trunk of an Aspect/Cambria 27K/30J - massive

 

[grashley]

Thank You. Living deep in flyover country, it is a big deal to travel to larger towns with the ability to tour both models. Thus far, I have seen neither in person. I WILL look at both, and now I know what to look for.
Thanks again.

 

[RV_Lee1]

I was in the same boat, dealers had greyhawks but none had what I wanted. I flew in and drove mine home and was much happier