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Check-in at Jayco

Yahoo Message Number: 1860
What a night. Extremely windy all night with rain off and on and some
hail. Then at 2 AM the power went out for 50 minutes. Looked out the
window and not a light in sight. We made do with one ceramic heater
through the night. When I figured it was time to turn on the furnace
I found it wouldn't work. The reason seems very simple and straight
forward - the propane tank was turned off (and darned if I was going
outside in that weather to turn it on).

Finally at about 4:30 AM we started hearing vehicles on the
surrounding roads.

Randy knocked on the door at 7 AM and we went through my original list
and my additions.

He was MUCH more receptive to my requests than Tammy Baker.

The paint shop people picked up the MH this morning and will return it
from Topeka tomorrow.

They will put in a door for the cable and phone in the roadside rear
compartment. That should have been installed during the build.

As to a hatch door on the curb side for the power outlet - that was
not in the specs and won't be done (there is a power outlet in the
rear road side so I can run an extension from there to connect the
Battery Minder.

I mentioned that the retaining catches on the sliding mirrored closet
doors had broken again. He smiled and said "we will put new ones on.
We finally got them to redesign them." So, I'll let you know if
these are any better. We've broken several already and he confirmed
that many others had the same problem.

I showed him a line of small holes across the wall opposite the
toilet. Screws or nails had come through and when I pointed these out
to Tammy I suggested they clip them off and put a piece of trim or
seam cover across. They were clipped and that was it. Randy
immediately suggested they put a seam cover across. They will also
fix the bottom of the storage area under the bed.

The big issue for us will be the exhaust hanger and whether or not the
whine disappears. On the way to Middlebury we found it was hard to
judge with the extreme winds. Whenever the winds died temporarily we
sure could hear the whine. Raise your foot and it stops immediately.
So, is the tail pipe vibrating and causing a resonance? Or, is there
a problem with the drive line? OR, is what we are hearing normal (it
starts to get irritating at about 40 to 45 mph. At 60 it is a real
PITA.

If they feel it is the drive shaft - it will go to Mor/Ryde (in
Elkhart) on Wednesday and we can enjoy another day of this tropical
weather (had some freezing rain pellets at about 11 AM today).

Tonight, they are paying for the hotel - Jameson Inn. Not luxury but
a nicely done room with a good corner desk and reasonable internet
speed. It also has a hidden microwave and fridge/freezer. It is VERY
quiet as no doubt all area businesses are suffering along with the RV
biz. I asked at the desk if Jayco booked many customers in. She said
they had 4 today, one from Jayco, one from Damon and two others.

Tomorrow, we stay in the MH at the Service Centre even if the MH goes
to Mor/Ryde on Wednesday. I think I'll turn the propane on this time.

The service center was quiet. Clearly they have laid off a lot of
people. Jayco basically manufacturers based on dealer orders
(although they did do some of the very popular models on speculation
but not any more) so things are exceedingly slow. The area dealers
look to have bulging inventories.

We wanted to look at an Embark but nothing at the display center.
They did suggest an RV dealer up the road who ordered one and still
has it.

OH, the Tahoe started ok today. A friend wondered if the Brake Buddy
was dragging? I'm not sure how it would do that other than if I had
it too far forward - but I sure will be stopping periodically and
maybe even running the engine. I might even raise the hood and check
the voltage. One problem after another. I'm wondering what will be
next. Problems seem to come in three's and the fourth is simply the
first of the next group of three.

Now to have a nap as we really didn't get much sleep last night.

Don

ps. There is a Menard's across from the hotel. We'd never been in
one before and I have to say we found it a nice place to browse. Went
in to look and ended up buying 7 items. So, we are doing our share to
help out in this down economy.

Re: Check-in at Jayco

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 1861

Don,

Any chance you can get to Four Winds to check out the new Super C??

Denny

Re: Check-in at Jayco

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 1862
I'll try. I assume you mean the one with the 26,000 lb GVWR?

I think I identified their location and have sent an email asking if they have one for viewing tomorrow. If they have we will have a look.

Don

ps. Anyone see my brilliant investment in Fleetwood - closed at 25 cents today - they have a $100 debenture issue due in 2023 callable this December facing them. If the holders call they have to be paid par. No doubt Fleetwood has no hope of raising the required funds so it is trying to issue replacement senior debt and stock to the holders - diluting the shares by 20%. If the holders of the debt reject the offer or if existing shareholders say no, or if the banks reject it, they could be in huge trouble.

Looking at Monaco - down to 90 cents from a 52 week high of over $14, Winnie at $4.60 down from over $26 (and down 60% in 10 days), and Thor at under $15 and down from $50, it makes me wonder who will be left standing. It might well be Thor. I wonder if Jayco has much debt. If it doesn't it could survive given it is privately held we will likely never know unless it goes splat.

When I bought Fleetwood, Monaco and Winnie 12 days ago I told DW I could well be tossing my (our) money in the trash. Damn - I didn't know I could predict it so well. :(

On 27-Oct-08, at 5:49 PM,

Re: Check-in at Jayco

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 1863

Drove the new Embark at the Los Angeles RV show. They had two units in the two colors that they are coming in. Biggest difference was the heavier chassis which rides more like a truck, but what is needed (as a Seneca owner I know). The side storage doors are a nice improvement as they open on the side like most class "A's". Front glass cabinet doors over the drivers area were a bit odd as they open at a 45 degree angle downwards. Several customers thought it odd also. Unit is very nice but when driving had lots of rattles. Sure it was just the unit that I drove but the steering when putting on the air brakes (nice) made the steering wheel wobble back and forth.

Very nice units as a whole

Keith

I have several pictures but not sure how to paste

 

Re: Check-in at Jayco

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 1869
-Don tell Randy we said hello. He will remember us from the firing
of Tammy while we were there. Tell him we got the cushion and thank
him for me. Hope the paint did well and matched. If you have any
issues you cannot get resolved while there see Vinh Le at the main
office up the street across from the Welcome Center. Dane

-- In KodiakChassisClassC@yahoogroups.com, Keith Long
wrote:
Quote
Drove the new Embark at the Los Angeles RV show. They had two units
in the two colors that they are coming in. Biggest difference was the
heavier chassis which rides more like a truck, but what is needed (as
a Seneca owner I know). The side storage doors are a nice improvement
as they open on the side like most class "A's". Front glass cabinet
doors over the drivers area were a bit odd as they open at a 45
degree angle downwards. Several customers thought it odd also. Unit
is very nice but when driving had lots of rattles. Sure it was just
the unit that I drove but the steering when putting on the air brakes
(nice) made the steering wheel wobble back and forth.
Quote
Very nice units as a whole

Keith

I have several pictures but not sure how to paste

--- On Mon, 10/27/08, grandriver125@...  wrote:

From: grandriver125@...
Subject: [KodiakChassisClassC] Check-in at Jayco
To: KodiakChassisClassC@yahoogroups.com
Date: Monday, October 27, 2008, 12:10 PM


What a night. Extremely windy all night with rain off and on and
some hail. Then at 2 AM the power went out for 50 minutes. Looked out
the window and not a light in sight. We made do with one ceramic heater
through the night. When I figured it was time to turn on the
furnace I found it wouldn't work. The reason seems very simple and straight
forward - the propane tank was turned off (and darned if I was
going outside in that weather to turn it on).

Finally at about 4:30 AM we started hearing vehicles on the
surrounding roads.

Randy knocked on the door at 7 AM and we went through my original
list and my additions.

He was MUCH more receptive to my requests than Tammy Baker.

The paint shop people picked up the MH this morning and will return
it from Topeka tomorrow.

They will put in a door for the cable and phone in the roadside
rear compartment. That should have been installed during the build.

As to a hatch door on the curb side for the power outlet - that was
not in the specs and won't be done (there is a power outlet in the
rear road side so I can run an extension from there to connect the
Battery Minder.

I mentioned that the retaining catches on the sliding mirrored
closet doors had broken again. He smiled and said "we will put new ones
on.

Quote
We finally got them to redesign them." So, I'll let you know if
these are any better. We've broken several already and he confirmed
that many others had the same problem.

I showed him a line of small holes across the wall opposite the
toilet. Screws or nails had come through and when I pointed these
out to Tammy I suggested they clip them off and put a piece of trim or
seam cover across. They were clipped and that was it. Randy
immediately suggested they put a seam cover across. They will also
fix the bottom of the storage area under the bed.

The big issue for us will be the exhaust hanger and whether or not
the whine disappears. On the way to Middlebury we found it was hard to
judge with the extreme winds. Whenever the winds died temporarily
we sure could hear the whine. Raise your foot and it stops
immediately.

Quote
So, is the tail pipe vibrating and causing a resonance? Or, is
there a problem with the drive line? OR, is what we are hearing normal
(it

Quote
starts to get irritating at about 40 to 45 mph. At 60 it is a real
PITA.

If they feel it is the drive shaft - it will go to Mor/Ryde (in
Elkhart) on Wednesday and we can enjoy another day of this tropical
weather (had some freezing rain pellets at about 11 AM today).

Tonight, they are paying for the hotel - Jameson Inn. Not luxury
but a nicely done room with a good corner desk and reasonable internet
speed. It also has a hidden microwave and fridge/freezer. It is
VERY quiet as no doubt all area businesses are suffering along with the
RV biz. I asked at the desk if Jayco booked many customers in. She
said they had 4 today, one from Jayco, one from Damon and two others.

Tomorrow, we stay in the MH at the Service Centre even if the MH
goes to Mor/Ryde on Wednesday. I think I'll turn the propane on this
time.
Quote
The service center was quiet. Clearly they have laid off a lot of
people. Jayco basically manufacturers based on dealer orders
(although they did do some of the very popular models on
speculation but not any more) so things are exceedingly slow. The area dealers
look to have bulging inventories.

We wanted to look at an Embark but nothing at the display center.
They did suggest an RV dealer up the road who ordered one and still
has it.

OH, the Tahoe started ok today. A friend wondered if the Brake
Buddy was dragging? I'm not sure how it would do that other than if I had
it too far forward - but I sure will be stopping periodically and
maybe even running the engine. I might even raise the hood and
check the voltage. One problem after another. I'm wondering what will be
next. Problems seem to come in three's and the fourth is simply the
first of the next group of three.

Now to have a nap as we really didn't get much sleep last night.

Don

ps. There is a Menard's across from the hotel. We'd never been in
one before and I have to say we found it a nice place to browse.
Went in to look and ended up buying 7 items. So, we are doing our share
to