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Jayco Seneca vs NeXus Phantom or Ghost

Yahoo Message Number: 14856
Hi, we're new members to this forum and currently have a 2014 Thor Outlaw Super C which we have had a multitude of problems with. We are thinking of trading it and have been looking at the Jayco Seneca and Nexus Phantom or Ghost. We see a lot of posts about issues w/the Seneca, but can find almost nothing about Nexus. Any comments would be appreciated.
Thank, Mike and Robi

Re: Jayco Seneca vs NeXus Phantom or Ghost

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 14857
Nexus is the guys from Gulfstream, when Gulfstream went out of the MH business. If you look they are very similar. The old Gulfstream guys started up Nexus. As I understand it the Nexus are sold factory direct and do not really have a dealer network. So any warranty issues could be trouble to find a facility that will do the work, if not at the factory. Check that out to make sure you can get service if required, if not a the factory.

I do not have any info as to Nexus quality or problems, just helping with what I know.

I did have a Gulfstream Supernova, the 34 ft Super C that was on an International chassis. The MH part was good, did not have any problems with it. The chassis was the part that I had less praise for. Not necessarily reliability, more the gearing and driveline choices. I had to do major brake repair thanks to an issue that should have been warranty (below miles, but over on time). I did not like the lack of any engine or exhaust brake. The gearing caused it to rev higher than I liked, and thus lower mileage than it could have gotten. I added a bunch of sound deadener to the cab which helped with cab interior noise, but it was still pretty loud, a lot due to engine revs being high when cruising.

Re: Jayco Seneca vs NeXus Phantom or Ghost

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 14858
Hey Mike,

I don't have an answer to your question, but I have a 2014 Thor 33sw and have been considering trading it in as well. If you end up going that route, if you would be comfortable telling me how much you receive I'd appreciate it. :)

I've had many problems with mine as well. The most recent being a full wall slide issue. I'm actually in the process of upgrading to the newer 3trax system to hopefully give me much more piece of mind.

Andy



Re: Jayco Seneca vs NeXus Phantom or Ghost

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 14859
I have a 2014 Seneca 37fs, bunk model. My unit has only been in the shop 3 times. The first was a water leak resulting from the satellite cable flange (entering through roof) not being caulked. Took 5 minutes to fix, could have easily been done myself, but wanted to document the leak with the dealer in case of any future issue with water. The second was a schwintek slide motor being replaced. The probable cause was an umbrella jammed under the slide during retraction. Third visit was to cummins for a failed fuel pump on the generator, not really a Jayco issue, but covered under the gen warranty. There was a recall on the microwave oven, but a tech was sent to my house to fix it.
My previous unit was a Thor Chateau 34G on the Kodiak 5500 chassis with duramax diesel. The Seneca on the freightliner chassis is a vast improvement.
The "house issues" on both units were minor, loose trim, loose window shades, etc.I call these highway issues as they appear over time from bouncing down the road. I do feel the Thor product had more stripped screws (over-tightened) than the Jayco. The finish materials (faucets, etc) of the Jayco was a step above the Thor, but this is reflected in the price difference.
There are many posts about the tankless water heater, they work fine, but the learning curve and the temp adjustment can be counter intuitive. The biggest issue is when showering on the road using your onboard water supply, the distance from tank to shower waste a lot of water and makes the "navy shower" almost impossible to be a warm one. Some problems and issues that I read about online do not seem to be big issues to me, and are part of a house rolling down the less than smooth roads. I fix many of the small issues myself and have found Jayco more than willing to send parts if necessary.

Roger

Original Message-----

Re: Jayco Seneca vs NeXus Phantom or Ghost

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 14860
We have a 2015 Seneca 36FK and couldn't be happier. We've had a couple of problems that have required dealer trips ("sweeper" seal on main slide pulled through the opening when slide opened, Norcold fridge recall), along with a smattering of minor issues (loose trim, cabinet doors, etc) which are likely caused, as another poster said, by bouncing down the road. The Nexus offerings look very nice, but the Jayco warranty and dealer network made a big difference to us. We also love the Freightliner chassis - the power isn't tremendous, but it is plenty for handling our gear and towing a Honda CR-V.

I've read tons of complaints about the tankleas water heater. While it did have a learning curve (if you take the time to read the directions, it helps a lot), we've had no problems with it.

I'm happy to answer any other questions you have.

Ty

Re: Jayco Seneca vs NeXus Phantom or Ghost

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 14861
I was at the Hershey RV Show last month and seen the Ghost product line. As compared to a Force or DX3, I was not impressed with the quality of materials used in the Ghost. I think my bride and i spent...ooh...5 minutes inside the Ghost. This is just our opinion. Not saying anything bad about it.

Re: Jayco Seneca vs NeXus Phantom or Ghost

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 14862
Hi Andy,
Interesting you mention have a wall slide issue. That's the most recent problem we've had with our Outlaw, in fact it's at shop where they're trying to figure out what the problem is. They think it's a motor and have one on order from Lippert. Do you mind telling us what your slide problem was?
If we trade, we will definitely share what we got for it.
Thanks for any info you can share about your slide issue.
Mike and Robi

Re: Jayco Seneca vs NeXus Phantom or Ghost

Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 14863
Hi Mike,

Hopefully your problem is just the motor, since replacing one is pretty straightforward. The issue we're having with ours has to do with the teeth on the gears slipping on the track while running the slide in/out. As a result, the top and bottom tracks at the rear of the slide become out of sync. This caused the lower rear corner of the slide to be about 1.5" out, while the other 3 corners are fully seated when closed. Each time the gear slips on the track it gets even more out of sync.

That said, I believe I had caused it to happen initially when trying to extend then retract the slide while the coach was not leveled in front of my house, preparing for a 2 week family road trip back in early August. Until then, we had zero problems with the slide. When I took it into the shop to fix it, they noted that the "shoe" (a plastic keeper in the lower gear mechanism which attaches to the bottom track to keep both price snug together I believe) had broken. They called Lippert and there was a 3 week lead time for a replacement column and track assembly (they only sell the entire section). Since we were 2 days out from leaving and the shop was able to reinstall the existing hardware and extend/retract the slide, I opted to take my chances and go on the trip with it as-is, making sure the coach was completely level before extending/retracting.

During the trip, it worked fine for the first week. Then while closing up one morning before hitting the road, the gear slipped one tooth, causing the slide corner to become out of sync with the other 3 corners. After extending/retracting a few more times on the trip, it slipped again causing the corner to be completely out of sync. Out of fear that the slide would eventually becoming so out of sync it would misalign and jamb while extended (1000 miles from home) we opted to only extend the slide about half way for the remainder of the trip.

Anyhow, we made it home and I dropped the coach off at the shop. They were able to order the new "3Trax" slide setup from Lippert which Thor is now using on all their large slide coaches and retrofit it to mine. The system is essentially the same as ours, but it has 3 tracks instead of 2, higher torque motors, the shaft that connects the motor to the gears is now steel, rather than the flimsy (flexy) extruded aluminum shaft used in our setup. I met another Thor 2014 33sw owner that had his retrofitted to the 3 trax setup after a catastrophic failure and has had no problems since. So I'm hopeful.

The 3trax kit from Lippert should arrive at the shop this week, so I'm hoping I should have it back within the next 2 weeks. I'll let you know how it turns out. The total cost to order the kit was $1200, which was cheaper than I was expecting. It contains everything that they send to Thor to install on a new coach.

Andy

Re: Jayco Seneca vs NeXus Phantom or Ghost

Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 14868
Hi Andy - we just got our Thor out of the shop - it was a motor problem. They replaced one of the slide motors and it works great now. We spent the long weekend up in Elkhart, looking at the Nexus RVs. Even though the slide is working now, we are not going to keep the Outlaw. Just too many problems coming up all the time.

Hope the 3 track slide works out for you.
Mike