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Topic: Apples to Apples? 2017 MB vs a 2017 Jayco Greyhawk 31FS (Read 915 times) previous topic - next topic
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Re: Apples to Apples? 2017 MB vs a 2017 Jayco Greyhawk 31FS
Reply #25 –
JD,  as I read the replies there is little to add. What is missing is how you travel and your plan for storage, your past experience with RVs, and towing (maybe I missed it).

Personally, the issue of weight is important to me. Overweight is unsafe. If you plan to tow, the added weight margin of the LD is worth considering.

Quality is important as it relates to how long will keep something. If this is your first RV, it may be a learning experience, so an "inferior" brand may suffice.

Kids may be tenters,  and all their stuff, which changes as they grow, can go in a trailer- bikes, boats, motorcycles, team gear, backpacking, you get it. This means the smaller coach may work as well.

We have camped in all ways, had 3 RVs and all of it served different needs and was great. Just that the LD is the one we love best.
Paul
'92 Mid Bath
 
Re: Apples to Apples? 2017 MB vs a 2017 Jayco Greyhawk 31FS
Reply #26 –
In addition to the comments here, I suggest you subscribe to RV Consumer Group (rv.org) for their reviews of LD and Jayco.

I've read and been told that for common brands like Jayco, dealer cost is about 70% of the MSRP. For a $110,000 unit, $80,000 would be close to the dealer's cost, and not a totally amazing discount, though (I'm told) 25% is a more likely the deal a you can get.

Do manufacturers have to cut "quality" drastically to achieve the low price? Consider that they are buying the E450 chassis, refrigerators, air conditioners, etc (exactly the same items that go into an LD) in the thousands instead of the hundreds, you can see the component cost could be significantly less than for an LD. Consider they use manufacturing techniques that require less labor, like the laminated walls, floors, and roofs, instead of hand-built wood structure and aluminum siding, which also reduces cost.

But is that construction as good as LD's? I think it's better: the aluminum structure won't rot from a water leak, and a leak will not be able to travel to a large area, because the foam insulation is laminated to the fiberglass/plywood skin, limiting the path inside the wall.

And another thing that raises the price of an LD: I'm guessing LD makes more profit/unit than Jayco, because LD's demand is much greater than their supply (thus, the one year wait).

Personally, I prefer a longer wheel base to a shorter one, and that's one reason I have a 24' Jayco instead of a 24' LD: it's wheel base is over 20" longer, giving it more stability in the wind and when towing a trailer.

Full body paint is available for the Greyhawk, but I'm guessing it will cost $5000-$10,000 to add it. I've had two Class C units with the laminated walls (no paint), one 16 years old and the current one 12 years old, and they both look(ed) fine to us, with just a tinge of yellowing on the older one. I'd probably skip the paint on a new one if it was $10,000.

My wife and I thought slides were a liability until we had one, now we like the one in our 24' Jayco. But, a larger motorhome has more room to start with, so I don't know if we'd think the extra weight and complexity would be worth the extra floor space if we had a 31' unit.

For us, "quality" took second place to functionality, and the floor plan was very important. In the last 19 years, we twice looked hard at LD's, but for our purposes, the floor plans in the 24' LD units were inferior to the Class C units we ultimately bought (both had the same floor plan). On the LD, we liked the big windows, we liked the quality, but rear kitchen, large dinette, extra storage, and lower price made us choose the other two units.
2005 Jayco 24SS