After a long exhaustive search for a toy hauler we decided on the Jayco Octane 24z. While looking at an 09 Octane I noticed that the entry door did not fully open all the way and then I discovered that the top of the door had piston shock outside that prevented it from opening fully and locking it open via the locking rod on the bottom of the door, which there was no longer a latch on the bottom of the door. (this was the "What were they thinking moment"
The pitson shock at the top was already pulling the attached brackets out of the siding and wall and it was readily apparent that this sort of thing WILL become a common problem with this design. Especially if you have kids opening the door and they are used to opening it all the way. Halfway felt unnatural when you wanted just your screen door open. There was no viable reason for not allowing the door to open fully and latch itslef againist the wall.
Just wanted to pass it on this lil tidbit, we were told thst Jayco will build ours unsing the older latching style instead of the newer potsion style.
I heard that sometimes the supports for the awning are in the way of the door opening fully against the side of the RV...is that true on the one you looked at. That would explain what they did...I guess. If not, you can always call Jayco customer service and ask, they're happy to answer your questions, and would want to hear that there is a potential issue with one of their Jaycos, but it seems that they have already changed it!
Just to improve your confidence level...we've had 7 Jayco's...no real issues at all. Good luck!
Thanks fordsooperdutydieselsmoker,
Yes we looked at the awning issue, and that wasn't a problem. The salesman couldn't understand why the change was made either, when I pointed out the poor design. Like I said, we ordered ours from Jayco to have the old style door latch, which our salesman said that the Jayco manufacturer will do, so ours will have the latch.
Im curious what u tow and what u tow with? We ordered a octane 24z and have a 03 ford excursion with 7.3 PSD.
goldsmje wrote: Thanks fordsooperdutydieselsmoker,
Yes we looked at the awning issue, and that wasn't a problem. The salesman couldn't understand why the change was made either, when I pointed out the poor design. Like I said, we ordered ours from Jayco to have the old style door latch, which our salesman said that the Jayco manufacturer will do, so ours will have the latch.
Im curious what u tow and what u tow with? We ordered a octane 24z and have a 03 ford excursion with 7.3 PSD.
What did you end up getting your 24z for? Thinking of trading up, and seems that with the industry in the dumps, deals can be made. I'm interested in the Jayco, as it seems stable. Was looking at the Rag'n ss2400 until I found out about WW's demise. If you get your rig weighted, let us know.
We got the 24z because we really liked the Jayco product. The quality and design always seemed to be better than others we've looked at. We wanted a toy hauler that could accomodate my wife, me and our two children without having to set up and break down the table and couch for sleeping. We also wanted one that under 30' from hitch to bumber. We like to sometimes maneuver into wooded cozy camp sites, we are used to our pop up trailer for this. SO since we wanted to stay under that length and have three full time beds, and liked the Jayco quality,..we ordered the 09 24z, but ordered it with the 08 door latch on the bottom of the door.
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