Full time in the 2020 JAYCO EAGLE??

[keh3491]

My husband and I are looking to start full timing. We have been researching the 2020 JAYCO EAGLE 355MBQS. We love the layout but it’s 42’ which seems daunting. Does anyone have experience with this model and any advice on length?

[Weldon]

Definitely too long.

[2012Coleman]

keh3491 wrote:
My husband and I are looking to start full timing. We have been researching the 2020 JAYCO EAGLE 355MBQS. We love the layout but it’s 42’ which seems daunting. Does anyone have experience with this model and any advice on length?

Jayco will most likely void your warranty if your living in it full time. My advice is to look at the Grand Design Reflection 337RLS. Rear living, opposing slides, east/west full queen bed, washer/dryer hookups, seating directly across from a large TV - the list goes on. GD does not void the warrnanty for full timers, has decent build quality and the 337 is 35 feet long.

Clicky

Good luck in your search.

[laknox]

keh3491 wrote:
My husband and I are looking to start full timing. We have been researching the 2020 JAYCO EAGLE 355MBQS. We love the layout but it’s 42’ which seems daunting. Does anyone have experience with this model and any advice on length?

My opinion is that you should find this in a used version to get used to towing something that large and see how you like it. Second, I agree that the cargo capacity is a bit lacking. Third, not sure Jayco would warrant this for FT use. If you do go this route with a new rig, do NOT tell them that you're FTing in it. IMO, a Pinnacle or Northpoint would be better for FT and are likely rated for such.

FWIW, take a look at the KZ Durango Gold FWs. Not saying this because I own one, but because I researched both Jayco and KZ extensively when I was shopping several years ago. They were my top 2 choices, with KZ being #1.

Lyle

[laknox]

ACZL wrote:

mtofell1 wrote:
I've gone up in size from a popup to the current 36' 5th wheel and parking at home and in campgrounds is by far the biggest challenge. Out on the road I find easy. After all, there are buses and large semis on the same roads. I've actually found people are nicer and let you in more the larger a trailer you are towing. I've pulled onto crowded freeways that I never thought I'd be able to merge onto and people let me right in. LOL.... it's actually much harder in my commuter car!

Just use the 3 blink rule: 3 blinks of the turn signal and you're moving over! LOL

I will agree that most folks are a bit more curtious to folks w/ large RV's but when it comes to semis, No Way Jose. They simply do not want such a large vehicle in front of them. As a semi driver, I cannot tell you how many times cars have passed me and pulled right in front of me w/ no-one behind them. My conventional tractor has a short nose as it is and sometimes I cannot see the rear end of the car when they do pull in. They don't realize that all it's going to take is for them to misjudge the gap and clip my LF corner and it's instant turn sideways for them till I stop some 300+ feet later. In fact, I saw this very thing couple months ago w/ driver's side of car looking at grill of semi as the car got turned sideways via RF corner (believe semi was in middle lane and either it or the car went from middle to right or right to middle).

Youtube is full of vids just like this. Saw one where a dump truck had someone clip him, and he just continued on down the road pushing the moron for at least a 1/4 mile. :B

Lyle

[ACZL]

mtofell1 wrote:
I've gone up in size from a popup to the current 36' 5th wheel and parking at home and in campgrounds is by far the biggest challenge. Out on the road I find easy. After all, there are buses and large semis on the same roads. I've actually found people are nicer and let you in more the larger a trailer you are towing. I've pulled onto crowded freeways that I never thought I'd be able to merge onto and people let me right in. LOL.... it's actually much harder in my commuter car!

Just use the 3 blink rule: 3 blinks of the turn signal and you're moving over! LOL

I will agree that most folks are a bit more curtious to folks w/ large RV's but when it comes to semis, No Way Jose. They simply do not want such a large vehicle in front of them. As a semi driver, I cannot tell you how many times cars have passed me and pulled right in front of me w/ no-one behind them. My conventional tractor has a short nose as it is and sometimes I cannot see the rear end of the car when they do pull in. They don't realize that all it's going to take is for them to misjudge the gap and clip my LF corner and it's instant turn sideways for them till I stop some 300+ feet later. In fact, I saw this very thing couple months ago w/ driver's side of car looking at grill of semi as the car got turned sideways via RF corner (believe semi was in middle lane and either it or the car went from middle to right or right to middle).

[mtofell1]

I've gone up in size from a popup to the current 36' 5th wheel and parking at home and in campgrounds is by far the biggest challenge. Out on the road I find easy. After all, there are buses and large semis on the same roads. I've actually found people are nicer and let you in more the larger a trailer you are towing. I've pulled onto crowded freeways that I never thought I'd be able to merge onto and people let me right in. LOL.... it's actually much harder in my commuter car!

[Edd505]

DutchmenSport wrote:
No comment on the Jayco, I have a Montana High Country 375FL (Front Living 5th wheel). I can make a comment about the length.

We went from a 10 foot box pop-up trailer to 21 foot (real length) travel trailer, to a 31 foot travel trailer, to a 35.5 foot travel trailer, to a 41.5 foot fifth wheel. Each step-up in length was a bit daunting for the first 10 minutes of towing. It seems after that, the initial overwhelming feeling vanished, and I thought to myself, "This is really OK."

I think the hardest adjustment was going from a lifetime of travel trailers to our first 5er, and being 41.5 feet long created a double learning curve.

Initially, driving straight down the highway is absolutely no different than the 21 foot travel trailer. (Our tow vehicles and trailers were always matched well).

It's just, with the longer trailer, you just got to remember... well..??? it's longer! Watching mirrors, watching shadows behind the camper when in tow, watching for adequate clearance to shift lane changes just demands a little more space. Turning a corner in a 5er is a bit different than in a TT.

The big difference, but I don't think it was the length, was attempting to back-up into the drive way or a campsite. It took a LOT of practice, trail and error, and lots of heart palpitations before I felt confident. The length may have attributed to some of my uneasiness, but it was learning where that pivot point is between truck and trailer.

After a year, it's now old hat. I've actually backed the behemoth into some pretty tight spots and back out again without breaking anything. The secret is to just go slow, make small adjustments, and go slow. Pull forward and start all over again if you have to. In time, I finally figured it out.

Each tow vehicle and each trailer will respond different. There is a learning curve. But there is no need to be overwhelmed. Just take your time, don't get into a rush, and be patient WITH YOURSELF and in a short while you'll wonder, why was I so concerned back then. This isn't challenging at all!

I buddy on another forum was just like this, I think I bought too big. We all said drive it and it will become second nature. That was 2 years ago and he travels cross country full time. Take your time, it will become second nature. DW looked at a 40ft for our first RV. I looked at that hooked to a CCLB Super Duty and decided I needed to learn to drive something that big. Took a CDL class at the community collage. That turned into a second career when I bought an 18 wheeler that was 75ft with a 53ft trailer. Glad it worked that way as I don't woory about the 5W any more. 😉

[Darryl_Rita]

There's nothing wrong with the size of the Jayco model you're looking at, but the cargo capacity is wanting for full time use.

[ependydad]

I 100% agree with KPetrick, you absolutely need a fulltimer policy that covers your personal property. Additionally, and he can correct me if I'm wrong, you want "trip interruption" that covers a hotel stay if you're displaced from your rig. Insurance is where I've seen fulltimers get burned in the past.

As for costs, here's an article on "How much does fulltiming cost?":
https://learntorv.com/cost-of-fulltiming/

The short version is, "it depends". Some places I've stayed at were $350/month, others were (and I paid) $1,100/month, and I've calculated other luxury places at $3,000-6,000+ per month. I have friends who do the $3,500/month at Disney's Fort Wilderness for a few months each winter.

So, it truly comes down to where you want to be, what you want to be near, what level of luxuries you want.

When I initially started my budget, I planned for $50/night. We move on average every 8 nights. I utilize Thousand Trails whenever possible. My breakdown over each year:
- 2015 (6 months): $32/night
- 2016: $45/night
- 2017: $44/night
- 2018: $20/night
- 2019 (so far): $15/night

The difference is where we stayed. The $32/night, I focused on inexpensive offerings and using my Thousand Trails membership.

The $45 and $44 years were Disney's Fort Wilderness for multiple weeks and extensive travel.

For 2018, I got hit with a layoff notice and needed to save money, so I focused on TT parks.

And for 2019, we are in debt paydown mode and have been focusing on cheap stays as much as possible though we did travel west to Albuquerque for the Balloon Fiesta.

[KPetrick]

A couple of comments on insurance. You need specialized full timers insurance that provides additional liability coverage even when you are away from your RV. You also need coverage for all your personal property that you have included with your RV policy. Find carriers or agents that specialize in this type of coverage.
Keith - Good Sam Insurance Agency

[keh3491]

Thanks for all the feedback, very helpful!

I have heard that about national parks. We won’t be at those much because we are traveling professionals. So, we are usually going to be looking at 3 months, at a campground, at a time. Any advice on staying for that long? I’ve tried to do some research on what campgrounds usually include in their monthly rate and how much it would coat but I’ve had trouble finding a lot of info. It’s hard to make a budget for a 5th wheel when I’m not sure what insurance and camp ground fees will be. I know insurance opens up a whole new topic.

[ependydad]

We traveled for 3 years and 200 nights in a 42' bunkhouse fifth wheel.

We then fulltimed in it for 2.5 more years.

We then moved UP to a 43.5' fifth wheel toy hauler and have been fulltime in it for over 1.5 years now.

There has never been a destination that we had to bypass entirely. There have been some (many?) campgrounds that we had to skip. If you're happy with RV parks, the length isn't an issue. If you have visions of camping right next to streams and idyllic little campgrounds, the length might not be what you're after. Though boondocking isn't entirely out of the question- we have a good many friends & acquaintances who are in 40' rigs and boondock regularly.

[Lwiddis]

Then, ford truck guy, you’ve never stayed inside Olympic NP, CA’s Big Basin Redwood SP, King’s Canyon NP, Yosemite NP, Sequoia NP etc. Need I go further? Your tooling is toooooo limited for me.

[ford_truck_guy]

dragging a 42' fiver behind you is no different than 36' in traffic... YES, you will have some issues in some National Parks. Possibly some issue in OLDER parks.??

I have been tooling around in a 42' fiver since 2015, and a 38' from 2007 and NEVER have I had to change my plans due to length.