Comparisons help with decision

[docdvm]

I am deciding on a fifth wheel. A friend has a Crusader and is recommending the Prime time 5er. I am a newbie and so do an excessive amount of research which has left me confused. Hence I am looking for help.
The comparison is between a Jayco Eagle 27.5 and the Crusader. Pluses on the Jayco is a tongue and groove floor, more insulation on the floor. Stainless sink. 2 year warrantee compared to 1. Mor/Ryde suspension, and I believe the use of plywood instead of pressboard.

Am I correct in that?

Advantages of the Crusader, I like the dealer, lower price by about $5000 CAD I like the layouts but both are comparable. Am I missing something?

The Crusader, looks like it is not as well built but is it built well enough? I am planning to travel from coast to coast albeit not full timing. That is why I am looking at a trailer ideally under 30 feet.Will be just a couple of seniors travelling to see the country and visit their kids.
Any advice would be well appreciated

[Webfoot0807]

Tanks size, tanks size, tanks size. When all other things are equal check livability and utility

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[docdvm]

Fresh 48
Grey 65
Black 32.5

is that sufficient ? How does it compare?

[Webfoot0807]

That sounds good. We can go a whole three day weekend with that much fresh water and that is showering everyday. Our limiting factor is a small grey tank, but we had no choice as it was the only floorplan we poved

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[ben31]

Originally Posted by docdvm

Fresh 48
Grey 65
Black 32.5

is that sufficient ? How does it compare?

Those sizes are on the Jayco, correct?

Check the "grey" tank size, though. In many cases that is the total of the grey and galley tanks.

On my Crusader, it lists as 60 gallons for the fresh water, 70 gallons for the grey and 35 gallons for the black.

Well, that is 70 gallons of grey...total. The Galley tank is 35 and the shower grey tank is 35. I've tried to equalize them, like I've done on my other RVs and it doesn't seem to work in this case. Therefore, your shower "grey" tank is only 35 gallons. It fills quickly and the galley tank doesn't fill much at all. In my opinion, a 35-gallon galley tank is a waste of space. I would have rather had a larger shower grey tank.

So far, that is my only real complaint about my Crusader.

[Webfoot0807]

The split grey tanks is our problem and not the best idea for usability, I hope it serves some other purpose other than to annoy me.

I thought all-out trying to equalize the tanks, but I don't fell like messing with the sealed undercarriage. Did it work well on your previous rv's? Why did it fail in your current model?

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[ben31]

To equalize the grey water tanks, I bought and installed this valve on the outside of the single grey/black holding tank outlet: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It is a good thing to have, anyway, in case one of your gate valves fails or leaks, you don't get a bath, when you take off the cap.
You put this on, and leave it closed, until you want to dump. before moving on MAKE SURE the black tank valve is closed (if not, you'll have some smelly problems on your hands!). Then open the two grey tanks and leave them open. This will allow the grey tank water levels to equalize. I leave these two open for the duration of the trip, until I need to dump.

When dumping, close all of the valves, prior to moving to the next steps. Connect the drain hose. Open this add-on gate valve, and then drain like normal (black then grey tanks). Once done, I ensure all of the valves are closed, then close this add-on valve and drive home (or to the next campsite). Once I get to the new campsite, I start it all again.

Really, it works very well, is cheap to do, and doesn't hurt anything. Your tanks should be the same size, but can still work as long as they are the same height. This only works, if you have all of your waste holding tanks going to the same outlet. If not, you'll need to rig something else.

It doesn't work on my Crusader, since the grey and galley tanks are not at the same level. The grey tank is supposedly 3 feet below the galley tank (according to an email I received from Prime Time, when I asked). Therefore, the water won't make it into the galley tank.

This method would still work if your galley tank were lower than your grey tank, but would take some monitoring, to ensure it didn't overfill.

[Platokidd]

docdvm if you read your post you answered your own question.Think I would go for the Jayco Eagle over the Crusader

[Brendon37]

Just like ben31 said the only complaint with my crusader is the tank size was "misleading" when i bought it. I thought I had a 70 gal grey tank but I actually have 2 35 gallon grey tanks that aren't hooked together. Other than that I absolutely love my crusader. I preferred it over the eagle bc the crusader had a one piece solid shower and the eagle was a 2 piece shower.

[clr]

Jaco has now been bought by Thor. Jaco made a good unit in the past but Thor is known for its lack of customer service. I had a Keystone (Thor) product and they would not respond to any email or phone call. Thor would only send parts that I was purchasing to an authorized Thor dealer, I bought the unit used from a non Thor dealer. So parts from Thor had to be shipped to a Thor dealer and then my dealer had to drive across town to pick them up, all the time while I was paying. Very poor customer service I would say. When I email or call Prime Time they respond in a very timely manner.

[rracer5]

Originally Posted by clr

Jaco has now been bought by Thor. Jaco made a good unit in the past but Thor is known for its lack of customer service. I had a Keystone (Thor) product and they would not respond to any email or phone call. Thor would only send parts that I was purchasing to an authorized Thor dealer, I bought the unit used from a non Thor dealer. So parts from Thor had to be shipped to a Thor dealer and then my dealer had to drive across town to pick them up, all the time while I was paying. Very poor customer service I would say. When I email or call Prime Time they respond in a very timely manner.

X2

Always got a response from Prime Time.

[Platokidd]

Originally Posted by rracer5

X2

Always got a response from Prime Time.

X3!