Need Feedback on Jayco Melbourne 24L

Hi. I'm a newbie here, so I'm apologizing in advance for procedural errors.

I am about to trade in my Thor Siesta 24ST for a brand new 2016 Jayco Melbourne 24L. I was told the quality of workmanship on a Jayco was superior, and it seems to be true (the Thor was a little crappy). However, I've read some reviews about problems with the Melbourne. It has the full paint exterior and full-side slide out.

Does anyone have opinions on the Melbourne?

Thanks in advance.

Welcome to the forum. Jayco does seem to use quality components and mechanically and I haven't had any issues. Finishes could be better but at the this price point I cant complain. Only examples I have are putty used to cover fasteners on some surfaces are obvious and not well blended in. Wife didn't notice and people visiting I don't think notice but it does stand out to me. I have the 24K model and there was a post on the Jayco forum about the 24L slide binding. That is the only major issues I have heard about the Melbourne. We love ours and are happy with the decision. What year is your Thor Siesta? I like the rounded corners of cab-over on the Thor verses the boxier one on the Jayco.

Thanks for getting back. I bought my 2015 Siesta new last year but found some uncomfortable issues. The shower was too small---and my wife and I are thin. The slideout didn't go far enough out to make a usable living area. Since we are going to be travelling a lot and staying in parks, the living area was important.

Have you had any problems with the small LP tank? We aren't going to run the generator too much, but 9.8 gallons seems limiting.

We only dry camped once and only use propane otherwise while we are driving for the fridge. The propane furnace has run about 30 minutes total and estimating about 90 hours driving and dry camping running the fridge on propane. Today the gauge is on the mark half way between 1/2 and 3/4 full. Kind of embarrassing story. After we dry camped and I think 2 other trips we were at Camping World and they had propane 1/2 off. Not looking at the gauge and thought I would get it topped off and they wouldn't because the gauge was showing full. At this rate I will probably fill up once a year.

Funny. So, you haven't had any problems with the quality of the cabinetry or leaks or pump or other mechanical problems... stuff like that?

authortim said:

Funny. So, you haven't had any problems with the quality of the cabinetry or leaks or pump or other mechanical problems... stuff like that?

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The Quality of the cabinetry is fine for us in this price point. Only problems we had so far is one of the frameless windows would open while we drove which Jayco replaced no problem and the battery tray wouldn't extend all the way which I fixed. The microwave rattled like crazy but I fixed that as well. Jayco customer service has been great. I don't remember what the question I had was, but I was switched to a tech rep who was in his car traveling. He pulled over and looked up the answer for me. I only called them three times, and all three were great experiences. The window replacement I thought I was going to have to go to the dealer, the dealer would have to summit the claim to Jayco and when it came in I would have to go back to the dealer. When I called to set up the appointment for the dealer they had already received the authorization to replace so my only trip to the dealer was when the window was in and it took half a day to replace.

Thanks. I looked at the Melbourne again today and it truly has superior workmanship, so I'm good. The only thing that surprised me was the in-dash electronics didn't have a rear-view camera. There's a backup camera, but it doesn't show the read view while driving. That's a serious problem.

Is it a Pioneer head unit? That's what mine came with. If so its in the settings or preferences to get full time camera. Maybe true with other manufactures as well.

Yes. It's a AVH X2700BS. (I hope the "BS" doesn't stand for... well, you know). The sales guy couldn't figure it out and because the manual is the winner of the "Worst Manual Ever" award, I couldn't figure it out from that. If it's a setting, it would make my day... and the sales guy's day since I may not buy it if I don't get a rear view display. We'll see. He is hoping for guidance from his service people.

The full time camera is in Camera settings. I fooled around trying several ways to find it but I think it is a choice of off or on under camera settings. I think you have to scroll down from the main settings page to find it. Its a little funky to find and the problem with a combination of old age and only driving it once or twice a month is I have to fiddle with it every time to get it to come on. I had the battery disconnected since the last time I drove so the setting wasn't saved. I have a Pioneer head unit in the 2013 cargo as well so you would think things would be similar but they are not.

Hi Guys
I'm "tuning in" a bit late on your subject ------- we just returned from a "shakedown run" on our (downsized) 2017 Melbourne 24K. It now has approx. 11,500KM (7145 miles)

I agree with Quality comments (for the price) -------We like the appearance of the woodwork, but, still miss the space, tile floors, corian countertops, etc. of our prior, 40' Monaco, Camelot.

Some "issues" we ran across included:
*water leak on dinette slide pre-trip ----- dealer fixed promptly.
*while enroute, experienced a water leak in the retracted, bedroom slide, during a heavy rainfall. Appointment to fix this coming Thursday.
*Still "getting used to" the higher level of Road, and Wind noise ----- probably 'C" type design?.
*windgusts buffet the motorhome quite a bit ---- may look for suspension options??? Any thoughts/ideas you can share?

I'd purchased/installed the UltraGauge, to monitor engine loads, and temperature; found that engine coolant temps ranged between 195 and 215 F. depending on ambient temps, and hills/grades.

All in all, this little Sprinter is doing what we hoped for, i.e. no need for towed vehicle, easier to park at GroceryStores, twice the fuel economy ----approx. 15mpg while bucking headwinds, crossing the Rockies, etc.

She's a Keeper, I think.

Glad you had a good trip. We didn't notice the wind noise till we got the microwave rattling taken care.
For suspension options I installed a Hellwig anti-sway bar. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003LFDSHS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 As far as being able to stay in my lane when being passed by trucks and in heavy crosswinds I think this gave me more bang for the bucks. Here is one thread about the Hellwig but if you search for Hellwig in the blue bar above there are several more.
https://sprinter-source.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48602&highlight=hellwig
I also installed SumoSpring bump stops in the rear. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0152VDS9G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Both are real easy to install.
The highest temp reading I noticed was in the low 220's F but it recovers quickly back down.

I hit 15mpg once. When I first got it I was in the 11-13 range after break in but that was cruising at 65-75mph. I have since slowed down and I am getting high 13's to 15mpg. I think I may need a computer update.

authortim said:

Thanks for getting back. I bought my 2015 Siesta new last year but found some uncomfortable issues. The shower was too small---and my wife and I are thin. The slideout didn't go far enough out to make a usable living area. Since we are going to be travelling a lot and staying in parks, the living area was important.

Have you had any problems with the small LP tank? We aren't going to run the generator too much, but 9.8 gallons seems limiting.

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Interesting you say the shower was too small, I was wondering how dunnie and shower go together...

vik...

Hi. Hey PFFLYER....how did you fix the battery tray? Mine will only extend a little ways and I cannot check the water in the battery. Any help is appreciated.

harmsal said:

Hi. Hey PFFLYER....how did you fix the battery tray? Mine will only extend a little ways and I cannot check the water in the battery. Any help is appreciated.

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It was the rivet head that holds the outer portion of the slide that was keeping the inner part from opening all the way. It ended up being a combination of prying the slide over the head and grinding it down some. You will have to disconnect the outer wires to actually check the fluid. I'm sure you know not to over fill them. My overage ended up boiling out and corroding the tray shut. I ended up freeing it again and I had to clean up the mess.

Welcome to the forum. Lots of good information about the chassis here and RV stuff that applies to our coach as well.

What model did you get?