154bh Baja

thinking on one of these for the taco. Anyone have it or similar? Dry weight is around 2600lbs.
https://www.jayco.com/products/travel-trailers/2017-jay-flight-slx/154bh/

 

We have a pre-Baja 154BH. I love it, would love it more if the Baja was available in 2011 and in the midwest. I've done the axle flip, will probably add front stabilizers like the Baja, and plan on the next set of tires to be 15". The tongue jack was also an issue in places with lots of hills - used a "Jack-E-Up" which allows you to remove the jack when the trailer is on the ball. Bigger water / waste tanks like the Baja would be nice, but this works for us.

That said, we love it. The table stays down as a bed, and I'm looking at replacing the heavy 3/4" MDF table with a lighter piece of plywood or something under the bed to reduce weight. We've never used the bath/shower. We use 4 stacking laundry baskets in the bath tub to sort fresh laundry while parked. Ours came with a single battery and single LP tank. I've added a battery, but the single bottle works for us. Our fridge is only 110V or LP. A three way fridge would be nice, as we've done some trips at high altitude / hilly roads / high wind and keeping the fridge running on LP is difficult. Seems like the ball-check valve that is supposed to minimize leaks is a problem, but I've found that opening the LP only half way might resolve this.

I have noticed a few issues, the biggest being the side mounted AC. Later models may have fixed this, but drainage is a problem. I've taken to parking with the door side of the camper just a bit high to help drainage, this also helps the sink drain. Also, how tall are you? I'm 6 foot, and my head will touch the ceiling if I stand straight and maybe have a hat on. Ours had a bit of a sag in the ceiling after two years, one of those trim strips used to cover gaps between the ceiling panels fixed it.

We added vent fans last year after an angry drunk mob occupying an entire campground resulted in us dry camping in a Walmart parking lot. I replaced the bathroom mirror with a cheap plastic medicine cabinet a long time ago. This has been both useful and annoying at different times.

Citing memory, the sticker on ours says 2700 as the dry weight, and 3200 as the max. Baja and non-Baja are made in different factories, I'm not sure how different the construction might be. I've started pulling out all the stuff we don't use (except first aid kits & such) to save weight. We started out doing short trips from 75-150 miles around Indiana. Since 2014, we're doing 4000-6000 mile trips. An overloaded camper may not be as obvious on a 150 mile trip, but doing 500 miles a day for three days, it's pretty obvious.

-Books are nice as a reference or something to do (I had a copy of Blue Highways by Least Heat Moon when I lived out of the camper for six months while moving & going to grad school) in free time. Books are also heavy. If you need them, get e-books and put them on your phone. All the kids (and parents) books were pulled out. Same with toys like "fart putty". (Thanks, brother-in-law.)

-Cast iron is fun to cook with, but it is heavy and a nightmare to maintain. Teflon pans will wipe most of the food out with a towel. We also carry a cheap electric skillet, it is great when we have electricity.

-Disposable paper plates / plastic cups, spoons, forks, knives, are wasted weight. We pack a PackerWare brand plate and bowl (I think a set of four were really cheap at Walmart) for each person, and a European made combo knife / fork / spoon (also at Walmart, $3 in a two pack). I pack a food-grade plastic 5 gallon bucket, this is our camp sink if there is nothing available in the campground and wash after each meal.

-There's no point in filling each cabinet with toilet paper, paper towels, food, coffee, etc. If you're on the interstate you're going to pass a Walmart a couple times a day, state highways, you're probably going to see at least one supermarket a day. We pack enough to make it to breakfast the next day until we get where we're going. You'll likely forget something if you try to remember everything, and you'll need to stop anyway. We usually leave in the early morning with enough food & consumables to make it to breakfast the next day. Gas & resupply is either just after we park that night, or leave the next day.

-With a trailer this light, you can afford to move the weight up front, increasing your tongue weight and minimizing tire wear. Tires on these are usually just barely rated to the trailer max weight. Blow a tire on a single axle trailer and you are changing it there. If we every go to a different trailer, it will be a 17' with two axles. On ours, I'm clearing out the back compartment and moving it to under the front bench. Most of the stuff in there was not-so-heavy stuff anyway, but moving that weight forward helps a lot.

 

Thanks for the excellent review. Didn't notice what Tacoma you have and I'm assuming it pulls it nicely?

 

17 TRD Off road. Pulls fine. 12-14 mpg depending upon speed and terrain.

 

I have a Special Order 2021 Jayco Jayflight 154BH Baja, Special Order item was roof mounted 13,500btu A/C. I didn't care for the placement of the side mounted stock 8,000btu A/C unit close to the main bed. Special order Jayco's are built in Idaho. So far I've taken it on 2 trips. One from San Diego to the Yuma area which was a little tough pulling with my stock 2006 Tacoma Pre-Runner Quad Cab 2wd with the 4.0 liter V-6, 5 speed auto . Coming over the Laguna Mts. both ways I found my Tacoma to be a bit underpowered. My 154 BH Baja is 2,800lbs. dry, 30lb propane tank, 40 gallon fresh water tank. I added a e-z hitch Weight Distribution Hitch which helps. Max weight of the trailer is 3,800lbs.-I figured I was at 3,600lbs for the trip. Tow capacity of my 2006 Tacoma is 5,000lbs. I am thinking of picking up the 2021 Tacoma which if I am correct, tow capacity is 6,700lbs. with a stock trailer tow package (Oil Cooler, Tranny Cooler, 6 speed automatic)
2nd trip was from San Diego to the Anza Borrego desert (Shelter Valley) for 3 days of camping with my buddies, target shooting, BBQ, etc.) I took an alternate route at Santa Ysabel so I did not have to use Banner Grade. Much better pull. (No 100lb. German Shepherd, no spouse, plenty of beer in place!) Idaho units have additional insulation so the trailer interior was nice and toasty. Baja unit has a roof Solar Panel which supplied my electrical needs, did not use a water or electrical hookup. Did not need my generator or use my roof air. So far I am happy with my Jayco. Next trip is a return trip to Shelter Valley early April, maybe another trip to the Julian area sooner with my full crew.

 

4 years old...might be a record