RV review: 2023 Jayco Jay Flight SLX 8 264 BH bunk house travel trailer
Today’s Honest RV review is of two versions of one trailer; the Jayco Jay Flight SLX 8 264BH and it’s sister model, the Starcraft Autumn Ridge 26BH. Both of these are similar in that they are very affordable bunk model trailers with no slide. But there are also differences.
Bunk model travel trailers are still popular sellers with lots of folks wanting sleeping space for their family and perhaps even some additional adults, such as in-laws. Or outlaws.
Features of the 2023 Jayco Jay Flight SLX 8 264BH
The name itself is almost longer than the trailer which, at about 4,550lbs, is a very towable trailer by most half-ton pickups and even some SUVs. And you’re going to need a lot of passenger carrying space if you want to make the most of that trailer you’re towing as I calculated sleeping for nine people when everything’s maxed out.
Here is our RV towing guide and towing calculator so you can make a safe determination
The company says that you can accommodate up to ten people in this trailer. That is a lot of people in a small space but you can very comfortably bring along 2-3 children, perhaps a grandmother and mom and dad and everybody will have a decent spot to spend the night.
This trailer is a fairly affordable model but definitely not cheap as Jayco is very proud of the fact that they have a number of class-leading features in the quality department including the use of US-made Goodyear Endurance tires and their famous Magnum Truss roofing system. There are videos showing this roof holding several tons of weight without seriously deflecting.
Some of the other features owners will appreciate in a trailer that can be found at the lower end of the price spectrum are things like a black tank flush, outside shower and a well-made frame. Inside there is not only the dinette but a jackknife sofa facing the interior. This model features a RV queen-sized main bed (60” X 75”) in a bedroom separated from the rest of the trailer by a blackout curtain.
There are double-sized bunks in the back that also each have their own curtain. The upper bunk has two USB charging ports and the lower bunk has a 120vac outlet in it so you would probably want to put the more well behaved occupants in the bottom lest you find pennies in the outlets. Not that I did this when I was a child or anything.
I noticed that Jayco has substantially upgraded the stabilizer jacks by implementing the Lippert Quick Drop stabilizer jacks. These are the same ones used in things like the Ember RV Overland series 191MSL. I really, really like these for a lot of reasons including the fact that they are more stable but are also rated to be operated by an electric drill.
Did you know that the scissor jacks on almost all towable RVs specifically ask you not to use a drill to raise and lower them? Oh, we all still do, but you’re not supposed to.
Controversial features in the 2023 Jayco Jay Flight SLX 8 264BH
The bathroom is interesting in that it’s what’s referred to as a “split bath” so the toilet and tub are inside the bathroom itself but the sink is outside the bathroom. In a trailer like this with the potential for so many occupants this makes a lot of sense as one of the kids can be brushing their hair or teeth in the bathroom sink and mirror while dad spends alone time in the proper bathroom.
Between the split bath and the “short” queen, some people might still be shopping. But it will be hard to match the value here. Maybe.
Kitchen in the 2023 Jayco Jay Flight SLX 8 264BH
Of course there’s still a kitchen sink and Jayco has followed the industry trend of offering a 12 volt DC compressor-based fridge but you can still get the traditional RV two-way propane/electric fridge if you’d prefer.
The stove and oven are a mixed bag with the oven featuring a spark ignition so you don’t have to light a pilot with a separate lighter; however, this is only a 17” oven so I can’t see using it for anything more than cookies or pizza. I guess kids like pizza so maybe this makes sense but I would likely never use the oven in this trailer if it were mine.
What this trailer doesn’t have is a slide out so what you get space wise is always accessible - that’s a bonus. What this trailer also lacks in terms of width, with no slide, it somewhat makes up for in height with an interior ceiling height of 6’9”.
Cargo storage in the 2023 Jayco Jay Flight SLX 8 264BH
One thing to note there is a lot of storage accessible from the outside of this trailer including a large pass-through storage under the bed in the front as well as a large compartment in the back under the bed. There’s more outside storage in this than in some much larger trailers that I’ve reviewed.
One of the things to be aware of in any RV is cargo carrying capacity. I have reviewed some motorhomes with under 1,000 pounds of cargo carrying capacity. This is ridiculous when you figure between the driver and one passenger you probably have 400-450 pounds. Then you think about clothes and food and you’re way over limit. That’s not true in this trailer with almost a ton of cargo carrying capacity.
Warranty bonus in the 2023 Jayco Jay Flight SLX 8 264BH
Another big plus for these is their warranty which is a two year limited comprehensive warranty and three year structural warranty.
So how does the Starcraft fit into all of this? Like a puzzle piece. You see it’s not uncommon that RV companies have separate brands that make virtually identical products. Rockwood has their Flagstaff sister brand, and Jayco has Starcraft. Why?
What’s the differences between Jayco and Starcraft?
What’s the difference between a Jayco product and a Starcraft product? After all they are, sort of, the same company, right? You could liken the difference to what you’d get in the past if you bought a Chevrolet or a Buick. In many ways, the same car, but there were enough qualitative differences that the Buick is worth the higher price. Unless you just wanted something very affordable. Then you got the Chevy.
However there are some qualitative differences here that I think are well worth the price difference. For example, Jayco includes Goodyear Endurance tires whereas the Starcraft uses a cheap brand of tires. Jayco also has a feature called JaySMART lighting that illuminates the side lamps and upper marker lamps with the turn signals. To me these two features are absolute safety features that, in my opinion, are well worth the price upgrade.
An RV dealer generally gets a guaranteed territory yet it may make sense that someone else can sell within that territory. For example, the dealership I worked at was well within the 100 mile radius of a Rockwood dealer but, from the customer standpoint, it was a significant distance due to the terrain. So we got Flagstaff. And Rockwood-Flagstaff won, and so did the customers, and so did we.
Check out our story on an even more affordable version of this trailer
RV pricing in 2023
I initially looked at the Jayco 264BH a couple of years ago when writing reviews for RVTravel. When I did the review in 2021 Jayco’s MSRP was $27,188. Today that has swelled to $33,563. RV costs have gone up substantially in the past few years and transportation costs, the amount the dealer pays to get the RV from the factory to the dealership, has become ridiculous.
The Starcraft offering isn’t much different, carrying an MSRP of $33,338. For this small a difference you’d be crazy not to get the Jayco branded offering. Just the better tires alone are worth the price of admission, quite frankly.
Jayco quality
One of the things I really admire about the latest Jayco (and Starcraft) offerings is Jayco’s upgraded pre-delivery inspection. Jayco has a full pre-delivery inspection facility at every one of the places where they build RVs so they can put everything that comes off the line through this inspection process. This is quite unheard of in the RV industry and is a feather in Jayco’s cap.
There are other RV companies who do inspections at the end of the line including Rockwood/Flagstaff as I mentioned in the review of the Rockwood Mini Lite 2507s I wrote recently. Even better is Alliance who fill the holding tanks and take each trailer out for a test drive as part of their factory pre-delivery inspection as I wrote about in the review of the 2023 Alliance RV Delta 262RB travel trailer.
But at the lower end of the price spectrum having each unit receive a full PDI before it leaves the manufacturer is a pretty big deal.
Know that things can still shake loose on the way to the dealership and a great dealership will also do a full PDI before you take delivery.
I can see this trailer making a lot of sense for a lot of people. It’s affordable, carries Jayco’s reputation and warranty and can be towed by a wide range of vehicles, assuming they’re not at capacity hauling all those people. While some might see this as a “starter” trailer I think it really makes sense for a lot of people as a simple yet complete trailer that isn’t going to break the bank - or the tow vehicle.
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