Factory tour-Jayco

[vcrt]

I just came across this on YouTube, thought there might be some on this site who would like to see it. It reminds me of the video Jon showed one year of the Sunline facory tour at the Buttonwood M&G, since they are built in similar manner.

A couple of observations;
Many of the workers look to be Amish.
They seem to do all their work quite quickly.
The vinyl flooring is glued down to the subfloor, I know our T-2499 is not.
The graphics are applied after the corrugated aluminum has been installed. I remember seeing that Sunline applied the stripe on the aluminum while flat, then they corrugated it, but I would think when a graphic goes over more than one panel, it would have to be applied the way Jayco is doing it here.

Rich

[clueless campers]

Do you have a link to the video?

[Sunline Fan]

Yes, they are built in a similar manner, but they don't like to admit it. They usually start production very early in the morning so that everyone is out by 1:30/2:00 and can go home and tend to their farms.

As an employee, when you are hired in, it's somewhat expected that if you aren't Amish and can drive, you need to pick up as many coworkers as you can every day. It's not uncommon to see a ton of passenger vans in the parking lot, and they also have a huge garage stall reserved for everyone to park bicycles in.

The steps do go very fast. I'm sure they made it look speedy in the video, but there's definitely no time for dust to settle.

[vcrt]

Sorry about the missing link, I have a habit of neglecting to add it. I have it on my computer at home and I'll post it when I get back.
Rich

[vcrt]

Here's the link:

[JohnB]

Hi Rich,

I went on a Jayco tour. It was a really good tour and they did a good job of explaining what they do. The TT plant was down that day so we did the 5th wheel plant.

For sure they where working fast. And in my view, in some cases too fast for the industrial environment they are under. I'm all for hustling and getting the work out, but the quality has to be top flight and be safe while your doing it. My prior employer safety manager would blow a head gasket if he walked into that 5th wheel plant seeing trailer frames flipped like they did.

Jayco if I am not mistaken is on piece work. They have to make a quota each day. Many other RV manufactures are on this same setup. That said, their quality on the higher end campers is better then most out their today. They for sure stand behind what they sell if they admit they had an issue and do good on it. I have had several Friends with Jayco's and they did right by the customer to the point I was shocked. The big question is now that they are bought out, will things change? Good question, time will tell.

Sunline was an hourly work plant. Yes, they took a little longer to make the camper but the product was better because of it. They where not perfect, they made mix up's too but they for sure beyond a doubt stood behind it if they goofed. And in our case of having their campers, this was a good thing. That extra time it took more then likely saved them on product call backs. The dealer we bought our new T-2499 really liked Sunline. Their shop foreman stated they had very little issues they had to fix on the Sunlines before sale. He could not say that about the other brands they where selling.

Jayco has a lot of product lines. From a starter camper to the high end ones. I never realized how big they where and at that time, every camper was sold they where making. They would not make campers to stock, some dealer had already spoken for them.

Thanks

John

[vcrt]

Thanks for that perspective John.
Yes, I agree that the swinging frame flip did look a little like an accident waiting to happen!
Rich

[johnnybgood]

Originally Posted by JohnB

Hi Rich,

I went on a Jayco tour. The big question is now that they are bought out, will things change? Good question, time will tell.

Yes, good question. My understanding was that Jayco was a family run business. I try not to be a pessimist, but my gut tells me quality could go down under Thor ownership as it's all about the almighty dollar.

I take it your plant tour was before the buyout?

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by johnnybgood

Yes, good question. My understanding was that Jayco was a family run business. I try not to be a pessimist, but my gut tells me quality could go down under Thor ownership as it's all about the almighty dollar.

I take it your plant tour was before the buyout?

For sure before the buy out. It was something like 6 to 8 years ago.

Jayco started out somewhat like Sunline did. Someone with a dream, good values and hard work. Just Jayco started by I think creating a new kind of patented crank up mechanism for Pop Ups and then it keep growing.

Here is what Wiki says on it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayco,_Inc#History

The Thor buy out was supposedly July 2016

Thanks

John

[Tweety]

Wow that gave me anxiety just watching how fast they build them. No wonder they don't want to stop if they mak a boo boo. I remember touring the Sunline factory with the Boy Scouts back in the early '90s and comparatively those Sunlineline workers were slow and meticulous. I recently watched a Lance tour and it seemed more like Sunline speed. But they did forget the gasket in our front window so who knows! I wonder how they pay.

[vcrt]

Thanks for the link to Wikipedia John,
While on the Wikipedia site, I looked up Sunline and found only a reference to a racehorse named Sunline. Maybe Jon wants to write something and submit it.

Anyway, the Wikipedia article did not mention anything about being bought out by another company, maybe it's not current.
Rich

[Wannabes]

Last Fall we bought a 2006 Jayco Jay Series 1007 pop-up camper for a trip out to the Four Corners region this May. Have to say, we were impressed by the quality in fit-and-finish, especially given that it was a pop-up. We looked it over good before we bought it and it was solid, no leaks, no soft spots, the cushions & mattresses were well-made (at the plant), the tent & bunks set up without a hitch (except for some owner issues ). It towed like a champ on some very "iffy" roads & we drove the infamous dirt-and-pothole road to Chaco Canyon and it barely had any dust in the interior, coming or going. Travelled 6700 miles without a problem. The original Jayco manual came with it & it was very thorough, filled with diagrams & photos. A newbie could read the Jayco manual & have pretty much all the info they needed not just to camp but to troubleshoot as well.

Yeah, we were pleased with it. That being said, it was a 2006 and it will be interesting to see where Thor takes the company.

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by vcrt

Anyway, the Wikipedia article did not mention anything about being bought out by another company, maybe it's not current.
Rich

Hi Rich,

It did not mention the buyout in the big upper paragraph. But if you scroll all the way to the bottom.... it says this

Purchase by Thor Industries
Jayco was acquired by Thor Industries in July 2016 for $576 million.

H'mm, your right. I tried a hit on Sunline Coach Company or Sunline anything and did not find much. Would of thought there would of been something by now.

Thanks

John

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by Wannabes

It towed like a champ on some very "iffy" roads & we drove the infamous dirt-and-pothole road to Chaco Canyon and it barely had any dust in the interior, coming or going. Travelled 6700 miles without a problem.

Chaco Canyon, I have heard a lot about this very "unique" place. Never been there "yet". It's on the bucket list...

[Wannabes]

For those who like Southwest antiquities, especially the Native American ruins, Chaco's a must-see! We were blessed in that, six weeks before we traveled the north road to the Park, it had been graded. That being said, it was still a <10 mph road for the last 5 miles. We stayed 2 nights, CG is primitive but nice & we were right next to ruins & petroglyphs. Campers of all sizes there, even some 30+ ft. fivers. It's also a Dark Skies Park with an observatory & we attended the presentation at the Park Office one evening & got to do some viewing through their telescopes. If we could get the time off, we'd go again in an instant & stay longer!

[vcrt]

Originally Posted by JohnB

Hi Rich,

It did not mention the buyout in the big upper paragraph. But if you scroll all the way to the bottom.... it says this



H'mm, your right. I tried a hit on Sunline Coach Company or Sunline anything and did not find much. Would of thought there would of been something by now.

Thanks

John

Yeah, missed that!
Rich

[Sunline Fan]

Originally Posted by vcrt

Thanks for the link to Wikipedia John,
While on the Wikipedia site, I looked up Sunline and found only a reference to a racehorse named Sunline. Maybe Jon wants to write something and submit it.

Anyway, the Wikipedia article did not mention anything about being bought out by another company, maybe it's not current.
Rich

I should! I have one on the Tin Can Tourist's private wiki, but not actual Wikipedia.

In addition to the racehorse:

- Clotheslines
- Auto salvage in Iowa
- Transit/bus company in California
- Fishing reels and line
- Motorcycle/dirt bike clutch levers

I think there are a few others, but those are the big ones. If you search Craigslist for Sunline, a lot of times you'll find dirt bikes also coming up in the search results- that's because it probably had a Sunline lever installed aftermarket.

[vcrt]

Yes, they tend to be annoying if you're not also into dirt bikes.
Rich