Editor’s note: This story is the second entry leading up to 2019’s Elkhart Open House. The first preview on TAXA Outdoors and Braxton Creek can be read here.
Jayco Eagle & Talon Products
The Jayco Eagle HT fifth wheel and the company’s Talon product line are technically not “new.” In fact, the Eagle HT was awarded the Category Spotlight award in the “Family Friendly” category at The Reveal during the RVX show earlier this year.
What is new is what comes standard on both lines. For instance, the company now offers JayCommand in all Eagle products. Also standard for both Talon and Eagle is the StepAbove by MORryde, a sturdy RV step solution that stores within the unit when not in use. Finally, a Go Power! solar package is available on all 2020 Eagle products. Barth says 190-watt solar panels are available as well.
Jayco Talon fifth wheel toy haulers have made a name for themselves with their ample rear cargo space and 2,500-pound rated ramp doors. Open House attendees will immediately notice a change when they encounter a striking “greige” (beige and gray mixed color) color scheme accented by a black-painted cap.
Talon’s interior now comes in the traditional color scheme, the popular Modern Farmhouse décor, and a Vintage Wash Gray color option. The new offerings give the line a residential look.
Although Talon will offer a new floorplan, called the 405T, which features a king bed, slide-version island kitchen and 11-foot, 6-inch garage, Barth says most 2020 changes center on Eagle travel trailers.
The new 2020 Eagle 332CBOK is patterned after the popular Eagle fifth wheel, the 319MLOK. It offers a rustic, wood-topped center bar with an outside kitchen. Huge rear windows by the interior kitchen’s corner sink let in an impressive amount of light while the kitchen offers an array of counter space and cabinets.
The new Eagle 336RLOK floorplan offers a rear living concept with an outside kitchen. It has a rear sofa, large kitchen island, ample pantry space and a coat closet.
The Eagle HT Travel Trailer Series’ new 312BHOK floorplan is the largest bunkhouse model in the series and can sleep up to 10. It offers a private rear bunkroom concept with a hard door in the back, with a master bedroom upfront, with a hard door and king-size bed option. There is a washer and dryer prep area in the front, and a slide room on the door side.
On the fifth wheel side, Jayco is debuting the Eagle 357MDOK floorplan, a mid-den unit with an outside kitchen.
Jay Flight
Jayco’s website boasts its Jay Flight travel trailer has been the No. 1 family travel trailer for 14 years. When asked to pinpoint why, Jay Flight Product Director Matt Fisher struggles to come up with just one reason. He says it’s the variety of offerings and price points that has catapulted it to the No. 1 spot for so long.
This popular travel trailer has been completely redesigned for 2020, with new metal and fiberglass color choices in “greige,” and lighter color choices inside.
The Jay Flight SLX travel trailer also provides consumers with a redesigned interior and exterior plus several new features. In addition, the Jay Flight SLX 7-wide series is now available in a fiberglass option for its exterior walls.
For the first time, the SLX 8-wide family offers a gas-electric water heater.
“We are moving away from the gas-only DSI water heater to the gas-electric version because it’s more user-friendly,” Fisher says.
These models also have wood doors for the bedroom instead of curtains; a low-profile omnidirectional TV antenna with an AM/FM stereo antenna built in; USB ports in the bunk models; an upgraded kitchen appliance package; and MORryde steps. The company also is introducing a new 27-foot, rear living room floorplan for its Western U.S. and Canadian dealers with a shorter rear living room. Fisher explains that pulling into tight camping spaces out West can be tricky, especially in mountainous regions.
The new 31MLS floorplan is a conventional eight-wide travel trailer with double opposing living room slides. The 3-foot slides give the unit much more living space in the kitchen and living rooms.
It also offers a large pantry, ample kitchen counter space, a fireplace, theater seats and an exterior camp kitchen.
Jayco Toy Haulers
Jayco’s toy hauler team has been hard at work to make a statement with its 2020 lineup. Like other products in Jayco’s line, the Pinnacle, Northpoint and Seismic toy haulers received a cosmetic update that includes giving customers a choice of décor options.
The Pinnacle features a new front and rear cap design, new amenities and new décor, a six-point hydraulic leveling system, a residential 3.2-cubic-foot oven and four-burner range combination, and the JayCommand Smart RV System powered by BMPro, which the company added to all luxury fifth wheels for 2020.
A built-in Wi-Fi repeater with a cellular prep feature is now standard on all fifth wheels as well.
The Seismic lineup has two new floorplans for 2020: the 3512 and the 3815. They are similar floorplans with different garage lengths: the 3512 has 12.5-foot garage, the 3815 a 15-foot garage.
The Northpoint lineup for 2020 also has a new floorplan. The 387FBTS offers dual lavatories with double sinks on the main level. There also is a washer-dryer prep area, an optional king-size bed and a walk-in closet in the master bath.
Starcraft
Starcraft units also received an interior décor overhaul that includes new wood grains, countertops, flooring and upholstery fabrics. The line also has new floorplans for 2020.
The first is the Autumn Ridge 32BHS. This 36-foot, 8-inch offering weighs 7,500 pounds. The largest unit in the Starcraft series offers a quad bunk, and an open living/dining room concept with a walk-through bath that separates the master bedroom from the living area.
The multi-sleeper unit eliminates the need to convert furniture for sleeping. It offers four separate, fixed bunk areas, as well as a tri-fold sofa and dinette that converts to a bed.
“The unit sleeps 10 comfortably, but there are separate sleeping areas if you have two to three kids,” says Scott West, Starcraft product manager.
On the laminate side of the Starcraft line, the new Starcraft Super Light model, the 291QBH, is a quad bunkhouse design. It has a single-slide unit, meaning the bunks are fixed and slightly smaller than the 32BHS floorplan. In addition, instead of having a walk-through bathroom, like the 32BHS, the unit has a single aisle separating the master bedroom from the main living area.
“It serves a lot of the same ideas, however,” West says. “It has four separate sleeping areas, an outside kitchen, an open living room, a dining area concept and a separate bathroom. But it’s a laminated version so it’s lighter (7,000 pounds) and easier to tow.”
These units offer a basic outdoor camp kitchen with a two-burner pullout range, 2-cubic-foot refrigerator, additional gas hookup for bumper-mount grill and a spray port for water. There is a flush-mount glass top range inside and a Bluetooth MP3 sound bar.
“None of the Starcraft travel trailers have carpet anymore; we went to linoleum throughout to offer a pet-friendly, kid-friendly design,” West says. Recognizing that 80 percent of RVers travel with pets, Starcraft now offers MyPillow Cotton-poly Pet Beds with every unit.
