By Tony Barthel
For all of us who love extended trips in RVs with lots of creature comforts, there are others for whom an RV is simply a base camp or spring board for other adventures. Whatever your choice, there is no wrong answer. Except not going RVing, of course.
There will be those for whom the 2021 Jayco Jay Feather Micro 166FBS is the perfect RV. Frankly, there’s not much to this little camper whose name is almost longer than the camper itself. Yet despite its small size at only 19’8” in total length and weighing in at 4,038 pounds, it still has everything you might need to enjoy RVing.
The Jay Feather Micro line could be called a response to the white-hot Rockwood GeoPro and Flagstaff ePro models. While smaller RVs used to mean de-contented or cheap and missing features, the GeoPros and ePros showed us that there’s a huge market for smaller, full-featured RVs that are built to go places that adventurous folks want to go.
In this small space, you have all the things you’d expect – a fridge, three-burner stove, a sink – and there’s even a slide room with a couch in it. At the rear is a bathroom, and there’s a refrigerator by the back entry door.
Jayco has really stepped up with the cabinet spaces, including cabinets behind the TV that enable hanging storage and drawers below that and under the bed. There are cabinets above the bed and cabinets above the couch in the slide room. For a travel trailer this size there is a huge number of cabinets – and Jayco really nailed it in this department.
The bed is “east-west” which means it runs along the front of this little trailer and is a full 80” long but is only 54” wide. This isn’t going to make some folks happy.
There is also an optional rack on the roof of the trailer for mountain bicycles, kayaks or other things that facilitate your day’s adventure.
Jayco offers an optional solar package as well as a 12-volt refrigerator option (as opposed to the propane/110vac typical RV refrigerator). I also like that Jayco went with a Furrion brand 12-volt refrigerator.
On the subject of refrigerators, there’s a second one outside in a specific cabinet but that one runs only on 110vac.
One last thing: This trailer actually has a lock on the bathroom door. That’s surprisingly unusual.
In fact, there are a series of five models in the Jay Feather Micro line, which are the most petite in the company’s lineup. Yet even these smaller towables carry Jayco’s hallmark features like Goodyear Endurance tires, aluminum framed and vacuum bonded laminated walls, and their heavy-duty roofing. They also feature Jayco’s two-year limited warranty, which is longer than that of many other RV manufacturers. Furthermore, Jayco added a three-year structural warranty starting with 2020 models which include the roof, walls and floors.
Jayco also builds its own frames with each frame built to the specific trailer model.
Not for you still? I can tell you a few friends that sell Jayco trailers have customers chomping at the bit for these little trailers and many of those have an off-road vehicle that is going to take this to places where your paths may not cross. Or maybe they will. What’s your take on RVs of this size?
These RV reviews are written based on information provided by the manufacturers along with my own research and represent the most accurate information and opinion at the time of writing. Your experience is always encouraged.
I have been debating getting a smaller RV. The prices seem high but my last travel trailer was a 94 Starcraft 29 foot for $12,000.00. Still have it and love it. Thinking of smaller due to the cost of the tow vehicle. Also something the wife can handle in case of emergency.
Why the slam of the east-west bed: “isn’t going to make some folks happy”? We already have a market that seems to be 95% ‘walkaround’ kings or queens, which chew up tons of floor space and are making vehicle lengths too long. Let’s have some other options for people who aren’t lounging around in a king bed watching satellite. I’m impressed they squeezed so much into 20′ of vehicle, and you can still park in a cramped state-park space easily.
That said, 4000 pounds on a single axle. That suggests a very low carrying capacity.
The reason I specifically mention east-west beds is that, for some, it’s an absolute deal breaker. When I was selling RVs east-west beds and wet baths would cause some folks to absolutely rule our certain RVs. For others, it doesn’t matter. Hence the statement.
If you’ll notice the GVWR of this trailer is almost 5,000lbs so it’s not bad at all for cargo carrying all things considered.
Yep, and walkaround big beds are a deal-breaker for some of the rest of us, particularly those shopping 20′ RVs.
Just for the newbs who may be shopping around, looks like this unit can handle 960 lbs for cargo, and after you fill the fresh tank you’re down to 538 lbs for propane, food, etc, everything else you might want to put in it.
Yes the realistic number of what you can load into these really needs to be taken into account, particularly if you’re using a smaller tow vehicle (like a mid-size truck or some SUVs, for example).
My travel trailer is a smaller one as I like to get into some pretty tight forest spots and such but mine has a Murphy bed so I can pull off the smaller trailer and still get a walk-around queen.
I try to point out whatever I think will matter to people – how much that matters is purely up to the buyer of course. Thank you for your points, especially about towing and capacities. It’s something that absolutely needs to be taken into account. Fortunately these Jaycos ride on Goodyear tires if the owners regularly approach the capacities of these trailers.