By Tony Barthel
I have been accused of dissuading a lot of people from Class C RVs and, you know what? It’s for a reason. Class C RVs often are built so close to the GVWR (gross weight rating) of the chassis manufacturer that they often can barely hold a driver and passenger. But today’s review is of the Jayco Greyhawk 29MV Class C RV, which is one Class C I like. And almost 1,500 pounds of cargo carrying capacity is just one of the reasons.
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Jayco
I think RVs have traditionally been sold to people who understood the lifestyle and have an awareness of how RVs are built and what you need to know to be an RVer. However, over the past few years, there are a lot of people who jumped into the RV space with little understanding of what RVs are.
Recreational.
They’re not built like your 1992 Honda Accord that can go 254,000 miles with just a few oil changes and brake jobs. Oh, no. So the real way that RVs are made has become a point of concern for people not used to this lifestyle and, perhaps, some RV companies are hearing the drum beat of frustration.
I would say Jayco has heard it, so now all Jayco products actually go through a full pre-delivery inspection, or PDI, before they leave Jayco’s property. The company has invested in extensive PDI facilities to minimize the number of issues customers face with a Jayco product.
That’s a good thing.
Don’t go RVing?
This Class C RV is well-designed to go RVing, and I like the floor plan and features of this. But here’s a thought: You could buy this even if you didn’t plan to go RVing much.
This rig has eight seat belts in it so it would make a great crew transport. Now, I will caution you that some states require that people under a certain age or weight sit in forward-facing seats. It would be wise to check the laws if you want this to be a kiddo shuttle.
With that many belted positions this could be great if you’re a sports parent for transporting a few teammates to their activity. Heck, if you’re a band parent, you could put the kids’ instruments on the bed and in the cargo bays. There may even be space for those shakos, which are the big, furry hats.
Once you’re at whatever the activity is, you’ll have a clean restroom (at least at first) and a fridge full of whatever the participants choose to bring. There’s a three-burner stove and the worthless 17” oven can at least bake pizza rolls and hot pockets. I guess that’s about all these tiny ovens are good for.
The fridge in this is a propane-electric gas absorption model, your typical RV fridge, but it’s a Norcold. I admit a bias against Norcold thanks to so many recalls and stories shared with me.
Why, oh why, with solar and a generator is there even a propane-electric gas absorption antique in here anyway? You can get a much larger 15-cubic-foot, 12-volt fridge for $2,843—but this wipes out the pantry to the side of the fridge.
Big kid bunk
If it’s been a tiring day of sumo wrestling for your youngsters, know that that bunk over the cab is good for up to 750 pounds, which is pretty impressive. Heck, two of your sumo stars could sleep up there at once! There are also belted enclosures for the bunk over the cab, although I’m sure it’s against the law to drive with someone up there, nudge nudge, wink wink.
The bunk occupants also have a front windshield out of which to supervise the world, and there’s a power shade that can cover this glass.
More to snore
Back on the main deck, note that this is friendly for most ages as there is no carpeting whatsoever. The furnace ducts, too, are not on the floor, so you won’t find Skittles baking when the seasons change.
The dinette table easily folds down so that you can provide sleeping for two more.
In the very back there’s a short queen in the bedroom, and it has to be such so the slide can close. Unfortunately, there’s not another way for all this to happen.
I also like that the bathroom and shower bisect this RV. That means the people in the back, who likely are the ones writing the checks for this ride, have a bathroom and shower to keep the sound down from the slumber party in the front.
The toilet and sink, along with a nice countertop, are in their own room on the road side of this camper. When you fully open the door to the bathroom it gets magnetized such that it now closes off the bathroom, and the bedroom, from the rest of the rig.
There’s also a decent-sized shower over on the camp side. I like this arrangement.
Storage in the Jayco Greyhawk
In the back bedroom are a lot of cabinets and drawers—a surprising amount, actually.
The kitchen, too, has a lot of cabinet and drawer space. You’re not going to be left wanting.
There’s also good storage outside with under-frame storage compartments. At the back on the camp side is a larger storage bay that’s a bit of a surprise for a Class C. That’s true on the road side as well, where a larger compartment is accessible from both outside the rig and also by lifting the bed inside the rig.
Boondocking and travel access
Jayco now offers a 200-watt solar panel as standard, as well as an MPPT charge controller. Depending on where and how you’re camping, this may be enough to keep the lights on, and those propane-electric fridges do barely sip the power.
If you run out of battery, there’s a 4000-watt generator aboard which can run both the roof-top A/C units.
This RV works on a 30-amp circuit, using some smart power management to keep both those A/C units humming in the heat. Oh, uh, that’s an optional feature but one worth considering.
More features
Other things to note include the hydraulic automatic leveling system here.
Jayco has also upgraded the suspension on this so it’s less U-Haul mover and more of something you actually want to drive. Using better shocks and beefier anti-roll bars, among other things, this is actually rather pleasant and steady to drive.
The laminated roof, too, is built more to Class A motorhome standards than some Class C RVs.
Conclusion
It seems to me that makers of motorized RVs still live more in the past than those who build travel trailers.
I say that because of vintage RV components like AGM batteries and gas absorption refrigerators. The website prioritizes the various colors of swooshy swirl paint over telling you about the company’s suspension upgrades, which are significant. Though there are two choices of interior color and that’s a good thing.
But I can see a number of use cases for this rig and, considering that it’s many thousands of dollars less than some Class B (van) RVs, this makes a lot of sense.
Especially if your youngsters have weekend getaways to band competitions or sumo rallies.
More from Tony
I would love to read your comments and suggestions over on our forums, where you can weigh in and start or join a discussion about all things RV. Here’s a link to my RV Reviews Forum.
If you’re RV shopping here are some tips on RV shopping from a former RV salesperson – me!
Tony comes to RV Travel having worked at an RV dealership and been a lifelong RV enthusiast. He also has written the syndicated Curbside column about cars. He also works closely with a number of RV manufacturers to get an inside look at how things are done and is a brand ambassador for Rockwood Mini Lite with his wife, Peggy.
You can also check out his RV podcast with Peggy.
These RV reviews are written based on information provided by the manufacturers along with our writer’s own research. They are based on information from a single unit and may not reflect your actual experience. Shop your RV and dealership carefully before making a buying decision. We receive no money or other financial benefits from these reviews. They are intended only as a brief overview of the vehicle, not a comprehensive critique, which would require a thorough inspection and/or test drive.
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##RVT1117
$178,000 and the most I can do with the oven is pizza and cookies? Nope, not happening! Tony you must know of something out there I can put a few loaves of bread in to bake. I love to make the campgrounds smell like that, it calls over campers to come and say hi. Baking cookies just aren’t the same! Thanks for bringing back the RV reviews?
The dinette upholstery seems chintzy/ I prefer a gas electric fridge. I’m still not sold on 12v fridge. Need a consumer report type testing and explanation on the 12v fridges, plus RV manufacturers need to provide enough solar to operate them.
We have a Class C with a 12v fridge and absolutely love it! We have solar, lithium batteries, and a generator and dry camp or boondock a lot. We have run the fridge for a week on solar when parked at home just to test it. Kept ice cubes frozen the entire time. Now we can buy a half a gallon (well, actually 48 oz. these days) of ice cream and keep it frozen for the entire time between weekly grocery shopping while on the road. We couldn’t even keep ice cream frozen overnight in our TT and FW that had propane-120v AC fridges. We will NEVER go back to a propane fridge!
Yeah I love the new 12vdc refrigerators for this and other reasons. I do know that some brands of these fridges are better than others, though.
I love ours as well. We have a bunch of solar and a nice battery system as well and use it as the “second fridge” at home. It actually holds as much as our fridge in the house. Plus I feel these are much safer than having a lighted propane flame while driving down the road even though a bunch of people will say that they’ve been doing it for years.
Nice to have Tony back!!
Aw, shucks. Thank you. I’m happy to be back.
Is it fully accessible with the slides in?
Does the interior color come in anything but prison gray? I don’t know why prison gray seems to be popular in todays choice of colors. My brother in law is the only person I personally know who likes gray. My personal thinking is if you like prison gray you should commit a crime and then you’ll have all you can stand of gray. Lol
1500 lbs is reached pretty quickly when you include the weight of fuel and water at 8.5 lbs per gallon plus a family of 4, all of their cargo including food. The RV industry just throws the big number out there, hoping no one does the math and applies it to their actual circumstance. The best way to find out if you exceed GVWR is to get your rig weighed fully loaded.
A full tank of fuel is included in the advertised GVWR, water no. The only time I traveled with a full tank of water was when we went to TX for the winter and we weren’t planning on staying in campgrounds along the way. Otherwise I travel with enough water to take care of sanitation needs.
UVW includes full fuel, so that isn’t against the 1500# CCC.
Still, if there are eight people in the rig, that would eat up quite a bit right there. In addition depending on individual axle weights, one might not be able to use all 1500# anyway. Owned a Fleetwood Bounder that had all kinds if excess capacity on the front axle, where there was little storage capability, and over on the rear axle if the gas tank was full and half a water tank with just a couple folding chairs in the under storage! So buyers need to be cognizant of axle weights and their individual CCCs as well as the overall CCC advertised may not be achievable.
Hi Tony. My wife and I bought a Jayco C Class new in 2015 and it has a decent CCC 1250 lbs with a GVWR 22000 lbs. and it effortlessly tows our Jeep. You are right the buyer does have to pay attention to things like this but good CCC is not new. You forgot to mention that they drive easier than an A Class and things like driver and passenger doors are great because you don’t have to climb through your rig to get in and out, especially at check in when it’s raining out (no tracking mud through the rig). Jayco has always had a pretty good PDI inspections process long before they were bought out by Thor who seemed to have magically reinvented the wheel on that one. C Class 2bdrm apt on wheels.