Today’s RV review is of the 2025 Jayco Jay Flight SLX 160LK travel trailer. This is the smallest of the Jayco Jay Flight SLX-series trailers, which are predominantly single-axle, wood-framed, aluminum-skinned trailers. Well, but not always.
Several RV companies, including Jayco, have series of these trailers where you can also buy them with a fiberglass skin. I guess the reasoning for doing so would be that the perception of the fiberglass skin is that it’s easier to maintain over time.
The way a laminated trailer is built is where the outer fiberglass is glued to an inner layer, then glued to either insulation or an aluminum rib, and then that is all glued to an inner layer or two. Some companies use man-made substrates (the layer right under the fiberglass and under the inner wall) such as Azdel, but Luan has been a more traditional product.
All of these layers are either run through a pinch roller to get them to “squish” together, or they’re put in a vacuum laminator which literally sucks them all together. My personal preference is vacuum lamination, but lots of trailers are pinch-roll laminated without issue.
Anyhow, the way trailers like this are built is still with traditional wood frames. So it’s pretty much the outer layer that’s different between the models with the corrugated skin. The fiberglass model is also heavier since there’s that fiberglass and the underlying layer.
Quite honestly, I’d just get the one with the corrugated sides. However, sometimes the fiberglass-sided trailers also come with additional features that may be a priority to some buyers.
Start at the road with the Jayco Jay Flight SLX 160LK
In the case of this particular model, this is a relatively simple single-axle trailer on a set of leaf springs, about what you’d expect in this price range. Since Jayco makes no mention of tire brand, I suspect these are good ol’ import off-brand tires. Bleh.
There is a slide room here which uses a Schwintek mechanism. I think these have gotten a bad rap, but don’t necessarily deserve that. For a sofa slide like this, if used and maintained properly, the Schwintek system is just fine. On big motorhomes with huge slides, I wouldn’t use a Schwintek mechanism.
Further, the Schwintek mechanism should be fully extended or retracted in one go, not stopped part way. And, I’ve seen a lot of people do goofy stuff with lubrication on these and then wonder why they’re having issues.
Sometimes the problem with RVs are the people who own them or the goofy contradictory advice they get on social media.
This trailer does have Jayco’s Magnum Truss roofing. Speaking of roofing, it’s interesting that there are two different A/C units available but not in the typical fashion.
The standard issue is a wall-mounted 8,000 BTU air conditioner. Sort of a window unit, if you will. But you can also get a roof-mounted 13,500 BTU air conditioner. Depending on where you’re camping, that wall-mounted unit may be fine and would reduce the overall height of the trailer—if that’s at all important. However, in the South, the roof unit is probably necessary to overcome the conditions there. By coincidence I have an FRVA gathering in Georgia this year. Wish me luck.
What’s inside the Jayco Jay Flight SLX 160LK
I supposed I should have started with this because I know what a deal breaker it is for some of you, but this does have an east-west bed. In other words, a bed in a corner. The good news, here, is that that bed is an actual proper queen-sized bed. That was a surprise.
Another surprise is just how much counterspace there is in a trailer this size. Jayco has done a good job by placing the kitchen on the camp side of this rig and then running the counter all the way from the bathroom wall to the entry door.
Jayco has used a rather small sink in the dog leg “L” that the countertop makes, and I think this really works well. It results in more counter space and a sink that’s probably fine for most people.
This also uses a two-burner propane cooktop. However, it’s not the one I like, which has the two burners in line. Instead, the two burners are sort of splayed out. There is a microwave but not a convection one. I’d like to see that as an option. It’s not.
As is typical with RVs, when you have good counter space you also have a surprising amount of cabinet and drawer space. In fact, there’s sufficient space in the below-counter cabinets for a trash can. Wowsers!
The bathroom in the Jayco Jay Flight SLX 160LK
The bathroom in this rig spans the width of the back of the trailer. That means it, too, is decently spacious. I like that the shower is a larger rectangular unit. They use a shower curtain with a radius track, so it makes a good thing even better.
However, a big miss in here is that there is zero vent fan. There’s a flip-up vent, but no fan in it at all. I respect that this is a budget-focused trailer, but this is a giant miss, in my opinion. Has nobody at Jayco had their wife take a shower in a small trailer? And with a tankless water heater, the problem is only going to compound.
Boondocking and travel access
This trailer is fully usable with the slide room retracted. That slide literally blocks nothing. But, remember my writing about people doing things with Schwintek slides that shouldn’t be done? Sitting in the slide with it retracted is a big no-no.
As for solar, there’s nothing standard (which is fine by me). However, you can get a package from the factory with a single solar panel and a 30-amp charge controller.
What I’d really, really, really like to see is RV companies providing an easy access provision to just run your own wires. Funny thing—I saw a new Dometic vent fan system that had exactly this. An RV company could start with a low-cost vent fan and the consumer could upgrade to something that actually works.
Perhaps the folks at Dometic and the ones at Jayco should go have a few beers and work this into the design of this trailer. Whaddya think, people?
Conclusions about the Jayco Jay Flight SLX 160LK
I got a chance to spend the day with the people of Jayco and went on a pretty extensive tour of their grounds and facilities. To be honest, I was pretty impressed with how the company is doing things now and the direction they’re taking to make their products better. You can find details about my Jayco tour in this article.
They also have a better warranty than some companies—not a bad thing.
One odd thing, however, is that there is no provision for a hanging TV in here, but that’s okay. Most TVs you’ll buy nowadays come with stands and you can take up some of your kitchen counter space, or just check out videos on your iPad or laptop.
For the most part, this trailer hits the nail on the head. It’s relatively compact and affordable, and has a very usable kitchen. Yeah, yeah, there’s no oven and that might be a bummer for some people. But a lot of RVers might find something like the Omnia Stovetop Oven is the solution to this. Those things are pretty sweet.
I think this little trailer offers a lot of value and function and might be a great unit to put on your list for a solo traveler.
My thanks to Josh from Bish’s RV for the video and photos in this article.
More about these RV reviews
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.
Tony comes to RVtravel.com having worked at an RV dealership and been a life long 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.
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This is a great one-person trailer. Nobody to climb over when exiting the bed to make a head call. Not a fan of the light string under the awning, and no fan of those flip-up steps. Plus, the bathroom sink looks bigger than the kitchen sink. Huh? But, as I mentioned, this would make a great single person trailer. It’s just shame you have to deploy the slide in order to sit on the couch.
Lot’s, if not too much storage space for one or two people. The one overhead cabinet in the kitchen area could have been eliminated and a tv mount installed.
Also, it would have been nice to see shelves in the bathroom cabinets. Big open space, but you would have to stack anything stored there.
Also, a convection microwave.
Too much storage space? That’s an RV complaint I’ve never heard before! 😁
Obviously designed for a much younger couple than we are with that E-W bed. But kudos on it being a 60×80″ queen! We had a new Mini Lite 2109S with basically the same floor plan, length, and GVWR, but it had two torsion axles, a 12″ Maxxfan in the bathroom, a 17″ gas oven, a N-S “RV queen” bed, and a jacknife sofa in a slide that could be used while retracted. And we paid half as much as the MSRP for this Jayco. However, that was a dozen years ago.
But, with leaf springs and the fridge mounted behind that single axle, a buyer should be very careful when opening a cold can of liquid refreshment!
Well if you don’t know, I am very biased about Rockwood/Flagstaff products having owned four of them in the past eight years. I think they’re among the best towable RVs on the market for a lot of reasons including the ones you mentioned.
“Sitting in the slide with it retracted is a big no-no” couple this with only 30 gallons of fresh water, not usable!
Boondocking with only 30 gallons of fresh water and a total of 40 gallons of wastewater? That won’t work at all.
Thank you, Tony! 🙂 Interesting choice. The lack of convection is a remarkable choice by Jayco. The price is nice, as well as the dimensions. I can’t imagine there are many campsites too small for this rig. Where in Georgia? Timing? Just curious. We are about 20 miles north of the Tennessee/Georgia border. Happy new year and safe travels! 🙂