Coachella

We have owned our new to us 2013 Jayco Greyhawk 31DS for a little over a year. When we first viewed the coach prior to our purchase we thought the decorating was very good, but shortly after owning the coach we thought the coach interior was dull and dark. Our first sprucing up was to install a brighter backsplash around the stove and sink area. We purchased some self-adhesive bright contact paper and applied to the walls. There is something about the wall surfaces of our coach, nothing sticks to the bare wall. So we reapplied the new backsplash only where the dull brick backsplash was originally applied. The second application has stayed stuck through all of 2024 and it does brighten the coach interior somewhat.

The dark wood ‘wood’ is call the “Wood” finish by Jayco. For 2013 there where four interior decor choices; Midnight, Wallnut, Nutmeg, and Wood. Our choice would have been the lighter Nutmeg color but our coach has the dark Wood finishing. At first sight we though the wood was real wood and during our cleaning phase that started in January 2024 before our big road trip we discovered the wood of the cabinets were actually a pressed glued paper product with an adhesive vinyl “wood” look paper applied over it. The telltale sign was where water had soaked into the fake wood near the floor, perhaps from mopping the floor, and on the front of the cabinet under the sink. This area was probably due to wet hands opening and closing drawers.

The fake wood near the floor was easily covered using a mop board kick covering and gluing it in place. This is a temporary fix but long term this will have to be replaced. The wood on the front of the sink area was an easy fix as well. We purchased some 1 x 6 Oak lumber and cut it to fit where the fake wood was installed. Staining the Oak with Minwax Mahogany stain lets the new piece blend in fairly well.

The Oak wood piece is about twice as heavy as the original fake paper wood product that Jayco installed, but should prove to much more substantial. Jayco products are considered one of the better built RV products on the market, but I’ve seen many sub-par products installed in our coach. Perhaps I’ll get ambitious in the near future and replace more of the fake wood in the kitchen area.