01 What makes it unique
Jayco lists the 2017 Designer 37RS at 14,370 lb dry, a GVWR of 17,500 lb, a net carrying capacity of 3,130 lb and a pin weight of 3,065 lb. Its dry weight plus its carrying capacity comes to exactly its GVWR.
It is 40' 1" long and 160" high. Jayco prints its tanks as 85 gal fresh, 95 gal grey, 50 gal black.
Among the 4 Designer floorplans Jayco’s 2017 Designer brochure lists with a published dry weight, it is number 1 from the lightest, in a range from 14,370 lb (Designer 37RS) to 15,115 lb (Designer 39RE). Every figure in that comparison is Jayco’s, for the same model year.
Every number on this page was read on 6 Nov 2026 from Jayco’s 2017 Designer brochure, the maker’s own dated document for model year 2017.
How the 37RS differs from the other three Designer floorplans. Most distinctive first. How these ranks are worked out.
- Dry weight, 14,370 lb: lightest of four; next is the 37FB (14,585 lb).
- Cargo capacity as a share of GVWR, 17.9%: largest of four; next is the 39FL (17.7%).
- Pin weight as a share of dry weight, 21.3%: largest of four; next is the 39FL (20.7%).
- Length, 40 ft 1 in: shortest of four; next is the 37FB (41 ft 1 in).
- Exterior height, 13 ft 4 in: tallest of four; next are the 37FB, 39FL and 39RE (13 ft 3 in).
- Cargo capacity, 3,130 lb: second-largest of four, between the 37FB (2,915 lb) and the 39FL (3,180 lb).
- GVWR, 17,500 lb: lowest of four, level with the 37FB; next are the 39FL and 39RE (17,995 lb).
- Pin weight, 3,065 lb: heaviest of four, level with the 39FL; next is the 37FB (2,805 lb).
Next to the 37FB, the nearest heavier floorplan by dry weight, the 37RS is 215 lb lighter by dry weight, has 215 lb more cargo capacity, has a pin weight 260 lb heavier, is 1 ft shorter and stands 1 in taller; the two publish the same GVWR, interior height, fresh tank, grey tank and black tank.
02 Full specifications
Dimensions
- Exterior length
- 40' 1"
- Exterior height
- 160"
- Exterior width
- 102"
- Interior height
- 85"
Weights
- Dry / unit base weight (UVW)
- 14,370 lb
- GVWR (max loaded)
- 17,500 lb
- Net cargo / payload (CCC)
- 3,130 lb
- Hitch / pin weight
- 3,065 lb
Capacities
- Fresh water
- 85 gal
- Grey water
- 95 gal
- Black water
- 50 gal
Running gear
- Hitch type
- Fifth wheel (pin box)
- Tire size
- Not published by Jayco
Sleeping & layout
- Sleeps
- 2-4
- Exterior Travel Length* (as printed)
- 38' 9" (footnote: "*Distance from the pin box to the bumper; total exterior length may be longer")
- Exterior Height (with opt. bedroom A/C) (as printed)
- 160"
- Grey tank note
- Grey Waste Water Capacity** — "**Split Tank"
- Weight definitions (as printed)
- Jayco: "CCC is equal to or less than GVWR minus UVW. The addition of options will decrease the CCC."
- Model year source
- Printed on the cover: "Designer Luxury Fifth Wheel | 2017"; Jayco brochure library (jayco.com/brochures/, Model Year 2017, Fifth Wheels) lists it as "2017 Designer Brochure".
How these published figures sit against the rest of the catalogue: fifth wheel pin weight and payload; fresh, grey and black tank sizes; camper trailer size chart.
Drawn to scale
Weight budget
Size, with end view
Holding tanks
Axles, wheels and nose shape are schematic; not a floorplan. Data: dataset.
Towing it
Check your vehicle. Enter the ratings from your owner’s manual and the door-pillar placard.
Compares your figures with this page’s published GVWR (17,500 lb) and the upper loaded pin estimate (4,375 lb, a rule of thumb). Your vehicle’s placard and the trailer’s own weight label govern.
Loaded range: 15–25% of GVWR on the pin, a rule of thumb, not a measurement of this unit. No truck ratings or hitch classes (why; NHTSA, DOT HS 809 433). The range starts at the published figure, because loaded is never lighter than that.
03 The Designer floorplan family
Jayco’s 2017 Designer brochure lists 4 Designer floorplans; every one with a printed weight has a page here.
| Floorplan | Nominal | Sleeps | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Designer 37RS | 40' 1" | 2-4 | Profiled |
| Designer 37FB | 41' 1" | 2-4 | Profiled |
| Designer 39FL | 41' 6" | 6 | Profiled |
| Designer 39RE | 42' 5" | 6 | Profiled |
Jayco’s 2017 Designer brochure lists 4 Designer floorplans. Every one with a printed weight has a page here.
04 Notes on this floorplan
What Jayco does not publish for the Designer 37RS
Jayco prints no tire size for this model, so none is given. Nothing is filled from a sibling model, a different model year or a dealer listing.
Read the label on the trailer
Federal rules put a load-carrying label inside every RV trailer: its unloaded weight with full propane, its cargo carrying capacity and its GVWR (49 CFR 571.110 and 571.120). Those figures come from the trailer itself and govern the towing decision.
05 How it compares
14,585 lb dry and 17,500 lb GVWR, against this model’s 14,370 lb and 17,500 lb.
06 Loading it for a trip
A full 85-gallon fresh tank is about 706 lb of water (water counts as cargo: 49 CFR 571.120 S10.4.2), 23% of the Designer 37RS’s 3,130 lb cargo capacity, leaving 2,424 lb (606 lb per rated berth). Across 4 Designer floorplans the water share runs 22% to 24%, and 2 give up more than this one. Nearest on that share: Designer 39FL at 22% and Designer 37FB at 24%. Your own unit’s figure is on the label inside its entry door (49 CFR 571.120 S10.4.3).
07 Where this floorplan sits
Closest sibling: the Designer 37FB, nearest on the published figures. It differs on 4 of the 9 fields both publish (this plan first): length 40 ft 1 in vs 41 ft 1 in; dry weight 14,370 lb vs 14,585 lb; cargo capacity 3,130 lb vs 2,915 lb; hitch weight 3,065 lb vs 2,805 lb. They match on sleeps, GVWR, fresh tank, grey tank and black tank.
| Designer plans | This plan | Position, low to high | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| GVWR (lb) | 17,500 | 1–2 of 4 | 17,500–17,995 |
| Dry weight (lb) | 14,370 | 1 of 4 | 14,370–15,115 |
| Cargo capacity (lb) | 3,130 | 3 of 4 | 2,880–3,180 |
| Hitch weight (lb) | 3,065 | 3–4 of 4 | 2,796–3,065 |
| Length | 40 ft 1 in | 1 of 4 | 40 ft 1 in–42 ft 5 in |
| Grey tank (gal) | 95 | 1–3 of 4 | 95–117 |
| Black tank (gal) | 50 | 2–4 of 4 | 37–50 |
| Sleeps | 4 | 1–2 of 4 | 4–6 |
Either side of it by GVWR: Designer 37FB matches it at 17,500 lb GVWR; Designer 39FL is 495 lb heavier (17,995 lb GVWR).
| Nearest Designer siblings | Length | Sleeps | Dry (lb) | GVWR (lb) | CCC (lb) | Hitch (lb) | Fresh (gal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Designer 37RS | 40 ft 1 in | 4 | 14,370 | 17,500 | 3,130 | 3,065 | 85 |
| Designer 37FB | 41 ft 1 in | 4 | 14,585 | 17,500 | 2,915 | 2,805 | 85 |
| Designer 39RE | 42 ft 5 in | 6 | 15,115 | 17,995 | 2,880 | 2,796 | 85 |
| Designer 39FL | 41 ft 6 in | 6 | 14,815 | 17,995 | 3,180 | 3,065 | 85 |
All 4 Designer floorplans: Designer line hub.
| Other lines, nearest by GVWR | GVWR (lb) | Dry (lb) | Sleeps | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Designer 37RS | 17,500 | 14,370 | 4 | 40 ft 1 in |
| Durango Gold G366FBQ | 17,500 | 14,100 | 4 | 40 ft 5 in |
| Pinnacle 36FBTS | 17,500 | 14,270 | 4 | — |
| Seismic 359 | 17,500 | 13,490 | 6 | — |
| Model Z 3400 | 17,495 | 13,898 | — | 38 ft 11 in |
| Torque 385 | 17,590 | 13,732 | 8 | 43 ft 5 in |
| Vengeance Rogue 391T145 | 17,385 | 14,014 | — | 45 ft 3 in |
Against the Designer 37RS: the Seismic 359 sleeps 2 more.
08 Common questions about the Designer 37RS
How much does the Designer 37RS weigh?
14,370 lb dry; 17,500 lb GVWR, the most it may weigh loaded.
How much can the Designer 37RS carry?
3,130 lb, 18% of its GVWR (median across 442 fifth wheels here: 19%). A full fresh tank uses 706 lb of it.
What is the pin weight of the Designer 37RS?
3,065 lb as published, 21% of the dry weight (median across 686 fifth wheels here: 19%).
What size tow vehicle does the Designer 37RS need?
A tow rating of at least 17,500 lb, plus payload for the loaded pin weight, passengers and cargo.
How many people does the Designer 37RS sleep?
Its published sleeping capacity is 2–4. 2 of the 4 Designer floorplans that publish a count sleep more.
What are the tank capacities on the Designer 37RS?
Fresh 85, grey 95, black 50 gallons. Off hookups, fresh water runs out first.
How long is the Designer 37RS?
40' 1" overall, tongue or pin box included.
From the figures above.
09 What this page publishes, and what it does not
12 of the 18 fields this catalogue tracks are published for the Designer 37RS. Not published: slide count, axle count, tire specification, awning, refrigerator, air conditioning.
Sourcing rules: methodology.
10 Manuals & documents
Sources: jayco.com (linked below); the full source note is at the foot of the page.
11 NHTSA safety record
NHTSA holds 11 recall campaigns and 4 owner complaints (model years 2005 on) against the Designer line (a recall and a complaint are not the same thing).
Too few reports to show a pattern. 4 complaints have been filed on this line — not enough to say what fails most often. They cover electrical system and tires.
Recall coverage here is not complete, and complaints are owners’ unverified reports (how this record is built). Check a specific VIN at NHTSA before you buy. Full tables are on the Designer line page.