01 What Jayco publishes for the Designer
Jayco, Inc. lists 4 Designer fifth wheels in its 2017 Designer brochure. Jayco prints a dry weight for every one profiled here, and each has a page of its own. It prints a GVWR for every one too. It prints a net carrying capacity for 4; on the 4 that carry both that and a GVWR, the dry weight plus the carrying capacity equals the GVWR exactly on 4. (How the data is verified.)
02 Jayco Designer models
Jayco Designer · 4 models
| Model | Dry weight | Cargo (CCC) | GVWR | Tongue | Length | Sleeps | On this site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Designer 37RS | 14,370 lb | 3,130 lb | 17,500 lb | 3,065 lb | 40' 1" | 2-4 | Profiled |
| Designer 37FB | 14,585 lb | 2,915 lb | 17,500 lb | 2,805 lb | 41' 1" | 2-4 | Profiled |
| Designer 39FL | 14,815 lb | 3,180 lb | 17,995 lb | 3,065 lb | 41' 6" | 6 | Profiled |
| Designer 39RE | 15,115 lb | 2,880 lb | 17,995 lb | 2,796 lb | 42' 5" | 6 | Profiled |
Read from Jayco’s 2017 Designer brochure, 6 Nov 2026. “Not published” means the maker prints no figure; nothing is filled from another model, year or dealer.
03 Reading Jayco’s figures
A maker’s published weight is for a base trailer; options and dealer-installed equipment add weight to any particular unit. The federal weight label inside the trailer carries its own unloaded weight, cargo carrying capacity and GVWR (49 CFR 567 and 571.120): read it on the unit itself before any towing decision.
05 Recalls
NHTSA lists 11 recall campaigns affecting this line. The earliest was reported 31 Aug 2006 and the most recent 4 Jun 2021.
| Reported | Campaign | Component | What can go wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Jun 2021 | 21V425000 | Equipment | Increased propane pressure can enlarge the flames in gas appliances, increasing the risk of a fire. |
| 21 Nov 2017 | 17V746000 | Equipment | In the event of a fire, if the fire extinguisher does not function properly, it can increase the risk of injury. |
| 14 Mar 2017 | 17V167000 | Wheels | The interference may generate enough heat to cause the tire to fail, increasing the risk of a crash. |
| 23 Jul 2012 | 12V347000 | Electrical system | An improper electrical connection at the buss bar could lead to overheating and melting of the transfer switch, increasing the risk of a fire, injury or death. |
| 21 Sep 2010 | 10V424000 | Equipment | An overheated receiver could cause a fire. |
| 26 Jan 2010 | 10V021000 | Equipment | If the jack were to activate while the vehicle is being towed, it could result in a crash leading to property damage, injury, or death. |
| 3 Jul 2008 | 08V300000 | Electrical system | If the cap was to fall off the battery charge line, an electrical short may occur which could result in a fire, crash, injury, or death. |
| 5 Mar 2008 | 08V100000 | Equipment | A misprinted label would lead to improper vehicle loading specifications or tire inflation which could result in a tire failure, increasing the risk of a crash. |
| 27 Apr 2007 | 07V185000 | Equipment | This standard specifies tire and rim selection requirements and rim marking requirements. |
| 20 Mar 2007 | 07V118000 | Structure | A person could be injured should the step give way while being used to enter or exit the trailer. |
| 31 Aug 2006 | 06V331000 | Electrical system | This condition, if not addressed, could result in an electrical fire. |
Coverage is not complete: this list is a starting point, not a clearance (how it is built), so check a specific VIN at NHTSA before you buy and again before you tow.
This count covers the Jayco Designer fifth wheel under its Jayco and Jayco Fifth Wheel names. Campaigns for model years before 2005 are outside this site’s range.
06 Owner-reported problems
Owners have filed 4 complaints with NHTSA about this line for model years 2005 on. The earliest was filed 12 Oct 2011 and the most recent 10 May 2021. The breakdown below is what those owners actually reported, grouped by the component NHTSA assigned.
Safety outcomes in this set: 3 reports describing a fire. These are the owner’s own account of what happened and have not been verified by NHTSA.
What gets reported
| Component group | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical system | 3 | 75% |
| Tires | 1 | 25% |
Most recent reports
The 4 owner reports filed on this line, newest first. Wording is NHTSA’s summary of what the owner described.
| Filed | Component | Miles | What the owner reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 May 2021 | Electrical system | 0 | Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Jayco designer. The contact stated while the vehicle was stationary, the contact started to smell the burning of plastic. The contact opened the bottom storage capsule and noticed that the electrical transfer switch was melted. The contact stated no warning light was… |
| 12 Aug 2013 | Electrical system | — | Never notified of recall-- (electrical fire) of transfer switch --(IOTA---ITS-50R). *tr |
| 2 Jul 2013 | Electrical system | 300 | Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Jayco designer. The contact stated that the iota transfer switch burned. The contact was able to disconnect the switch before it burned down, but the contact did loose all power in the trailer. The contact spoke to the manufacturer regarding NHTSA recall campaign ID… |
| 12 Oct 2011 | Tires | 8,000 | Tl* the contact owns a 2010 Jayco designer trailer equipped with Goodyear marathon st tires, size: st 235/80R16 load range e, DOT number: 0HUN1LHR. The contact stated that the tread on the rear driver side tire separated, causing the tire to become flat. The tire was not repaired. The dealer and… |
How this count is drawn. A report is counted here only when NHTSA’s own model field names this line. What the owner typed in the description is never used to attribute a report: our line names are ordinary English words, and an owner writing “imagine my surprise when the axle went” or naming the state of Montana is not reporting a Grand Design Imagine or a Keystone Montana.
Read these as reports, not as findings. Complaints are submitted by owners and NHTSA does not verify them; no complaint here has been confirmed as a defect, and none of them is a recall. The sample is also self-selected — only owners motivated to file appear in it — so a high count tracks how many units a line sold at least as much as how well it was built. Use the pattern, not the total: a component that keeps recurring is worth inspecting on any used unit. File or search complaints at NHTSA.