Jayco 17FD reviews

Poor fit and finish. Bed is very hard to make. Mattress is junk. Floor plan (bed and dinette) is strange to say the least. No vent of any kind in bathroom. You've got to hand dry the bathroom and/or leave the door open to allow it to dry after showering or allow "aromas" to escape. It does tow well and isn't to bad for1 or 2 people although there isn't much cabinet/drawer space and under bed/seat storage is not good for things you need often Show less

Bought this because we are able to tow it with our 2005 Honda Pilot. Dry weight of the trailer is around 2800. Since we bought it, I have pulled it from California to Kansas and back, four times and always with our Honda Pilot. The single greatest feature of this trailer is it's towability. For it’s size and relative comfort, there’s few, if any, travel trailers that can be so and be towed by a mid-sized SUV at the same time. The design is understandable, but not entirely to our liking. For one thing, as has already been mentioned, in another review, it is not friendly for a senior with mobility issues. The bed sits higher than normal and this made it hard for my wife to reach, plus it's only one butt space opening to get, which makes ingress to and egress from the bed complicated. My wife, who has had both knees replaced, had trouble stepping up into the wet bath. I am guessing this was one of the first models to roll out from the new Franken-merger company made by Thor and Jayco. To make it light, it’s clear, that most of the materials on the aluminum frame are the cheapest and lightest available. For example, the dining table is useless as a bed, since the MDF board and the support beneath it broke- twice. In general, this trailer seems to be Jayco/Thor's answer to the Forest River R-Pod. The other major thing was the Norcold refrigerator does not ignite on propane, although, since we do not boondock, this was never much of an issue. But, when you pay nearly $20K for something you'd like it to work, just as a matter of principle. Two different Jayco dealers did not fix it and that's over 8 months, total, in the shop. We bought this from RV One location in Des Moines, Iowa. Price was good, but dealership might as well have been Camping World and is not recommended by me. The lack of good service was the single worst thing about this buy. Not sure how Jayco dealer service was before the merge with Thor, but we are not impressed. Show less

First the positives: this little trailer is easy to tow, setup and has a nice dining area. It only weighs around 3k and can be towed by a smaller pickup or SUV. The bed is a short queen not intended for taller occupants. I would not recommend this bed for seniors because of the height and difficulty to makeup the bed. This is the hardest mattress I’ve attempted to sleep on. According to Jayco they’ve remedied this with a different mattress. Be very cautious when selecting your dealer and read as many reviews as possible. They can make your rv buying experience terrible. The service department is usually undermanned, underpaid and too busy for you. Read your warranty throughly. Show less