The 1997 Jayco Designer has 5 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 27,156 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 14 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the tires. Last updated July 5, 2026.
ON CERTAIN MOTOR HOMES BUILT ON FORD CHASSIS, THE SPEED CONTROL DEACTIVATION SWITCH MAY OVERHEAT.
OVERHEATING COULD RESULT IN SMOKE OR BURNING, AND IN AN UNDERHOOD FIRE.
FORD IS CONDUCTING THIS RECALL (PLEASE SEE 06V286) AND WILL INSTALL A FUSED WIRING HARNESS INTO THE SPEED CONTROL SYSTEM FREE OF CHARGE. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FORD AT 1-866-436-7332 OR JAYCO AT 1-800-283-8267.
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: TRAVEL AND FIFTH WHEEL TRAILERS. THE FASTENERS USED ON THE UNDERFLOOR CAN EITHER COME LOOSE OR PULL THROUGH THE UNDERFLOOR CAUSING PORTIONS OR ALL OF A SECTION OF UNDERFLOOR TO DETACH FROM THE VEHICLE.
IF THIS OCCURRED, THE SECTION COULD FALL TO THE PAVEMENT, POTENTIALLY CAUSING A CRASH FOR FOLLOWING VEHICLES.
DEALERS WILL ADD OR REPLACE FASTENERS. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN SEPTEMBER 28, 2001. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT JAYCO AT 1-219-825-5861.
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: MINI-MOTOR HOMES, TRAVEL TRAILERS, AND FIFTH WHEELS EQUIPPED WITH A PRINTED CIRCUIT (PC) BOARD HOUSED IN THE ELECTRICAL CONTROL BOX ASSEMBLY EQUIPPED WITH THE VEHICLE'S AIR CONDITIONING UNIT. AN ELECTRICAL RELAY ON THE PC BOARD WILL FAIL TO ACTIVATE. WHEN THE RELAY FAILS TO ACTIVATE, OTHER…
THE ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS AND THE PC BOARD CAN OVERHEAT, CHAR AND PRODUCE SMOKE, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A FIRE.
RV PRODUCTS IS CONDUCTING THE OWNER NOTIFICATION AND REMEDY CAMPAIGN FOR THIS RECALL. OWNERS WILL RECEIVE A REPLACEMENT ELECTRICAL CONTROL BOX AND INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS. IF AN OWNER SO DESIRES, THEY CAN HAVE THEIR DEALER INSTALL THIS CONTROL BOX.
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: FIFTH WHEEL AND TRAVEL TRAILERS. RIVETS USED TO SECURE THE STEP RISERS ON THESE VEHICLES ARE THE WRONG SIZE. THE RIVETS ARE TOO SHORT IN LENGTH AND UNDER STRESS CAN ALLOW THE STEP TREADS TO BECOME UNATTACHED FROM THE MOUNTING BRACKET.
IF THE STEP RISER FALLS FROM THE MOUNTING BRACKET WHILE A PERSON IS STEPPING ON IT, PERSONAL INJURY COULD OCCUR.
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE STEP RISER ASSEMBLY.
AN IN-LINE FUSE TO THE AUXILIARY BATTERY WAS OMITTED.
IF A SHORT OCCURRED IN THE POWER LINE FROM THE BATTERY WITHOUT THE PRESENCE OF OVER-CURRENT PROTECTION, THE 12 VOLT LINE CAN OVERHEAT, INCREASING THE RISK OF A FIRE.
DEALERS WILL INSTALL AN IN-LINE FUSE TO THE AUXILIARY BATTERY.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“The 6" channel welded across the front of the fifth wheel pin box broke in half causing the trailer to drop.this is the point of attachment of the fifth wheel to the tow vehicle. The channel supports the front part of the king pin box. On removal of the sheet metal under the gooseneck part of the…”
“Dt*: the contact stated there is a recall, nhtsa campaign number 98v122001 regarding the fuses and circuit breakers. The vehicle is not having the problems associated with this recall. The manufacturer was alerted however, they were unable to determine if the vehicle was included in the recall.…”
“Tl*the contact owns a 1997 jayco designer. The contact received recall notice # 01v251000 (structure). For more than a year, the contact had been to three dealers and the vehicle still had not been repaired. The dealer finally received the part, but was unable to repair the vehicle at that time.…”
“Returned to motorhome from dinner with a/c on and found a coach full of smoke. Disconnected all power, traveled 2 days without air in over 100' temps. Brought coach in for repair and found online with goodsams club, 2 recalls for this unit. Nhtsa-- 98v122001. Our vin # is [xxx]. Notified jayco…”
“On sept.16,2002, I had a left front tire, firestone steeltex 225/75/16, tread separate from the steel belt. July 27th this year, two back duals, left side, seperated. Then on aug. 16th, 124 miles more, two more tires seperated. For as total of 5 tires with less than 19,000 miles. These tires were…”
“Consumer states after some mountain driving the frame to the trailer that the hitch is attached to cracked and collasped. *mr”
“While driving, 2 tires, left front and right rear, have experienced tread separation, one in march and the other in april of 2001, both caused damage to the vehicle, goodyear wrangler ht, lt215/85r16 e. *yh”
“While driving, 2 tires, left front and right rear, have experienced tread separation, one in march and the other in april of 2001, both caused damage to the vehicle, goodyear wrangler ht, lt215/85r16 e. *yh”
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Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1997 Jayco Designer as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.