2017 Hummingbird

[wheels180]

Hello,

I'm new to this hobbie and will likely purchase a new hummingbird 17FD. I'm hearing this is a new platform for Jayco. It's just the wife and I and two small kids. Will this be a good fit? Are there any bad experiences yet out there on this platform/model?

Thanks.

[jsallman1]

Originally Posted by wheels180

Hello,

I'm new to this hobbie and will likely purchase a new hummingbird 17FD. I'm hearing this is a new platform for Jayco. It's just the wife and I and two small kids. Will this be a good fit? Are there any bad experiences yet out there on this platform/model?

Thanks.

Welcome!

Those are definitely new, just had to head over to jayco.com to see what they were.

Looks like a nice light trailer! I am going to be interested to see how many more floor-plans they come out with on that.

If I had to give you any pointers....

One thing I would point out would be the cargo capacity, the 1 model on jayco.com was only a little over 1000 and 1 closer to 800 lbs you could add to the trailer, and that may or may not include the weight of the LP Tanks and Battery. You might be a little limited on how much stuff you put in the storage areas, cabinets, etc to be within those weights. Those numbers should also be on a yellow sticker on the side of the trailer at your dealer assuming they have a model there.

No idea what your considering towing with, your options should be pretty open with that trailer, but I would make sure you look at your door jamb and understand how much you can load into your tow vehicle, it will be on a yellow sticker. The weight of the tongue of the trailer in addition to the stuff and passengers other than the driver in your vehicle will all need to be accommodated in that payload number to be within your vehicles technical specs, there are many posts on this forum about that you should read up on. Wish I had understood that more before I purchased, and there are many dealers not real well educated on it either it seems. Rough guess based on the specs, that tongue weight will be 350-550lbs on that trailer depending on how much stuff you have. 12% of your total trailer weight is a good target number to estimate tongue weight.

One good thing about Jayco, the 2 year warranty. Were almost thru a year on ours, we had a few minor issues that were no issue at all to handle, and will probably have a few more at the end of the season. Make sure you pay good attention to detail when you have the trailer delivered, but you can be confident that the warranty will be there for you when/if you find something after you start using it.

[wheels180]

Originally Posted by jsallman1

Welcome!

Those are definitely new, just had to head over to jayco.com to see what they were.

Looks like a nice light trailer! I am going to be interested to see how many more floor-plans they come out with on that.

If I had to give you any pointers....

One thing I would point out would be the cargo capacity, the 1 model on jayco.com was only a little over 1000 and 1 closer to 800 lbs you could add to the trailer, and that may or may not include the weight of the LP Tanks and Battery. You might be a little limited on how much stuff you put in the storage areas, cabinets, etc to be within those weights. Those numbers should also be on a yellow sticker on the side of the trailer at your dealer assuming they have a model there.

No idea what your considering towing with, your options should be pretty open with that trailer, but I would make sure you look at your door jamb and understand how much you can load into your tow vehicle, it will be on a yellow sticker. The weight of the tongue of the trailer in addition to the stuff and passengers other than the driver in your vehicle will all need to be accommodated in that payload number to be within your vehicles technical specs, there are many posts on this forum about that you should read up on. Wish I had understood that more before I purchased, and there are many dealers not real well educated on it either it seems. Rough guess based on the specs, that tongue weight will be 350-550lbs on that trailer depending on how much stuff you have. 12% of your total trailer weight is a good target number to estimate tongue weight.

One good thing about Jayco, the 2 year warranty. Were almost thru a year on ours, we had a few minor issues that were no issue at all to handle, and will probably have a few more at the end of the season. Make sure you pay good attention to detail when you have the trailer delivered, but you can be confident that the warranty will be there for you when/if you find something after you start using it.

Thanks for the feedback. Tow vehicle is a 2012 Pathfinder with 6000lbs tow capacity. Also getting weight distribution and brake controller. I purposely stayed light. My other consideration was a 19-foot double axle variant (different make thou). We have been tent campers. I'm more concerned about all the mechanical systems functioning as intended and that there are no water leaks. I'll go back and review add'l cargo capacity.

[RP53]

the only thing i do not like about this TT is the "wet bath" i really like the way it is setup.
you might want to consider an SLX195rb we have one and it is a really nice little TT dry weight is right under 3000lb. it tows great and we have had zero problems with ours

[foxrider68]

Are your kids boys or girls and how tall are you? I am 6'3" with three boys so my advice is to get bunks when I hear two or more kids. We just sold our trailer that didn't have them as we are now a family of five and they are growing fast! We are looking forward to getting out in our new Jay Feather 19bh we just got. I only have a sienna so I am 400lbs from my tow limit as it is 3100 dry. I am gonna tow with no water and my wife is following with kids and bunch of supplies in our other car as its <2 hrs to our destination. Eventually I will have a truck but the 19bh will last us quite awhile. If I had your TV I would look at the Jay Feather 7 22bhm. 4K and I know at our campgrounds we could fit it anywhere and we dry camp. It's much different than the hummingbird but worth looking into. Or if you want 3k the 19bh obviously impressed us

[Kim Gass]

The second lav is an asset with small kids but I think it's too small unless your kids stay put ; there is no room for moving cooking. I don't like the sink placement away from the counter
The 195 RB is even more limited on cargo space
Not an issue for us two but I'd not want four

[Jagiven]

Your needs and wants.are unique to everyone else's. What do you have for a TV (row vehicle)? How do you plan to use the tt? It is a very small unit. Have you stopped into a dealer and looked at one? My recommendation is to find a dealer that has one. Sit in it (ditch the salesperson), and dig through the tt, think about how you will use it, where you will store you stuff. Are you willing to covert the bed every morning and so forth.

One thing that makes me nervous out this particular model is the rear bed, and how much stuff you could put under it, and how you might affect the tongue weight. Tongue weight is very important for proper handling.

Last fall we camped next to a simular style tt, the family was simular to yourdescription plus a small dog. They seamed to.like it.

Good luck, happy camping

[joleenpfeiffer]

I bought one 3 months ago. I have had it in the shop 3 times now. It is built so cheap. Children's toys are but more sturdy. So far the gas water heater board quit. The SUB port pulled out, the emergency exit window latch broke. There was an electrical current running thru the frame. Blows fuses on a regular. I am just waiting for the next thing. Very pretty piece of crap

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk