Forum Discussion

flash82's avatar
flash82
Explorer
Aug 27, 2013

Jayco 17z and Kodiak 172e

Hi. Looking to upgrade from our coleman popup. We have been inside a jayco x17z and like it. Just saw , in pictures only, the Kodiak 172. Can anyone comment on this unit.?

The jayco appears to have more inside storage but the Kodiak has more features at a cheaper price (lower quality). ie... larger awning (electric), shower surround, pass though storage. I just don't know enough about the brand.

Thanks
  • Thanks for the replies so far!!

    The Kodiak is about 1.5 hrs away. Been dealing with the dealer online at this point. Noticed in one of the inside pics a piece of trim at front end in falling from the ceiling. Totally low balled the trade in….I mean, wow! Not getting a good feeling. The local 17z was sold as we were looking.


    The Jayco we looked at had the yellow sticker stating the weight was WITH full propane...3046lbs. So the CCC would be 454. Still not stellar. I believe the Kodiak has a GVWR of 3800lbs. Don't plan on carrying water.
  • i would definitely choose the Jayco over the Kodiak. Dutchmen's reputation for customer service is not stellar or even average.

    just so you know, trailers in this size/weight range, have extremely poor CCC's(cargo carrying capacity).

    the Jayco has 715lbs. and the Kodiak has 742lbs.
    the weights of the "options" that all trailer have, the battery, the propane and the water have to be subtracted from those numbers.
    meaning you will only have around 250-300lbs. for cargo.

    and the Kodiak's GVWR will be over 3500lbs., while the Jayco's is 3500lbs.
  • Can you look at both of them and compare? I can't speak for the Kodiak as an owner, but we did look at them. I was not all that impressed with the materials used on the interior. But the floor plans were nice and they had nice features. We bought our 2nd Jayco HTT this year, the previous one was a Kiwi 17a (ancestor the x17z). We had it for 10 years and never had any problems with it.

    Bumpy, they use something called "Alpha Ply Roofing" which is a brand name for a type of rubber roof. http://www.all-rite.com/alpha-roofing-p-402.html
  • what are the roofs made of? TPO, rubber, etc.? that is always my first cut.
    bumpy
  • Jayco only uses a single door 5 CF fridge where most other brands have a double door 6 CF fridge. I wouldn't judge quality on how much the unit sells for. I think they all have their advantages, disadvantages and Q&A issues.
  • No argument there at all. My ex Jayco 17Z was a wonderful little RV with not a day of worries in the time I owned it.
  • Jayco has the two year warranty and in general builds a good coach. Never been a Dutchmen fan, known a few people with them who've had countless QA issues. Just my opinion but the Jayco is in general a better coach.