Poor heating and other concerns

[Cate&Rob]

I have learned that it is way cheaper to do it right the first time than trying to make it right after it leaves the manufactures facilities. The RV industry would be money ahead to tighten up their quality control. It would be a win win for everyone.

Randy - This seems to make obvious sense to any of us who have worked in manufacturing of any kind. But, I can tell you from having this conversation with GDRV folks . . . they just don't see it this way. And it would seem that none of their competitors do either. I am not saying that I think this is right . . . I'm just saying that "it is what it is" and there don't seem to be any other options if you want a towable RV today.

Rob

[DaveMatthewsBand]

100%agree, it is not the way it “should be”.
But I got to ask, since you are adamit this.
Are you putting your unit up for sale in protest now that you know?
You accepted it by buying into an RV at this price range to begin with...
Just my 2 cents....

Our choice actually had nothing to do with ''this price range''. We could afford to pay twice what we paid to get what we wanted.
And I didn't accept anything. As far as we knew, based on our research and on opinions expressed in this forum months prior to our purchase, we were buying a superior product.
Unlike a lot of you, we don't have years of RV'ing experience (zero, none, nada) so we weren't "in the know" when it comes to facts that certain members like to keep pointing out,
like "all RV's are basically built the same". Contrary to popular belief, this isn't common knowledge.
As far as putting this RV up for sale, sure I'd have no problem doing that, if it suddenly became apparent there was an RV builder that had higher standards and built
with quality in mind, instead of getting units out the door as quickly as possible, but based on the opinions voiced here, there isn't one.
So I'll just keep fixing what GD missed till the RV is solid.

[Callahan4]

The only one that comes to mind is airstream you just want get the layout you want but the Q is there


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[DaveMatthewsBand]

The only one that comes to mind is airstream you just want get the layout you want but the Q is there

Airstream was actually our first choice, but when you're 6'5'' showering in one is nearly impossible.

LOL

[BabyBober]

Our choice actually had nothing to do with ''this price range''. We could afford to pay twice what we paid to get what we wanted.
And I didn't accept anything. As far as we knew, based on our research and on opinions expressed in this forum months prior to our purchase, we were buying a superior product.
Unlike a lot of you, we don't have years of RV'ing experience (zero, none, nada) so we weren't "in the know" when it comes to facts that certain members like to keep pointing out,
like "all RV's are basically built the same". Contrary to popular belief, this isn't common knowledge.
As far as putting this RV up for sale, sure I'd have no problem doing that, if it suddenly became apparent there was an RV builder that had higher standards and built
with quality in mind, instead of getting units out the door as quickly as possible, but based on the opinions voiced here, there isn't one.
So I'll just keep fixing what GD missed till the RV is solid.

Unfortunately, what you are looking for doesn’t exist, at least not that I have found. Short of custom build shops at probebly 6x the price not 2x. And my experience with them is they build large HEAVY units. You have a “light weight” 5th wheel in the 220. That means light weight materials and lower price points to fit the mass market. I realize that isn’t what you want but no one here hid anything either. Personally I would say just the opposite. We have all been vocal that the build quality, especially behind the scenes, is not what we care for. I will also say 9out of 10will also say GD is superior. Especially for those of us that have owned trailers from other manufacturers. That is not saying it is right or that it is OK. It just is. Most of us do just exactly what you are doing, start with a product that is “ok”, not great, and make it what you want. While I know you are not a happy camper, trust me, you would have really been one p!$$ed off camper having bought many of the other mass market brands out there...

Keep the spirits up, let us know your mods and improvements. It may be helpful to someone else.

[DaveMatthewsBand]

Unfortunately, what you are looking for doesn’t exist, at least not that I have found. Short of custom build shops at probebly 6x the price not 2x. And my experience with them is they build large HEAVY units. You have a “light weight” 5th wheel in the 220. That means light weight materials and lower price points to fit the mass market. I realize that isn’t what you want but no one here hid anything either. Personally I would say just the opposite. We have all been vocal that the build quality, especially behind the scenes, is not what we care for. I will also say 9out of 10will also say GD is superior. Especially for those of us that have owned trailers from other manufacturers. That is not saying it is right or that it is OK. It just is. Most of us do just exactly what you are doing, start with a product that is “ok”, not great, and make it what you want. While I know you are not a happy camper, trust me, you would have really been one p!$$ed off camper having bought many of the other mass market brands out there...

Keep the spirits up, let us know your mods and improvements. It may be helpful to someone else.

Will do! I've probably posted half a dozen mods/fixes just in the last 2 weeks.



Since you mentioned it, we actually looked into buying a Spacecraft Mfg 5er, and some other custom-built RV's that I could fit into yet were still less than 30 feet long, but like you said they were super heavy, too much for the F250. And I'm not driving a dually. For one thing I wouldn't be able to park it here at home, since I live downtown in a high rise loft apartment and have to park in a city garage that my F250 SRW barely fits into. So it's not even an option. That forces me to stick with certain weight classes in an RV. I have the diesel so the half-ton towable thing wasn't something we were looking for, it was just coincidence because we really liked the layout of the 220RK.
And you're right it's not a complete piece of junk like some of the Thor, Jayco and Forest River units I've seen so we'll just work out the kinks and make it what we want it.

Incidentally, yesterday was the first time we've ever towed it out to go camping. We've only towed it one time, from the stealership to the storage unit.
We only drove about 20 miles South to a little campground by the lake but everything went fine.

[Gold Country Livin']

Hang in there DMB! Appreciate your mods and pictures too. Dont think that we don't share some of the same thoughts. We just move on and try to enjoy our remaining years camping. You are welcome anytime camping with us. Enjoy and don't dwell on the negatives. We get it. This forum group and GD is still better than most. 😎

[DaveMatthewsBand]

Hang in there DMB! Appreciate your mods and pictures too. Dont think that we don't share some of the same thoughts. We just move on and try to enjoy our remaining years camping. You are welcome anytime camping with us. Enjoy and don't dwell on the negatives. We get it. This forum group and GD is still better than most. 

Thanks buddy!

[Lv2gen]

I had a 99 Fleetwood Wilderness 5th for 21 years and it was well made. Just sold it for 2k over kbb retail and bought a 2018 Reflection 150 290bh to get a real bunkhouse bedroom and more space. The decor upgrades since 1999 are amazing and I love this Floorplan.

I bought the GD unit from a dealer 500 miles away and towed it home during a snow storm. I camped overnight along the way and I immediately encountered the EXACT same problem with the heater in my unit. Poor air flow, lukewarm heat, and the heater ran most of the 25 degree night. The bathroom water was scalding hot for 10 seconds and the pass thru storage was significantly warmer than the trailer.

Same story on my trip this past weekend. I sprayed fire safe expanding foam in the end of the duct in the storage area to close off the end piece that was left open as he described.

I already planned on pulling off the same panels he listed to check my ducts. I'm also considering re-engineering the ducts to the underfloor area to split off and install another vent in the stairstep to direct more heat to the center of the trailer. My 99 wilderness would roast you out in 30 minutes. My 2018 Reflection can barely keep it 68 degrees after running all night.

I know we need to do little things that the maker should have done to get a more usable unit, but seriously? The heater appears to blow a lot of hot air. It just goes to the wrong places due to cheap building methods.

I've already upgraded to 4 batteries for off grid camping. I also had to put in 2 USB hubs in better places than directly over the head of the front bed. Next project is reinforcing the shower valves, it appears that the only thing they are attached to is the thin plastic shower. That'll crack someday soon.

Then reinforce the cheap plastic floors at either side of the pass thru. Can't believe there is nothing under them. If they break than whatever was there falls out.... right in front of your trailer tires.

I already attached plywood to the entire front wall of the pass thru so I could attach the battery terminal bars to something solid.

After I fix the heater issue I think I'll be OK for awhile. I realize the 150 series is built for half ton trucks and they cut weight everywhere they could, but I bought it for the Floorplan and amenities, and I got a good price on it. My 1 ton ram 3500 it doesn't even break a sweat towing it.

[2Wander]

Glad you found this post and responded to it. We have the same issue and the dealer we purchased it from told us it was normal. Seriously not impressed with that dealer.

I called GD, have a case number and a service appointment with a different dealer. However, with the information you posted (and the fact we need to clean up the basement for solar/batteries) we can take a look and see if this is fixable before our first trip next month.

Thanks again!