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  1. #1
    Seasoned Camper mtpocket's Avatar
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    Very UNHAPPY Camper

    Well after our second trip the back recliner opened up and tore up the slide. The list of issues has been way to long for a new camper. Two broken dinette chairs, leaky drain valves, finish issues, lighting issues etc. If I could have my old camper back after two short weeks in a Grand Design I would take it. None of the locks for the lower compartments were functional. Big door with slam latch to access water and drain valves was bent upon delivery. The list goes on and on. We are up to over 20 things in one week. Had two issues with the old trailer upon delivery. I dont believe anyone at Grand design or the dealer went over this trailer before delivery.
    Chris and Debbie
    St. Charles County, MO
    2007 Dodge Ram Cummins DRW
    2015 369RL Solitude

  2. #2
    BBJonbo
    Guest
    Really sorry to hear you are experiencing so many warranty issues. Our last RV was a Keystone and it had almost 50 issues in the 1st year. The dealer had it more than we did for the first 18 months. Once all the warranty issues had been addressed the RV was as good as any prior ones we owned. Prior to having the warranty items fixed it was our worst. Our best unit was Canadian made and it had zero defects and we owned it for 5 years and used it about 90 days a year. It got used a lot and was rock solid and high quality.

    With our Keystone, we take partial blame ourselves as we had scheduled an RV trip with 4 other couples and our unit was late and our PDI was 3 days before the trip. Of the almost 50 issues, about 95% we caught on our 4 hour PDI that we performed. The dealer takes less than an hour for a PDI but we didn't sign the final papers until we completed our own thorough PDI. In hind sight, we should have rejected the RV or had them fix everything before payment. At that point we had only $5k down on a bill just over $65k. They surely would have been motivated to fix everything to our satisfaction. There were no major issues but a ton of minor issues that the manufacturer or dealer PDI should have caught and already dealt with.

    Jump forward 8 years and we put ourselves in the same boat. Our 303 should arrive any day now but the dealer has a lot of after market add-ons to install and not sure when they will be ready. We have a trip planned for July 11th weekend with friends. I told my wife that if our PDI turns up too many issues then we will reject the RV until the repairs are done. I have forewarned our friends this time that there is a good chance we will have to miss out on the trip. Our new 303 was suppose to arrive last Friday which would have given the dealer w full 2 weeks for the add-ons and any thing they wished to repair from their PDI.

    For our Keystone, most everything was caught during our thorough PDI but a small number of items were detected after taking ownership. For our 303, we won't make the same mistake and make final payment if the punch list is too large or there are major issues. We are not expecting major but the dealer may be surprised if we reject the RV over a handful of even minor issues. This time we plan to have most everything addressed prior to taking ownership. Again, we only have $5k down so the dealer will hopefully be motivated to address warranty issues caught during our PDI quickly so as to receive final payment. Time will tell if we stick to our guns.

    We realize how annoying and inconvenient it can be to have a large punch list and warranty items so we feel your pain for sure. We also have had poor after sales service handling warranty work so our new strategy is fix it first then we will pay. My tolerance for warranty issues is extremely low this time round but my wife's is higher so we will see the day of our PDI what happens.

    Hope you have warranty issues addressed in a timely manner and to your satisfaction on the first attempt to have issues repaired.
    Last edited by BBJonbo; 06-25-2014 at 05:37 PM.

  3. #3
    Seasoned Camper mtpocket's Avatar
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    We dropped it off at the dealer today. It is apparently not as bad as it looks. They said they would have it ready and reduce our checklist by quite a few items. We shall see. If they do I will certainly post it. With all the campers we bought they take you in to do the paper work first. That wont happen again. We will go through it first and all items will be fixed before delivery. That way there not waiting for parts on my nickel. Maybe it will put a sense of urgency on a 20 dollar part or a big piece of sheet metal that's holding up a sale. That big piece of metal is due to GD apparently using an industrial impact wrench instead of a screw gun to assemble the trailer. It's a shame it has to be that way but it is. On houses you do a walk-thru before closing and this trailer cost more than my first house. This is a luxury item and something I can easily live without.

    I guess there needs to be some kind of strap to hold the footrests in. I will have to create something. One selling feature was not having to move and strap furniture before traveling. Guess that is still a wish
    Chris and Debbie
    St. Charles County, MO
    2007 Dodge Ram Cummins DRW
    2015 369RL Solitude

  4. #4
    Long Hauler
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    The dealer I plan to buy from owns an adjacent campground with full hookups.

    I plan to ask them to put the 5'ver on site in order for me to go through my long checklist. This includes completely filling up the black water and gray water tanks and checking out every electrical circuit, coax cable/television/radio and two air conditioning units. I also want to climb on the roof checking all the vents, etc. I plan to keep the trailer on site for 3 nights.

    After the trailer is completely checked out, I'll pay.

    I'm going to be taking the trailer to the Blue Ridge Mountains 300 miles from home. It's not going to be convenient or inexpensive to haul the unit 4 hours back to this dealership for minor repairs, so I want it to be as right as possible on front end.

  5. #5
    Commercial Member huntr70's Avatar
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    A good dealer would do a several hour walk through of the unit with you, before you ever sign the final paperwork.

    Some things do take replacement parts, and it is what it is..... they don't come any faster whether it is a stock unit or a customers.
    Steve- Inventory Manager at Tom Schaeffer's RV, Shoemakersville, PA www.tomschaeffers.com
    [email protected]
    2011 RAM 3500 SRW Outdoorsman Edition 4X4, 6.7 Cummins--TWEAKED!
    2021 Reflection 310RLS

  6. #6
    Long Hauler
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    It's not enough to be taught how to deal with the systems on the RV, etc. You've got to live with one to really discover what's not working properly. And it'd be nice if it would rain--to test the roof and seals on sliders.

    I'm very capable of doing many of my own RV repairs, however there are too many horror stories of RV's staying at dealerships more than in the owners' hands the first few months of ownership. It's up to dealers to check our their trailers better--prior to delivery.

    I just want to be proactive with my trailer, and find any problems prior to purchase.

  7. #7
    Timon0x31
    Guest
    Make your own rain, put a stay nozzle on a hose and point it straight up

  8. #8
    Seasoned Camper
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    I find a lot of this a little disturbing. About five years ago, (before GD), I delivered RV to dealers all over the country. Every dealer would use a “punch list” form to report to the manufacture defects and discrepancies. This was used to report to the manufactures what needed to be fixed on the unit after delivery. The receiving dealer would look over several items to make sure they were in the units and in working order. I realize that the end used is the ultimate person who needs to be satisfied with their new units. I think a lot of the issues should, and may be addressed before the unit is on the lot for sale, but it seams that some of the smallest things are being over looked.

  9. #9
    Site Sponsor 2hams's Avatar
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    It sounds to me like we are hearing from folks who purchased from a dealer that didn't bother to inspect the unit. Our dealer even gave us a copy of the punch list they submitted; everything was minor (and they were as picky as if it were their own) and resolved before our delivery.

    Kay & Dave - Virginia Beach, VA
    Golden Retriever Molly - Been swimming in 28 states
    2019 Solitude 310GK
    2019 GMC Denali CC/LB SRW
    Previous rig: 2014 Reflection 303RLS #314 and 2008 Silverado 2500 D/A

  10. #10
    Seasoned Camper mtpocket's Avatar
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    I guess I have a hard time placing full blame on the dealer. Should they have checked it better? Yes. Absolutely! But why are we so quick to excuse the manufacturer. If the guy installing the door sees its bent and it leaves the factory that way why put the responsibility on the dealer to catch it before it gets to the customer. Another trailer was delivered to the dealer after ours and the same door is bent so it's not a one off situation. Maybe there is so much profit for the selling dealer they assume the responsibility but to me that's wrong. Our dealer took pictures of everything we found and sent them to GD. The trailers shouldn't leave the factory like mine did.

    If the dealer called me and said your trailers in but were waiting for a 20 foot section of sheet metal to replace, new recliner and dinette chairs, new refrigerator vent, the bottom black plastic is hanging down across the back and a flooring repair kit I would have told them to keep it. The responsibility lies with GD for the final product.
    Chris and Debbie
    St. Charles County, MO
    2007 Dodge Ram Cummins DRW
    2015 369RL Solitude

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