This should be fun! - The GDRV Purchase Decision

[Grand Floridians]

let’s discuss:

When you guys were shopping what comparable units were you guys looking at ( keystone, Forrest river, Jayco, Thor?) next what was the “ah ha” moment that pushed you over the edge to go with grand design products?

What sold us was the fit and finish along with the farm house decor. We also have kids and the bunk house tt doesn’t have much space in the living room along with only 1 tiny window of the camp sight side.The 367 has lots of space and the kids have their own “room”. Plus storage tank capacity with the ability to have a w/d.

[BC315RLTS]

We traded a Kodiak 291RESL for my 315RLTS. We looked at many many manufacturers with similar floor plans and none had the quality of the Reflection. For us, Grand Design was a no brainer.

[boyscout]

When you guys were shopping what comparable units were you guys policing at ( keystone, Forrest river?) next what was the “ah ha” moment that pushed you over the edge to go with grand design products?

Newmar King Aire.

Naw... when I was told I wasn't getting one of those we looked at a half-dozen 5th wheel brands, scratched most of them quickly for obvious quality issues, and spent most of our time looking through Jayco's and Grand Design's models.

Grand Design's quality seemed better in a number of small ways that added up but the "ah ha" moment came when a dealer who could have sold us either brand told us that service on Jayco products was becoming a headache. Grand Design itself - though not necessarily its dealers - has a strong reputation for fast and responsive customer service when issues arise.

[Grand Floridians]

I traded a Kodiak 291RESL for my 315RLTS. I looked at many many manufacturers with similar floor plans and none had the quality of the Reflection. For me, Grand Design was a no brainer.

I’m pretty sure this answer will come up very very often!

[Dopperud]

We narrowed out two-year search to Grand Design and Rockwood. We actually liked the floorpan of the Rockwood better, but a little better quality, more water capacity and better customer service history put us over the edge. Have not had any reason to question our choice.

[bertschb]

I don't recall all the other brands we looked at but what set Grand Design apart for us was they did the best job of hiding all the cheap components and construction that are used to make an RV. They appeared to be built to a higher standard. Again, this was just appearances. We knew they used most of the same components as the competition and were built similalry. We usually saw something within 30 seconds while looking at the competition that made us cringe. Also, the interior design of some of the other brands looked super outdated.

Grand Design still has work to do. The bathroom faucets in our $100k+ Solitude 373FB look super cheesy. It has a huge front bathroom with a slide out for a double sink vanity. The slide is just for those two sinks. You'd think they would use decent faucets/sinks for that amazing feature. Nope. Cheep looking junk. Even the countertop is a very plain design. They could have really showcased that slide out double vanity for another $200 or whatever but cheeped out. So GD isn't perfect...

[howson]

We narrowed out two-year search to Grand Design and Rockwood. We actually liked the floorpan of the Rockwood better, but a little better quality, more water capacity and better customer service history put us over the edge. Have not had any reason to question our choice.

Very similar experience, except our choice came down to keeping our F-250 and getting the 2707 Rockwood or joining the TwoTimeTV club (sarcasm) by trading for a F-350 and getting the 315RLTS (what the DW really wanted). You can see by my signature pic which way we went. (This forum was also a major reason why we went with Grand Design. I know I can get help here when/if something goes wrong.)

[The Buergers]

Looked at Open Range, Forest River, Jayco, and many others. interior finish was what the DW liked best about GDRV. This forum and other reviews were what convinced me. Another minor detail is the coraplast and drains look cleaner than others. Nothing hanging down to snag on curbs and bushes. We love our rig.

[Country Campers]

When we started looking we went to our local dealer ( we have bought 2 TT's from them) also family friends. Our must haves was ceiling height (I am 6'6") in bedroom as well as bathroom and shower.We do not like a bed in a slide so this was also a must have (or not). Night stands beside the bed, and room for setting inside (we only had a small couch in previous TT). Some sort of outside kitchen was on the list too. Our local dealer had KZ and Jayco. Neither one fit our bill. As we camp different places sometimes we are by another dealer. When we stopped into the dealer with the GD models we looked at every unit they had and the DW fell in love with the 297RST. I did not want to pull that kind of weight on the bumper so we went to the fifth wheels and looked at them. Comparing ours to the same model Jayco sitting side by side there was really no comparison. Ceiling was to low, interior was ugly as well as the exterior gray color. And the quality in the GD just felt much better. So the decision was made and I had to apologize to my local dealer , but he understood and al is well. I forgot the skylight was a plus that the DW really liked.
Sometimes when you enter a camper it just feels right, GD does that for us. Our last KZ TT was a great unit that fit us well but there 5 ers are a little lacking in what we wanted.
WOW that was long, sorry.

Brian

[CentralMichBo]

We were looking at a Jayco as we had really good luck with our old Jayco unit and didn't like our current Keystone Avalanche. Then we went to a show and sat in a Reflection 337 and went - WOW - everything we wanted, a great floor plan, good fit and finish - only drawback was a brand new Company (January 2014 was when we went). The price was right and we just decided to go with it - loved our decision and just bought a new Grand Design - didn't even consider another company.