The first 2wks - 369RL

Dingenito · 08-17-2014, 06:54 AM

Hi All, we are at the end of a two week journey with our 2015 369RL and here is our adventure went.
-son locked in bathroom (door mechanism broke)
-yellow piping in awning coming out (fixed and duct taped)
-poor stitching in couch cushion pillow
-valve stem leaked (had to stop every two hours to inflate; had all four tires pulled at first destination and valve stems replaced)
-refrigerator stopped working (at second destination was temporarily repaired until we get home). Apparently the Norcold 1210s have a recall.
-woke up to smoke alarm going off at at 5:15am. Shut down everything and one by one turned back on appliances, air etc and found that for some unknown reason the furnace was kicking on while the air was on (temps were set in the 60's).
-roof membrane showing through skylight in shower.
-carpet tucked inside slide trim came out (3rd time opening slide).
-front slide finished trim inside on dinette came undone (staples came undone at top corner).
-slide not fully closing on bottom drivers side.
-slide on passenger side bottom coming off (hubby fixed)
-Norcold service reps were completely unhelpful.
-Dealer made excuses.... Mind you we traveled 4hr to another state to get our RV.

I expected some issues with a brand new RV but never did I expect all these types of quality issues. We chose GD because of quality...

A couple hundred out of pocket to make all the necessary repairs and purchased a spare refrigerator due to our sons special dietary needs. We made the best of it on vacation but lost down time for service repairs etc. Thank goodness for pictures!!

**Steve and Cill** · 08-17-2014, 07:17 AM

Welcome to the forum Dingenito and WOW, what a list! Sorry to hear about all those issues on your new Solitude. Stay on your Dealer and let Grand Design Customer Service know about all these problems.

Steve

Dingenito · 08-17-2014, 07:42 AM

Thank you Steve! We did contact the dealer and they were not helpful at all. Spoke to GD, and they of course referred us to Norcold, and the tire manufacturer; both not really helpful. Norcold service authorized repair quoted us 6 days before they could repair the fridge and we would have to bring the RV to them. Luckily the campground recommended a local person who fixed our fridge until we could get it home and have the recall kit installed (we have a 1210 model). There should be some sort of quality checks before these units leave the factory; opening and closing slides, checking of tire pressure over a couple of days before it leaves etc. Some simple checks probably would have gone a long way. Personally, I would live a factory quality rep to come see this for themselves. I have a bunch of pics to send them. I really do love this RV, but disappointed - hopefully it will all work out.

**Renee** · 08-17-2014, 08:15 AM

Welcome to the forum Dingenito!
You do have a lot of issues. Hope those get worked out to your satisfaction soon.

**ACDW-Ottawa** · 08-17-2014, 09:09 AM

Call Grand Design back and ask for help. If you are not satisfied, call Jerry at 574-825-8000 x-2008 or you can even send a Private Message to Bill Fenech (one of the owners). I am sure you will get the help you need.

Not making excuses for your problems. I am saying that from my experience with my own Solitude and others on the forum, GD will fix your defects.

**thompsons 369rl** · 08-17-2014, 09:30 AM

Originally Posted by Dingenito

Hi All, we are at the end of a two week journey with our 2015 369RL and here is our adventure went.
-son locked in bathroom (door mechanism broke)
-yellow piping in awning coming out (fixed and duct taped)
-poor stitching in couch cushion pillow
-valve stem leaked (had to stop every two hours to inflate; had all four tires pulled at first destination and valve stems replaced)
-refrigerator stopped working (at second destination was temporarily repaired until we get home). Apparently the Norcold 1210s have a recall.
-woke up to smoke alarm going off at at 5:15am. Shut down everything and one by one turned back on appliances, air etc and found that for some unknown reason the furnace was kicking on while the air was on (temps were set in the 60's). -roof membrane showing through skylight in shower.
-carpet tucked inside slide trim came out (3rd time opening slide).
-front slide finished trim inside on dinette came undone (staples came undone at top corner).
-slide not fully closing on bottom drivers side.
-slide on passenger side bottom coming off (hubby fixed)
-Norcold service reps were completely unhelpful.
-Dealer made excuses.... Mind you we traveled 4hr to another state to get our RV.

I expected some issues with a brand new RV but never did I expect all these types of quality issues. We chose GD because of quality...

A couple hundred out of pocket to make all the necessary repairs and purchased a spare refrigerator due to our sons special dietary needs. We made the best of it on vacation but lost down time for service repairs etc. Thank goodness for pictures!!

No excuse for the other items but I did have the same thing happen with A/C and furnace running at the same time. It could be a malfunction but it also could be that the A/C in zone 1 and furnace in zone 2 were set to run at the same time. I'm assuming you have front and rear A/Cs. When it's warming up outside, the front of the rig (zone 1) tends to warm up first while the rear (zone 2) stays cooler. If zone 1 is set to A/C and zone 2 is on furnace, it can happen if conditions are right.

**pauliwalnutz** · 08-19-2014, 01:19 PM

A friend of mine with a Reflection 303 also has an issue with the air conditioner running when the furnace turns on.

**Dave and Monica** · 08-19-2014, 01:25 PM

That can happen if the fan is set to 'Lo' or 'Hi' instead of 'Auto' If you don't have the fan set to 'Auto' and you run the furnace, the A/C fan will also run. The fan control on the thermostat is for the A/C fan only.

Dave