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  1. #1
    Setting Up Camp
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    Cheaply Mounted Trim

    Hi Fellow GD owners,

    We are just back from our first outing with our new Solitude 310gk. We put over 1600 miles in a little over a week. Everyvtime we would stop for the night and open our camper, we would find additional trim had fallen off from around the windows. Now I know how well made the Grand Design camper is. But these pieces of trim are held on by little staples-it's ridiculous. Just wondering if anyone else had their trim falling off as they traveled? My hubby is very mechanical so I'm sure he'll put them back up and they will never fall down again in the life of the camper. But just curious if others had this issue.

    Patti and Mike (and Bella and Ari too)
    2020 Solitude 310gk
    2017 Ford F-250 Supercrew 6.7 diesel 2x2
    Anderson Hitch gooseneck set up

  2. #2
    Site Sponsor
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    In short, yes. We have had a lot of trim fall off on our Solitude. Dealer (questionable source of info) said the factory used the wrong fasteners in many place.

    Chris
    Chris & Karen
    Fort Collins, CO
    2017 F-350 SRW 6.7 Lariat Value CC LB 4x4
    2018 Solitude 310GK - Sold 7/2023

  3. #3
    Site Sponsor Skiddy's Avatar
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    IMO GDRV products, can only speak personally of the Imagines, are lip stick on a pig. The lip stick is the smeary kind, and needs continuous attention. After most outings, a dab of No More Nails here or a “better” placed brad/staple/screw there is required.
    This last trip saw our bathroom drawer centre support, a single staple, let go. We also had a piece of toe kick trim fall off.
    Todate, that is now five trim issues that required being redone. Our bath window blind valance was mounted with screws that missed the support members by an inch or two, the sliding door valance centre mounting screw also missed the support members by an inch or so and a piece of trim in the bedroom had been force fit, never attached at all.

    Still, when compared to some other manufacturers, GDRV is better and their warranty work (used once) has been extraordinary.
    Judy & Larry
    Ty and Ali the St Bernard drool machines
    Delta, British Columbia, GWN
    2019 Imagine 2150RB - lovingly christened “IM-A-GENE” towed by Dusty via Andersen 3350.
    2018 F150 SCREW 3.5 EcoBoost Lariat - respectfully christened “Dusty”.

  4. #4
    Long Hauler D2Reid's Avatar
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    We have had trim fall off as well. I finally bought an electric staple gun, it comes loose, I zap it.
    Dallas
    2017 Momentum 376TH, 2019 Ford F450, Dual Rear Wheel, 4x4, diesel.
    2015 Harley-Davidson Street, XG750

  5. #5
    Big Traveler boyscout's Avatar
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    I'll add another confirmation @Dirtycampers; you are unfortunately not alone.

    On our 2018 310GK we've had three valance sides just fall off, nobody touched them or broke them, they just fell off.

    The shelf in the dishwasher cupboard that had about ten pounds of stuff on it collapsed on one side during a trip. A one-foot piece of trim was found on the bedroom floor after a trip and we can't figure out where it came from. Small bits of trim on the walls around the stairs have fallen off. The right hinge of the top of our lift-top dresser drawers in the bedroom has pulled its screws out, even though anticipating that we only used it occasionally and gently.

    Do you want me to go on?! We've had dozens of issues with our trailer, some serious, all annoying. Unfortunately dealer service is generally not good, so many owners are resorting to doing repairs themselves. You'll find lots of people here with experience who will assist you. Welcome to the forum.
    Mark - 2018 Solitude 310GK - 2017 F-350 diesel SRW short box - Pullrite Superglide hitch

  6. #6
    Site Sponsor
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    We have had to stick a few pieces of trim back on. The "trim" around the stairs will be glued and stapled on next.
    2018 Solitude 375 RES 2022 F450 Powerstroke Dually

  7. #7
    Rolling Along cfowler55's Avatar
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    The problem , seems to me , is they don’t have their brad guns set correctly. The fasteners are driven almost completely thru the wood trim piece. I use a trim nail gun set to drive the nail just past flush. I generally check for looseness after every long trip as part of the cleanup process and renail as needed. Takes a couple of minutes and haven’t had any fall off.
    Charlie
    Vickie & Charlie
    2019 310GK-R
    2020 RAM Longhorn DRW Cummins /Aisin

  8. #8
    Site Sponsor Skiddy's Avatar
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    The problem is you shouldn’t have to do anything, the trim should be attached so that it stays securely in place yet can be removed if needed,
    Judy & Larry
    Ty and Ali the St Bernard drool machines
    Delta, British Columbia, GWN
    2019 Imagine 2150RB - lovingly christened “IM-A-GENE” towed by Dusty via Andersen 3350.
    2018 F150 SCREW 3.5 EcoBoost Lariat - respectfully christened “Dusty”.

  9. #9
    Fireside Member
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    Have not had any trim fall off, but where does all that saw dust come from?
    [/SIGPIC]

  10. #10
    Big Traveler boyscout's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cfowler55 View Post
    The problem , seems to me , is they don’t have their brad guns set correctly. The fasteners are driven almost completely thru the wood trim piece. I use a trim nail gun set to drive the nail just past flush. I generally check for looseness after every long trip as part of the cleanup process and renail as needed. Takes a couple of minutes and haven’t had any fall off. Charlie
    We've had three valance trim pieces just fall off - not knocked off, just fell off - and another harder-to-reinstall one will soon fall off too.

    Ours appear to be attached not with brads, but with VERY thin bits of straight wire (no heads or serrations on it) that have somehow been injected into the wood.

    Completely inadequate, as our experience is showing.

    I've re-installed and re-nailed the pieces with one-inch nails using a proper finish nailer and I don't think they'll need attention again, but I can't reach some of them with that tool. Of course my fasteners require a little extra work filling the nail-head holes, unlike the nearly-invisible holes of GD's method.

    Another thrilling project thanks to GD's quest for fastest-possible and cheapest-possible construction techniques.
    Last edited by boyscout; 07-17-2019 at 01:28 PM.
    Mark - 2018 Solitude 310GK - 2017 F-350 diesel SRW short box - Pullrite Superglide hitch

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