New Grand Design 351M

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Hey all! After owning an Imagine and living it, my husband and I bought a 2020 Momentum 351M toy hauler! Excited to take our inaugural trip this week!
Question: when loading toys are the patio doors removable? If so, how?

[FT4NOW]

Congrats! I assume you mean the 3 season doors? Once you put the ramp down, and look at the patio doors standing on the ramp side you will see a latch towards the top of each door that allows you to open them up. The bad thing is they dont stay in that position, so its annoying on windy days trying to load or unload stuff back there.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[camcam2200]

Congratulations! My wife and I love, love love, our 351M. Bought new in 2018. The more you use it, the more you'll like it. I do, however have a couple of tips to maybe save you headache and money. First, minor thing to do is put a latch tab on the pantry door. Sometimes the pantry door comes unlatched while in transit and opens into the kitchen slide and if you don't see it when you extend the slide, you will break the door knob off. Also, the TV in the living room comes away from the wall while in transit, so figure out how to secure it so it isn't hard on the swing arm mount.

Here's the big one, expensive lesson:
I just replaced tires at 6,000 miles of towing $1050, had rear axel aligned $300, Replaced flattened springs, replaced Lippert equalizers with More-Ryde $330 labor, Grand Design provided parts (basically sent me the suspension parts on the newer models). This was all due to the coach being overloaded. I usually dry camp, so water capacity and fuel were a good selling point for me on this coach. So with essential like bedding, cookware, a few tools like shovel, axe, etc. make sure you are not overloaded in the configuration you intend to use it. Don't let a salesman tell you like he told me, "you can get a small side by side in here". Way too heavy. So with essentials I mentioned, plus full propane, full water, full fuel, and 1 Honda Rubicon 4 wheeler (approx 700lbs.) I weighed the truck and coach. Combined weight was 26,920 lbs. with Axel weight of 14,600lb. 3300lb pin weight. This is NOT a toy hauler if you dry camp and haul water with you. When I asked Grand Design about it, their written response was: "in your position it would be a choice between hauling the weight as water and fuel or your ATV. Generally we suggest not to travel with full tanks." Wow. Back to 2 trucks or wack tracking for water......

Enjoy your 351 as we still do, but be careful with what you intend to haul in it. I'm just not able to use it as I intended when I bought it.

[Gobbledot]

Congratulations! My wife and I love, love love, our 351M. Bought new in 2018. The more you use it, the more you'll like it. I do, however have a couple of tips to maybe save you headache and money. First, minor thing to do is put a latch tab on the pantry door. Sometimes the pantry door comes unlatched while in transit and opens into the kitchen slide and if you don't see it when you extend the slide, you will break the door knob off. Also, the TV in the living room comes away from the wall while in transit, so figure out how to secure it so it isn't hard on the swing arm mount.

Here's the big one, expensive lesson:
I just replaced tires at 6,000 miles of towing $1050, had rear axel aligned $300, Replaced flattened springs, replaced Lippert equalizers with More-Ryde $330 labor, Grand Design provided parts (basically sent me the suspension parts on the newer models). This was all due to the coach being overloaded. I usually dry camp, so water capacity and fuel were a good selling point for me on this coach. So with essential like bedding, cookware, a few tools like shovel, axe, etc. make sure you are not overloaded in the configuration you intend to use it. Don't let a salesman tell you like he told me, "you can get a small side by side in here". Way too heavy. So with essentials I mentioned, plus full propane, full water, full fuel, and 1 Honda Rubicon 4 wheeler (approx 700lbs.) I weighed the truck and coach. Combined weight was 26,920 lbs. with Axel weight of 14,600lb. 3300lb pin weight. This is NOT a toy hauler if you dry camp and haul water with you. When I asked Grand Design about it, their written response was: "in your position it would be a choice between hauling the weight as water and fuel or your ATV. Generally we suggest not to travel with full tanks." Wow. Back to 2 trucks or wack tracking for water......

Enjoy your 351 as we still do, but be careful with what you intend to haul in it. I'm just not able to use it as I intended when I bought it.

Do you have a pic of the latch tab you used for you pantry door? After reading your post brought back bad memories to me from a previous RV. I had a cabinet door open and where it was I couldn't figure out what the slide problem was till i had tried to open it about 5 times, it had the slide kicked up and about out of time before I thought to check it. Neediess to say I changed the hinges to the spring loaded ones that automatically closed the door.

[camcam2200]

I can’t get to it right now to get a pic but my wife simply made a cordura strap with a snap on one end. The other end screwed to the door. Looks proper and not all redneck. She put it about eye level. Easy quick check.

[camcam2200]

Sorry I didn't see this until now. The tab is just a cloth tab with a snap on it that my wife came up with.

[camcam2200]

So using the 2021 Specs on a 351M
GVWR 16800 lbs
UVW 14700 lbs
Minus Fresh Water 1287 lbs
Minus Propane 60 lbs
Minus 60 gal Fuel 366 lbs

Cargo Capacity 388 lbs
Specs claim 3000 lbs Payload, but they do not tell you it's that minus water and fuels.
That means you have only 388 lbs of food, clothes, pots, pans and other household items. DON"T EVEN THINK YOU CAN HAUL ANY KIND OF TOY!!!

No toy hauler this big should ever have less than three axels. It's almost false advertising to call it a toy hauler.
I'd like to hear what GD has to say to this math.

[Hoopy Frood]

We really like our 2019 351M, and haul our Spyder and Honda Interceptor sportbike. It does have a couple drawbacks, but it works great for us.