Has Grand Design gone down in quality?

[Ynot4me2]

The difference between the two situations being that Winnebago does not manage Grand Design production. GD still operates as an independent business unit. If customers are noticing a decline in construction and assembly quality, I would attribute that to rapid expansion to meet demand with quality systems that could not keep pace.

Rob

Scary when you've made the purchase bug not yet have taken ownership yet.

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[hubie1988]

I'm glad to hear the Solitude owners seem to be having good luck for the most part. The sales rep told me he actually had a Solitude on the lot with a loose screw under the TPO. He said it's like a random screw was laying on the roof and it just got covered leaving a lump under the membrane.

forgive my ignorance, but what is TPO? I usually figure out the shorthand lingo, like DW, and PDI, but not having any luck with TPO!

[FT4NOW]

forgive my ignorance, but what is TPO? I usually figure out the shorthand lingo, like DW, and PDI, but not having any luck with TPO!

TPO is Thermoplastic Polyolefin, it's the material used for roofs on newer RVs.

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[PHMadness]

When I purchased our 310GK last summer I ordered it with the options we wanted, how we wanted. I paid about $750 for an independent inspection before delivery. Best money I've ever spent I think. There were the normal nit picky items that I had expected from purchasing previous RVs, no big deal. The inspector found the entire roof install to be lacking. The entire perimeter was apparently not glued down and sealed properly. Of course the dealer and GD balked and said it was fine but my guy called the manufacturer, sent pics and verified with them that it wasn't right. GD still wouldn't make it right so the GM at the dealership fixed it and said he would fight GD for the cost later. Not sure how that worked out.
Long winded story shortened, I have had so few issues with this unit compared to my others by having all the little stuff caught before I left with it. The inspection was well worth every penny. Grand Designs build still seems to be as good or better than everyone elses with the exception of someone asleep in the roof department. Hopefully that's been fixed.
Get a pre purchase inspection!

[fmartinmn]

We are on our second Imagine unit. The first was a 2018 2670 MK that had a structural warranty issue that Grand Design willingly covered under warranty. No if, ands or buts about it. Great customer service. Our second unit is a 2020 2970 RL. (we needed room for guests) While we have only had it a couple of months, I feel overall, it is a better built unit. I have inspected the roof, all of the plumbing fittings, pulled all the drawers to see what may need attention and have found little if any to be disappointed about. Everything works as it should and overall a pretty good fit & finish. We selected Grand Design based on their reputation and are very pleased with our experience. Someday, we will step up to a Solitude level fiver. I hope Grand Design will still be an industry leader when we do.

[Brewhedd]

The inspector found the entire roof install to be lacking. The entire perimeter was apparently not glued down and sealed properly. Of course the dealer and GD balked and said it was fine but my guy called the manufacturer, sent pics and verified with them that it wasn't right. GD still wouldn't make it right so the GM at the dealership fixed it and said he would fight GD for the cost later. Grand Designs build still seems to be as good or better than everyone elses with the exception of someone asleep in the roof department. Hopefully that's been fixed.
Get a pre purchase inspection!

That's a huge exception especially considering GD's position, wouldn't count on sloppy workmanship being "fixed". I also had a roof problem with it not sealed between the gutter and TPO which caused water to run down the sidewalls. Also, the caulking is already in need of maintenance after a year (last RV went 4 years). A pre purchase inspection is a great idea, wish I had done it. Probably wouldn't have gone through with the purchase.

[PHMadness]

That's a huge exception especially considering GD's position, wouldn't count on sloppy workmanship being "fixed". I also had a roof problem with it not sealed between the gutter and TPO which caused water to run down the sidewalls. Also, the caulking is already in need of maintenance after a year (last RV went 4 years). A pre purchase inspection is a great idea, wish I had done it. Probably wouldn't have gone through with the purchase.

It sounds like your roof was just like mine. I was definitely ready to walk away from the purchase if it hadn't been addressed. That alone was worth the cost of the inspection to me. The fact that he caught all the other piddling stuff and made them fix them without me having to find them was a nice bonus.

[hlozano]

Thank you everyone for all your comments. My wife and I decided to go with the Solitude S-Class 3550BH. For a difference of $5,000 I felt like it was worth the extra $$ over the Reflection 367BHS. UVW is comparable to the Reflection 367BHS but is a couple feet shorter which is bonus for parking at my home. We did like the mid bunk floorplan of the 367BHS, but all we were trying to accomplish was extra sleeping while maintaining a rear living configuration. The 3550BH is a nice upgrade from our 2015 317RST so time will tell on build quality.

We're currently on our first camping trip (shake down before the beach) to work out any major issues. So far in the 2 days we've been living in it at the campground (dry camping), I have not experienced any major issues knock on wood. No squeaky floors, no mis-aligned doors, etc,. The build quality feels very solid and asthetics is very eye pleasing to us. We've already had several compliments from other RV'rs about our new rig. Lots of questions about weight, length, how my SRW F350 diesel does pulling it, and so on.

There are a couple minor things I'll be calling about.
Small dent in the awning tube
Missing trim pieces on the radio that's suppose to cover the screws. (This is the dealers fault)
Sewage has a broken ear
A couple very small puncture holes the size of a needle in the leather couch.

Time will tell how our new GD holds up. My 2015 Reflection still looked new inside and out after 6 years of ownership. Alot of that was care and maintenance on my part but I'm the same with my truck.

[Riverrunner]

We are happy with ours. I don't expect it to be perfect and it's not. We looked at a lot of trailers and GD always seemed to stand out. We had a Forest River product we bought used and it was ok but the previous owner worked out the kinks. The only issues so far with our 2020 337 is the trim inside the closet partially fell off because the staples came out but fixed it myself. The wall paper on one side of the back corner is a little wrinkled when it gets warm. It didn't get smoothed out enough so there is some air trapped that I need to let out with a needle. So far that is it. We've camped in it a few times and are now full timing in it for the next year. While I know there are folks that have big issues with every brand, I tend to think those the come on forums come with issues and those that don't have problems you just don't hear from them much.

[John303]

When I purchased our 310GK last summer I ordered it with the options we wanted, how we wanted. I paid about $750 for an independent inspection before delivery. Best money I've ever spent I think. There were the normal nit picky items that I had expected from purchasing previous RVs, no big deal. The inspector found the entire roof install to be lacking. The entire perimeter was apparently not glued down and sealed properly. Of course the dealer and GD balked and said it was fine but my guy called the manufacturer, sent pics and verified with them that it wasn't right. GD still wouldn't make it right so the GM at the dealership fixed it and said he would fight GD for the cost later. Not sure how that worked out.
Long winded story shortened, I have had so few issues with this unit compared to my others by having all the little stuff caught before I left with it. The inspection was well worth every penny. Grand Designs build still seems to be as good or better than everyone elses with the exception of someone asleep in the roof department. Hopefully that's been fixed.
Get a pre purchase inspection!

I like the idea of an independent inspection, but where do you find such a person?