Bad inverter. Is this common?

[Campingmom]

Picked up our 2020 imagine 21bh Saturday. Took off for some camping Monday and then the lights went dim Tuesday. Called dealership and they said call GD. GD suggested using a volt meter to test our battery and got us in touch with a mobile tech. He explained how much it would cost for him to come out to our campsite which may not be covered by GD. He recommended using a battery charger just to finish out our trip.
That worked and now we are on our way home. Called the dealership to get the warranty work completed and can’t get an appointment until June 19th.

We are just kind of bummed and a little scared we’ve got some kind of lemon camper. Is it common to have a major electrical problem like this right off the bat? Also is it common to be put off 4 weeks for warranty work on a new camper? Should I try another dealership or stick with where we purchased?

If this is just the way the dealerships work then that’s fine. I just don’t want to get jerked around. We upgraded from a popup and I researched for a couple of years. I kept coming back to grand design for quality in our price range so we were super excited about our new camper.

Thank you for any advice or insight.

[livinthelife]

Picked up our 2020 imagine 21bh Saturday. Took off for some camping Monday and then the lights went dim Tuesday. Called dealership and they said call GD. GD suggested using a volt meter to test our battery and got us in touch with a mobile tech. He explained how much it would cost for him to come out to our campsite which may not be covered by GD. He recommended using a battery charger just to finish out our trip.
That worked and now we are on our way home. Called the dealership to get the warranty work completed and can’t get an appointment until June 19th.

We are just kind of bummed and a little scared we’ve got some kind of lemon camper. Is it common to have a major electrical problem like this right off the bat? Also is it common to be put off 4 weeks for warranty work on a new camper? Should I try another dealership or stick with where we purchased?

If this is just the way the dealerships work then that’s fine. I just don’t want to get jerked around. We upgraded from a popup and I researched for a couple of years. I kept coming back to grand design for quality in our price range so we were super excited about our new camper.

Thank you for any advice or insight.

You'll find that dealerships are "back-logged" most of the time. Our dealership required us to "bring it in in 2 weeks" so it can wait in line for 2-3 weeks to even been taken into the service bay to determine what the problem was. Then it waits until they can "get the OK" from GD/warranty holder to make the repairs. Yeah, that didn't work with our travel plans.

We contacted GD and got the OK to take it to a RV service facility of our choosing. We paid for the repair and submitted the bill to GD. They cut a check covering it within a week.

[Campingmom]

Thank you so much for the reply.

[Jerryr]

Call around. Grand Design will usually pay any dealership to do warranty work other than Camping World. It doesn’t need to be a Grand Design dealership.

Worst case use a mobile tech and it will cost you trip charge out of pocket. Trio charge usually isn’t bad. Sometimes the trip charge is less than the cost in gas and time to tow your trailer to and from a service facility.

[cookinwitdiesel]

Sounds like it is likely just low voltage due to a weak battery. It is not uncommon for dealers to use the cheapest garbage batteries known to man (the dealer provides the battery, NOT GD)

[el Rojo]

Yep, sounds like a dead battery.

[jmbopp]

Without a voltmeter you're guessing. And technically it's a CONverter.
The majority of trailer manufacturers use the WFCO converter. And failures do occur.

[Campingmom]

Thank you so much for the responses. We used a volt meter and it’s not the battery. GD called it an inverter and that is where the problem is. Part is ordered by the dealership and they’ll call us when it arrives. You guys are so helpful. I really appreciate it.

[jkwilson]

Thank you so much for the responses. We used a volt meter and it’s not the battery. GD called it an inverter and that is where the problem is. Part is ordered by the dealership and they’ll call us when it arrives. You guys are so helpful. I really appreciate it.

Your battery powers your lights. If your battery voltage is good, your lights will not be dim. An inverter has no connection to your lights.

[Akfiredog377]

Its not hard to install the converter. If you are a little handy and just p/u the part when it arrives you can do the work and be on the road