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  1. #1
    Seasoned Camper
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    6 months and endless warranty work

    This is our 3rd camper and I understand that all brands have issues. Further, 3rd party equipment failure (eg appliances) is not the fault of Grand Design. For this reason I have not started or piled onto any "new unsatisfied owner" posts. I have kept the topics for my posts related to seeking technical guidance for issues. However, as of today I have turned a negative corner on my attitude about owning this camper. I have had more issues in 6 months than I had with my last unit over the entire time we owned it. We bought the Grand Design late last fall, used it 3-4 times, and have been out 3 times this spring. I have had a slide gasket replaced, gas lines and fittings replaced, fireplace replaced, my refrigerator is being replaced this week, and I have no reception on the front TV (assume wiring is not connected somewhere). Dial the clock forward to camping this last weekend. It was a smooth ride up, all nice highway, no significant bumps, etc. Open up the camper, my wife notices a piece of trim on the floor...go to bed, a kid notices a piece of trim hanging off the wall. From what I can tell they used an air nailer that was set too high. The nails are in so far that only about 1/16" is holding the trim on. I expect this is the start of more trim falling off from normal bumps and rattles. When we packed up, the awning wouldn't line up to retract correctly. It's literally been one or more trips to the service department for every single use of the camper! Certainly some of it is craftsmanship and some of it is bad luck. Regardless, I'm just flat out tired of this and am about ready to tell the dealer to just keep it.

    I don't expect that any of you have much advice to give. I guess I'm just venting.
    Last edited by Timmer; 06-23-2020 at 08:11 AM.
    Timmer
    2020 Grand Design Reflection 312BHTS
    2015 Ford F350, 6.2L Gas, Crew Cab

  2. #2
    Site Sponsor
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    Don't know what to say. Ours is 3 years old and we are starting to have a lot of problems with it. I am no longer a happy camper.
    2018 Solitude 375 RES 2022 F450 Powerstroke Dually

  3. #3
    Seasoned Camper FreddieMac's Avatar
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    Hang in there, it is frustrating, but normal for the first year. I have already had to fix a number of things and have to warranty request for a coach build in September of last year. It is not GD it is RVs. I had the same type of experience with my Forrest River Solaire. I kept having the slide destroy cabinets because things kept leaking. I had to bring the camper for multiple issues. I know it can be frustrating. Right now I am trying to figure out why the system will not auto level the coach. Its a process. This weekend I will be getting on the roof and looking for issues.

  4. #4
    Seasoned Camper
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    May 2015
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    Barnstead, New Hampshire
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    Quote Originally Posted by FreddieMac View Post
    Right now I am trying to figure out why the system will not auto level the coach.
    I don't know what auto-leveling problem you are having, but we intermittently (once or twice a year) have a problem where the auto-level will appear to work perfectly - it gets the coach level - but then decides to extend one jack all the way. Resetting the zero point has always fixed it.

    If you haven't tried resetting the zero point you might give it a try. The instructions are here somewhere...
    John & Cheryl
    Sold: 2017 Tiffin Allegro 31SA Motorhome
    Sold: 2017 Reflection 337RLS, dual pane windows, 2nd A/C, Go Power! Solar Elite w/2000 watt inverter, Titan electric/hydraulic brakes, Goodyear Endurance ST235/85 R16 tires
    Sold: 2015 Chevy Silverado LTZ 3500HD, SRW, Duramax/Allison, 50 gallon Transfer Flow auxiliary tank
    States we have camped in with an RV:

  5. #5
    Site Sponsor Steven@147's Avatar
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    I have no words of wisdom, only empathy for your situations, I can imagine how frustrating it must be to have continual problems. So far after a year and a half ownership of our Solitude we have only had one piece of trim come loose around the door, I fixed it. We did just recently, had our awning start to pull loose from the side wall on one end, that was the first trip back to the dealer since ownership. But then again we don't use the awnings much, its usually too windy here in Texas to put them out, and they are not very stout. The screws in the top track do not anchor into anything metal all across the track, they are just screwed into the sidewall. However, I tend to agree with the service guy on what caused the awning to start to pull loose, since they are not anchored into the wall very well, holding onto the retract button too long causes the awning to roll up too tight and pulls on the screws too much and they start to pull out.

    We use our RV fairly often. We had our Imagine for two years and now our Solitude for a year and a half, no appliance problems so far on either. But we have never owned either of our units 3 years or longer so time will tell, I guess.

    Sometimes I think the more simple things are the better with rolling earthquakes. Oops I forgot our Jensen crapped out in the Solitude, I just replaced it with a car audio system over a year ago, works great and has better sound. Saw no need to have the Jensen fixed, they have a bad reputation. Also take our leveling system for example, its all 6 way electric, no hydraulic fluid, cylinders, reservoirs or pumps to leak and no valves to mess with, its always worked perfect. All of our slides and leveling system has their own individual controls and electric switches. We do not have the "one control" system and don't want it, no fancy touch screens for us, just more to go wrong. Our television coax cable connections were loose at some of the spliters causing our bedroom reception to be lousy. Once I found and tightened up all the coax connections, its been great. Although I just installed a new Progressive Industries power monitor system and I found another television coax connection behind the power distribution panel that I didn't know was there. It was tight.
    Last edited by Steven@147; 06-23-2020 at 09:24 AM. Reason: additional feedback
    Steve & Tami Cass - Escapee's, FMCA Members, Texas Fulltimers Since July 2020
    2019 Solitude 3350RL S-Class, 2018 Ram 3500 DRW, Laramie Longhorn, B&W Companion, Texas Class A Non-CDL Drivers License
    Sharing the Fulltime Lifestyle - www.youtube.com/@tsrvadventures3219/videos, Nonprofit Channel

  6. #6
    Setting Up Camp
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    I remember when GD first came out. I tried to talk to as many owners as possible. I found the first 2 to three years in the beginning for Solitude owners where extremely trouble free....even the westlake tires lasted. I am on my second Reflection 5th wheel. I put on at least 10 grand a year in miles. Despite all the accolades GD gets it is showing very real signs of little or no quality control. I always thought the Winnebago thing was a mistake and I still do. My first reflection 303 wall delaminated..fixed by GD but a very poor job and going through that again was not going to happen for me. My present 337, is clearly stronger and better built but the finish on all the cabinets is second rate. Three days ago my lights under the bedroom slide went out. I wanted brighter ones anyway so I removed them and installed new amber clearance lights I got at a trailer part business. They still would not work. I removed the wood floor/shelf under the bed where you store things and found exposed wires because the slide going in and out ...the frame ripped off the connectors where they are tethered to the floor (on top of the carpet)....the carpet leaves them to high. I cut the carpet and tethered the connections to the floor and a little duct tape around the carpet cut and new connectors. Now I don't have to sleep over exposed wires. Anyways most of us know where you are coming from on these trailers. Good luck to you and drive safe.

  7. #7
    Rolling Along
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    Quote Originally Posted by Timmer View Post
    This is our 3rd camper and I understand that all brands have issues. Further, 3rd party equipment failure (eg appliances) is not the fault of Grand Design. For this reason I have not started or piled onto any "new unsatisfied owner" posts. I have kept the topics for my posts related to seeking technical guidance for issues. However, as of today I have turned a negative corner on my attitude about owning this camper. I have had more issues in 6 months than I had with my last unit over the entire time we owned it. We bought the Grand Design late last fall, used it 3-4 times, and have been out 3 times this spring. I have had a slide gasket replaced, gas lines and fittings replaced, fireplace replaced, my refrigerator is being replaced this week, and I have no reception on the front TV (assume wiring is not connected somewhere). Dial the clock forward to camping this last weekend. It was a smooth ride up, all nice highway, no significant bumps, etc. Open up the camper, my wife notices a piece of trim on the floor...go to bed, a kid notices a piece of trim hanging off the wall. From what I can tell they used an air nailer that was set too high. The nails are in so far that only about 1/16" is holding the trim on. I expect this is the start of more trim falling off from normal bumps and rattles. When we packed up, the awning wouldn't line up to retract correctly. It's literally been one or more trips to the service department for every single use of the camper! Certainly some of it is craftsmanship and some of it is bad luck. Regardless, I'm just flat out tired of this and am about ready to tell the dealer to just keep it.

    I don't expect that any of you have much advice to give. I guess I'm just venting.
    This is not a bash GD response. GD has stepped up with authorizing warranty work, sending new parts, extending the warranty, etc.

    I don't know how many other members of this forum have a 312, but of the three I do know about, including me, the list of warranty issues is approaching a mile long and are eerily similar. Sitting on my desk, right in front of me, is an 11-page long work order. Our rig spent a total of 6 mos at the dealer during the first 12 mos of ownership. It's already been back 4 times this year and I have another appointment this Thursday for both new and recurring warranty issues. The dealer won't be able to address all 7 items (4 new, 3 recurring) this time before we are supposed to head out again, so I'll do some myself as my work schedule permits and then probably schedule yet another appointment. Will probably have to order new parts once we get some assessments made and diagnostics performed. I have spoken to a very reputable mobile tech who can do some of the work, so I may enlist him to come to our place instead of wasting two days to drop off and pick up at the dealer. GD will pay for the mobile tech labor, but won't pay the service call fee. I think its worth it. Anyway, it just seems odd that the 312 is afflicted with many of the same issues across 2019 and 2020 builds -trim not withstanding as I have seen that problem in quite a few GD models, including ours.

    And Timmer, I have had the "just keep it" conversation with the dealer, so completely empathize.
    2022 Solitude 378MBS-R
    2021 Ford F450 CC Lariat Ultimate FX4
    1966 Shasta Astroflyte (1 year restoration project that is going on year 6)

  8. #8
    Site Sponsor
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    Have you called Grand Design customer service? If so, who did you talk to? Did they offer to help?

    Red
    Location - Wherever the road takes us...Full-timers
    2015 Momentum 380
    2019 Ram Dually

  9. #9
    Seasoned Camper
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    Quote Originally Posted by el Rojo View Post
    Have you called Grand Design customer service? If so, who did you talk to? Did they offer to help?

    Red
    We have only dealt with Grand Design once, with our refrigerator issue, and we were pleased with their responsiveness. I'm not sure what help GD could be at this point unless they were willing to go over it with a fine-toothed comb and somehow proactively find and fix problems. We just keep bringing it in as issues appear and have the dealer's service dept take care of it. Is the trim issue worth contacting GD?

    Our local dealer's service department is another story. Working with them has been a very poor experience. They don't keep their appointments, and we have had to follow up and push them to get things done and done right. We actually learned from GD when we dealt with the fridge issue that the dealer wasn't in touch with GD like they were claiming. They were using GD as an excuse for their own service and scheduling issues. I don't trust that the dealer looked at our front TV reception at all. I gave up and figured I'd check all the connections myself but haven't gotten to it yet. I don't even know if I'll tell the dealer about the trim when I bring it in for the new fridge this week as I'm sure I'd end up having to get in line again and I'd be without a camper for yet another 2-3 weeks.
    Last edited by Timmer; 06-23-2020 at 12:17 PM.
    Timmer
    2020 Grand Design Reflection 312BHTS
    2015 Ford F350, 6.2L Gas, Crew Cab

  10. #10
    Seasoned Camper
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    Vent away, I feel your pain. I've had about 25 "issues" myself and it really is surprising. I don't want to get into it once again, I posted my list here recently. Let's put it this way, I have close to $900 in fuel and tolls bringing it back and forth to the dealer.
    2019 Reflection 312BHTS TT Sold

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