Is It Worth It?

[Cleetussnow]

I bought one because of the 3 year warranty. I needed it once, and the customer service was great. Still have a year left.

[Second Chance]

I bought one because of the 3 year warranty. I needed it once, and the customer service was great. Still have a year left.

The general warranty on Grand Design RVs is 12 months. The three year warranty is the structural warranty (covering "structural components").

Rob

[Wicked ace]

This is spot on Maximus. We owned (3) and were heavily involved in a Winnebago club. The common knowledge in the club was it took a year to get the bugs out of a new RV.

Texsol20, what makes Grand Design stand apart from other manufacturers is the customer service will send parts to you directly from the items you wish to fix saving you a trip to the dealer. Most of us like doing it ourselves, some people either can't or don't want to.

Hope this helps Red

It takes you a year to get bugs worked out largely by doing it yourself? No wonder the manufacturers love you. People could, would and should voice displeasure when they are constantly working on a less than ideal product. So then begs the next question how long until you update/ upgrade? Then you expect to go through it all again? It's no wonder so many get frustrated and just walk away after a year. Or two after the warranty runs out and they are stuck with the problems.

[Maximus216]

We really like our 310 - especially the residential fridge (with solar and LiFePO4 batteries), dual pane windows and auto-leveling (which we didn't have on our 2016 Reflection 337). The only downside is storage and CCC - actually a bit less than the 337. We have to be careful about traveling with a full fresh water tank... and we don't load a bunch of stuff for full-timers, either. With the dual pane windows and two Coleman Mach 15K ACs, it's easier to cool than the 337 was, and I don't have to keep Reflectix in the windows (which my wife hated). Laura loves the larger kitchen and more counter space. Contrary to what others have said, the new Furrion oven is heads and shoulders above the Atwood in the Reflection. She bakes all kinds of things in it without any issues, now. One of the biggest improvements we made was having a washer and dryer installed (driven by the pandemic and not wanting to frequent laundromats as we had the previous 4 yrs 9 mos).

Rob

Which washer and dryer did you go with and did you put in a dishwasher?

[Second Chance]

Which washer and dryer did you go with and did you put in a dishwasher?

No to the dishwasher - we need the storage space and with just the two of us, dishes aren't an issue. The washer and dryer are a stacked, vented, 110V pair by Whirlpool. We are very happy with them. They are about 1/2" narrower than the Splendide units - but one side of both the bedroom and closet door frames had to come off to get them in. There was also modification of the front wall of the W/D closet required to get them in and install the vent. GD is supposedly redesigning this but I don't know if it has been incorporated in production yet.

Rob

[MN-Mark]

Hello to all!

So, we are in the process of determining exactly what we want in a Solitude 380FL. However, as I read through posts, I am totally questioning whether or not to even go with GD. From visits to RV shows and dealerships, the quality of GD RVs was still above other ones we have seen. Yet, many comments in these forums seem to indicate considerable problems. Is this common for any brand of RV? While it may be blasphemy here, does anyone recommend a different RV?

Many thanks to all the wonderful members here.

v/r

TexSol20

Hello TexSol20 and welcome,

I believe that the vast majority of units built by any brand are good trouble free units. Unfortunately every manufacturer will also produce some units that have issues and some true lemons. Of course, people voice negative issues and experiences louder and more often than the good. The difference with Grand Design is how they respond to these issues. From what I have read, GD is far superior to others in how they take care of their customers. I will have to take others word on this as we have had no issues and have had no reason to contact GD.

When we were shopping, I talked to the service manager at a couple different dealerships and, without them knowing what brand I was considering, asked what brands were the most trouble free and had the least warranty and service issues. Every response was that GD was the best. When we did our PDI the Tech that did it with us said GD’s were his favorite because there were far fewer issues with GD units compared to other brands.

RVing, weather weekend warriors like us or full timing, is a great lifestyle. Don’t let fear of getting a unit with issues stop you from enjoying the lifestyle. Odds are that you will have a trouble free unit. I am sure that you will be happy with GD.

Good luck and hope to se you on the road someday!

Mark

[Brewhedd]

Grand Design is like any other RV manufacturer out there. With close to zero standards it is a roll of the dice as to the number of defects you are going to be saddled with. Sure, GD will fix the issues. Are you ready for the stress of a very possible 10 round trips to the dealer with you absorbing the costs of transportation while you wait weeks or months for warranty fixes?

[Second Chance]

Grand Design is like any other RV manufacturer out there. With close to zero standards it is a roll of the dice as to the number of defects you are going to be saddled with. Sure, GD will fix the issues. Are you ready for the stress of a very possible 10 round trips to the dealer with you absorbing the costs of transportation while you wait weeks or months for warranty fixes?

Neither of our GD fifth wheels have required a return to the dealer for any repairs. GD authorized a mobile tech for repair of the joint where the slide flooring met the slide end wall on our Reflection. While he was there, the tech informed GD that the wiper seals needed replacing on both of the big slides. GD authorized that, sent him the seals, and paid for the labor... and the unit was past the one-year basic warranty (the floor repair was under the three-year structural warranty). Everything else on both units has been simple and GD sent us the parts directly while under warranty.

Rob

[bertschb]

Are you ready for the stress of a very possible 10 round trips to the dealer with you absorbing the costs of transportation while you wait weeks or months for warranty fixes?

We're on our third Grand Design 5th wheel. None of them have required a trip to the dealer for a repair.

[Brewhedd]

We're on our third Grand Design 5th wheel. None of them have required a trip to the dealer for a repair.

Well that is just amazing, consider yourself fortunate and a rare case. You rolled a seven.