Did You Own a Different RV Before GD?

[xrated]

In the scheme of things, I'm definitely a late comer to the RV world. I bought my first RV in 2016 at the age of 61. That purchase was a Keystone Fuzion Impact 303 which is a tow behind 34 1/2' Toy Hauler. It looked nice and of course I was impressed with it (very first RV). I almost immediately started having issues with the two slide rooms that it had. Both slide rooms were the BAL cable operated slides and Keystone/Bal did a really crappy job on the installation of the slide mechanism. I won't go into detail here (it's a long story), but I had to download the maint. manual and figure out exactly how that system works.....one drive motor/gearbox, and 8 separate cables....4 to bring the slide in and 4 others to pull it back out. The adjustment of those cables was critical for proper operation and I did figure it out and got it working correctly, but the longer that I was around a Keystone forum, the more I kept hearing about how poorly Keystone Customer Service was. I'll just let it go at that.

So in the late winter of 2019, we had started looking for a Large 5th Wheel Toy Hauler and quite by accident came across Grand Design. I started researching G.D. and looking for comments/reviews of the G.D. product in general. Everything pointed to G.D. being much better in the Customer Service arena as well as better build quality of their products, as well as NO cable operated slides. Long story short is that once we checked out the Grand Design model that we were interested in (Momentum 394M), we started looking seriously at them and ended up with one in late Feb. 2019. There is nothing about it that makes me regret having bought it. Yes, I've had a few minor issues, but they were very minor and I have taken care of them. Overall, I'm very satisfied with our purchase....and the one time that I had to use G.D. customer service, they were prompt, friendly, and took care of my needs, just as I expected they would, based on what I had read/heard from many reviews about them.

[AZMike]

Jayco 19BH - Our first trailer, and realized fairly soon that we didn't want or need a bunkhouse since it's just the two of us.

Aerolite 19FL - Very nice trailer, a little small but fit the bill for the two of us. At the time, still didn't want a trailer with a slide (one less thing to go wrong). Our longest trip in this one was 9500 miles in 11 1/2 weeks. (as close as we were in a 19' trailer, we didn't kill each other, and there was very little bloodshed!)

Damon Intruder 37' Class A - This was a mistake, but we had to try it! It was not fun to drive and even though it seemed to have a lot of storage, it wasn't very usable. Also, we would have to tow a car for local travel. We didn't have this very long, and took it on only two trips. The 12 cubic foot fridge was nice, though!

Grand Design Imagine 2600RB - Our present trailer, and it is perfect for us. It has a lot of very usable storage and the entire layout is very well thought out. The only negative (not a big deal) is that we cannot get into the bedroom with the slide in. The rest of the trailer is fully accessible. Some of our requirements with our search for a new trailer...

1. Lots of usable storage (the pots and pan drawer is enormous!).
2. Ducted A/C and no floor registers for the furnace (It seems that almost every current trailer is designed this way).
3. No rear kitchen. The rear of the trailer bounces up and down more than any other part, and I have seen (and experienced) a number of disasters in the kitchen.
4. Full size Queen bed as opposed to a short Queen.
5. 1/2 ton towable.
6. No appliances on a slide.

These are our main requirements, there are some other less important ones.

Edit - One important requirement I forgot to state, an 8 cubic foot fridge (a 6 is just too small!)

[Wicked ace]

Grand Design Imagine 2600RB - Our present trailer, and it is perfect for us. It has a lot of very usable storage and the entire layout is very well thought out. The only negative (not a big deal) is that we cannot get into the bedroom with the slide in. The rest of the trailer is fully accessible. Some of our requirements with our search for a new trailer...
1. Lots of usable storage (the pots and pan drawer is enormous!).
2. Ducted A/C and no floor registers for the furnace (It seems that almost every current trailer is designed this way).
3. No rear kitchen. The rear of the trailer bounces up and down more than any other part, and I have seen (and experienced) a number of disasters in the kitchen.
4. Full size Queen bed as opposed to a short Queen.
5. 1/2 ton towable.
6. No appliances on a slide.
These are our main requirements, there are some other less important ones.

The layout of your trailer is similar in many respects to mine, in fact I see the theme carried out in several models now. One thing that hits two chords with the 260Rd I have is the 12 cuft Dometic 'fridge in the slide. Like you I would have preferred the appliances in a fixed location and the way it is shoe horned makes for a deficient design that took much engineering to make functional. An 8 cuft is enough to carry me through anyway. The only times the fridge gets used to any extent is the freezer as I'll stock up on ready made meals and meats when I leave and if I'm at a coastal area I will seek out out and preserve fresh seafood to bring back.
I also like the bathroom location and it's space in that trailer.

[NB Canada]

We have had used pop ups in the past. Out first new trailer was a 2014 Jayco 17A hybrid. I have nothing but high praise for Jayco and their products. We use our trailer about 60 days of the year and in 6 years the only thing to fail under warranty was the exhaust fan in the bathroom
I made a deal with Jayco that if they send me a Fantastic fan I will install it and we will call it good
They did
The only other thing to fail was the sail switch in the furnace. Cheap fix
In the 6 years there was never any other thing to do. No trim loose or things needing adjustment

When looking for a new trailer we had things we wanted. The main was a full queen. Unsure why manufacturers still use the short
Tank capacity was another requirement and storage inside but more importantly outside
With Jayco I would have to go get into the white hawk line which cost more and didn’t have the layout we wanted
Jayco uses short queens and have small holding tanks

GD has the biggest curb side storage I know of with large holding tanks and a great layout as well as good price
That is why we choose GD
Hopefully it will serve us as good as the Jayco


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[Canyonlight]

Updating my post as I missed the OPs post and questions asked.

We have had several campers over the decades. Prior to out GDRV, we owned a 2004 Cougar 294 TT. We liked the TT and had a good ownership experience. We were looking for a few years to get a newer camper and just happened to see GDRVs for the first time at an RV show on early 2014. We really liked what we saw in the few units produced at that time.

After conducting considerable due diligence on this new company we were pleased with what we were learning. Even though the company was new, the reputation of the original owners (Bill & Ron Fenech along with current President, Don Clark) was outstanding. They had started Keystone RV before selling it to Thor and Keystone RVs at that time were good products.

Their commitment with GDRV to provide a higher level of direct factory suppport to owners was a rare thing in the industry and was a selling point to many of us original owners along with others over the years. They have done an outstanding job of doing just this even though with the rapid growth and recently Covid have created some challenges.

Yes, some RVs will have issues but GDRV has done an outstanding job in supporting owners. Certainly there will be exceptions as with anything in life. However GDRV still seems to be near the top measured in many ways.

Dan

[JeffD68]

We are on our fourth trailer. The first three were bumber pull travel trailers. For years, I thought I had no interest in that type of camping. We did some tent camping with my son (he was a Cub Scout) but we mostly stayed in (and though we preferred) hotels.

1) 2004 Keystone Outback 21RS purchased off Craig's List in 2011. We did some local trips and one long road trip before realizing that a 23' (bumper to coupler) trailer was pretty tight for four of us.

2) 2008 Pacific Coach Works Tango 299BHS, also purchased off CL in 2012. Just under 31' total length. This was a significant upgrade. I made numerous modifications to this one, including a complete remodel of the bunk area. We owned this trailer for 4 1/2 years and traveled extensively in it. We loved the trailer but desired more than a single, very shallow, sofa slide.

3) 2015 Keystone Outback 310TB, purchased used in February of 2017 from a dealer. 35 1/2'...that's a long travel trailer. This was basically a new unit. I could find no evidence that this trailer had ever been camped in. We really enjoyed this trailer. It had two large slides and the toy hauler front garage and side ramp was very convenient as bot a bunk house and storage area. Turns out, we didn't need so much trailer. The kids were now older and less interested in traveling with us. We did enjoy a number of local trips and it accommodated us very well. Just the wife and I took one long road trip and found the trailer to be very comfortable but the layout was less than ideal.

I'm not sure where I was first exposed to the Reflection 303RLS, but I quickly determined that it would be the ideal unit for my wife and I. Both kids were out of high school and leading their own lives so I did not really need to take them into consideration. In January of 2018, we purchased our first brand new trailer. In two years of use, we absolutely love it. We will keep this one for a number of years. I retire in 2024 and there is no reason to "upgrade" before then.

[Second Chance]

Rob, curious what sailboats you had. We're boaters that just bought our first rv last fall (21bhe). Prior to that:

1) Luger 21
2) Bayfield 25 - felt safest on this boat over any of the others
3) O'Day 28 - best sailing boat of any I've owned - a bit tender (needed first reef around 15kts) but able to point to 25 degrees apparent
4) Catalina 30 MkIII
5) Marinette 32 - our foray into the dark side with twin Chrysler 360's that barely got 1mpg - first tank of gas for it was 2.38/gal, last tank was over 5/gal
6) Compac 23 Mk2
7) and now a Compac Eclipse

Fred

In chronological order:
Omega 14 (centerboarder, hiking straps, etc. Very "athletic")
Venture 22 (cheaply built - but I was young)
Compac 16 (not fast, but very sturdy. Weathered a nor'easter on the Georgia coast)
Compac 16 (sold first one when we went overseas... obviously like it)
Hunter 23 (one of the first with the winged keel. This was the best sailing boat I owned)
Hunter 19 (water ballast/swing keel for trailering to a local lake)

Our last boat (after the Hunter 19) was a Nimble Nomad for putting around the large lake nearby. It's a "pocket trawler" designed by Ted Brewer. More a novelty than anything - but folks would go out of their way on the water to look at it.

I always loved to look at the Compac 23 and would have loved to own one. We were gunkholers and speed didn't matter to us.

Rob

[ArmyLifer]

Our Imagine 2670MK is our first RV. We kicked tires for over 10 years looking for an ultralight TT to tow behind our old 2003 Toyota Tacoma. In all that tire kicking we just couldn’t get over the extremely poor build quality on those under 5000 pound trailers.

We upgraded from the Tacoma to our diesel Excursion and many more options opened up. We drove 90 miles to the closest GD dealer to look at their smallest trailer at that time, the Imagine 2150. We walked through a few others and when we looked at the 2670MK we realized that we were indeed going to buy our 2nd RV first. Still happy with the decision!

[I-plod]

We had a Jayco Jayfeather. No problems with it other than we wanted a walk around bed and a bathroom sink.
Bought a Keystone Bullet. No problems with it other than we wanted a bigger bathroom.
Bought our GD Imagine 2500RL and love it too!

[Scott'n'Wendy]

Good evening, all -

So, we are getting close to buying a 380 FL. We have researched and visited RV dealers for months, and still come back to it. This past weekend, we must have walked into at least 20 different RVs and TTs, types and brands we never considered. I'd like to know if members owned other brands before buying a GD and what made you change? What did you like about the other brands and what made you choose GD? The price of a 380FL, even discounted, is more than most any other RV, but we just can't pass up the extra 1/2 bath and separate living area.

Many thanks!

We have been at it with an RV since '98. We have owned Jayco's, a Vanguard, a Titanium and now a GD 303RLS.
Floorplan and storage arrangement is what we use to determine if we will buy a particular RV or not. Whatever the brand, the floorplan has to be one we both like. The other thing I do when looking at a trailer is see how flimsy the cupboard doors are. I figure if the doors are flimsy, the rest of the trailer is probably poorly built as well. Not sure how I came up with that philosophy, but I employ it when purchasing.
I don't get too wrapped up in the appliances etc because let face it, the same brand stuff is in all the trailers.
Good luck on your upcoming purchase!

I'll fly this flag and eat some popcorn while we wait to hear what you end up buying.