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  1. #1
    Left The Driveway
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    Questions about new 2021 Solitude 390RK just purchased

    Hi, I just picked up my trailer this weekend which we love the layout and floor plan. I trade in a 2017 Prime Time Spartan toy hauler because our original plans of hauling our motorcycles changed so we decided we no longer needed the toy hauler. In most aspects I feel we traded up but in a couple areas maybe not. My TH was a tri-axle with heavy duty suspension with shocks. Both the Spartan and the Solitude are about the same length trailers but I did drop about 4000# of towing,(had a generator on the Spartan) did not order it for the Solitude but did get it prepped for one. I was a little undecided about which way to order it suspension wise. I ended up going with 7000# axles and springs because was concerned that the 8ooo# axles and springs might make the back of the trailer ride too rough. I know carrying capacity isn't very high so even though back of the trailer has a lot of storage area I will be cautious of what I load in the back. I will see how it rides and decide later if I need to make changes like maybe adding summo springs, shocks or going with heavier springs and axles plus disc breaks. When I ordered the dealer was telling me they were having a lot of issues with the 8000#/disc brake setup. I wanted to order it with a third AC but was told by the dealer that it was no longer an option, also contacted Grand Design and they told me the same thing, also said they aren't even prewiring the units for a third one. I am hoping that there won't be any major issues with it, while doing the pre-delivery inspection the person that was going over the trailer with us was using the one touch control panel to bring the slides in and it started to raise and lower the front jacks. they said they had to replace a valve at the right front landing gear jack. After this long winded story this brings me to my questions and concerns. My level up touch pad in the front compartment is the mini pad that doesn't have the display on it. The manual from Grand design that I received only shows the touch pad with the multi buttons and screen.I had this on my Spartan and I loved it because you could see how un-level you were when you parked, battery voltage, and you can work all the jacks manually if you wanted while outside. When I brought the trailer home I auto leveled it to pull out the slides to put some things in it when done I wanted to pull up the rear jacks. The only way to do that is to push the hitch height button on the pad and when I did the left middle jack went up about 4" and the pad faulted probably because front of trailer wasn't level or above level when I auto leveled it. I had to go inside and use the one touch control panel to raise the jacks, which to me is a pain because if you want to do this you have no visual of seeing what they're doing. Now for the question, does anyone know if I can change out the touch pad in the front compartment with the one with the display? Most of the recent videos I have seen show this unit with the display screen. One last thing I want to mention is that with the one touch display panel in the cabinet under the regular switch control panel Grand design installed the circuit breaker and fuse panel at the bottom of the cabinet so you basically have to lay on the floor to do anything to it. All this for one question, sorry .....One more thing if anyone has any suggestions about upgrading the suspension feel free to voice your opinions. Thanks
    Greg & Cyndi 2021 Solitude 390RK 2018 Ford F450 Diesel DRW Comfort Ride Hitch

  2. #2
    Setting Up Camp jleger's Avatar
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    Interesting question. We just ordered a 2021 390RK-R a couple weeks ago. Will be interested to hear if this can be done, as I assume we'll have the same setup on ours.
    2019 Grand Design Imagine 2500RL
    2019 F-350 SRW
    Grand Design Solitude 390RK-R on order!!

  3. #3
    Seasoned Camper
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    gregzw, I cant answer your question but I can tell you from experience I do not like the touch screen for controlling my leveling rams etc. We were in Yellowstone in September (with a different trailer brand) and were ready to leave and the last thing to do was to retract the rams. Guess what, the touch screen did not "wake up", went to reset and no reset button. Out of frustration and desperation I unscrewed the touch screen, disconnected the wiring and reconnected. Only then did the touch screen wake up. This was the third time the unit required a reset. I am pretty happy not having a touch screen on our current rig, just the auto leveler touch pad in the basement. The only thing I have had to do so far was to relevel and reset the system. IMHO, the more electronically complicated and intricate they make these new units the greater the chance for failure. Like computers, great when they are working but your SOL when they aren't.
    2020 Solitude 372WB
    2017 F350 Superduty 4x4, Heavy Duty Tow Package
    2900 Superglide Hitch, MORryde Rubber Pinbox
    Zinny, Golden Retriever (rescue)
    Belle, Golden Retriever (rescue)

    "Life With a Dog is a Gift"

  4. #4
    Site Team Second Chance's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gregzw View Post
    ....One more thing if anyone has any suggestions about upgrading the suspension feel free to voice your opinions. Thanks
    Three words: MORryde independent suspension. (OK, two more: disc brakes.) Search for "MORryde IS" on the forum and you'll find quite a few discussions on it.

    Rob
    U.S. Army Retired
    2012 F350 DRW CC LB Lariat PS 6.7
    2020 Solitude 310GK-R, MORryde IS, disc brakes,
    Sailun LRG tires, solar, DP windows, W/D
    (Previously in a Reflection 337RLS)
    Full time since 08/2015

  5. #5
    Left The Driveway
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    Quote Originally Posted by jleger View Post
    Interesting question. We just ordered a 2021 390RK-R a couple weeks ago. Will be interested to hear if this can be done, as I assume we'll have the same setup on ours.
    I Plan on contacting either Lippert or Grand Design in regards to see if I can switch out the touch pad controller and will get back with the answer. The manual that came in my packet with the trailer shows the multi function controller and doesn't even mention the mini touch controller in it.
    Greg & Cyndi 2021 Solitude 390RK 2018 Ford F450 Diesel DRW Comfort Ride Hitch

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by zinman View Post
    gregzw, I cant answer your question but I can tell you from experience I do not like the touch screen for controlling my leveling rams etc. We were in Yellowstone in September (with a different trailer brand) and were ready to leave and the last thing to do was to retract the rams. Guess what, the touch screen did not "wake up", went to reset and no reset button. Out of frustration and desperation I unscrewed the touch screen, disconnected the wiring and reconnected. Only then did the touch screen wake up. This was the third time the unit required a reset. I am pretty happy not having a touch screen on our current rig, just the auto leveler touch pad in the basement. The only thing I have had to do so far was to relevel and reset the system. IMHO, the more electronically complicated and intricate they make these new units the greater the chance for failure. Like computers, great when they are working but your SOL when they aren't.
    I am in total agreement with you about the touch screen controlling the leveling system. I like the ability to control the leveling system outside where I can watch what's going on. The touch screen inside is a nice toy for controlling lights, awnings,etc. but call me old school I like switches. As I mentioned in my post I had issues with my touch screen when I had a fault on the outside touch pad while trying to raise my mid and rear jacks. It was slow to react, temp outside was below freezing, and when I went to bring the screen up to manually operate the jacks the screen display was totally different from what I have seen in the manuals. I touched the screen where it displayed the location of the left mid jack and I could hear it running but not hear when it reached it's retracted position. I went out to look what was going on and found out that after the jack had retracted the other rear jacks were retracting one at a time with just pushing the screen at the one jack. The biggest thing that I have an issue about with the touch screen is no manual came with my packet about the operation of it. When you look online you can find multiple manuals and depending on which system you have there can be different operational procedures when correcting an error. From what I understand Grand Design system is called Compass Connect so I don't know if it is any different than the 3.0 One Control Touch Panel.
    Greg & Cyndi 2021 Solitude 390RK 2018 Ford F450 Diesel DRW Comfort Ride Hitch

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Second Chance View Post
    Three words: MORryde independent suspension. (OK, two more: disc brakes.) Search for "MORryde IS" on the forum and you'll find quite a few discussions on it.

    Rob
    Rob your probably right about the independent suspension but after the purchase of the trailer I have to give my pocketbook a little rest. I do wish I would have ordered it with disc brakes though. I'll give it some time to see how the rear kitchen reacts going down the road with the setup I have and then decide what to spend money on next towards improvements.
    Greg & Cyndi 2021 Solitude 390RK 2018 Ford F450 Diesel DRW Comfort Ride Hitch

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