Drawers not closing and Out of Square

[Jackofsometrades]

We recently purchased a new Imagine XLS 17MKE and love the size and the layout. Truly one of the best couples trailers on the market. I thought I was buying one of the best built campers on the market... Until this.

So I found several of the drawers lined up with one side or the other sticking out, and some not staying latched which could be a problem going down the road. The worst drawer was the under stove pots and pans drawer. I thought maybe the catches were not adequate, but also noticed that the right side stuck out much more than the left, so i decided to do some investigating. I pulled the drawer out and what I found was dumbfounding. 1st, I found the drawer slide flange installed with light duty stapes. So I thought maybe they were loose and installing a screw into what appears to be a screw slot would help. It didn't.



I decided to put a square on the drawer slides and was shocked when I found both slides to be out of square 1/2". With the drawer sticking out on one side, this made sense.



They literally slapped the slides in, eyeballed it, and slapped some staples in. The staples appear to be the same gauge as my desk stapler, and that is the only thing that is holding the slides in place. I would imagine after a few trips those staples would be on the floor and the drawer unable to open.

But wait, there's more. There are two vents which run under the drawer, and they stand proud of the slides and would likely get torn up at some point the more you open and close the drawer. I can not believe this is how this should have been installed. Looks like we got a "Friday Trailer".



So I removed the desk stapler staples, squared up the slides, and installed screws to hold them in place. In addition, I took a metal step shingle, and turned it into a shield for the vents on each side of the cabinet. There were two wires on the right side which also dangled in the way of the drawer which a secured to the wall of the cabinet.

Now the drawers close properly, they are equal on each side, the catches now work, and the job was done right. One drawer down, and 8 more to go. I understand that these units are built on an assembly line. But the corners that were cut seem ridiculous. Now I have to go back and make it right which is a pain in the butt. I am sure they install these slides before the counter top goes in, and doing the work with counter top in place will make re-aligning the small drawers feel like micro surgery. Thank goodness I am pretty handy. I can't imagine what someone would do if they didn't have the skills to repair what Grand Design should have done correctly from the get go. And there is no way I would let the Stealer service department touch this situation. I don't need the problem made worse.

Grand Design campers appear to be well built on the surface. When you go behind the surface, not so much. How many of you bought a Grand Design trailer this season and have wonky drawers? They can be fixed, but they should have been done right from the factory.

[alias100]

We recently purchased a new Imagine XLS 17MKE and love the size and the layout. Truly one of the best couples trailers on the market. I thought I was buying one of the best built campers on the market... Until this.

So I found several of the drawers lined up with one side or the other sticking out, and some not staying latched which could be a problem going down the road. The worst drawer was the under stove pots and pans drawer. I thought maybe the catches were not adequate, but also noticed that the right side stuck out much more than the left, so i decided to do some investigating. I pulled the drawer out and what I found was dumbfounding. 1st, I found the drawer slide flange installed with light duty stapes. So I thought maybe they were loose and installing a screw into what appears to be a screw slot would help. It didn't.



I decided to put a square on the drawer slides and was shocked when I found both slides to be out of square 1/2". With the drawer sticking out on one side, this made sense.



They literally slapped the slides in, eyeballed it, and slapped some staples in. The staples appear to be the same gauge as my desk stapler, and that is the only thing that is holding the slides in place. I would imagine after a few trips those staples would be on the floor and the drawer unable to open.

But wait, there's more. There are two vents which run under the drawer, and they stand proud of the slides and would likely get torn up at some point the more you open and close the drawer. I can not believe this is how this should have been installed. Looks like we got a "Friday Trailer".



So I removed the desk stapler staples, squared up the slides, and installed screws to hold them in place. In addition, I took a metal step shingle, and turned it into a shield for the vents on each side of the cabinet. There were two wires on the right side which also dangled in the way of the drawer which a secured to the wall of the cabinet.

Now the drawers close properly, they are equal on each side, the catches now work, and the job was done right. One drawer down, and 8 more to go. I understand that these units are built on an assembly line. But the corners that were cut seem ridiculous. Now I have to go back and make it right which is a pain in the butt. I am sure they install these slides before the counter top goes in, and doing the work with counter top in place will make re-aligning the small drawers feel like micro surgery. Thank goodness I am pretty handy. I can't imagine what someone would do if they didn't have the skills to repair what Grand Design should have done correctly from the get go. And there is no way I would let the Stealer service department touch this situation. I don't need the problem made worse.

Grand Design campers appear to be well built on the surface. When you go behind the surface, not so much. How many of you bought a Grand Design trailer this season and have wonky drawers? They can be fixed, but they should have been done right from the factory.

Oh great, now I have to pull the drawers on our new 22RBE.

[Jackofsometrades]

Are you seeing the same problems Alias?

[Ynot4me2]

The only drawer that didn't stay latched all the time was the pots and pan drawer under the stove on our 22mle. I just added a grabber catch. I figured it was because of all the weight in that drawer. I guess I'll go check for some staples now. We are quite satisfied with ours but seeing those staples and what it was used for is a little shocking. I'd send those pics to GD and ask if that is normal.

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[alias100]

Are you seeing the same problems Alias?

Nope, have not seen any problems, but I am wondering if they used the same staples that they used on yours.

[Jackofsometrades]

Yeah, the staples may hold for some time. The problem is that they are not squaring up the drawer slides when they install them. Squaring the drawer slides and installing screws is good insurance against problems down the road.

[Grandesigner]

Mine came wonky from the factory also. Had them fixed under warranty...

[BobLandry]

The only drawer that didn't stay latched all the time was the pots and pan drawer under the stove on our 22mle. I just added a grabber catch. I figured it was because of all the weight in that drawer. I guess I'll go check for some staples now. We are quite satisfied with ours but seeing those staples and what it was used for is a little shocking. I'd send those pics to GD and ask if that is normal.

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As far as price point, I don't know where the Imagine falls, so no insult or nose thumbing is meant here.
It is a normal construction practice on the lower level/entry level trailers as a cost cutting measure.
On the first trip out on my previous trailer,(not a GD) all of the drawer slides pulled loose. On inspection, I found that the back of the drawer glides had been stapled to 1/8" luan and the fronts had been fastened to the cabinet stiles with 1/2" screws, fine for a brick and mortar installation but not for something that bounces down the road. I rounded up some 3/8" plywood scraps and some screws and went to work. It took about 2 hours to do all of them, and the next 10 years of camping were trouble free(drawer wise).

The plus side to doing stuff like this yourself is that it almost always ends up being better than factory, and you don't have to wait months to get into a dealer.

[Ynot4me2]

As far as price point, I don't know where the Imagine falls, so no insult or nose thumbing is meant here.
It is a normal construction practice on the lower level/entry level trailers as a cost cutting measure.
On the first trip out on my previous trailer,(not a GD) all of the drawer slides pulled loose. On inspection, I found that the back of the drawer glides had been stapled to 1/8" luan and the fronts had been fastened to the cabinet stiles with 1/2" screws, fine for a brick and mortar installation but not for something that bounces down the road. I rounded up some 3/8" plywood scraps and some screws and went to work. It took about 2 hours to do all of them, and the next 10 years of camping were trouble free(drawer wise).

Lower entry level or not, that is not what those staples were meant for.

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[BobLandry]

That's what they were used for on my trailer.What's your take on it?