PDI and Shake Down for our new Momentum 350M

[Tim & Connie]

Have had some issues and didn't really want to post about them. However, after sending a note to GD 12 days ago and not receiving a response, decided to go ahead and post our recent experiences. We are first timers and were probably a little picky on some items, but based on the cost, I think things should be pretty well working before we picked up the 350M.

We ordered a Momentum 350M at the Denver RV show in January. Told the dealer and the factory representative that we didn't want to take delivery until late April as we would not need it before then and didn't want the warranty running on a trailer we weren't using. the factory rep said he would push the factory back to late April. Trailer showed up in March and we did the PDI on Monday March 23 (dealer said no appointments available on Saturdays, so took off from work).

PDI list:
- Drawer catch in bedroom wouldn't keep drawer closed
- Couch not centered in slideout, window trim rubbing on top of couch corner
- Closet door catch in bedroom bent, couldn't shut door
- Trim on bedroom door not attached
- Bathroom pocket door hung crooked, wouldn't latch
- Bathroom cabinet handle screws cross threaded, handle crooked and out from door 1/2 inch.
- Main air conditioning wouldn't start
- One of the stove burners wouldn't light
- Cabinet door face above TV cracked
- Screen between deck and garage wouldn't stay down
- One of the filler cloths between the garage and deck rails shut into caulking, covered in black caulk
- Outside graphic on ramp door peeling
- Front driver hydraulic jack leaking a lot of fluid
- Caulking barely on one seam corner on roof.

There were a couple of other cosmetic items that we could live with and left off the repair list. The dealer fixed most items and by mid-May said we could pick it up. The only thing not done was the peeling graphic and when they received the graphic they would let us know. They told us the factory had sent the wrong graphic four times. We told the dealer that we would be leaving the first week in June and to we would wait until then to see if the graphic showed up. On May 29th, graphic still hadn't shown up, so we picked the trailer up. The only item not warrantied by GD was the couch, according to the Dealer it was located within specs. We will see if the couch material holds up to the rubbing.

That weekend we worked on getting the trailer ready for the shakedown trip. Found the junction box hub in the battery compartment was not attached with the nut and the wires were laying on the sharp sheet metal, fixed that. Started our trip on June 2nd, went to Virginia to pick up our daughter from college.
- 1st day, glue on the skirting to the supports for the kitchen slide broke and the skirting was flapping in the wind. Less than 300 miles. Pulled over early for the night called dealer, they said do what we needed to make it safe. He came out the next morning and told us he could try to reglue but we would be there most the day and he couldn’t guarantee it would hold. I had him drill/bolt the skirt back in place as we needed to be in Virginia on Saturday. I was concerned that if the skirting finished coming off, it would hit a vehicle behind us.
- 2nd day, found out the fridge doesn’t cool when running on propane. Fridge acted like it was running, but everything unthawed. Later in the trip the fridge would beep and give an error code about the fridge ignition. Works great on electric. Ran the stove and oven to make sure we had propane, both worked.
- 3rd day, found out no water pressure in back bathroom sink first time we tried it (just dribbles), toilet works fine. We are using a pressure regulator, but every other sink, shower and toilet works fine. Didn't check the water system for the PDI because it was March in Colorado.
- 5th day, found out that 3/4 full on the grey water tank gauge means somewhere between 3/4 and 100% full when my wife said the bathroom sink wasn't draining.
- 6th day, glue between living room slide skirting and front support failed, but there are enough screws there to stop it from coming off so we just left it alone.
- 7th day error code on fridge (previously mentioned) showed up on fridge. Ran the stove and oven to make sure we had propane and both worked. Had been running generator a couple to three hours a day while drive to keep food cool. On this day generator wouldn’t start, error code of needs service. When we got home, tried the generator again and it worked.
- 8th day, glue on skirting from front of 5th wheel to the kitchen slide separated and the flexing cracked the skirting.
- Also during the trip found the door between the toy hauler and living room is not hung square, is difficult to close, and has a gap on the side near the bottom, the weather stripping under the front door came partially off the double sided tape, and the main air conditioner is really noisy, can’t hear the TV or have normal conversation when it is running. Maybe this is normal, but it is loud.

I have read other threads that talk about how much of the problems are due to suppliers/vendors, in our case a majority of the items are directly attributable to poor quality control and construction by GD. We did our research on a number of manufacturer's and thought GD would be the best. The dealer is booked up and we are scheduled for repair work to start on July 7, probably will take several weeks between ordering parts and getting them installed. Replacing the skirting looks like a major repair to me, fully caulked on the outside and foam insulated on the inside. So since our PDI, we have had the trailer in usable condition 13 days (out of 3 months). Can't drive it now because of the skirting and it is likely it won't be usable until the end of July/early August depending on how long for repairs and getting parts. We are concerned that if glue has failed on 3 of the 6 skirts after one trip, how long will it be until the others fail? What else is glued that could fail? Build date was the end of February, wonder if the temperatures weren't correct for the glue to set up.

As I stated at the beginning of this long winded discussion, we sent a not through the GD website and never heard back. All I really wanted to hear was "We are sorry and will work to get things fixed immediately." If GD had even acknowledged they received our concerns, never would have written this post.

Now the fun stuff - Even with the issues we enjoyed the RV immensely. Met some great people at campgrounds and got pretty good at hooking up a fifth wheel, setting up, and taking down the RV. We learned that when the Dealer technician says that there isn't a separate dump valve for the back black water holding tank, don't believe him (it does exist and it wasn't pretty). Found out exactly how far the 5th wheel tracks inside my truck (sorry again to the campground in Missouri about your lawn). Discovered that the semi truck gas pumps deliver fuel a whole lot faster than the "normal" pumps. Overall - Lots of fun and good memories of the first time.

[minnow101]

The couch is screwed to the floor and you can easily unscrew it and center it in the slide out and screw it back down. I've found that with many of these trim/minor repair issues, it's better in the long run to just do them yourself. As you see, using the dealer ties up your RV for weeks if not months. As far as the big things, like the refrig. for example, that does need dealer attention.

[Tim & Connie]

I don't disagree on the minor items, but of the items listed only four or so didn't/don't require parts from GD. As I mentioned and alluded to in the first post, I did do some minor repairs. Had no idea how the couch was attached, will deal with that. At the PDI, replacement of the whole front hydraulic leg was required, not something I was going to tackle. At the upcoming visit, between 1/3 and1/2 of the aluminum siding/skirting is going to need to be replaced. The dealer service is for some significant items, with some minor ones thrown in.

[GDRV Service]

Have had some issues and didn't really want to post about them. However, after sending a note to GD 12 days ago and not receiving a response, decided to go ahead and post our recent experiences. We are first timers and were probably a little picky on some items, but based on the cost, I think things should be pretty well working before we picked up the 350M.

We ordered a Momentum 350M at the Denver RV show in January. Told the dealer and the factory representative that we didn't want to take delivery until late April as we would not need it before then and didn't want the warranty running on a trailer we weren't using. the factory rep said he would push the factory back to late April. Trailer showed up in March and we did the PDI on Monday March 23 (dealer said no appointments available on Saturdays, so took off from work).

PDI list:
- Drawer catch in bedroom wouldn't keep drawer closed
- Couch not centered in slideout, window trim rubbing on top of couch corner
- Closet door catch in bedroom bent, couldn't shut door
- Trim on bedroom door not attached
- Bathroom pocket door hung crooked, wouldn't latch
- Bathroom cabinet handle screws cross threaded, handle crooked and out from door 1/2 inch.
- Main air conditioning wouldn't start
- One of the stove burners wouldn't light
- Cabinet door face above TV cracked
- Screen between deck and garage wouldn't stay down
- One of the filler cloths between the garage and deck rails shut into caulking, covered in black caulk
- Outside graphic on ramp door peeling
- Front driver hydraulic jack leaking a lot of fluid
- Caulking barely on one seam corner on roof.

There were a couple of other cosmetic items that we could live with and left off the repair list. The dealer fixed most items and by mid-May said we could pick it up. The only thing not done was the peeling graphic and when they received the graphic they would let us know. They told us the factory had sent the wrong graphic four times. We told the dealer that we would be leaving the first week in June and to we would wait until then to see if the graphic showed up. On May 29th, graphic still hadn't shown up, so we picked the trailer up. The only item not warrantied by GD was the couch, according to the Dealer it was located within specs. We will see if the couch material holds up to the rubbing.

That weekend we worked on getting the trailer ready for the shakedown trip. Found the junction box hub in the battery compartment was not attached with the nut and the wires were laying on the sharp sheet metal, fixed that. Started our trip on June 2nd, went to Virginia to pick up our daughter from college.
- 1st day, glue on the skirting to the supports for the kitchen slide broke and the skirting was flapping in the wind. Less than 300 miles. Pulled over early for the night called dealer, they said do what we needed to make it safe. He came out the next morning and told us he could try to reglue but we would be there most the day and he couldn’t guarantee it would hold. I had him drill/bolt the skirt back in place as we needed to be in Virginia on Saturday. I was concerned that if the skirting finished coming off, it would hit a vehicle behind us.
- 2nd day, found out the fridge doesn’t cool when running on propane. Fridge acted like it was running, but everything unthawed. Later in the trip the fridge would beep and give an error code about the fridge ignition. Works great on electric. Ran the stove and oven to make sure we had propane, both worked.
- 3rd day, found out no water pressure in back bathroom sink first time we tried it (just dribbles), toilet works fine. We are using a pressure regulator, but every other sink, shower and toilet works fine. Didn't check the water system for the PDI because it was March in Colorado.
- 5th day, found out that 3/4 full on the grey water tank gauge means somewhere between 3/4 and 100% full when my wife said the bathroom sink wasn't draining.
- 6th day, glue between living room slide skirting and front support failed, but there are enough screws there to stop it from coming off so we just left it alone.
- 7th day error code on fridge (previously mentioned) showed up on fridge. Ran the stove and oven to make sure we had propane and both worked. Had been running generator a couple to three hours a day while drive to keep food cool. On this day generator wouldn’t start, error code of needs service. When we got home, tried the generator again and it worked.
- 8th day, glue on skirting from front of 5th wheel to the kitchen slide separated and the flexing cracked the skirting.
- Also during the trip found the door between the toy hauler and living room is not hung square, is difficult to close, and has a gap on the side near the bottom, the weather stripping under the front door came partially off the double sided tape, and the main air conditioner is really noisy, can’t hear the TV or have normal conversation when it is running. Maybe this is normal, but it is loud.

I have read other threads that talk about how much of the problems are due to suppliers/vendors, in our case a majority of the items are directly attributable to poor quality control and construction by GD. We did our research on a number of manufacturer's and thought GD would be the best. The dealer is booked up and we are scheduled for repair work to start on July 7, probably will take several weeks between ordering parts and getting them installed. Replacing the skirting looks like a major repair to me, fully caulked on the outside and foam insulated on the inside. So since our PDI, we have had the trailer in usable condition 13 days (out of 3 months). Can't drive it now because of the skirting and it is likely it won't be usable until the end of July/early August depending on how long for repairs and getting parts. We are concerned that if glue has failed on 3 of the 6 skirts after one trip, how long will it be until the others fail? What else is glued that could fail? Build date was the end of February, wonder if the temperatures weren't correct for the glue to set up.

As I stated at the beginning of this long winded discussion, we sent a not through the GD website and never heard back. All I really wanted to hear was "We are sorry and will work to get things fixed immediately." If GD had even acknowledged they received our concerns, never would have written this post.

Now the fun stuff - Even with the issues we enjoyed the RV immensely. Met some great people at campgrounds and got pretty good at hooking up a fifth wheel, setting up, and taking down the RV. We learned that when the Dealer technician says that there isn't a separate dump valve for the back black water holding tank, don't believe him (it does exist and it wasn't pretty). Found out exactly how far the 5th wheel tracks inside my truck (sorry again to the campground in Missouri about your lawn). Discovered that the semi truck gas pumps deliver fuel a whole lot faster than the "normal" pumps. Overall - Lots of fun and good memories of the first time.

Hi @Tim & Connie,

Please add your 17-digit RV VIN in the "About Me" section of your forum profile, or send me a private message (PM) with your VIN, name and phone number. We will need that information to research and respond to your concerns. And I will check with the person who runs our website to see if your message was received here.

Best regards,
~ Janice

[Tim & Connie]

Hi Janice -

Jerry from customer service did contact us and is aware of the issues.

Thank you

[twilliams]

Hi, if you're still listening to this thread, could you relay what was wrong with the water pressure to the faucets in the toy hauler, we're experiencing the same thing.

Thanks!

[GDRV Service]

Hi, if you're still listening to this thread, could you relay what was wrong with the water pressure to the faucets in the toy hauler, we're experiencing the same thing.

Thanks!

Hi @twilliams,

Please add your 17-digit RV VIN to the "About Me" section of your forum profile. And if you have not yet, please contact your dealer or our Customer Support for assistance. Our Customer Support can be reached directly at (574) 825-9679, and they will be happy to assist you.

Best regards,
~ Janice