A philosophical question...........

[jas451]

Are Grand Designs as good as they're sometimes touted to be? We just purchased so it's still early, way early, but since then I've seen a lot in regard to the Schwintek Slide-outs, bubbles on the roof, and tankless water heater. Why should I have to worry about stuff that before I took for granted? We traded a 9-year old FR Salem Hemisphere 232IS mostly because of it's age, and just looking for something maybe a little more accommodating layout wise. We liked the 22MLE layout, although not crazy about the curtain, but it had the dinette and lounges. It is 26' as was the 232IS. The Hemisphere had great layout as well, 2 slide outs, and a Kitchen island. We made several mods, as every time we'd go out it'd be "what if we had this?" or "if we could change that?" The 232IS wasn't perfect, but it had rack and pinion slide outs, and was built like a tank. It had a rubber roof which was probably due for some attention, but we thought the 22MLE is four season. Well, that's where the tankless WH comes into question??? Not sure what to think about all the roof bubbles? Is that just a GD thing? It sounds like they all have them to some respect. Hopefully the issues with Schwintek slide-out has more to do with operator error than the actual product, although it seems like it's been going on a while. Hopefully all my venting and concerns will be for naught....we've done a few mods and have a trip planned in a few weeks.
Like the Hemisphere it'll be a work in progress. After all that's part of the fun of it!

[NB Canada]

Are Grand Designs as good as they're sometimes touted to be?

Imo they are no worse or better than any other

Our previous trailer ,Jayco 17a was much better built with real hardwood cabinets vs the cheap fake stuff they put in the Imagines

But I like our trailer very much because it has class leading storage

[Riverbug]

Agree with @NBCanada, no better, no worse. You can find YouTube videos of every RV in every price range that have issues big or small. First order of business should always be to check the roof no matter what brand or model it is and no matter how new or old. Both my 2022 and 2023 GD units had areas along the rear trim where the caulking had already cracked by the time I took delivery. Sadly, it isn't that uncommon. Roof maintenance is vital.

[trailrydr]

Built before COVID, would say the GD measures up to the OPs info..... after, well better have your 《write in manufacturer name》 trailer new/used looked over by a RV tech just to know what your spending your cash on. Good luck.

[DECelt]

We've had several big fifth wheels (Cougars, Bighorns and Carriages) and our Solitude has been better than any of them...and was built during the COVID mess. I do think luck has a lot to do with it!

[Scott'n'Wendy]

Don't think "covid build" really matters at all. No difference imo. I've had several brands over the last 25 years and the most maintenance intensive would be the 2005 Titanium. (undersized axles). Our Reflection is a September 2020 build when lots of people were losing their minds over covid and it has been great - a couple small issues - any car, trailer, truck will have something
The shwing-tek slides are on all brands..I'm not a big fan but ours has worked flawlessly.
Biggest thing is stay on top of maintenance and don't use the zerks on the easy lubes.

[Captcolour]

Don't think "covid build" really matters at all. No difference imo. I've had several brands over the last 25 years and the most maintenance intensive would be the 2005 Titanium. (undersized axles). Our Reflection is a September 2020 build when lots of people were losing their minds over covid and it has been great - a couple small issues - any car, trailer, truck will have something
The shwing-tek slides are on all brands..I'm not a big fan but ours has worked flawlessly.
Biggest thing is stay on top of maintenance and don't use the zerks on the easy lubes.

I don't think covid matters either. Biggest thing covid did was mess up the supply chain so quick alternatives had to be used at times that may or may not have been vetted properly. My Solitude was built July 2020 and [knock on wood] no major issues.

[Fivecodys]

MY previous trailer was a Flagstaff. I learned how to fix all sorts of little issues on that rig. The fit and finish on my Reflection is much better than my previous but it has not been without issue. These trailers basically travel in "Earth-Quake" mode so little things falling off or coming loose seems to just be the norm. I have had had 3 RV's from 3 different manufacturers and this was the case in all three.
The Schwintek slide issue and HVAC issues seems to go across all manufacturers. Grand Design doesn't make those parts so I imagine that all manufacturers who use them are experiencing the same issues.
So far we have not had issues with them (Knocking on wood)


What I really like is the comradery associated with this brand. The people are wonderful, helpful, and friendly.
I have had a very good experience with Grand Design's parts department as well.

A fella just the other day said that if you want to RV, you'd better be a handy person who isn't scared to fix things themselves.
That seems to be a very true statement today.

Safe travels!

[Tom Traveler]

Biggest thing is stay on top of maintenance and don't use the zerks on the easy lubes.

I guess I'm getting off topic, but I don't get the animus for the EZ-lube system. The EZ-lube system is great assuming you start with good bearings and have good seals. You are always moving good grease through the bearings. Also, a grease packed hub prevents water entry and helps move heat to the hub for dissipation. You need to check play regularly and adjust if necessary. You can feel and hear if wheel bearings are going bad. Also, I always feel the wheel hubs first thing at fuel stops. Bad wheel bearings results in hot hubs. This won't work if you had heavy or sustained braking before the stop.

Wheel bearings and races in good condition will last a long time if lubricated properly. I've been pulling the same boat and trailer for 28 years. The trailer has EZ-lube zerks and goes into the water for launch and loading. I have never pulled the wheels and I know those bearings and seals are still in great condition. There is no way I'm going to go through the hassle of pulling wheel bearings every year just to get new grease into them when I have the EZ-lube hubs. That is a colossal waste of time and effort.

Get the grease gun, jack the tire off of the ground, check for play and adjust if necessary, listen and feel for rough rolling, rotate the wheel while greasing, check the seal, wipe off the rejected grease from the front of the hub opening, and you are good to go for another year.

[Hoopy Frood]

I partially agree, but my feelings run along the lines of the grease doesn't disappear from the wheel bearings and, thus, doesn't need new grease pumped in to replace the good grease that is still there. Unless you're running very large number of miles, maybe 20,000 or more per year, wheel bearings don't need to be repacked every year. I don't and have never had a bearing go bad. I always notice that quite a few of the posts that state they have bearing issues, usually occur shortly after a bearing/brake maintenance/repair event. JMO of course.