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  1. #1
    Setting Up Camp
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    Has Grand Design quality declined?

    My wife and I are set to pick up our new 31MB on Friday. This will be our third RV, and we really wanted to get this purchase right. We’re hoping for a 10 year camper.

    I had limited our selection to four brands and ranked GD as my top choice. It seemed to have the best reputation for the price range we were looking at.

    Now, after reading since our purchase, I’ve seen comment after comment (mostly on other forums) about how GD’s quality has declined since Winnebago’s purchase. Is this true? Is this just a few haters or negative experiences? Has this ‘decline’ been exaggerated, or is this your experience?


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  2. #2
    Rolling Along
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    Not sure how useful my observation will be for you, but here goes. My Transcend (their budget line) is pretty mediocre on build quality. Worse than the Jayco I had before, in any case. I've had trim pieces pop off, the door is difficult to shut because the wall isn't exactly straight, the coach (or whatever you call it) actually sits higher on the right relative to the frame (not sure if that's a frame issue or what), the slide shakes & shimmies going in/out, the hatches all came maladjusted and I had to redo the locks and stuff so they weren't a bear to close, the freshwater tank says it's completely full when it's completely empty, ... that's about all I can immediately think of. Our Jayco wasn't perfect, but it was a step up. And close to 10K cheaper (in 2016, granted, and a slightly smaller trailer).

    I may have an RV tech come out and look at the slide, and probably I'll pay someone myself to do that since I won't let the trailer sit out the season at the dealer waiting for some love. Everything else I'm trying to fix myself. The door, though, probably is not fixable, which sucks because it's the most frequent annoyance. The wall just isn't straight enough, and if I loosen the latch up enough so it doesn't bind up, I think it may leak.

    Other than that, it's been great! ;-). Love the layout.
    Current: 2021 Transcend 261BH, 2019 Ford F250 SRW SWB CC 6.2 - Picture
    Previous: 2016 Jayco X213, 2014 F150 EB 3.5

  3. #3
    Setting Up Camp
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    Quote Originally Posted by rootusrootus View Post
    Not sure how useful my observation will be for you, but here goes. My Transcend (their budget line) is pretty mediocre on build quality. Worse than the Jayco I had before, in any case. I've had trim pieces pop off, the door is difficult to shut because the wall isn't exactly straight, the coach (or whatever you call it) actually sits higher on the right relative to the frame (not sure if that's a frame issue or what), the slide shakes & shimmies going in/out, the hatches all came maladjusted and I had to redo the locks and stuff so they weren't a bear to close, the freshwater tank says it's completely full when it's completely empty, ... that's about all I can immediately think of. Our Jayco wasn't perfect, but it was a step up. And close to 10K cheaper (in 2016, granted, and a slightly smaller trailer).

    I may have an RV tech come out and look at the slide, and probably I'll pay someone myself to do that since I won't let the trailer sit out the season at the dealer waiting for some love. Everything else I'm trying to fix myself. The door, though, probably is not fixable, which sucks because it's the most frequent annoyance. The wall just isn't straight enough, and if I loosen the latch up enough so it doesn't bind up, I think it may leak.

    Other than that, it's been great! ;-). Love the layout.
    That’s not what you’re supposed to say! [emoji23]


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  4. #4
    Rolling Along
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    Quote Originally Posted by DrivingRangeChamp View Post
    That’s not what you’re supposed to say! [emoji23]


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Sorry . I think it's like everything else, sometimes you get a good one, sometimes not so much. To be fair, none of the problems we've had are real deal killers, nothing has left us stranded, and we're happy enough with the trailer overall. Will be happier once I iron out all the little things, and then hope to get some years of trouble-free service out of the rig.

    Oh I did forget one thing. The microwave pops the GFCI. I just turned off that circuit, will deal with it later. We almost exclusively boondock so we don't really have use for the microwave anyway.
    Current: 2021 Transcend 261BH, 2019 Ford F250 SRW SWB CC 6.2 - Picture
    Previous: 2016 Jayco X213, 2014 F150 EB 3.5

  5. #5
    Long Hauler
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    May 2020
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    Quote Originally Posted by DrivingRangeChamp View Post
    My wife and I are set to pick up our new 31MB on Friday. This will be our third RV, and we really wanted to get this purchase right. We’re hoping for a 10 year camper.

    I had limited our selection to four brands and ranked GD as my top choice. It seemed to have the best reputation for the price range we were looking at.

    Now, after reading since our purchase, I’ve seen comment after comment (mostly on other forums) about how GD’s quality has declined since Winnebago’s purchase. Is this true? Is this just a few haters or negative experiences? Has this ‘decline’ been exaggerated, or is this your experience?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    I think it's all a matter of perspective. Our 2021 Reflection 320MKS didn't have any major issues, except maybe the cooktop middle burner wood stay lit. I worked with Grand Design's great (for me) customer service and had a replacement cooktop sent out to me. The mobile tech I started to work with, never called me back, so I installed it myself.

    As it has been pointed out in several other threads, with the exception of building the trailer, everything else is sourced from suppliers. For example, in our camper, we have Norcold, Dometic, Coleman, Thomas Paine, Furrion, TCL to name several of the top of my head. Within each brand, even Grand Design, there are going to be different levels of build quality. If you want top-of-the-line quality, you are probably going to want to look at a manufacturer like DRV, and you will pay for that quality.

    For us, it really came down to the manufacturer customer service. Dutchman, who puts out the Kodiak brand (our last trailer) sucks in customer service, at least from my experience. I've had to call Grand Design on 4 separate issues, 3 were warranty work, and one was my stupid moment. They have been nothing but polite and accommodating, my experience has been that they listen, empathize, and communicate well.

    For anything minor, I'll do the work myself,
    For something major, say a slide replacement, I'll think about doing it myself, then call a mobile tech or a dealer service center.

    So, from my perspective, Grand Design is a great brand, based solely on my experience with my Reflection, and what I have heard from others with a Solitude. Again, these two lines are Grand Design's "top-of-the-line" coaches.

    Yes, due to the fact that they are "behind" in production because of parts shortages, and things get rushed to get them out the door to the customer, you will have issues, but I would think those issues are across the major manufacturers. Take a peek at the other manufacturer forums and you'll see post praising their quality and others disparaging their quality.

    So, look at it in your way, and decide for yourself. With RV's if you ask 10 different people which manufacturer is the best in quality, you will likely get 11 different answers.

    Just keep in mind that you are buying a house on wheels; so be prepared for those consequences. My wife and I chose to take that in stride. Do the repairs ourselves as we can.

    Remember, you can't please everyone all the time; heck you can't even please some people all the time!

    Most of us on here are more than willing to help you out of you have questions or need to troubleshoot something. Just ask us!

    Anyway, enough from me.

    Ciao!

    Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk
    Mark & Mary. Full-timing across the USA (and Canada)!
    Current Coach: 2021 Grand Design Reflection 320MKS
    Current Rig: 2019 Ford F350 SD Crew Cab, w/8' box, Lariat, SRW, 6.7l Diesel

  6. #6
    Seasoned Camper
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    May 2019
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    Boerne, TX
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    It seems like many of the build issues are happening on trailers made within the past year as manufacturers are trying to crank out as many as possible. I've read on other sites where people say stay away from Forrest River yet we've had two that had no issues. We haven't had any out of the ordinary problems with our current fifth wheel. However, it was built over two years ago.

    I do believe though, with the Winnebago purchase, they have pushed the culture of volume over quality.

    That said, before taking delivery on any new RV, a thorough PDI should be done to check absolutely everything, even if it means hiring a tech. Get all the work done before you fund the deal and drive off the lot.
    2019 F250 Lariat
    2020 Solitude S 2930RL
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

  7. #7
    Seasoned Camper Skilletface's Avatar
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    Aug 2020
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    Nicholson, Ga.
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    DrivingRangeChamp, I too have noticed an increase in help questions leaving one to ponder quality of Grand Design.

    Here’s my take; based on some of the issues being discussed lead me to realize there are a lot of new people to the RV experience that have an expectation to that of buying a car, find something wrong take it back to the dealer. RV dealers (some dealers are better than others but you will pay more for the unit) are simply a store front, RV manufacturers are assemblers of many different parts. Another thought is the lack of understanding these coaches are in an earthquake very time we pull them and require maintenance.

    As for Grand Design quality; they are just like every other coach manufacture, lack of help and components so they build them ,park them and install components sometimes that are unfamiliar into an already constructed coach. I am not giving QC a pass here, however, in my working career I have seen many good companies slip on quality due to the Corporate influence and lack of support to the frontline worker.
    2017 F-250 6.7 2019 273 MK
    Retired Tanker Yanker
    My your pleasures be many and your troubles be few!

  8. #8
    Setting Up Camp
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    Quote Originally Posted by MoonShadow_1911 View Post
    I think it's all a matter of perspective. Our 2021 Reflection 320MKS didn't have any major issues, except maybe the cooktop middle burner wood stay lit. I worked with Grand Design's great (for me) customer service and had a replacement cooktop sent out to me. The mobile tech I started to work with, never called me back, so I installed it myself.

    As it has been pointed out in several other threads, with the exception of building the trailer, everything else is sourced from suppliers. For example, in our camper, we have Norcold, Dometic, Coleman, Thomas Paine, Furrion, TCL to name several of the top of my head. Within each brand, even Grand Design, there are going to be different levels of build quality. If you want top-of-the-line quality, you are probably going to want to look at a manufacturer like DRV, and you will pay for that quality.

    For us, it really came down to the manufacturer customer service. Dutchman, who puts out the Kodiak brand (our last trailer) sucks in customer service, at least from my experience. I've had to call Grand Design on 4 separate issues, 3 were warranty work, and one was my stupid moment. They have been nothing but polite and accommodating, my experience has been that they listen, empathize, and communicate well.

    For anything minor, I'll do the work myself,
    For something major, say a slide replacement, I'll think about doing it myself, then call a mobile tech or a dealer service center.

    So, from my perspective, Grand Design is a great brand, based solely on my experience with my Reflection, and what I have heard from others with a Solitude. Again, these two lines are Grand Design's "top-of-the-line" coaches.

    Yes, due to the fact that they are "behind" in production because of parts shortages, and things get rushed to get them out the door to the customer, you will have issues, but I would think those issues are across the major manufacturers. Take a peek at the other manufacturer forums and you'll see post praising their quality and others disparaging their quality.

    So, look at it in your way, and decide for yourself. With RV's if you ask 10 different people which manufacturer is the best in quality, you will likely get 11 different answers.

    Just keep in mind that you are buying a house on wheels; so be prepared for those consequences. My wife and I chose to take that in stride. Do the repairs ourselves as we can.

    Remember, you can't please everyone all the time; heck you can't even please some people all the time!

    Most of us on here are more than willing to help you out of you have questions or need to troubleshoot something. Just ask us!

    Anyway, enough from me.

    Ciao!

    Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk
    Helpful perspective. The customer service reputation was another reason we chose Grand Design for our Reflection. Thanks!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  9. #9
    Setting Up Camp
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bradnailer View Post
    It seems like many of the build issues are happening on trailers made within the past year as manufacturers are trying to crank out as many as possible. I've read on other sites where people say stay away from Forrest River yet we've had two that had no issues. We haven't had any out of the ordinary problems with our current fifth wheel. However, it was built over two years ago.

    I do believe though, with the Winnebago purchase, they have pushed the culture of volume over quality.

    That said, before taking delivery on any new RV, a thorough PDI should be done to check absolutely everything, even if it means hiring a tech. Get all the work done before you fund the deal and drive off the lot.
    I plan to take a few hours on my PDI. It’s been my experience that you have to get things taken care of then also. We purchased a new Coachmen two years ago, and it had major issues from the beginning. A window was installed wrong so that water poured in, the awning wasn’t installed correctly which rotted the floor, the main breaker wasn’t wired correctly which almost burned the thing down, as examples. That’s why we were really hoping for a step up in quality this time.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  10. #10
    Fireside Member caswelld's Avatar
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    Has Grand Design quality declined?

    It may have, but people had plenty of gripes before covid. When we decided to go back to a travel trailer we looked at some other manufacturers & we thought GD was one of the best. I remember reading of people who took delivery of their GD and had no issues. That's pretty rare in the RV business.

    We'll let you know in a couple of weeks when our Imagine 2670MK arrives. Fingers crossed!


    Dave
    2022 Imagine 2670MK - ProPride - TV Ram 1500
    2018 Isata-3 24FW - Toad 2019 Wrangler 2.0 Turbo
    2015 Tiffin Allegro 36LA - Toad 2014 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara
    2011 Spree 323RLS, 2007 Zeppelin 281- TV Armada

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