Has Grand Design quality declined?

[dryfly]

Another thing to keep in mind when reading forums (this one is no different) is you will mostly see post from people with issues. They might only represent a fraction of owners, new or old.
People that do not have issues or questions will not post "Hey mine is 100%". Actually, if you look at the welcome page, you'll a lot of "I love it".
Just something to keep in mind.

I feel you are correct. We don't hear a lot from folks pleased with their trailers.

However, there is also probably only a fraction of owners that are active on forums such as this. A lot of brand new owners that have yet to experience the joy of dealing with problems and service issues.

The things that really strike me most are some of the issues I read about involving construction and components that are obvious issues waiting to happen. Parts that are weak and inferior that continue to be used. I know GD responds to some of these problems, but others are ignored. With some, you have got to wonder "what were they thinking".

I'm looking forward to seeing how this industry will shake out in the next few years.

[Keebler]

GD is comparable in quality to comparably priced campers. As mentioned above, don't expect to automotive quality; it isn't there.

I am not the handiest person in the world, probably a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10. Most of the issues are minor enough that I can address them. That said, since year 3, I have had to take my RV in to a shop to be repaired at least once per season. Right now I am facing a case of major peeling on my theater seats. I can do the replacement myself, but looks like it's gonna be a ~ $1,500 pill to swallow.

Would I do this again, for me, the answer is yes, but I do respect those that would not. This is NOT a buy a new unit and get 10 years of trouble free enjoyment game. This is NOT a GD issue (this is my third RV), it is an RV industry issue.

Any one doing a spreadsheet looking at the price of getting a hotel versus the true TOTAL cost of RV ownership will see they can get MANY nights of hotel stays for the same cost. This is about a love for camping; that needs to be your motivation.

[Wicked ace]

I feel you are correct. We don't hear a lot from folks pleased with their trailers.

However, there is also probably only a fraction of owners that are active on forums such as this. A lot of brand new owners that have yet to experience the joy of dealing with problems and service issues.

If you want to hear from folks that are pleased you only need follow a thread like this one. While not as prevalent as in the past there are many who "circle the wagons" when they feel their beloved RV was being slighted. In the past I saw instances where people, myself included, were effectively shouted down if they expressed a displeasure or concern.

[rootusrootus]

If you want to hear from folks that are pleased you only need follow a thread like this one. While not as prevalent as in the past there are many who "circle the wagons" when they feel their beloved RV was being slighted. In the past I saw instances where people, myself included, were effectively shouted down if they expressed a displeasure or concern.

Unfortunately this seems to happen everywhere. People who bought an iPhone defend it with their life. Same for Android, or Tesla, or RV brands, or car brands, or just about anything really. People wrap up so much of their identity in the choices they make, and seem to translate criticism of the product as criticism of their choice, and then take it personally.

[bertschb]

The only problem I have when the topic of Grand Design quality comes up is when an RV newbie makes a post with 20 things they found wrong with their new Grand Design RV and express their outrage at the horrible quality when I could probably have fixed just about everything on their list in an hour. As expressed earlier, they expect new car quality and apparently would rather take their RV back to the dealer and have it sit for two months and get half their problems fixed then to just fix their piddly list themselves.

I'm not suggesting nobody has ever had a major issue with a Grand Design RV. Far from it. But you generally don't hear about broken frames or axles falling off very often. The people that seem to get fired up the most are usually complaining about loose trim, a burned out ceiling light, a door that doesn't shut right, etc. Unfortunately, that's part of RV ownership. Learn to fix your RV or don't own one - not even a $2,000,000 Class A. They ALL have issues. You do get better quality if you pay several hundred thousand dollars or more but it's still a shock to look in the hidden spaces (just like a new house).

[rootusrootus]

I'm not suggesting nobody has ever had a major issue with a Grand Design RV. Far from it. But you generally don't hear about broken frames or axles falling off very often.

To be fair, GD doesn't make frames & axles. They probably don't do anything at all other than flip them over when installing stuff, I'd bet they come mostly assembled from Lippert.

[50ST8R]

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

You will get a lot of whining here, but many things can be caught with a good PDI. Don’t let them rush through it. GD I great customer service. You will note most complaints are more about dealers not living up to their obligations.

Let’s face it, you are pulling a house on road in the US that continue to deteriorate and if you use it things will break. Do your homework which you already seem to have done. Get it home and go travel with it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Kevin & Deb. 2021 Reflection 320 MKS
2018 Ford F-350 Diesel SRW Platinum

[TSeck954]

Well as this is our 5th and final RV we have been down this road many many times. That said, there are some fit and finish issues that should've been caught before the rig ever left the factory. For example, our rig has a little cubby area to store your shoes underneath the stairs. Great idea except, there's no flippin top to the cubby and its wide open into the storage locker. If you stand next to it there is a flood of hot air that flows right into the main cabin. Also many other trim pieces that don't fit flush or tick out like sore thumbs. I'll keep taking it back to the dealer for correction and they've been pretty good about addressing these things but if I were the dealer, I'd be a little torqued to be wasting my time with stupid $hit.

To be fair, I didn't have this many issues with our Outback from 2013. I'm sure some of this is due to demand, Covid and the hard push to get these units out to the dealers because of high demand. That said, its unfortunate the hard won reputation is getting hammered with this stuff....... Eventually, we'll get it all hammered out one way or another.

[DECelt]

Well as this is our 5th and final RV we have been down this road many many times. That said, there are some fit and finish issues that should've been caught before the rig ever left the factory. For example, our rig has a little cubby area to store your shoes underneath the stairs. Great idea except, there's no flippin top to the cubby and its wide open into the storage locker. If you stand next to it there is a flood of hot air that flows right into the main cabin. Also many other trim pieces that don't fit flush or tick out like sore thumbs. I'll keep taking it back to the dealer for correction and they've been pretty good about addressing these things but if I were the dealer, I'd be a little torqued to be wasting my time with stupid $hit.

To be fair, I didn't have this many issues with our Outback from 2013. I'm sure some of this is due to demand, Covid and the hard push to get these units out to the dealers because of high demand. That said, its unfortunate the hard won reputation is getting hammered with this stuff....... Eventually, we'll get it all hammered out one way or another.

I'm told that those openings between the living area and basement storage are return air for the furnace an must be left open. I agree that it's a lousy design...I'm going to screen it against rodents.

Sent from my moto g power using Tapatalk

[Dakota]

I'm not ready to believe that. We just drove from CT to FL last week. We passed several large RV dealerships and their lots were packed with RVs.
I think there are plenty if one looks.

Don't know about boats we sold ours last year in one day without advertising it and not looking for another.

The GD dealer in my area claims to be the largest in the Midwest. I stopped by the other day and the lot is virtually empty. Went home on the highway and saw a huge Chevy dealer with only one row of vehicles toward the front of the lot. The large boat dealer next to them was depleted of inventory too. My daughter works for Polaris. She’s now assigned to the emergency procurement team. Can’t get parts.