- 2022 GDRV Solitude 388 MBS Brake and bearings failure and Grand Design nor Lippert will help.

[Roger Laframboise]

I recently (Thursday Sept 26, 2024) took my RV in for routine wheel bearing repacking. The unit only had 5,000 miles of highway travel but I figured it was time for the maintenance.

To my surprise after the technicians removed the wheels and drums, they discovered my brake assemblies (all 4) were in complete failure. The pressure pistons, springs and other parts had all broken or failed; essentially my brake pads were free floating on the assemblies. Fundamentally, I had NO functional brakes along with damaged bearing assemblies.

The technicians made comment this was caused prematurely because they were not properly packed (very little Grease) and not adjusted properly. This comment is based on the original GDRV installation as this was my first maintenance service since I purchased the unit.

I opened a case with GDRV customer support, provided pictures and an estimate from the repair shop I was dealing with; GD said they needed to pass the claim onto Lippert as the axle assembly with the brakes comes from them directly. Also, any new parts would need to come from Lippert.

Grand Design and Lippert promptly rejected my claim and said any new parts would take 3 to 4 weeks. Furthermore, I’m beyond the 1 yr warranty

I pleaded with them, ‘How could this be that all 4-wheel assemblies did this pretty much within the same time frame with less than 5K highway road miles, there must be some type of support or assistance from GDRV as this must be some type of defect occurring’ They replied only with rejection and cannot assist.

I’m now out of pocket $ 2,800 getting my 2022 Solitude 388 MBS back on the road.

 

[poohbear]

You can get the complete brake drum assemblies from etrailer for around $300.

 

[Roger Laframboise]

When your rig is up on blocks at a repair center when your passing through town on a 3 week travel and kids waiting at a campground then told by GDRV and Lippert parts are specific to ABS and have a 4 week led time, you take the repair option at hand.

 

[JKellerJr]

I recently (Thursday Sept 26, 2024) took my RV in for routine wheel bearing repacking. The unit only had 5,000 miles of highway travel but I figured it was time for the maintenance.

To my surprise after the technicians removed the wheels and drums, they discovered my brake assemblies (all 4) were in complete failure. The pressure pistons, springs and other parts had all broken or failed; essentially my brake pads were free floating on the assemblies. Fundamentally, I had NO functional brakes along with damaged bearing assemblies.

The technicians made comment this was caused prematurely because they were not properly packed (very little Grease) and not adjusted properly. This comment is based on the original GDRV installation as this was my first maintenance service since I purchased the unit.

I opened a case with GDRV customer support, provided pictures and an estimate from the repair shop I was dealing with; GD said they needed to pass the claim onto Lippert as the axle assembly with the brakes comes from them directly. Also, any new parts would need to come from Lippert.

Grand Design and Lippert promptly rejected my claim and said any new parts would take 3 to 4 weeks. Furthermore, I’m beyond the 1 yr warranty

I pleaded with them, ‘How could this be that all 4-wheel assemblies did this pretty much within the same time frame with less than 5K highway road miles, there must be some type of support or assistance from GDRV as this must be some type of defect occurring’ They replied only with rejection and cannot assist.

I’m now out of pocket $ 2,800 getting my 2022 Solitude 388 MBS back on the road.

When your rig is up on blocks at a repair center when your passing through town on a 3 week travel and kids waiting at a campground then told by GDRV and Lippert parts are specific to ABS and have a 4 week led time, you take the repair option at hand.

You don't say exactly how old your unit it but a 2022 could be as much as 3 years old. Wheel bearings are supposed to be repacked/inspected every 10k or once a year whichever comes first. (at least I think that's the interval) While that may sound excessive, part of that process allows for a inspection of the brakes also.

I don't know enough about the new antilock drums to comment on the failure outside of the worn down shoes. On our 2018 377 they looked worse than that after 1 year, there where large grooves in the drum. One of the reasons why I don't like drums, no way to keep an eye on them unless you pull the wheels.

 

[el Rojo]

The brake shoes look worn out to me. That and repacking the wheel bearings is a maintenance item. That might be the reason for turning down your request.

 

[classicrockguy]

Sorry to hear you had this issue. Doesn’t seem “normal” to me.

I’m probably overly cautious, but I pulled/inspected/serviced all 4 of my brake drum assemblies shortly after getting my new rig home from the dealer, and have repeated this annually between summer towing seasons ever since. Zero issues so far. Costs me a few $ in seals and a couple of hours, but the peace of mind is worth it to me.

I just don’t get why these components are so prone to problems. The tech is very simple and has been around forever. Growing up around 60’s and 70’s vehicles with basically the same components (at least on the front), I just don’t remember failures being all that common, and service intervals were far more than 10k miles. That’s with heavy stop and go driving!

I continue to believe that trailer axles/bearings/springs/brakes etc are grossly undersized for the intended loads. All I have to do is look under my HD truck at the like components for 10,800 gvw vs what’s under my 11,295 gvw tt, and it’s very obvious the tt components are laughably deficient.

Best to be doing frequent inspections and service.

 

[Roger Laframboise]

Update to my situation…Great NEWS

I received a call from GDRV customer services management. They explained to me their empathy for my situation and did the following…

• Fully reimbursed me for my initial repair costs…
• Sent me a complete set of Lippert brake drums and brake replacement kits for FREE

I must say, this is customer service at its best. Big companies need to take this situation as an example of how to treat their loyal customers.

GDRV has earned my respect and thank you, and I plan on being a long time customer.

 

[traveldawg]

So glad to hear things worked out well. Thanks for the update.

 

[WhittleBurner]

A great outcome, a glimmer of how GD CS was on a daily basis back at the first 5yrs. Hope this is a trend back to the stellar and consistent service we got in the past

 

[Steven@147]

Update to my situation…Great NEWS

I received a call from GDRV customer services management. They explained to me their empathy for my situation and did the following…

• Fully reimbursed me for my initial repair costs…
• Sent me a complete set of Lippert brake drums and brake replacement kits for FREE

I must say, this is customer service at its best. Big companies need to take this situation as an example of how to treat their loyal customers.

GDRV has earned my respect and thank you, and I plan on being a long time customer.

Great news, I hope they were the ABS brakes and drums.

 

[txloser]

Sucks about the brakes. Awesome response from GD. I’m a new GD owner at only 9 months but I’ve been impressed by their customer service. Much better than the other two brands I’ve owned. Which was non existent.

 

[el Rojo]

That's great news! Glad they helped you.