Couple Looking for Highest Quality Grand Design Travel Trailer - less than 30' in Length

[BDK]

We are looking for a high quality, dependable Grand Design Travel Trailer. Mostly we will camp driving no more than a few hours, but we hope to travel from East Coast to West Coast once a year. We've been attracted to Grand Design Imagine, but are having a challenge deciding which Model to actually consider.

Any guidance appreciated.

 

[terryriddle]

First, look at Grand Design, one of the top manufacturers of RVs, while there are others like Alliance, Jayco, etc. My wife and I have been camping since we married 57 years ago. When looking at an RV, my first goal was to ensure I could get to and from the bathroom/bedroom with the slide-in. Until my GrandDesign fifth wheel, I was able to ensure our trip would not be ruined due to a slide motor failure. The biggest issue with RVs today is storage for clothing and the like. Every year we go to the Raleigh Fair Grounds to look at what the RV world is doing. Most today come with solar systems and 12-volt refrigerators. On the GrandDesign forum, I see issues with 12-volt refrigerators...but no more than with our current gas/electric model. With grandkids, who at times join us on trips. I need to be able to sleep a couple, even if that means a nice air mattress on the floor that provides room to put one up. A major item to look at is the GVWR (on your tow vehicle door frame) rating. Sales will say you can tow X, but I had to take the customer otherwise. With my Reflection 260RD, I had to move from my diesel F250 Ford to an F350 dually long bed because the F250's GVWR was not rated to handle the weight. It could more than tow the weight but did not meet the rating provided by the vehicle manufacturer to ensure safety.

If you are traveling at 65 mph and have a tire blow on the tow vehicle, do you want to be able to maintain control of the tow vehicle or have the RV take control? Ensure you have the best-rated tires money can buy. Then there is the 3, 3, 3 rule. Rest every 3 hours, if not more, drive no more than 300 miles a day, and get to your new campsite by 3 PM. Enjoy safe travels. We have crossed the US three times and visited all national parks in the US including Alaska, and many in Canada.

 

[Soundsailor]

+1 for the GD Reflection 260RD. At just under 30 feet, we've been able to get into most spaces in State and National Parks, some of our preferred destinations. For me, a fifth wheel is much easier to tow and set up than a bumper pull.

BTW: Welcome to the forum.

 

[terryriddle]

I agree, while I have had two fifth wheel units and four tag-alongs. The weight of a fifth wheel on the rear of the truck provides a better ride and a safer one when being passed by a semi or on a windy day, especially with a dually

 

[Najataagihe]

If y'all, like us, prefer a one-level travel trailer, look at a Hensley or ProPride hitch and garner the benefits of a fifth wheel, in regards to sway.

With Grand Design, the highest trim level in their travel trailers is the Reflection line.

We love ours!


That being said, we towed our Imagine 2950RL from Birmingham to Seattle, twice, quite comfortably!

The corresponding model in the current line-up is the 2970RL.

 

[NB Canada]

We are looking for a high quality, dependable Grand Design Travel Trailer. Mostly we will camp driving no more than a few hours, but we hope to travel from East Coast to West Coast once a year. We've been attracted to Grand Design Imagine, but are having a challenge deciding which Model to actually consider.

Any guidance appreciated.

Well first what do you have for a tow vehicle?
Or are you going to get the tow vehicle after?

Floorplan is what you want to care about. Get what you want
There is almost zero difference in an Imagine vs a Reflection. Quality is exactly the same
The only thing that might matter is the side wall insulation. R7 in Imagine and R9 in reflection but likely isn’t noticeable

The reflection is just in larger floorplans where the Imagine starts small

Just be prepared with RV ownership if you have never owned one. They are not really built with quality or dependability
A ton of work will have to be done yourself or you will be depending on a dealer which is costly and time consuming
I prefer a travel trailer because I wouldn’t want my truck bed unavailable Mine hauls perfectly
So pick what you need and if you already have a tow vehicle pick what it can tow

One thing I would look for in a trailer for quality is one that is built with Azdel.

Good luck

 

[Najataagihe]

Having lived in both an Imagine and a Reflection, I can affirm that the cabinetry and trim in the Reflection is of far better quality than the Imagine.

 

[NB Canada]

Having lived in both an Imagine and a Reflection, I can affirm that the cabinetry and trim in the Reflection is of far better quality than the Imagine.

Umm okay. The reflection has hardwood vs solid core in the Imagine but the base Transcend has hardwood. Just different, quality is the same
It performs all the same

 

[Najataagihe]

Oh, I agree on the quality.

Any RV is just a kit!

The pieces parts on a Reflection are better than the Imagine series, though.

 

[NB Canada]

Oh, I agree on the quality.

Any RV is just a kit!

The pieces parts on a Reflection are better than the Imagine series, though.

What pieces?

 

[Najataagihe]

Without getting into boring detail, some major improvements over our Imagine are:

Better cabinetry material

Better table (sturdier)

Sturdier shelves in pantry

Better appliances (refrigerator and microwave, the stove is pretty much the same)

Remote controls on the vent fans

Better winterization plumbing

Better trim wood

A shower floor that does not feel like a trampoline

Remote-controlled electric stabilizing jacks

MUCH better awning motors (also remote-controlled)

Larger propane tanks

Better suspension (Mor-Ryde CRE 3000 and wet bushings)

Better tires (Load range E)


Etc., etc., et-bloody-cetera...

And, that is not counting the improvements I have made to it.


The little things add up, quickly, in making it easy to live with.

 

[goducks14]

Aren't the Reflections built with 1.5" foam in the walls vs 1" in the Imagine line as well as the 100-150 series 5ers? Fair weather weekenders won't notice much difference. Extreme hot or cold and general outside noise would show the difference.

 

[NB Canada]

Aren't the Reflections built with 1.5" foam in the walls vs 1" in the Imagine line as well as the 100-150 series 5ers? Fair weather weekenders won't notice much difference. Extreme hot or cold and general outside noise would show the difference.

It is r7 vs r9. I can’t hear a thing outside when inside my Imagine

 

[Snowgoose]

So it appears that there are actually objective differences that give a nod toward different quality levels. Whether those differences are worth the price difference is really up to each buyer. The view is the same from all of these different models but there are differences that might matter to a new buyer who doesn't know what to ask or look for.

 

[Riverbug]

I always thought the Transend and Imagine were the "economy" models and the Reflection and Solitudes were the "premium" models. When we walked through the travel trailers, the Transend had a much more economy feel than a Reflection, ignoring the size of the unit and those things.

 

[retired_engineer]

If you are looking at the Imagine line the new 2300MK is 26 ft long. This makes it about the same length as our current Imagine XLS 22MLE. In fact my wife and I are planning to go look at one in the next week or two. If we like it we have talked about buying one to replace our 22MLE next year.

As you are looking around one thing I've noticed is the RV industry has this idea that the shorter/smaller the trailer the less featured (i.e. cheaper) it must be. As a result there is a lesser variety of shorter trailers with higher trim levels out there. We don't want a long/large trailer for multiple reasons but would still like to have the better features like solid surface counter tops and better quality cabinetry. This is why the 2300MK looks like a good possibility.

 

[retired_engineer]

I always thought the Transend and Imagine were the "economy" models and the Reflection and Solitudes were the "premium" models. When we walked through the travel trailers, the Transend had a much more economy feel than a Reflection, ignoring the size of the unit and those things.

In the Imagine line the Imagine has the highest trim and features. The Imagine XLS fills a middle tier and the Imagine AIM more of an entry tier. I've always considered the Imagine series as a middle line between the Transcend and Reflection.

 

[GeorgiaMary]

The Imagine 22MLE is considered the perfect couples trailer. At 26 feet it is easy to pull with our F150. We travel with two large dogs and still have plenty of room. We have made trips from Georgia to Massachusetts.

 

[NB Canada]

I always thought the Transend and Imagine were the "economy" models and the Reflection and Solitudes were the "premium" models. When we walked through the travel trailers, the Transend had a much more economy feel than a Reflection, ignoring the size of the unit and those things.

They use all the same materials pretty much

The only difference is sizes and available options

The quality is exactly the same which isn’t very high

 

[Riverbug]

They use all the same materials pretty much

The only difference is sizes and available options

The quality is exactly the same which isn’t very high

I didn't think the higher level models had things like foil wrapped counter tops, and that they had better quality cabinets and such? Guess I never looked close enough at them because we haven't been in the market for a larger RV for many years.