Disappointed with my new GD

[1carguy]

I just brought home my new Reflection 31MB and over the weekend I started getting acquainted with all the new gadgets. On the surface, GD seemed like a higher quality RV than most comparably priced trailers, so I was pleased with my choice.
I filled the water tank and found the water pump would take a long time to shut off and often came on by itself. I saw water dripping under the basement storage so I removed the covers to take a look. Wow, what a mess under there. The wiring looked like a rats nest, heater ducts not fastened, TV cable connections broken, and at least 6 water hose connections were leaking. I searched the forum and found dozens of posts about leaking water systems in GD RVs. Apparently they are using water hoses, clamps, and fittings that aren't compatible. They are using Pex system hoses, fittings, and clamps and fastening them to braided flexible hoses. The size of the flex hose is larger and won't seal properly to a Pex fitting. I also heard that GD is well aware of this but hasn't done anything about it. Many owners have totally re-plumbed their entire trailer! My dealer won't do that and neither will I so I'm just going to try to remove the Pex clamps that are leaking and install SS fuel injection clamps and hope that this solves the problem.
Needless to say, I'm not happy that GD would knowingly build an RV with substandard materials and poor workmanship. If you own or buy a GD trailer, keep and eye on all of the hose connections behind the Nautilus control panel because a slow water leak can cause serious damage after time.

 

[NB Canada]

I haven’t had an opportunity yet to go over my plumbing in my Imagine but it will be my first job

Going to open every panel and use the pump like you did to see if it runs when it shouldn’t

At least now you know and will have peace of mind to know you fixed it yourself


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

 

[Jorge Blanco]

Hello 1carguy, check the sink traps and shower trap I had to hand tighten mine cause they were dripping water. My shower door was not closing so I had to fix that too. Some molding were also loose so I glued those in place I now keep a bottle of glue in the tt just in case. I did not want to take it back to the dealer that would have been a 1 hour drive so did it myself.

 

[1carguy]

I totally expected to fix a few things on the trailer once I took a close look at everything, and I'm okay with that. But when I saw the all the plumbing leaks and found out WHY it happened, it really ticked me off that GD would continue to put this water system together like that. They aren't any better than any of the RV manufacturers out there. Eventually poor quality issues will catch up to them.
I'm going to fix these things myself rather than haul it to the dealer.

 

[bfs673]

Needless to say, I'm not happy that GD would knowingly build an RV with substandard materials and poor workmanship. If you own or buy a GD trailer, keep and eye on all of the hose connections behind the Nautilus control panel because a slow water leak can cause serious damage after time.

I feel your frustrations and have had my own. The only thing that makes you feel worse, is knowing that all manufactures do this. It's crazy to me the installers wouldn't take a bit more pride in the routing of wires/hoses. GD should absolutely know by now their water hoses are creating issues (this has been discussed for years on this forum).

I guess I've decided that I like the floorplan, so I'll fix the trailer myself!
I think this spring I may investigate replacing the water lines and connectors, adding a manifold with shutoffs and whatever else I can get to. I'd prefer to do as much work as possible without removing the corrugated plastic (Coroplast?) from the bottom of the trailer. We'll see how deep down the rabbit hole I want to go.

Good luck with your trailer, and hope you fund more joy and comfort than frustration

 

[Buckskin]

1carguy, sorry to hear that GD quality seems to have gone straight to ~~~~. So much for their end of line multi quality check points. Seems like their quality has gone down quite a bit since being purchased by Winnebago. Bought 2018 Imagine 2250RK and had a few quality issues but nothing like you have found. Most of mind had to do with furnace heater duct works torn or loose. You might what to turn on furnace and take paper towel and hold in front of each outlet. Also remove panel by air handler and take a look; had to tape torn air duct hoses there. The duct hose for basement was just hanging from air handler and not routed through hole in floor to heat basement.
It is a shame quality seems to be thing of the past for GD.

 

[D2Reid]

But when I saw the all the plumbing leaks and found out WHY it happened, it really ticked me off that GD would continue to put this water system together like that. They aren't any better than any of the RV manufacturers out there.

Welcome the world of RV'ing. It's not always good. I am sorry you are having problems. In my experience it's not been that GD builds a much better RV, it's that they try hard to make things right. Of course, try hard is always a bit subjective. I have had good luck with them, others have not, but most that I read about do if they are patient enough and not too frustrated from the get go.

Our first big 5th wheel, a different brand, the first time I was sipping an adult beverage outside in my lawn chair and my wife went to take her fist shower in our new RV I got to see a cool water fall coming out of the side skirting. You should have seen the scene where I was yelling at her to turn the water off and she was yelling at me that she still had soap in her hair....

It's good that you understand the problem and are able to fix it. Many do not know anything about tools. 10th year of full timing, approaching our 4th year in a GD momentum, it's time for me to go replace some flickering lights.

Safe Travels.

 

[RV Sailor]

Sorry to hear of your frustrations.

I knew going in there would be “ fixes” . Un
Unlike our 35 foot sailboat the quality isn’t there, course it costs 1/10 as much.

I imaged our new GD would be built a little better than other builders, but what drew me to them was the better customer service, support that I heard and saw from other manufacturers. I find that to be true already.

Work through your issues so you can begin to enjoy it.

 

[Chad1383]

IMO GD is not better built than others. I found their customer service to be very good but as far as fit and finish I was dissapointed on my last TT in how some things were assembled. The GD was my first trailer and I bought and paid more money at the time thinking I was paying for quality, not the case. Everyone in RV game uses the same suppliers etc, at the end of the day it becomes how fast they push their workers to pump out these units. I have seen you tube videos on a number of different manufacturers build process and when I see them all rushing around at light speed it doesn't maker me impressed, it makes me shake my head and wonder how you can build a quality unit that fast.

No one likes the house vs RV comparison but I just built a new house. One builder who pumps out lots of houses told me 5 months, a custom home builder told me 10-12 months. When I asked why so long he told me "The details take me a long time to get done to my satisfaction". I really respected that mindset and hired him, paid more but I know my house is far better than the guy who was building 100-150 houses per year VS the guy who is building 10-15.

 

[CMeth54]

I just brought home my new Reflection 31MB and over the weekend I started getting acquainted with all the new gadgets. On the surface, GD seemed like a higher quality RV than most comparably priced trailers, so I was pleased with my choice.
I filled the water tank and found the water pump would take a long time to shut off and often came on by itself. I saw water dripping under the basement storage so I removed the covers to take a look. Wow, what a mess under there. The wiring looked like a rats nest, heater ducts not fastened, TV cable connections broken, and at least 6 water hose connections were leaking. I searched the forum and found dozens of posts about leaking water systems in GD RVs. Apparently they are using water hoses, clamps, and fittings that aren't compatible. They are using Pex system hoses, fittings, and clamps and fastening them to braided flexible hoses. The size of the flex hose is larger and won't seal properly to a Pex fitting. I also heard that GD is well aware of this but hasn't done anything about it. Many owners have totally re-plumbed their entire trailer! My dealer won't do that and neither will I so I'm just going to try to remove the Pex clamps that are leaking and install SS fuel injection clamps and hope that this solves the problem.
Needless to say, I'm not happy that GD would knowingly build an RV with substandard materials and poor workmanship. If you own or buy a GD trailer, keep and eye on all of the hose connections behind the Nautilus control panel because a slow water leak can cause serious damage after time.

I haven't purchased my TT yet and now I'm beginning to get a little gun shy! What the hell happened to this great PDI that GD is supposed to have on site at their plant??? I've read that when you make a purchase of a pre-owned RV you should hire an independent inspector to go through it. This might be a good thing to do for a new RV as well before taking delivery????

 

[NB Canada]

If it gives you peace of mind go for it

Imo it is a huge waste of money

I spent 10 minutes going over my trailer when I picked it up. Didn’t run water or heater or a/c
Didn’t run the fridge
I walked through to make sure everything was there and that was it


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

 

[Chad1383]

If it gives you peace of mind go for it

Imo it is a huge waste of money

I spent 10 minutes going over my trailer when I picked it up. Didn’t run water or heater or a/c
Didn’t run the fridge
I walked through to make sure everything was there and that was it


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

NB, who so your GD dealer? Curious cause we only have a few around.

 

[NB Canada]

NB, who so your GD dealer? Curious cause we only have a few around.

I bought at Lazy Acres in Ontario


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

 

[JKellerJr]

If it gives you peace of mind go for it

Imo it is a huge waste of money

I spent 10 minutes going over my trailer when I picked it up. Didn’t run water or heater or a/c
Didn’t run the fridge
I walked through to make sure everything was there and that was it

I agree, but then I'm also one to find a local dealer I can trust and not shopping him around the country. I may have not gotten every last penny but I always felt the deal was fair and I have always been taken care of on the service side. (I realize that only works if the local guys are any good which seem to be less and less every day). IMHO a successful RV experience, especially for someone new, is more about the dealer then the manufacturer.

My last unit showed up on Thursday and I was leaving for Florida on Friday morning. They didn't really even have time for their normal PDI let alone me spending hours going through it again. Picked it up and literally threw everything in it and left. I had zero concern that whatever I found would be taken care of when I got back or I would handle as it came up. Being somewhat handy and mechanically inclined makes RV'ing much easier.

As far as GD is concerned, I feel that they're really not much different then a lot of the others. They build basically the same way with the same materials with the same people. But I do feel that they do a better job of helping after the sale.

YMMV

 

[Mulligan]

We worked hard for our money

I just brought home my new Reflection 31MB and over the weekend I started getting acquainted with all the new gadgets. On the surface, GD seemed like a higher quality RV than most comparably priced trailers, so I was pleased with my choice.
I filled the water tank and found the water pump would take a long time to shut off and often came on by itself. I saw water dripping under the basement storage so I removed the covers to take a look. Wow, what a mess under there. The wiring looked like a rats nest, heater ducts not fastened, TV cable connections broken, and at least 6 water hose connections were leaking. I searched the forum and found dozens of posts about leaking water systems in GD RVs. Apparently they are using water hoses, clamps, and fittings that aren't compatible. They are using Pex system hoses, fittings, and clamps and fastening them to braided flexible hoses. The size of the flex hose is larger and won't seal properly to a Pex fitting. I also heard that GD is well aware of this but hasn't done anything about it. Many owners have totally re-plumbed their entire trailer! My dealer won't do that and neither will I so I'm just going to try to remove the Pex clamps that are leaking and install SS fuel injection clamps and hope that this solves the problem.
Needless to say, I'm not happy that GD would knowingly build an RV with substandard materials and poor workmanship. If you own or buy a GD trailer, keep and eye on all of the hose connections behind the Nautilus control panel because a slow water leak can cause serious damage after time.

I fully understand how your feeling. Would suggest you take pictures of the poor quality workmanship send it to GD or the dealer and say fix it to my satisfaction.

A rv warranty rep told me “Trailer is a Trailer is a Trailer”. We the RV consumer are partially to blame for the poor quality because we accept this quality.We enable this type of quality. How? by fixing/repairing it ourselves, or justifying to ourselves that the dealer is too far away or the trailer will be in the repair shop for weeks, or it’s just a minor thing. This is not an IKEA kit where we are building a trailer..but sometimes it feels like it.
And yet what do we do to improve the quality? Yes we complain on forums or right letters..but what do we really do? We acquiesce and accept it.
Yes the employees who assemble the unit bear some of the responsibilities, however, their managers and leader who are in position to change things are in a pickle because they must meet production levels to make money for the shareholders. We as customers must accept some responsibility to accept this crappy quality because as we all know “WE” are the ultimate quality control department.
We all worked hard for our money and good customer service doesn’t necessarily mean great quality.
If I buy new and it needs repairing ( which unfortunately it will ) I am going to hold the manufacturer and the dealers feet to the fire to fix thing. Sometimes being the customer from hell gets things done.
Respectfully
Keep smiling
Mulligan

 

[NB Canada]

I fully understand how your feeling. Would suggest you take pictures of the poor quality workmanship send it to GD or the dealer and say fix it to my satisfaction.

A rv warranty rep told me “Trailer is a Trailer is a Trailer”. We the RV consumer are partially to blame for the poor quality because we accept this quality.We enable this type of quality. How? by fixing/repairing it ourselves, or justifying to ourselves that the dealer is too far away or the trailer will be in the repair shop for weeks, or it’s just a minor thing. This is not an IKEA kit where we are building a trailer..but sometimes it feels like it.
And yet what do we do to improve the quality? Yes we complain on forums or right letters..but what do we really do? We acquiesce and accept it.
Yes the employees who assemble the unit bear some of the responsibilities, however, their managers and leader who are in position to change things are in a pickle because they must meet production levels to make money for the shareholders. We as customers must accept some responsibility to accept this crappy quality because as we all know “WE” are the ultimate quality control department.
We all worked hard for our money and good customer service doesn’t necessarily mean great quality.
If I buy new and it needs repairing ( which unfortunately it will ) I am going to hold the manufacturer and the dealers feet to the fire to fix thing. Sometimes being the customer from hell gets things done.
Respectfully
Keep smiling
Mulligan

I prefer to fix things myself then I know they are done correctly


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

 

[dryfly]

I fully understand how your feeling. Would suggest you take pictures of the poor quality workmanship send it to GD or the dealer and say fix it to my satisfaction.

A rv warranty rep told me “Trailer is a Trailer is a Trailer”. We the RV consumer are partially to blame for the poor quality because we accept this quality.We enable this type of quality. How? by fixing/repairing it ourselves, or justifying to ourselves that the dealer is too far away or the trailer will be in the repair shop for weeks, or it’s just a minor thing. This is not an IKEA kit where we are building a trailer..but sometimes it feels like it.
And yet what do we do to improve the quality? Yes we complain on forums or right letters..but what do we really do? We acquiesce and accept it.
Yes the employees who assemble the unit bear some of the responsibilities, however, their managers and leader who are in position to change things are in a pickle because they must meet production levels to make money for the shareholders. We as customers must accept some responsibility to accept this crappy quality because as we all know “WE” are the ultimate quality control department.
We all worked hard for our money and good customer service doesn’t necessarily mean great quality.
If I buy new and it needs repairing ( which unfortunately it will ) I am going to hold the manufacturer and the dealers feet to the fire to fix thing. Sometimes being the customer from hell gets things done.
Respectfully
Keep smiling
Mulligan

Well written. However, the only way the customer can protest is to not buy a new trailer. Other brands show the same or even lower quality. Maybe spending two or three times as much might get you a little better quality, but that puts the pricing out of the range of many folks.

This means the protest ends up with the customer not owning an RV, and consequently not being able to enjoy camping.

If the customer decides to put up with the poor quality, and get even with the manufacturer or dealer by taking the trailer in for service every time a screw comes loose, or electrical outlet won't work, or the slide falls out.............then the same thing happens. The trailer stays waiting for service for months and the customer ends up not being able to enjoy camping. It's a lose/lose either way.

 

[minnow101]

I haven't purchased my TT yet and now I'm beginning to get a little gun shy! What the hell happened to this great PDI that GD is supposed to have on site at their plant??? I've read that when you make a purchase of a pre-owned RV you should hire an independent inspector to go through it. This might be a good thing to do for a new RV as well before taking delivery????

The braggadocio from GD on the post assembly/pre-shipping inspections is all hype. Yeah someone might look for something obvious(some defect that a customer might notice immediately),but no one is dropping the chloroplast or the removing the shower faucets looking for leaks, removing the electrical access panel to look for wires shorted, etc.
It's all window dressing.

GD is built no better worse then the rest of the competition. This was not always the case but in the last 5 years, GD has really fallen from where they started. They still haven't figured out (or they don't give a rats ...) that a better built RV from the get go is better then relying on "great service" after the sale. And that "great service" has significantly changed for the worse as well. If GD would build them better then they wouldn't need to rely on roving bands of service trucks at regional Pom-Pom Rallies.

But they build every one they sell so there is zero incentive to change the company ethics.

 

[Chad1383]

I recently went from a GD TT to a competing brand 5th wheel. Not expecting the new company to be better or worse just wanted a change.

 

[BARRY K]

I just switched from a 2018 Keystone Cougar and from what I have seen, my Reflection 340RDS is a much better quality product. The fit and finish is better, and so far I have had no significant issues.

Ultimately, it's just a trailer house (mobile home to be politically correct...) on wheels that takes a beating going down the road. I personally think quality in a manufacturing industry such as this is dependent on the crew that built it and the day it was built. Having friends that worked at the mobile home factories in Texas in the 80's I can tell you that quality suffered on Mondays with everyone hung over, Fridays with everyone thinking about getting off and going out, and Holidays when everyone was wishing they were not at work... I can't see this industry as being any different as fast as they are cranking them out.