First and last Grand Design

[HWTG24]

Purchased a new Reflection 5th wheel on July 15. Had issues with the thermostat and AC not working correctly. Emailed both Grand Design and Furrion and got virtually no help.

Long story short, I did some troubleshooting and research and wound up installing a new Micro-Air thermostat and relocated the sensor in AC unit to the same location as the thermostat and now everything works flawless.

Passed on this information to Grand Design so they could possibly rectify the situation going forward on newly constructed units.

Not so. Grand Design now voided my warranty on my AC because I cut 2 wires and relocated the sensor.

Here is their response:

“I completely understand your frustration and it has been noted. We can only go by the direction we are given from the vendor. With that being said, I'm glad you resolved the issue and it is running better, but I must tell you since you've modified this, it does in fact void your warranty on the AC unit. Hopefully you will not have any issues in the future regarding this. I will consider this issue resolved and close this out. Thank you”

Just bought my first and last Grand Design RV.

 

[mwdilday]

I can understand why they voided your warranty. It's pretty typical with almost anything like an automobile, electronics, etc that if you make modifications to the electronics or electrical it will void your warranty. The people who are working on the RVs are trained on the electronics and systems that are provided by the manufacturer and not so much trained on aftermarket add-ons. If there is an issue related to the A/C in the future they may not be able to figure it out with the aftermarket thermostat. I am sorry you had the issue in the first place and hopefully you will have no other problems with your RV.

 

[geotex1]

GD cannot void your air conditioner warranty and have not. What you are misinterpreting is that CS had advised you that your modification voids the air conditioner manufacturer's warranty (i.e., Furrion, a subsidiary of Lippert). Your experience is typical of the entire RV industry. Customer Service is abysmal, and warranty service is not timely.

 

[RV2600RB]

Purchased a new Reflection 5th wheel on July 15. Had issues with the thermostat and AC not working correctly. Emailed both Grand Design and Furrion and got virtually no help.

Long story short, I did some troubleshooting and research and wound up installing a new Micro-Air thermostat and relocated the sensor in AC unit to the same location as the thermostat and now everything works flawless.

Passed on this information to Grand Design so they could possibly rectify the situation going forward on newly constructed units.

Not so. Grand Design now voided my warranty on my AC because I cut 2 wires and relocated the sensor.

Here is their response:

“I completely understand your frustration and it has been noted. We can only go by the direction we are given from the vendor. With that being said, I'm glad you resolved the issue and it is running better, but I must tell you since you've modified this, it does in fact void your warranty on the AC unit. Hopefully you will not have any issues in the future regarding this. I will consider this issue resolved and close this out. Thank you”

Just bought my first and last Grand Design RV.

I updated my Furrion controller and control unit to the new version.
A/C stayed within a few degrees of set point. But, with it set on 60 for heat it wouldn’t shut off till 68-70*, which is way too hot for us.

Does your heater work properly?
The MicroAir has a sensor inside it that is supposed to work for the heat, like the updated GD one.
You can check it by holding the a/c sensor you moved between your fingers.
If the heat temperature doesn’t rise then it’s operating on the MicroAir sensor.
I have a MicroAir as well for my Furrion system but haven’t tried the heat because it’s 100*F here. I didn’t move the a/c sensor because when testing the a/c it was within a few degrees of set point.
Rich

 

[traveldawg]

Purchased a new Reflection 5th wheel on July 15. Had issues with the thermostat and AC not working correctly. Emailed both Grand Design and Furrion and got virtually no help.

Long story short, I did some troubleshooting and research and wound up installing a new Micro-Air thermostat and relocated the sensor in AC unit to the same location as the thermostat and now everything works flawless.

Passed on this information to Grand Design so they could possibly rectify the situation going forward on newly constructed units.

Not so. Grand Design now voided my warranty on my AC because I cut 2 wires and relocated the sensor.

Here is their response:

“I completely understand your frustration and it has been noted. We can only go by the direction we are given from the vendor. With that being said, I'm glad you resolved the issue and it is running better, but I must tell you since you've modified this, it does in fact void your warranty on the AC unit. Hopefully you will not have any issues in the future regarding this. I will consider this issue resolved and close this out. Thank you”

Just bought my first and last Grand Design RV.

At least you got things working your way. It'll probably work like that for a long time and, hopefully, the AC doesn't stop working while in whatever warranty period there is.

I hadn't thought about voiding a warranty with such simple changes. I guess I've voided dozens of things if that's the case.

Anyhow, I doubt most manufacturers would take well to us modifying their wiring or even the mechanics of their devices. Just ask Ford about replacing their supposedly failure prone CP4 fuel pump with an aftermarket one which is much better.....

Thanks for joining here. You'll find lots of help. Already one member has reached out to learn about your experience.

 

[dryfly]

Purchased a new Reflection 5th wheel on July 15. Had issues with the thermostat and AC not working correctly. Emailed both Grand Design and Furrion and got virtually no help.

As an aside, I personally feel calling and talking about an issue will provide a better experience than emailing. In this case you may have ended up with the same results. Who knows?

I certainly agree that the RV industry has fell flat on their face with Customer Service, both at the factory and dealer level. In most cases giving the dealer a chance to resolve the problem should be the first option. If no results, call GD.

If I were buying a new trailer today I'd make sure it appears to be in good condition off the lot, and then assume that any issues going forward are probably going to be my expense (if I want it fixed right and in a timely manner).

 

[HWTG24]

I updated my Furrion controller and control unit to the new version.
A/C stayed within a few degrees of set point. But, with it set on 60 for heat it wouldn’t shut off till 68-70*, which is way too hot for us.

Does your heater work properly?
The MicroAir has a sensor inside it that is supposed to work for the heat, like the updated GD one.
You can check it by holding the a/c sensor you moved between your fingers.
If the heat temperature doesn’t rise then it’s operating on the MicroAir sensor.
I have a MicroAir as well for my Furrion system but haven’t tried the heat because it’s 100*F here. I didn’t move the a/c sensor because when testing the a/c it was within a few degrees of set point.
Rich

With the Micro-Air thermostat, when it is set to AC mode, it uses and displays temperature of the sensor that is located inside the AC unit, or in my case, the relocated sensor.

When I switch to heat mode, it uses and displays the temperature from the sensor in the thermostat.

 

[HWTG24]

As an aside, I personally feel calling and talking about an issue will provide a better experience than emailing. In this case you may have ended up with the same results. Who knows?

I certainly agree that the RV industry has fell flat on their face with Customer Service, both at the factory and dealer level. In most cases giving the dealer a chance to resolve the problem should be the first option. If no results, call GD.

If I were buying a new trailer today I'd make sure it appears to be in good condition off the lot, and then assume that any issues going forward are probably going to be my expense (if I want it fixed right and in a timely manner).

I started with my dealer and had no luck. I tried calling both Grand Design and Furrion/Lippert with no luck. I don’t have the time to sit on hold for hours waiting for someone to answer.

Again, my intention was to pass on a fix to a known problem in an effort to prevent other owners from the same frustration.

I guess grand design is more worried about how to get out of paying for any unlikely warranty claims than they are about trying to remedy a known problem.

 

[RV2600RB]

With the Micro-Air thermostat, when it is set to AC mode, it uses and displays temperature of the sensor that is located inside the AC unit, or in my case, the relocated sensor.

When I switch to heat mode, it uses and displays the temperature from the sensor in the thermostat.

Cool. Glad to hear that. Thanks.
Rich

 

[Scott'n'Wendy]

I found when calling GD it really matters who you get. It's just luck of the the draw, but I first got a guy named Micheal. He was horrible. Said he would do all sorts of things to resolve my issues..but did nothing and then went on holidays and nobody could see any evidence he did anything at all. So then I talked to Susan. She did a great job. Took care of everything that day. All the correct parts showed up shortly thereafter and had extra 'goodwill' goodies in there as well.
So maybe you got the Micheal I got initially.
Although he is correct about the A/C warranty. When I installed my Micro-Air364 it said in the instructions that it will void the A/C warranty. First thing I did to the trailer a week or two after I bought it.

 

[RV2600RB]

I found when calling GD it really matters who you get. It's just luck of the the draw, but I first got a guy named Micheal. He was horrible. Said he would do all sorts of things to resolve my issues..but did nothing and then went on holidays and nobody could see any evidence he did anything at all. So then I talked to Susan. She did a great job. Took care of everything that day. All the correct parts showed up shortly thereafter and had extra 'goodwill' goodies in there as well.
So maybe you got the Micheal I got initially.
Although he is correct about the A/C warranty. When I installed my Micro-Air364 it said in the instructions that it will void the A/C warranty. First thing I did to the trailer a week or two after I bought it.

I installed a MicroAir also. It seems to work okay on a/c so far.
Haven’t tried the heat yet as it’s too hot.
How well does yours work on heat, i.e. temp swing?
Rich

 

[Scott'n'Wendy]

I installed a MicroAir also. It seems to work okay on a/c so far.
Haven’t tried the heat yet as it’s too hot.
How well does yours work on heat, i.e. temp swing?
Rich

I have a stand alone furnace for heat? Maybe I'm not understanding you. Is your A/C a heat pump?

 

[RV2600RB]

I have a stand alone furnace for heat? Maybe I'm not understanding you. Is your A/C a heat pump?

It’s a regular propane furnace. Just curious how well the MicriAir regulates heating temperature. It does okay on a/c so far.
Rich

 

[Gary1984]

I had problem with an a/c that stopped working. I had a rv repair facility repair it and they eventually replaced the unit and it all was covered not by the rv manufacturer but by the manufacturer of the a/c unit. All the appliances and a/c units have their own warranties.

 

[Mechanic Bob]

To the OP, I think that GD will not stand behind an issue as you stated, shows poor management. I would do everything I could to raise the flag on your issue! I mean really, Stand Behind Your Product!

 

[Gary1984]

It would be just like installing an easystart on the unit. Manufacture of the unit has the warranty. If you go to the appliance store and buy a washer and dryer who has the warranty?

 

[Mechanic Bob]

It would be just like installing an easystart on the unit. Manufacture of the unit has the warranty. If you go to the appliance store and buy a washer and dryer who has the warranty?

But GD "Bought the Appliance" and sold the unit as a package. Big difference from you shopping and buying an individual unit. So you are saying that you bought a kitchen range and the oven temperature does not hold, you should have to chase down Raython/Chromalox to fix the oven?

 

[Gary1984]

I’m telling you each appliance has its own warranty. That’s why you are to fill out the warranty cards on each appliance. Grand Design only has warranties on what ever they manufacture. The rv. They file warranty claims to the manufacturer of the products. The manufacturer of the product then replaces the product or pays to have it repaired.
I was a Cummins dealer for 45 years. Cummins engines come in a lot of different trucks. Cummins warranty covers their engines. There are a lot of other parts on that truck which are covered by their warranty’s. If the engine goes bad then Cummins takes care of it. Kenworth,or Peterbilt, or Freightliner,or whoever turns to the manufacturer of the engine for warranty.

 

[trudimcp]

Purchased a new Reflection 5th wheel on July 15. Had issues with the thermostat and AC not working correctly. Emailed both Grand Design and Furrion and got virtually no help.

Long story short, I did some troubleshooting and research and wound up installing a new Micro-Air thermostat and relocated the sensor in AC unit to the same location as the thermostat and now everything works flawless.

Passed on this information to Grand Design so they could possibly rectify the situation going forward on newly constructed units.

Not so. Grand Design now voided my warranty on my AC because I cut 2 wires and relocated the sensor.

Here is their response:

“I completely understand your frustration and it has been noted. We can only go by the direction we are given from the vendor. With that being said, I'm glad you resolved the issue and it is running better, but I must tell you since you've modified this, it does in fact void your warranty on the AC unit. Hopefully you will not have any issues in the future regarding this. I will consider this issue resolved and close this out. Thank you”

Just bought my first and last Grand Design RV.

I'm not criticizing, just inquiring, but if it was under warranty, wouldn't they fix it?

 

[BoredWeasel]

I'm not criticizing, just inquiring, but if it was under warranty, wouldn't they fix it?

It is IMO a design flaw on the furrion ac units. They put the temp sensor for the ac in the return directly in the ac return in the ac unit. The result is short cycling and a trailer that isn't cool despite being set too an excessively low temp.

So in the scheme of things it wasn't broken, but another trash design from furrion/lippert. I modified mine exactly like the op, and it works infinitely better.

Warranty void I don't really care, now my AC work as it should and I don't have to set it to 60 degrees to get the trailer to 75. and why don't they have a softstart in them from the factory?