GD Owners Attitude

[BogeyBoyNevada]

Just a question with no intention to stir the pot
Has anyone else noticed a difference in attitude with some GD owners? We have had our Imagine about 2 1/2 years, and were almost always greeted with at least a smile from other GD owners in RV parks. I don't know if it is Covid or general attitude but owners simply don't seem as friendly, ever though we are all members of the same brand family. A couple of months ago, we were in Moss Landing California at a KOA. On our row was five Imagines including ours. In the three days all the rigs were lined up, no one ever said hi or even acknowledged us. We have had the similar situation in Greagle California also. We never try to be over friendly, but a nod or hello or good morning to fellow RVers would seem to be in order. If we had a profile, we are a couple with no kids or pets. Our rig & site are always pristine. No loud music or yelling. We just enjoy our rig and where we get to go. We have recently seen some posts from people who have attended rallys (we have never been able to get in) and their comment is that the people are stand offish and clanish.
I certainly hope that our fellow owners are not taking themselves or their rigs too seriously, Yes, most of us feel we own a fine brand. I just hope my fellow owners don't start getting the snooty attitude our friends who own the aluminum tin cans of wheels have. (We once were in Tucson with a Airstream rally. Talk about snooty! These tin canners actually looked down at the ground instead of acknowledging a non tin can owner

Thanks for reading

 

[geotex1]

The pre-COVID camping subculture was very friendly and generally social, but also a subset of loners. However, since the incredible influx of people into the community from COVID-19, I think we must remember many are from different backgrounds and different life experiences. For instance, it is a rare day indeed for anyone to say hello to a stranger in Philadelphia, but as normal as the sun rising most anywhere in Idaho... Couple that with social distancing, and venturing into new, not-yet-comfortable territory with their families and, I think, more caution is probably the most comfortable thing for them...

 

[NB Canada]

I have no desire or intention of ever striking a conversation with someone because of their choice of RV. I find that silly to be honest

I have started conversation with many about other interests though

Btw I don’t think GD is a better quality than any other brand btw
I traded a Jayco and would have purchased another if it had the features I wanted


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

 

[bertschb]

...I just hope my fellow owners don't start getting the snooty attitude...

Snooty attitude for owning a Grand Design RV?????? I could see somebody getting snooty if they owned a $2,000,000 class A but not a Grand Design! I'm on my 3rd Grand Design RV so I like them but I consider them just another towable RV like the other 100 brands on the road.

But to answer your question, I commonly have discussions with other GD owners. Just had one with our Solitude neighbors yesterday. Nice guy with a 390RK. He had a Momentum prior to that. I always like seeing other Grand Design RV's wherever we're parked. Most owners are familiar with each other's floorpans so we have something in common - and something to chat about.

Maybe you're noticing a change because people are fearful about COVID exposure. I know that affects a lot of people and will probably linger for a couple more years.

 

[WhittleBurner]

We are always talking to owners of GD and haven't really run into any snotty owners. We winter in FL and have made friends with a few GD owners that come through.

As for the rally, we have been to every IN rally and a few TN rallies (on our way to one tomorrow morning) and have made new friends at each one. Some we even meet up with on the road. With any large group that happens annually there are bound to be a few cliques that form and hope we never become part of anything that others are afraid to approach. If you find us you are always welcome to sit near the fire.

 

[Ynot4me2]

I think it's just a mix of new people and Covid. It will pass.

 

[livinthelife]

Just a question with no intention to stir the pot
Has anyone else noticed a difference in attitude with some GD owners? ...

Thanks for reading

Can't really say, but it seems that when passing other GD rigs on the road, more of them used to wave.

That being said, there are a lot of "new" people in the RV world (not to mention GD owners world) who don't know how many of us do things, socially-wise.

We've approached random GD owners in RV parks, and not waited for them to seek us out. Often we just do a "Hi, see you have a Reflection, like us" keeping things short. Now, when we took our Yukon/Alaska RV tour, one of parks we were in there was one other GD there, another Reflection (small one, like ours). We managed to meet the husband in that couple quite by accident, as we were returning to the park after getting gas in our truck. He was walking toward the park, about a block away. We stopped to apologize for not being able to give him a lift back to the park (no room in the truck), but he said "oh, I'm just out for a walk, no problem". We asked him which rig was his and SURPRISE it was the other Reflection. We made arrangements to come over to his rig later and talk.

Later on that same trip, we wound up in the same RV park at Denali. We met up with them for dinner. Since then, we've seen the twice while we were on the road, when we were in the same area.

Now, not all chance meetings wind up being that involved, a lot of people like traveling "by themselves" and not mixing with others at all.

In the past (about 3 years ago and more) GD owners were fewer, and a camaraderie seemed to develop when you'd run across other GD products. Today, not so much, there are many GD rigs in campgrounds now.

 

[schoening]

The politics, the Covid thing, and the increasingly hostile attitudes of people are to blame.
I've noticed people have lost their sense of humor, are not tolerant of others, and are increasingly quite self centered and arrogant.
"My way or the highway".......
I've found that just ignoring their hostility, talking and joking, being friendly and supportive usually breaks through the crusty exterior they hide behind. The ones (few) that insist on being unfriendly.....Just wish 'em a happy day and depart.

 

[CaptPicardo]

We have had some funny and interesting interactions thus far in our 7 months of full-time. Figured I'd share a couple on the lighter side as most of these conversations occurred when I was trying to get time-sensitive stuff done on the RV.
- In North Carolina I was torqueing new tires to spec when I looked up and a fellow a few feet away from me was intently inspecting our Nautilus water system settings, never said anything to me even though I was right there. I asked him if I could help with something and he said him and his wife were on their maiden voyage and just hooking for the first time and water was gushing from the side of their RV. We went over to take a look at it turned out the dealer had not installed the anode after de-winterizing it. He was a military veteran and we struck up a good conversation.
- In Texas, we were heading out to dinner and a fellow came across our spot staring at our bike rack intently. I asked him how he was doing (thinking something must be wrong with my bike rack) and he was curious of the brand and experience and again good convo, he got pictures of the brand and off he went.
- In Kentucky, I was setting up wifi and cellular amplifiers and the fellow next door had a 1,000 questions on RVs (another couple on maiden voyage) and we got to talking for hours, and that was before he brought out the bottle of rum.
- Down in Georgia, I was walking the dog and a fellow was just setting up, I just said "nice looking rig - same model as ours) and turned out he was an RV maintenance genius who was also a big-rig mechanic in the army. I learned a TON from the upgrades that couple had made to their RV, very insightful.
- Most recently, again in Kentucky, I was disconnecting the black line and a fellow asked about our experiences with Anderson hitches as if it were very important. I finished the black line then gave him a demo on our experiences. He was a pretty seasoned RV'er just had never seen one.

I could go on and on but our experiences tend to be some of the best discussions happen when I'm least prepared to have a detailed discussion....maybe just my luck ...and I'm probably equally guilty of catching folks when they least want to engage in a big discussion.

 

[bertschb]

I'm actually surprised a lot of people notice the solar panels on my roof and want to talk about solar systems. In thinking more about this - if anything I notice more people want to strike up conversations now than a couple years ago.

 

[Redapple63]

There are all kinds of people out there, some more friendly than others. We have had mostly positive experiences in our time in the rig. I do feel the huge amount of new people in combination with the COVID environment have led to what may seem as a colder experience. I agree that in time it will pass.


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[geotex1]

A sure way to tell the difference between an RV enthusiast and those who may have purchased just as a way to negotiate COVID-19 is by the questions you receive on the smallest of mods otherwise lost... For example, the high-mounted directional and stop light mod I did or the carryout kitchen setup I've made, or they spy the bottle water system I set up... Nikki and I still have new conversations with folks every trip, but it's as clear as can be the dynamic is different than before. We camped through the last surge too, and this too shall pass...

 

[Steven@147]

Probably just the covid thing in some places. Calif was hit hard by the virus. But then again you will run into a lot of different people. Through our travels starting July last year we found very friendly RV people.
A couple here at this park just across from us have a new Solitude 344. They haven't had it very long and it has been replaced with the 345. I just stopped by, at a distance, to ask how they liked their Solitude. Very friendly people, even invited us in to tour their RV. Turns out they are members of this forum, although not vey active, not very active computer users.

Our Escapee's sticker on the truck's back window has generated the start of a lot of conversations.

 

[[email protected]]

What's the one common denominator besides yourself? Oh you're in California. We just got off of a year-long road trip touring most of the bottom half of the United States. And we can honestly say in California we ran into some of the most standoffish people we have ever ran into. And we grew up in S. Calif. And spent the last 20+ years of our careers in the San Francisco Bay area. From New Port Beach to San Francisco, it's like two different worlds. The further east we got, and the more opened up States we got into, the more friendlier and friendlier the people seem to be.

 

[MooManChu]

We all just spent a year trying to avoid one another because it might kill us. Despite how ridiculous that sounds, it’s affected us all in many ways. I think the shrinks call it being more "Xenophobic". I can tell you that before the vaccine, I’d avoid crowds. I'd cross the street when walking through the neighborhood and jsut wave. Now I actually experienced people more apt to chat now than before. I don’t think it has anything to do with RVs or camping or what state your in, but that is just my opinion. I was just in line last week at the BMV and people were friendly, chatting with strangers on line waiting. Not had that experience before there. As far as attribution to being a GD owners, I think you had a bad run at a couple campgrounds. I can be pretty stand-off ish unknowingly after day 3 of a 7 days of driving cross country and a lousy night of sleep. And that ain’t me. I’m usually getting myself in trouble with the DW for gabbing too long with other people when we hit a new campground.

Only snooty-ness I've found are these "Motorcoach Only" parks. I find it funny I could have bought a (under 10 years old) trashed motorhome and rolled right into one of these parks but my shiny new (and just as expensive) 2020 Momentum is prohibited. Also I've experienced the opposite. I looked into several seasonal last year and would be told there was a (long) waiting list until I said I had a brand new toy hauler and get a call literally a few hours later that something had opened up.


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[Scott'n'Wendy]

We camped through the last surge too, and this too shall pass...

When was the last surge?

 

[Wicked ace]

For instance, it is a rare day indeed for anyone to say hello to a stranger in Philadelphia, but as normal as the sun rising most anywhere in Idaho...

Having lived, worked in , traveled around and been to just about all parts of the City of Brotherly Love I'd have to beg to differ. Now maybe some take time to warm up to you and some will hold you suspect or in contempt as a stranger or even have ulterior motives but it is hardly unusual for folks to say hi.

 

[geotex1]

When was the last surge?

It is actually incredibly cyclic. The beginning of each new decade marks a rise in RV sales. Before anyone goes into debate mode, it's been tracked by the industry for decades and the info is publicly available. That said, 1992 was the specific surge I was thinking of, and how it lead to more manufacturers and more campgrounds along with the big influx into the existing campgrounds.

 

[Scott'n'Wendy]

That said, 1992 was the specific surge I was thinking of

LMFAO!!
That's the year we bought our first 5th wheel!!
A Jayco 21'. Don't think you can find a 5'er that small anymore. That 5'er was built to boondock! I could get that thing anywhere.

 

[SGT ROC]

My interaction usually starts with the "guy next door". Most times not a Grand Design owner. Some are really friendly, some not so much. I am mostly an outgoing person and can start, or join, a conversation easily. The most I have talked to Grand Design people has been at an annual get together (our second year this year), and the Hammondsport/Bath Rally, again our second year. We do normally walk around campgrounds and will strike up conversations when possible with owners, but we are almost as likely to talk to anyone along the way. My experiences with the Grand Design "community" have been pretty positive, along with all of the other campers out there. If I should find some that are less than friendly - that's their loss not mine. I'll still sleep well in my camper that night!