Influence 3203GK

[JFF&KRN]

Good Day to all!
Well first off my apologies in a previous request for info. We are now looking at the Influence 3203GK.
Anyone that has one, please chime in with your experiences, good, bad or whatever.
A couple concern I have;
We dry camp about 50% of the time and for a week or so.
We travel about 8 K miles per year.
Fridge; twelve volt, how does it do etc.?
Water heater; we're old fashioned and in 25 ish years, never had an issue with a regualr water heater and if it uses less propane / water, why the extra water capacity?
Outside steps; has anyone had the factory install the regualr ones?
Recliners and living room furniture; has anyone taken those out and installed two simple real recliners?
Full body paint: pro's and cons along with decals, leave it plain on the outside?
Build time from the factory? realistiv? need to plan trips around it.
thanks in advance, I may have more /'s later.
Jeff

 

[huntr70]

12 volt fridges are the norm anymore. Like them or not, they are here to stay.

The tankless water heaters seem to be doing well in most instances.

There is no framing for "normal" outside steps. Look into the Torklift Revolution Uprising steps for a different option.

The furniture is easily removable with a little disassembly.

Full body paint is not an option on an Influence.

Current build time is 8 to 10 weeks.

 

[JFF&KRN]

Thanks,
I am actually looking for some actual usage experiences,
sorry if I mis informed.
If some of this is not doable, then maybe just a purchase at the dealer.
things that make you go HMMMMM!!!

 

[Too Tall Paul]

OK then. I traded in my 22mle for a 3503gk. So far, so good.
For furniture, I would like to upgrade to something more comfortable.
The gas furnace will heat the upstairs more than the downstairs.
The use of a fireplace helps, but not when boondocking.
An on-demand water heater is the best option.
The bathroom is roomy, I'm 6'4".
A king-size bed is a must-have.
I bought it in August 2024, one long trip from NW, Indiana, to New Orleans, Louisiana for the holidays. Loaded down with my wife and two shepherds, it pulled great, even in a 30mph crosswind. I do have airbags on my 2500HD.
Overall, I was very satisfied.

 

[Cary_309]

I know you asked for advice from those who have this model but here are a few general things we've run into with our 2024 Reflection 28RL with the basic solar package and single battery. One thing to consider is to determine how much power the 12v refrigerator will consume. I left our trailer running w/o external power and it killed the standard 100 aH battery in 2 days even with the 180 W solar panel connected and sunny days so if you plan to boondock for a week you'll need a massive solar array or giant batteries or a combination of both. The tankless water heater works great but note that it takes up to 60 seconds to get the water hot so you'll be filling your grey tank with "useless" water unless you save it for some other use. Also, if you turn off the hot water for a bit and turn it back on, it'll stay hot for a bit but then get cold as since the burner turns off when water is not running so it has to re-heat. We pretty much go for full hookups but if we ever decide to go boondocking the above the big things I'm looking to solve.
Why are you interested in changing out the steps?

 

[Too Tall Paul]

We dry camp about 50% of the time and for a week or so.

To dry camp is electric hook-up and nothing else. The stock solar set-up does need help for boondocking, so I added more battery capacity.
My tankless water heater heats water in 10-15 seconds. It works very well for us.

 

[Cary_309]

15 seconds for hot water on a tankless? Wow, I'm jealous . Interesting, I guess I've never heard of "dry camping" as being different than boondocking, thanks for the clarification. .

 

[JFF&KRN]

Guess I best clarify;
50% of the time we are without any facilities, sometimes with electric only but that is for a night or three when running down the road. Forest, desert, etc. type of camping as well as full hook up sights.

 

[Too Tall Paul]

The Influence platform is very different from a Reflection 100 series platform. JFF, I like the floorplan of the 3203GK. My 3503GK, which we bought from a dealer, was on their floor for +160 days and was discounted to a price we could not refuse.
The wait time for hot water is very short. Maybe your dealer can demo it for you. The 3203GK comes with a 330-watt solar panel. If you add 300ah of battery storage, that should be suitable for boondocking.
I'm delighted with my Influence.

 

[Too Tall Paul]

Outside steps; has anyone had the factory install the regualr ones?

Steps adjust very nicely on uneven ground. I would not replace.

 

[WhittleBurner]

To dry camp is electric hook-up and nothing else.

We consider Dry camping to be no hook ups at all, regardless if you are Boondocking (not in a campsite) or in a primitive capsite with no hook ups.

 

[WhittleBurner]

Good Day to all!
Well first off my apologies in a previous request for info. We are now looking at the Influence 3203GK.

Good floorplan, If we were to upgrade this would be our choice. Almost a 303 on a drop frame

Outside steps; has anyone had the factory install the regualr ones?

In our experience working with GD you can order and have the steps not installed (but they still send them) , that eliminates covering holes when switched. Like Hunter suggested Torkliift, without the Uprising model you have to get a box installed for the regular Torklift steps. Thats the route we would go if ordering new. So much nicer than the OEM steps, wider steps is a big plus if you have dogs going in and out with you. The OEM steps are quite narrow width wise.

Recliners are very doable, taking out the OEM will be slightly time consuming but not horrible if you want it out and re-useable. But I must admit we really enjoyed busting up the old peeling furniture upon removal.

It's a tough decision with all the 12v stuff these days, extra battery and solar capacity are a must for extended boondocking or dry camping. The extra water capacity I believe is the results of the crossing between the Solitude and Reflectiion, a hybrid model so to speak.

 

[Cary_309]

The Influence platform is very different from a Reflection 100 series platform. JFF, I like the floorplan of the 3203GK. My 3503GK, which we bought from a dealer, was on their floor for +160 days and was discounted to a price we could not refuse.
The wait time for hot water is very short. Maybe your dealer can demo it for you. The 3203GK comes with a 330-watt solar panel. If you add 300ah of battery storage, that should be suitable for boondocking.
I'm delighted with my Influence.

Hmmm, now I'm starting to wonder if my time IS that long. I'll have it out in a couple of weeks and will test again. I know that the place I tested was having water pressure issues so maybe the flow was too slow. It also could be the placement of the water heater itself. It's a lot closer to the shower which doesn't take nearly as long to get hot. FYI, new to the forum, what a great place to get info.