I thought I would start a thread about my experience with the initial quality of my 2024 337RLS fifth wheel. This is my 3rd trailer over 12 years. This is my second Grand Design (first was 2017 Imagine 2970RL) and this is our first Fifth Wheel.
The worst problem on the first trip was water in the underbelly. As we were hooking up to leave, I noticed water leaking from the area where the red/blue drains extend out of the undercover. I removed 3-4 screws from the undercover to let the dozens of gallons of water escape. The GD dealer who worked the warranty claim told me that the pipe between the kitchen gray tank and the evacuation/dump line was not long enough and not fully connected. He stated that the factory used plumber's putty to make up the distance. GD paid for the repair, but would not agree to replace the undercover which I felt was damaged and stretched from all the water. I did not escalate that request to GD. The other problems from the first trip were: The trailer's battery is not strong enough to run the hydraulic lifts or extend the slides. I need generator power or grid power to open/close slides and lift/lower the trailer. GD states that the dealership has responsibility for the battery. The third problem was with prongs on the plug for one of the recliners . The prongs were broken. GD sent me a replacement plug. The fourth problem was an inability to get compass connect app on my iphone to sync with the camper. In summary, the first trip was lovely and with the exception of the gray tank leaking, the other problems were fairly minor. Nonetheless, I have to say that I was very glad the water problem was a gray tank and not the black tank.
We are not on trip #2 and here is the list so far. 1. Trash can drawer came off track due to screws coming out of the drawers. I have fixed this with longer screws. 2. LED light on the awning did not stay on when one awning is closed and we were on generator power. This seems to be a sporadic problem as it has not reproduced using grid power. 3. The bath room door (pocket door) appears to be off the track for one roller as it not sitting even and is very difficult to open/close. 4. Air Conditioner condensation is running down the side of the camper instead of channeling to the gutters and drip spouts. Not a big deal but will eventually stain the side of the camper if not fixed. 5. Front door does not close easily. It scrapes on the latch plate. This causes us to either slam the door or use two hands to close the door while pulling on the handle to reduce the friction against the striker plate. 6. The kitchen sink drains VERY SLOWLY. Yes this is the same kitchen sink with the gray tank problem. I assume the fix for the tank has somehow effected the pipe coming from the sink. Plunging does not help, I am going to go get a snake and may take off the trap under the sink to check it. 7. The hot water is not consistent. My wife got scalded taking a shower as the temperature increased quickly and unexpectedly. The tankless water heater seems to not hold the water temp consistently. We are being very careful taking showers.
Let me say that I realize there is a lot of moving parts to a fifth wheel. I know that every time we pull our camper it is experiencing an earthquake of shaking and bounces. Also, we are GD fans given that this is our second GD camper. But my wife and I feel that we are experiencing more problems than we should. We hope once we get these fixed, it will be problem free camping for the next few years.
I am interested in others experience with the initial quality of 2024 GD products.
addendum to original post...the list of second trip issues continues to grow. The awning fabric on the second awning (slide awning) is detaching from the roller.
The worst problem on the first trip was water in the underbelly. As we were hooking up to leave, I noticed water leaking from the area where the red/blue drains extend out of the undercover. I removed 3-4 screws from the undercover to let the dozens of gallons of water escape. The GD dealer who worked the warranty claim told me that the pipe between the kitchen gray tank and the evacuation/dump line was not long enough and not fully connected. He stated that the factory used plumber's putty to make up the distance. GD paid for the repair, but would not agree to replace the undercover which I felt was damaged and stretched from all the water. I did not escalate that request to GD. The other problems from the first trip were: The trailer's battery is not strong enough to run the hydraulic lifts or extend the slides. I need generator power or grid power to open/close slides and lift/lower the trailer. GD states that the dealership has responsibility for the battery. The third problem was with prongs on the plug for one of the recliners . The prongs were broken. GD sent me a replacement plug. The fourth problem was an inability to get compass connect app on my iphone to sync with the camper. In summary, the first trip was lovely and with the exception of the gray tank leaking, the other problems were fairly minor. Nonetheless, I have to say that I was very glad the water problem was a gray tank and not the black tank.
We are not on trip #2 and here is the list so far. 1. Trash can drawer came off track due to screws coming out of the drawers. I have fixed this with longer screws. 2. LED light on the awning did not stay on when one awning is closed and we were on generator power. This seems to be a sporadic problem as it has not reproduced using grid power. 3. The bath room door (pocket door) appears to be off the track for one roller as it not sitting even and is very difficult to open/close. 4. Air Conditioner condensation is running down the side of the camper instead of channeling to the gutters and drip spouts. Not a big deal but will eventually stain the side of the camper if not fixed. 5. Front door does not close easily. It scrapes on the latch plate. This causes us to either slam the door or use two hands to close the door while pulling on the handle to reduce the friction against the striker plate. 6. The kitchen sink drains VERY SLOWLY. Yes this is the same kitchen sink with the gray tank problem. I assume the fix for the tank has somehow effected the pipe coming from the sink. Plunging does not help, I am going to go get a snake and may take off the trap under the sink to check it. 7. The hot water is not consistent. My wife got scalded taking a shower as the temperature increased quickly and unexpectedly. The tankless water heater seems to not hold the water temp consistently. We are being very careful taking showers.
Let me say that I realize there is a lot of moving parts to a fifth wheel. I know that every time we pull our camper it is experiencing an earthquake of shaking and bounces. Also, we are GD fans given that this is our second GD camper. But my wife and I feel that we are experiencing more problems than we should. We hope once we get these fixed, it will be problem free camping for the next few years.
I am interested in others experience with the initial quality of 2024 GD products.
addendum to original post...the list of second trip issues continues to grow. The awning fabric on the second awning (slide awning) is detaching from the roller.
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