Rusted Griddle on new Imagine Aim

[Shannon H.]

Just bought an Imagine Aim 16BL. On the walkthrough I noticed the griddle was rusted and I was told they would get it replaced under warranty. Now I’m told that it won’t be replaced-I am supposed to season it and then let them know if there’s further issues. Of course, that can’t be done until I get rid of the rust-seems ridiculous to have to do this with a brand new unit. Anyone else had a similar experience?

 

[RV2600RB]

Just bought an Imagine Aim 16BL. On the walkthrough I noticed the griddle was rusted and I was told they would get it replaced under warranty. Now I’m told that it won’t be replaced-I am supposed to season it and then let them know if there’s further issues. Of course, that can’t be done until I get rid of the rust-seems ridiculous to have to do this with a brand new unit. Anyone else had a similar experience?
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That looks more like a drip pan than a griddle to me.
Rich

 

[Shannon H.]

That looks more like a drip pan than a griddle to me.
Rich

You could be right, it’s certainly odd looking for a griddle. Maybe it’s missing entirely. Would love to see a photo of someone else's

 

[CedarCreekWoody]

Most any griddle will rust if not kept oiled. A light sanding or scrubbing will remove it. Then season and keep oiled.

 

[BoredWeasel]

Ya, all griddles rust/ cast iron rusts. I wouldn't think anything of it, use a brillo pad or like product to clean it and then season it. Guessing you have never owned a griddle or cast iron pans before.

 

[WhittleBurner]

First I'd fight for a new one. It should have come with a protective thin coat of oil being new.
That's a very light rust, gentle heat and a little oil on a cloth or paper towel will take it off. Rubbing it all over, top , bottom and sides. It's not a fast process but works. Or you can scour it with a non soapy pad, don't use any power sanders or you'll end up with an uneven surface (unless you are a pro sander)

Treat it like a piece of cast iron and oil the entire griddle after every use.

 

[huntr70]

A lot of them come in like that.

Light scrubbing and oil it. Season it correctly and forget about it.

 

[Shannon H.]

Ya, all griddles rust/ cast iron rusts. I wouldn't think anything of it, use a brillo pad or like product to clean it and then season it. Guessing you have never owned a griddle or cast iron pans before.

That felt unnecessarily rude to me, sorry. Yes, I do own many well cared for iron pans, although I will admit this is my first RV. My point was that I felt it shouldn’t have come pre-rusted but should have been protected somehow. But thanks for the advice.

 

[Shannon H.]

First I'd fight for a new one. It should have come with a protective thin coat of oil being new.
That's a very light rust, gentle heat and a little oil on a cloth or paper towel will take it off. Rubbing it all over, top , bottom and sides. It's not a fast process but works. Or you can scour it with a non soapy pad, don't use any power sanders or you'll end up with an uneven surface (unless you are a pro sander)

Treat it like a piece of cast iron and oil the entire griddle after every use.

Thank you, that was my thought.
I will deal with it if I need to, but was disappointed it came that way.

 

[Marmot]

A few things I learned about the griddle on my AIM. 1) The griddle top travels upside down on top of the base. 2) Mine did not come with a strap to hold the griddle to the base so it bounced and dented the base slightly before I figured out one was needed. 3) It’s easy to miss the griddle drawer lock to keep the drawer from opening/closing if it is not engaged initially. This is a simple rotating latch on the left drawer slide in my trailer. Travel with the drawer locked. 4) Seasoning the griddle in the oven gave me a more complete coating vs seasoning using the griddle burner. Don’t forget to season the backside because that also rusts. 5) When using the griddle, the extended drawer is a bit off level compared to the trailer. I'm going to try putting some metal washers under the griddle top feet to see if I can get the griddle top level and not have the food/oil run to the sides of the griddle.

I still don't know if I'm a griddle or a grill person. Still experimenting with that one.

 

[BoredWeasel]

That felt unnecessarily rude to me, sorry. Yes, I do own many well cared for iron pans, although I will admit this is my first RV. My point was that I felt it shouldn’t have come pre-rusted but should have been protected somehow. But thanks for the advice.

want meant to be rude, just stating facts. I have owned a number of blackstones and camp chef griddles and they all arrived with varying level of stains and rust. I generally scrub them with a wet brillo pad and in the case of the camp chef I used a sander on it to smooth the casting marks.... Then season it and enjoy. As you have seen there are different opinions on what and how to do it, no real right or wrong. find what works for you.

The other thing to keep in mind is you new trailer isn't gonna be perfect. Find the issues and tackle them as they present themselves. Just the nature of the RV industry, whether we like it or not. The good news is grand design has much better than average customer service.

 

[Jason-Texas]

I used a wire cup brush from Home Depot, attached to my drill, then seasoned with coconut oil. Looks new. Happy camping.

 

[FjClay]

Be careful using a wire wheel or brush on cooking surfaces. There’s lots of documented cases or wires become lodged in food then ingested

 

[Chipworkz]

You could be right, it’s certainly odd looking for a griddle. Maybe it’s missing entirely. Would love to see a photo of someone else's

Circling back on this comment, yes that is what the griddle top actually looks like. The hole leads to the drip tray. Would have been nicer to be all the way at the edge like my Blackstone but it is what it is. Just as a comparison, my trailer sat on the dealers lot for around a year before I bought it. There is zero signs of rust on my griddle luckily. But like others have said, a good cleaning and seasoning and it will be fine.

 

[RV2600RB]

Circling back on this comment, yes that is what the griddle top actually looks like. The hole leads to the drip tray. Would have been nicer to be all the way at the edge like my Blackstone but it is what it is. Just as a comparison, my trailer sat on the dealers lot for around a year before I bought it. There is zero signs of rust on my griddle luckily. But like others have said, a good cleaning and seasoning and it will be fine.

Hmm. I’ve never seen a griddle with sides like that before
Rich