Solitude 391DL Capacities & Weights - Doesn't make sense?

derbydog

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Sep 19, 2023
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I am an experienced camper having owned travel trailers in the past and now we are looking at purchasing a 2024 GD Solitude 391DL. I have an F450 DRW so I am not concerned about truck or tow capacity.

However I am concerned about the advertised Unloaded Vehicle Weight of 15,300 with a GVWR of 16,800. That leaves < 10% of GVWR for water, waste, propane, batteries, and personal gear. Considering this unit holds ~100 gallons each of fresh, grey and black water we could be well over GVWR with full tanks alone. I've seen on some Facebook groups people posting about cracked suspension components on the 391DL.

I reached out to my salesperson to inquire as well, but are there options to increase the GVWR? The axle options on the order sheet are both 8k axles, the difference in the two choices is ABS Drum brakes versus disc brakes. There is also an "independent suspension" option but it also is an 8k axle. Presumably other components outside of the axles would also need to be upgraded in order to increase the GVWR.

Have you had any problems with your 391DL capacity? Do you know of any other way to add safety margin while towing?

Thanks,
Darin
 
The 8k axles get you a GVWR of 18000lbs.

I'm sure their website hasn't caught up to the fact that they are using 8k axles on all Solitude's now...


The 391 that I have in stock is showing 18,000lbs on the weight stickers, with an unloaded weight of 15,7XX.
 
I have moved your thread to New To RV'ing, Purchase Questions & General Concerns because it's about more than just suspension...

Unless a base unit comes with 7,000 lbs. axles and there is an option to upgrade to 8K axles (which come with Cooper H rated tires and disc brakes), there is no way to increase the "official" GVWR for the unit - and since the unit comes standard with 17.5" wheels, I would assume they're already specifying the 8K axles. The independent suspension "option" is an agreement between GD and MORryde for their suspension systems (we have it on our Solitude). Although MORryde's heaviest system is rated at 8K per, it's heads and shoulders stronger and more durable than the solid tube axles with leaf springs, hangers, shackles, etc. (you can look at the MORryde web page to see what it's all about).

It's a head-scratcher to me, too. Why would the designers plan a behemoth like this one and not put three axles under it?! As an aside, my wife and I watched a video tour of this model earlier this week. As full-timers, we see few positives in this floor plan and more negatives than we could count on first pass - but that's just us.

Rob
 
The 8k axles get you a GVWR of 18000lbs.

I'm sure their website hasn't caught up to the fact that they are using 8k axles on all Solitude's now...


The 391 that I have in stock is showing 18,000lbs on the weight stickers, with an unloaded weight of 15,7XX.

Thanks, Steve. You and I were writing at the same time - and there's some confusing information on the web site.
[MENTION=57769]derbydog[/MENTION] - disregard what I said above (except the part about our opinion of the floor plan).

Rob
 
As an aside, my wife and I watched a video tour of this model earlier this week. As full-timers, we see few positives in this floor plan and more negatives than we could count on first pass - but that's just us.

Thank you for your feedback - I am interested to hear your pros/cons list for this model. My brother has the 310GK also and we have stayed with him, but it is far from a comfortable situation and there is minimal privacy for guests. We are not planning to full time but we are planning for 1-2 months at a time on the road and we expect to have guests joining us at different times on our trip. The 2BR/2BA is ideal for this.

With my prior camper we were taking the kids to the state park campground for the weekend or a vacation week, and the 32' bunkhouse we had worked well for that. Our kids are grown now and our mission is more the journey and places we will travel to see from the campground rather than the campground stay itself. So KOAs and the like will suffice for our purposes.

Thanks,
Darin
 
The 8k axles get you a GVWR of 18000lbs.

I'm sure their website hasn't caught up to the fact that they are using 8k axles on all Solitude's now...

The 391 that I have in stock is showing 18,000lbs on the weight stickers, with an unloaded weight of 15,7XX.

Thank you Steve!
 
Thank you for your feedback - I am interested to hear your pros/cons list for this model. My brother has the 310GK also and we have stayed with him, but it is far from a comfortable situation and there is minimal privacy for guests. We are not planning to full time but we are planning for 1-2 months at a time on the road and we expect to have guests joining us at different times on our trip. The 2BR/2BA is ideal for this.

With my prior camper we were taking the kids to the state park campground for the weekend or a vacation week, and the 32' bunkhouse we had worked well for that. Our kids are grown now and our mission is more the journey and places we will travel to see from the campground rather than the campground stay itself. So KOAs and the like will suffice for our purposes.

Thanks,
Darin

We particularly disliked the placement of the toilet in front of the shower in the rear bathroom. The loft is absolutely worthless - only very small children could sleep up there and trying to use it for storage would be a PITA for older adults and put too much weight up high. We would rather have the headroom (with or without overhead cabinets) in the rear bedroom. There's not enough seating in the living area for the number of people that can occupy the bedrooms, either. For the kind of travel you're describing, our 310GK suits us just fine - and will fit in more campsites. I just don't think the 391 was well thought out by someone who RVs a lot - but opinions are like certain parts of the anatomy... everybody has one.

Rob
 
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We particularly disliked the placement of the toilet in front of the shower in the rear bathroom. The loft is absolutely worthless - only very small children could sleep up there and trying to use it for storage would be a PITA for older adults and put too much weight up high. We would rather have the headroom (with or without overhead cabinets) in the rear bedroom. There's not enough seating in the living area for the number of people that can occupy the bedrooms, either. For the kind of travel you're describing, our 310GK suits us just fine - and will fit in more campsites. I just don't think the 391 was well though out by someone to RVs a lot - but opinions are like certain parts of the anatomy... everybody has one.

Rob

I think they have hit their desired demographic with the 391.

Grand Mom and Grand Pop in the front bedroom, grown son/daughter and family in the rear. Makes an excellent seasonal site unit. I would love to have this sitting along the Bay somewhere and have my family come to visit, more of a "vacation" home than an actual home.
 
Thank you... Some good points about the toilet, loft and seating. I suspect we would mostly use it for storage but you're right it's inconvenient at best to get stuff up there.

I wish there were more 2BR/2BA options. While the 310GK would be fine for us when it's just us, it would be uncomfortable when other couples stay with us for a week at a time. It's possible we are overestimating how often we will have company, in which case we may wish we had opted for something more practical.
 
Thank you... Some good points about the toilet, loft and seating. I suspect we would mostly use it for storage but you're right it's inconvenient at best to get stuff up there.

I wish there were more 2BR/2BA options. While the 310GK would be fine for us when it's just us, it would be uncomfortable when other couples stay with us for a week at a time. It's possible we are overestimating how often we will have company, in which case we may wish we had opted for something more practical.

The lack of seating in the living area would still be an issue - unless you do most of your "living" outside (and the weather is nice). Now... a little story:

When we went full-time a little over eight years ago, our daughter (who has a BUNCH of kids) got very upset with us for not considering a large toy hauler with all the bedding in the garage to accommodate her crowd. At the time they had two large tents and enough camping equipment for Coxey's Army. We told them we would meet them anywhere and any time they'd like to camp together. We'd support cooking and some logistics with the RV, but they could stay in their tents. In the following six years, they did that exactly twice (before they got a class C of their own). Had we done as she wished, we would have given up a lot of living space and other comforts for a garage and crowd accommodations that would have rarely, if ever, been used. One has to be painfully objective with one's self to balance dreams with reality and manage expectations. Again, this is just our (my wife included) perspective.

Rob

Oh - and according to the video tour, there doesn't seem to be a way to install a third AC, which would be important to us with a rig that big and with that floorplan. Perhaps [MENTION=331]huntr70[/MENTION] could shed some light on that topic.
 
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Oh - and according to the video tour, there doesn't seem to be a way to install a third AC, which would be important to us with a rig that big and with that floorplan. Perhaps [MENTION=331]huntr70[/MENTION] could shed some light on that topic.

The one I have in stock has a third a/c with heat pump...
 
Both are in the main living area, one just in front of the loft and one closer to the front of the kitchen.

They are all ducted together, so they all work together.
 
Both are in the main living area, one just in front of the loft and one closer to the front of the kitchen.

They are all ducted together, so they all work together.

That addresses one concern - but it might be a bit noisy in the LR if they're both running (good at night in the bedrooms, though). Thanks!

Rob
 
All full profile Solitudes should be built standard on 3 8k morryde is with disc brakes.

At 15K GVWR, three MORryde units would be overkill for our Solitude 310GK-R... two MORryde units do just fine. 24K of suspension for units under 20K GVWR would be too stiffly sprung and cause other issues with the chassis and "house."

Rob
 
At 15K GVWR, three MORryde units would be overkill for our Solitude 310GK-R... two MORryde units do just fine. 24K of suspension for units under 20K GVWR would be too stiffly sprung and cause other issues with the chassis and "house."

Rob

The 310 is a mid profile. I was referring to full profile units like the one mentioned in this thread title. Much longer, much heavier and in desperate need of a complete frame and suspension overhaul.
 
The 310 is a mid profile. I was referring to full profile units like the one mentioned in this thread title. Much longer, much heavier and in desperate need of a complete frame and suspension overhaul.

To me, "profile" refers to width, height, etc. Then one gets into GVWR (what matters for frame size and suspension). I agree that solid axles and elliptical springs are technology from my grandfathers' era (and they were both born in the 1800s). Studebaker was putting that suspension type on covered wagons a bit earlier in the 19th century...

Rob
 
I wish there were more 2BR/2BA options. While the 310GK would be fine for us when it's just us, it would be uncomfortable when other couples stay with us for a week at a time. It's possible we are overestimating how often we will have company, in which case we may wish we had opted for something more practical.

Have you looked at a 380FL? Two pull-out queen beds up front and a privacy curtain. 1/2 bath gives them a bath option but without their own shower. Plenty of sitting area and sleeping area with guests. So is a great rig when by yourselves and also works well with guests.
 
We were at the GD national rally this year and walked through the new demo units including several Solitudes. We are light travel trailer people but we have fun walking through the big boys to oooh and ahhhh. I also have a habit of checking the weight stickers to see how much these huge contraptions weigh. Like you I was surprised to see that the CCC of some of these big fifth wheels was around 1200 lbs. Doesn't seem very practical to have so much storage that you can't put much in without going over weight, especially considering these seem targeted at the full-timing crowd. Our little 22MLE has 1700 lbs. CCC.
 

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