What we like and dislike about our 2023 Reflection 260RD (mostly likes)

[grampscamper]

We just upgraded from a 2020 Reflection 230RL.

Likes:

new interior color
Morryde 3000 CRE suspension with wet bolts
shutoffs on all faucets, low point drains and toilet
rack and pinion slide
glass shower doors
16 cu.ft. fridge
auto leveling
TPMS (Already showed an issue. We had a leaky valve stem.)
Compass connect
Goodyear tires
370 watt solar panel with 50 amp controller (However I would prefer Victron charge controller over Furrion)
roller blinds
lots of storage
love the floorplan especially in a 5th wheel under 30'

Dislikes:

Mattress (replaced with a better quality memory foam)
on demand hot water (I find that it is too wasteful. The water has to be run for almost a minute to get hot. It fills my grey tanks too fast. Often we stay where there is no sewer connections. On a positive note it's great for taking long showers as it provides limitless hot water.)



Over the years we've owned trailers from 2 other manufacturers and in our opinion Grand Design makes a much better RV. The build quality is very good. So far we've only had a couple of minor issues. We are extremely pleased with our purchase.

 

[Soundsailor]

Dislikes:

The on-demand hot water (I find that it is too wasteful. The water has to be run for almost a minute to get hot. It fills my grey tanks too fast. Often we stay where there is no sewer connections.)

We run the shower into a bucket when off-grid. Then we use the water in the bucket to flush the toilet—no wasted water in the tanks.

 

[grampscamper]

We run the shower into a bucket when off-grid. Then we use the water in the bucket to flush the toilet—no wasted water in the tanks.

I like that idea. No waste. Good for dishwater also.

 

[retired_engineer]

We have similar feelings about the on-demand water heater. We do most of our camping at state park electric only sites. In addition to the time it takes to get hot water flowing the temperature does not stay consistent through the on/off water cycle of taking a shower. With the tank heater in our old trailer this wasn't as much of an issue. I also liked that we could use the campground electric to heat the water rather than our LP. I suspect we will learn how to work around these drawbacks as we gain experience but so far I'm not impressed.

 

[grampscamper]

We have similar feelings about the on-demand water heater. We do most of our camping at state park electric only sites. In addition to the time it takes to get hot water flowing the temperature does not stay consistent through the on/off water cycle of taking a shower. With the tank heater in our old trailer this wasn't as much of an issue. I also liked that we could use the campground electric to heat the water rather than our LP. I suspect we will learn how to work around these drawbacks as we gain experience but so far I'm not impressed.

Exactly our thoughts on it.

 

[DougW9876]

Our on demand water heater does not get hot enough to suit my wife for dish washing. The setting says it is supposed to be 124 degrees which is as high as it goes, but the water coming out of the faucet is 112 on the meat thermometer. I have checked the outdoor faucet and all indoor faucets and everything is shut off as it should be, these water heaters just don’t work well for our needs. We are almost always where we have hookups as we are long trip takers and using an electric tank heater would be much better for us.

 

[grampscamper]

Our on demand water heater does not get hot enough to suit my wife for dish washing. The setting says it is supposed to be 124 degrees which is as high as it goes, but the water coming out of the faucet is 112 on the meat thermometer. I have checked the outdoor faucet and all indoor faucets and everything is shut off as it should be, these water heaters just don’t work well for our needs. We are almost always where we have hookups as we are long trip takers and using an electric tank heater would be much better for us.

Yes I agree. We take long trips also. We used electric most of the time. We rarely used propane to heat our water in the past. Actually we use very little propane. I guess that will change now. We find it’s sometimes difficult to find propane in some areas.
When rinsing dishes the water actually gets cold unlike past water heaters. I guess if this is our only complaint we’re still happy campers.

 

[NB Canada]

I guess if this is our only complaint we’re still happy campers.

Well if you think about it it is a pretty big complaint
It would be a deal breaker for me actually
Water conservation and costs is a big factor

I just don’t understand the mentality in the industry to change something that didn’t need changed

 

[grampscamper]

It wasn't a deal breaker for us obviously. We think the pluses of this 5th wheel outweigh the negatives. I agree sometimes change isn't a good thing. We much prefer the old hot water heater. I hate wasting water also. We're thinking of heating water in a kettle to do dishes because this water heater wastes so much water. We occasionally get error E1 when we first start using hot water. I'm not sure if there's an issue or this is normal. It seems to happen rarely then straightens out and works ok. We now wash our hands in cold water because we don't want to waste water and propane. This is definitely a step backward in our opinion.
The only other option would be to purchase from another manufacturer and that just wasn't an option we would consider.

 

[robmcqueen]

Grand Design should be using a Showermiser like Rockwood does. If you have never seen one check out this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4aQbWmcOUQ

 

[Soundsailor]

Grand Design should be using a Showermiser like Rockwood does. If you have never seen one check out this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4aQbWmcOUQ

Yeah, that is one of the few areas where Rockwood outperforms GD. I thought about adding a Showermiser or Watermiser, but the bucket was cheaper and less work to install. Our water gets hot pretty fast and stays hot. A tip that I saw recently that I'm planning to test, is to set your hot water temp at the control panel to what you want to shower at, and then don't use any cold water. Somewhere between 100 and 116 degrees seemed to have been the consensus of an appropriate temp. The default temp of 124 would scald me and probably anyone without tough skin.

 

[grampscamper]

I find that the shower works ok but does take longer to get hot. I don’t stop and start the shower so it is ok
Doing the dishes and washing your hands seems quite wasteful to me. We like to rinse the dishes with hot water but when you cycle the hot water to rinse it gets cold. I guess I have to live with it.
I owned a Rockwood years ago. I won’t get into the issues we had but would never entertain purchasing one again.

 

[goducks14]

We run the shower into a bucket when off-grid. Then we use the water in the bucket to flush the toilet—no wasted water in the tanks.

We use a dish pan in the shower and dump it in the toilet as well. Same when washing dishes. I see that a few RV brands install the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLI1FXNur80&ab_channel=SouthernRV in their RV's.
It should industry standard IMO. I would like to install it myself but it's beyond my pay grade.

 

[grampscamper]

I would think Grand Design will be adding that feature in the near future.

 

[NB Canada]

I would think Grand Design will be adding that feature in the near future.

I highly doubt it

 

[goducks14]

I highly doubt it

Yeah the products been out for many years. GD's had plenty of time to install it if they'd wanted to.

 

[Soundsailor]

I owned a Rockwood years ago. I won’t get into the issues we had but would never entertain purchasing one again.

Same here.

 

[PTParker]

We just upgraded from a 2020 Reflection 230RL.

Likes:

new interior color
Morryde 3000 CRE suspension with wet bolts
shutoffs on all faucets, low point drains and toilet
rack and pinion slide
glass shower doors
16 cu.ft. fridge
auto leveling
TPMS (Already showed an issue. We had a leaky valve stem.)
Compass connect
Goodyear tires
370 watt solar panel with 50 amp controller (However I would prefer Victron charge controller over Furrion)
roller blinds
lots of storage
love the floorplan especially in a 5th wheel under 30'

Dislikes:

Mattress (replaced with a better quality memory foam)
on demand hot water (I find that it is too wasteful. The water has to be run for almost a minute to get hot. It fills my grey tanks too fast. Often we stay where there is no sewer connections. On a positive note it's great for taking long showers as it provides limitless hot water.)



Over the years we've owned trailers from 2 other manufacturers and in our opinion Grand Design makes a much better RV. The build quality is very good. So far we've only had a couple of minor issues. We are extremely pleased with our purchase.

That is not just with the "on demand" hot water heater! I don't know what GD does with the plumbing, but my 300rbts takes forever to get water to the sink and shower in the bathroom and my hot water heater is in the bathroom! The water heater is 2 feet from the sink and 6 feet from the shower and takes about a minute and a half to get hot water!

 

[grampscamper]

That is not just with the "on demand" hot water heater! I don't know what GD does with the plumbing, but my 300rbts takes forever to get water to the sink and shower in the bathroom and my hot water heater is in the bathroom! The water heater is 2 feet from the sink and 6 feet from the shower and takes about a minute and a half to get hot water!

That’s unusual. All our previous trailers had hot water fairy quickly.

 

[Soundsailor]

That is not just with the "on demand" hot water heater! I don't know what GD does with the plumbing, but my 300rbts takes forever to get water to the sink and shower in the bathroom and my hot water heater is in the bathroom! The water heater is 2 feet from the sink and 6 feet from the shower and takes about a minute and a half to get hot water!

That sounds like something isn't working correctly. We have the on-demand water heater and it is hot in 10 to 15 seconds. The good thing is that it stays hot as long as you're running the hot water (or until you run out of propane).

Sorry, I totally misread your post, I see you have a hot water heater with a tank. Could there be low pressure to the water heater that makes it slow to get to the sink?