My wife and I currently own a Cougar TT that has served us well for weekend camping trips and week-long road trips. As we get closer to retirement, we are looking at fifth wheels for extended road trips. Looking ahead to our next RV (a fifth wheel) we have narrowed down our search to 3 brands: Montana, Arctic Fox, and Grand Design. The Montana Dealer in our area has a good reputation (also the same dealer where we purchased our Cougar). The Arctic Fox dealer in our area has a stellar reputation. The Grand Design dealer in our area has a so-so reputation. At the risk of starting the Ram/Ford/Chevy debate, I would appreciate the perspective of current owners of these three brands. Has the quality of Arctic Fox gone downhill with the passing of Ron Nash? Has the quality of Grand Design gone downhill since they have been acquired by Winnebago? Should I put the quality of the dealership ahead of the quality of the fifth wheel?

No, from what I saw at this years Seattle RV show, if anything the 2020 AF's are better quality than they my 2018 was/is. Although that grey interior is enough to make a person need to slam vitamin D.I think there are other choices though (hope).

We are looking at the GD Solitude 344GK, we have looked at this unit at a couple RV shows. Impressed with design, layout and quality. Arctic Fox would be my next choice. One of the little things I noticed in the Solitude level, NO Floor heat vents, all in walls or under cabinets. Our current unit has floor vents, and if metal they bend quickly, unless you buy the higher quality units. They still bend, but take longer.

Don't worry about how good the dealer is, if you go full timing you won't see them again. I would put the Montana on the bottom of the list. Arctic Fox is decent but not the best on the market. Grand Design has a good reputation and is well liked by their owners. of the three that would be my choice.B.O.

We are also considering moving to a 5th wheel soon.At the last rv show in Hershey,Pa we compared the Grand Design Solitude and the Montana and also the Reflection and the Cougar.All were the rear living floor plan.We liked both Grand Design units alot more than the Montana or Cougar.We thought the fit and finish was better and they just seemed to be put together better.

We have a 2016 GD Solitude. It's never been back to the dealer. We use a mobile tech or independent rv repair shop. You have to get GD ok first. The support after the sale is one of the best. They even paid for work done on our trailer 2 yrs out of warranty.

Montana vs. Arctic Fox vs. Grand Design | Good Sam Community

ScottG
Nomad
Mar 01, 2020
No, from what I saw at this years Seattle RV show, if anything the 2020 AF's are better quality than they my 2018 was/is.
Although that grey interior is enough to make a person need to slam vitamin D.
I think there are other choices though (hope).
rhagfo
Explorer III
Mar 01, 2020
We are looking at the GD Solitude 344GK, we have looked at this unit at a couple RV shows. Impressed with design, layout and quality. Arctic Fox would be my next choice. One of the little things I noticed in the Solitude level, NO Floor heat vents, all in walls or under cabinets. Our current unit has floor vents, and if metal they bend quickly, unless you buy the higher quality units. They still bend, but take longer.
B_O__Plenty
Explorer II
Mar 01, 2020
Don't worry about how good the dealer is, if you go full timing you won't see them again. I would put the Montana on the bottom of the list. Arctic Fox is decent but not the best on the market. Grand Design has a good reputation and is well liked by their owners. of the three that would be my choice.
B.O.
hondapro
Explorer
Mar 01, 2020
We are also considering moving to a 5th wheel soon.
At the last rv show in Hershey,Pa we compared the Grand Design Solitude and the Montana and also the Reflection and the Cougar.
All were the rear living floor plan.
We liked both Grand Design units alot more than the Montana or Cougar.
We thought the fit and finish was better and they just seemed to be put together better.
southernsky
Explorer
Mar 01, 2020
We have a 2016 GD Solitude. It's never been back to the dealer. We use a mobile tech or independent rv repair shop. You have to get GD ok first. The support after the sale is one of the best. They even paid for work done on our trailer 2 yrs out of warranty.
dpgllg
Explorer
Mar 01, 2020
We have a 2017 Grand Design Reflection 27RL. It was great for the first year and then things really took a turn south.

Replaced Dometic AC after 13 months. Yup 1 month out of Dometic Warranty.

Replaced entry lock.

Entire frame is covered in surface rust almost as if painted with nothing. I'm waiting on a response now from Lippert.

Replaced circuit board on hot water tank.

Grand Designs response on all but door lock. Contact manufacture of component its not our problem. We don't offer a warranty on rust.

The last phone call with Grand Design the gentleman I spoke with basically called me a liar saying I never reported any of these issues. I told him that Grand Design should consider better quality components and he laughed.

Grand Design DOES NOT offer the same customer service as before being acquired by Winnebago. It is dramatically worse.

We may have got a lemon I don't know but I won't be singing the praises of Grand Design.

Dave
- Likes_to_tow
  Nomad
  Dec 19, 2024
  We have the exact model and year 5th wheel as yours. There have been issues along the way but we have pulled this trailer across the nation into the Rockies 6 times. It has a lot of miles on it. What I'm upset about most is the how the rear wall of the trailer is not fastened very well to the floor. This allows the entire wall to move back and forth an inch or more when it's being towed. The reason we know this is because the aluminum skirt on the bottom side wall is bent or bowed out on each side right where it meets the corner trim where the rear and side meet. After removing this short section of trim between the slide and rear wall I could actually grab hold of the ladder and push/pull really hard and see the rear wall move!! I removed the sofa and saw the method they used to secure the rear wall to the floor. They only used a thin 3/4 inch aluminum angle and where it was screwed into the back wall was just lauan with no metal support behind it. All the screws had came out of the thin wood and were laying everywhere under the sofa. This trailer is well beyond the 3 year structural warranty so I performed my own repair. Heavy 3 inch angle and screws going into the internal aluminum studs behind the lauan. Now I have no movement. Check your trailer for a bow on each side in the back near the rear wall. I've seen a youtube on this and it's common on Reflections and also other brand of trailers.
Lwiddis
Explorer II
Mar 01, 2020
“The last phone call with Grand Design the gentleman I spoke with basically called me a liar saying I never reported any of these issues.”

And then you mailed or emailed the gentleman copies of all your written issue reports, correct? To show the gentleman you weren’t lying?
ScottG
Nomad
Mar 01, 2020
Personally, I put a LOT of importance on buying form a good dealer. That came in very handy with my AF. It had a severe issue (roof built wrong) and AF (under Nash) tried to give me a line of BS. My dealer of 40+ years wasn't having it and set them straight. Without a strong dealer, I'd have been in trouble.
Frankly, the problems I had with my TT make Daves issues look like a walk (camp?) in the park.
Probably will not ever buy another NW product.
dieseltruckdriv
Explorer II
Mar 01, 2020
ScottG wrote:
Personally, I put a LOT of importance on buying form a good dealer. That came in very handy with my AF. It had a severe issue (roof built wrong) and AF (under Nash) tried to give me a line of BS. My dealer of 40+ years wasn't having it and set them straight. Without a strong dealer, I'd have been in trouble.
Frankly, the problems I had with my TT make Daves issues look like a walk (camp?) in the park.
Probably will not ever buy another NW product.

You post about the issues with your AF very often, and I can understand why. But how many thousands of them are built with no real issues.
I bought our AF from a dealer about 600 miles away. The biggest issue I had was the lack of care that went into mounting finish pieces. I know many here would have gone back to the dealer, but it was much easier for me to mount the things straight, or put in a couple more screws. Plus it got me looking at things when our 5er was new, and it convinced me that we made the correct choice. Between the tank sizes and the frame alone, you simply can not find anything built as well as a Northwood at their price point.

I would definitely by another Northwood product especially when compared to the other choices asked about.
topjimmy
Explorer
Mar 01, 2020
I have bought 3 Montana's all from Tacoma RV and all have been very good 5er's for us my Buddy bought a Solitude from RV Country accross the HWY with some minor problems and got Terrible service he will never go there again he finally called GD and they authorized him to take it to another dealer to get it fixed (not a GD dealer) and now he is happy with it but the bottom line is ALL these 5er's are pretty much all the same construction, same workers that get paid by the piece same quality etc.. etc.. buy any of them that suits your needs and do a Good P.D.I. cross your fingers:B and go with it, folks that say their brand is so much better are talking crazy talk and I have been in all of them in 8 years of fulltiming Including MANY Solitudes Arctic Fox's and of course a Boatload of Monty's ETC>>>>

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