Montana vs. Arctic Fox vs. Grand Design

This idea that the RV manufactures use to pawn off the problem on the suppliers is more nonsense that us consumers have somehow accepted. The manufacturers take our money and then dismiss us to others.
If something on my trucks breaks I go back to Chevy period .
I don't want to be told check with Bosch or GM didn't make the radiator or the frame was made by others.
We need to stop accepting these ridiculous excuses for poor quality.

dpgllg wrote:

Lwiddis wrote:
“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?

I didn't mail them but I gave him all the dates times and people I talked to. His response was it's not in my system so it didn't happen.

I hate to say this but the issues you had for the most part are with the other manufacturers and not GD as they don't manufacture the frame, ac, door lock, etc. Being out of warranty any manufacturer will most likely tell you to pound salt especially if/when the problems are not with the quality build of the unit itself but with the components they used from other manufactures...does that suck well yeah we pay a lot for our rigs but we all rely on those other manufacturers products as well no matter who uses them in their product as they all use the same...whenever I'm looking at rigs I always ask the dealer when the rig was delivered to the dealers lot...being in southwest Pa myself road salt eats everything and I would never purchase a unit that was delivered from Indiana to western Pa during the winter months in fear that salt was blasted all over that thing for over 300 miles then how long it sat on that dealers lot before the rain or they washed it if they ever did before that coating on the frame has had time to cure.

Lwiddis wrote:
“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?

I didn't mail them but I gave him all the dates times and people I talked to. His response was it's not in my system so it didn't happen.

Lwiddis wrote:
“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?

I got a big issue resolved out of warranty. The people I spoke to at GD went out of their way to help me. Sure - they all have their issues - mine has had some nickle-dime issues that were flushed out while in the warranty period and corrected. My dealer has a stupid policy concerning drop off on Saturday, so I have to take a day off. I'm sure this has caused them to get bad reviews, but since they just built a new repair facility and revamped their showroom, it doesn't seem to be bothering them. If you want to attract bees, best use honey instead of lemons.

librty02 wrote:
I say pick the floorplan and style that suits you and your needs the best. Forget about what brand it is as they all have their issues and they all use the same component manufacturer's, dometic, norcold, lippert, suburban, atwood, etc, etc....The more units the manufacturer puts out the more you will hear about issues that's why keystone gets the bad wrap most of the time on forums as they are the highest selling manufacturer by far and have been for years. GD is catching up to them and have a great re-pore with "most" owners fixing things with mobile techs and or out of warranty. As for Northwood from what I have seen they need to get out of the 80's styling...to me it personally looks like I'm back in 1983 when I step into one of their units.
What I'm trying to get at is forget the dealer, forget the brand, pick what you like and what suits you most and just deal with any issue as they come. My Keystone lite model is 7 years old now and not 1 single issue at all and I have over 50k miles on her now with an avg of 150 night a year use....

You know I like Northwood Manufacturing (Arctic Fox) but I agree they are not the most current when it come to interiors and styling. But I do think they do a better job than most with structural items.

I say pick the floorplan and style that suits you and your needs the best. Forget about what brand it is as they all have their issues and they all use the same component manufacturer's, dometic, norcold, lippert, suburban, atwood, etc, etc....The more units the manufacturer puts out the more you will hear about issues that's why keystone gets the bad wrap most of the time on forums as they are the highest selling manufacturer by far and have been for years. GD is catching up to them and have a great re-pore with "most" owners fixing things with mobile techs and or out of warranty. As for Northwood from what I have seen they need to get out of the 80's styling...to me it personally looks like I'm back in 1983 when I step into one of their units.
What I'm trying to get at is forget the dealer, forget the brand, pick what you like and what suits you most and just deal with any issue as they come. My Keystone lite model is 7 years old now and not 1 single issue at all and I have over 50k miles on her now with an avg of 150 night a year use....

Noticed that you are on the West Coast. One of the best builders around was right in your state in Yakima.

There should be plenty of Alpenlites around, many of them in very good condition. Try to find a 2000-2005 model. In house built frame, not Lippert. 100gal FW tank. Very well made. Not as good as a Teton Homes but one of the best of the era. Way better than what is out there now new.

We've owned our 2014 Arctic Fox for six years now. We have had nearly zero issues with it. On our first trip with it we had to replace the sail switch on the furnace. That is the only problem we have had which is extremely minor.
We have found the Arctic Fox to be of great quality and plan to keep it as long as it will have us.
I hear of so many nightmares people have with their units that it makes me so happy I bought the Arctic Fox.

Topjimmy,
We purchased our Cougar from Tacoma RV and have been pleased with the sales process, PDI and the service after the sale. Tacoma RV has opened a new enlarged service center that is larger than anything I have seen at other dealerships.

Have heard great things about Apache Camping Center, the Arctic Fox dealer. We purchased our previous trailer from Apache and were pleased with their service.

While Grand Design fifth wheels get positive reviews, the GD dealer (across I-5 from Tacoma RV) gets poor reviews.

I figure that regardless of the brand, stuff breaks and it's important to have a dealership with a good service center or have a good independent RV tech available.

We've looked at Redwood, GD Solitude, Vilano and Jayco Pinnacle in our kind of interested search. We found some things we did not like and some we did. All of them seem lacking in certain areas. Kitchen, bathroom and bedroom storage and closet space are important to the wife and only one in the 34 to 37 foot range we are considering checked all the boxes. That was the Pinnacle. They made some changes with the 2020's to improve the frame, use Dexter axles and US made Goodyear Endurance tires. But, they use electric slide mechanisms instead of hydraulic and do not offer disc brakes. They do have a 2 year warranty. We are going to see a GD 344GK tomorrow to see how it compares.

An Arctic Fox 325M might be a good one to consider but the nearest dealer is 400 miles from us. I did do some calling to see about pricing. One of our absolutes is a residential fridge and NW refuses to do it. The dealer I talked to even asked it they could get one without the Norcold or whatever they use and the dealer would install a residential for us. NW said no. I think they target the boon docking crowd instead of us wimpy full hook up types.