Anonymous
Grand Design frame flexing.
Has anyone asked GD to buy their 5th wheel back? The frame flexing is happening on ours, and the warranty is still in effect. But they should not be selling these if they know it is happening, and th...
Forum Discussion
Grand design has had major issues with frames flexing beyond normal tolerances resulting in cracks in the fiberglass walls as well as breaking some of the welds. The frames are designed and built by Lippert and not in house. It's known issue. I have no idea what Winnebago will do about it. From what I can tell, as per the usual with some of these manufacturers, it's a fight to the death to get them to deal with it and buy backs are pretty rare and involve an NDA so you never hear about them. Yes, there should be a recall, but that never really happens in the Rv industry. There is no control or oversight. It's you against the manufacturer. Shame, you spend so much money on something and it's really one of the only industries that cannot be forced to stand behind their product even for safety reasons. Winnebago used to be one of the best in the industry, Now I'd put them in the running with Thor. I have heard so many issues lately with Winnie products.
Follow up question - what are “normal tolerances” and who decided what value they should be? And how do you measure frame flex as your driving down the road to know that your rig has exceeded “normal tolerances”? Asking for a friend.
Not to be argumentative, but you say it’s a “known issue”, but when I do a search on this forum the only thing that pops up is this thread, a thread about a tow vehicle, and everything else is more than 10 years old. Not at all supportive of a “known issue” claim. I have had some experience with structural issues and frame issues simultaneously. But connecting the dots and assigning and affixing blame may not be as straightforward as you allude it to be. Just my own experience.
As an example, I would point out that you can bend a frame (or flex it inappropriately) by jacking up the trailer to change a tire at the wrong place.
a few different manufactures had this issue. everyone is quick to blame lippert, the manufacture of the frame, but I would suspect in the race to lighten up 5th wheels they under spec'ed the frames resulting in more flex than what you would normally see which is very minimum. if you think about the way the 5th wheel is constructed and with the 1 piece fiberglass bonded wall you don't want any flex. at best it would pull screws loose at worst it cracks the fiberglass and maybe welds let go. Keystone had this issue also and most likely a couple other brands.
Well, you can tell your friend that I am no engineer, but that's the description of the issue, I didn't make it up. Engineers know tolerances, this seems like a pretty elementary thing to know. There are tolerances on everything from bolts to suspension. Beyond the tolerances, things break. Winnebago itself disclosed the issue in a public statement. I am not sure why you can't find anything on it. Google "grand design frame issues" and a bunch of forums, articles and videos come up. And I wouldn't use this forum as the best or only place for RV information. Since the new format, it's lost about 99% of the former activity and hardly a system of record.
Here's the first thing that comes up in a google search:
"Grand Design RVs have been widely reported to experience "frame flex" issues, which means the frame of the RV can bend excessively under certain conditions, potentially leading to cracks or breaks in the welds, particularly affecting their larger fifth wheel models like the Solitude and Momentum; this is considered a significant safety concern due to the potential for structural failure and is a major topic of discussion among RV owners and online forums, with many complaints regarding the company's responsiveness to the issue."
Let me know if your friend needs more information on the topic.
Cheers!I did as you suggested and googled grand design frame flex. I learned a lot, some useful, most not so much. The most useful thing that I learned is that there is an official investigation.
For the OP: If I was you I would google “NHTSA grand design frame flex investigation”. This seems the most reliable information. You may also want to contact them for your own I&I.
