Grand Design Imagine TT

I read many brand forums daily. I will say as a brand forum GD is the best. Much more owner input. Most minor issues can be resolved on the owners forum. With that being said I find GD products to be no better or worse than any other. The issues with the Imagine line that I don't like are the OSB and MDF used for cabinet and in other areas. Low payload in many models. Paper thin cargo doors.
The floor plans are some of the most unique out there. Larger tanks as well.
The booth seating is terrible. I only weigh 150 lbs and sitting in a booth after one minute my rear is on the foam support. Most all the interior appointments are on the lower end.
But you're not paying much for one so it's all relevant.
With that being said if my son ever wants to upgrade I'd recommend an Imagine. They have some drawbacks but seem to hold up well during normal use.

I looked in several GD trailers at an RV show. I honestly don’t think they are built a whole lot different than other so called higher end trailers found here in the East. Materials and workmanship were on par with the upper end Jaycos as far as I could tell.
Now, the GD fifth wheels were a different matter. Very glitzy, lots of LED lighting in lots of places. Very shiny.
But you are talking about trailers. Like it’s been said, I would find a floor plan I like and go from there.

Thanks for the replies, especially from owners of a GD. I've narrowed our search down to either Outdoors RV, Artic Fox or Lance after spending a lot of time comparing them to the many other brands. I realize they all use pretty much the same vendors for the fridge, microwave, etc, but I'm also aware of how a TT can be constructed with quality materials and designs.

I do like what I've heard about their customer service. All makes can have problems so how the company stands behind their unit is important.

One thing I've noticed from their website is that all the interiors of the Imagine are very dark and there doesn't seem to be many choices with the interior colors schemes. I'll have to see how the wife likes the colors and go from there.

We have a GD Reflection 303rls 5th wheel and are very impressed. We have had Keystone and Forest River and I feel the quality is much better. My only problem has been with the co-axial cable for the television and there were too many connections for my Playmaker to work correctly so I had to run another cable for it.

I have some friends that have 29-ish foot Imagine by Grand Design. They've live in it full time for 3 years now and have had little in the way of issues. What I noticed about the Grand Design is the general "lower feel" when it comes to some standard features. 5 gallon propane tanks and not 7 gallon. No spare tire cover. No propane tank cover. Tons of Lippert. Plastic sink.....though mine had a plastic sink too. Also to my knowledge, the wall thickness is 1-1/2" I think and not 2" like Outdoor RV. I didn't notice any workmanship issues with their trailer. At least nothing that really stood out.

Ralph Cramden wrote:

All of that said I looked over my friends closely, and have looked at many on lots and at shows. I see no difference in materials, workmanship, and methods from a lot of other brands. Plenty of loose trim, sloppy cuts, spaghetti wiring, sloppy work in general. And like most others lots of Lippert...maybe more than average.

And I'm going to call BS on this - I'll go as far to say big pile of BS... We went to several dealerships and then to a RV show where several vendors like Jayco and Grand Design were present. The difference in materials used and fit and finish were very obvious. There is no loose trim, spaghetti wiring or crappy fit and finish. Coming from a Coleman Travel Trailer, I have a lot of experience with these issues. Most units I went into smelled like formaldehyde. Jayco Eagle was on our short list. We ended up buying the Grand Design as it was vastly superior to the Jayco . I can go into it in the summer heat, after it's been closed up awhile and notice that its significantly cooler. It has a new car like smell - still does. And yes, you can call them out on the Lippert frame, but talking with the people on the Grand Design Owners Forum, I was convinced that if I did have an issue, it would be corrected to my satisfaction.

These issues it seems are molehills made into mountains. Problems reported on other forums are't corroborated by actual people who own the product. I've owned my GD 303 RLS fifth Wheel since the beginning of the year and have used it several times. There is nothing that is broken, needs to be fixed or isn't working as designed.

But like I have said, you need to go into the Imagine and see it for yourself. compare it to what you have seen and have been into. Join the GD owners forum - there is a specific area for Imagine owners. You will be able to get good information on there - no one says things like everything out there is junk. If you listen to people on here, you will just forget about RVing and buy a pontoon boat - can't say many negative things about a pontoon boat...

IMO, It will be worth your time to drive there.

Grand Designs manufacturer support is outstanding, as I am familiar with it knowing about a friends Grand Design 5th wheel that had to be returned to the factory twice for axle, leveler, and frame issues, and once they sent people to his location since he was close to them.

If warranty service is your concern you're still going to be at the dealers mercy and schedule. I have talked with Grand Design owners who told me they have an agreement with dealers that the Grand Design buyer comes first. Since most dealers also carry other brands, I have to call BS on those claims. One would think other manufacturers associated with a dealer would have a huge hissy if one of their dealers was providing different levels of warranty service to another brand. I know that the dealer where we purchased our Rockwood from, who also hawks Grand Design, you're going to wait weeks if not months for an appointment and the actual work may take just as long. All buyers are treated equally.

All of that said I looked over my friends closely, and have looked at many on lots and at shows. I see no difference in materials, workmanship, and methods from a lot of other brands. Plenty of loose trim, sloppy cuts, spaghetti wiring, sloppy work in general. And like most others lots of Lippert...maybe more than average.

I would not get brand fixated. I would find a floorplan we wanted, then the manufacturers who made it or similar, then look at different brands. Then look at different units of the same model/floorplan. Units can pop out of those factory doors an hour apart. The first could be almost perfect, the second an absolute joke and a POS.

I would steer away from ordering from the factory....I found that to be a huge crapshoot as to what you get handed, or what they attempt to hand to you. If I cant see the unit I am actually buying, I am not buying, so ordering can become a months long process, as in 6-8-10 months, especially when you refuse to purchase the one that arrives with your name on it because its a POS. I could write a 10000 word essay on how that works.

We have a grand design reflection FW and have been very happy with it's quality. They say customer service is excellent but I haven't had to use it. Check out their owners forum.