First Time Owner....Jayco Pinnacle or Grand Design Solitude

[asmith3]

We went to look at the Reflection but liked the Solitude better at an RV dealer. It had the front living room. The Solitude had some trim coming off...unglued...that surprised me. The guy showed us the Pinnacle with the same up front living area. It was really nice with three air conditioners. Anybody have any advice about choosing between these two models? How much off retail should we expect the dealer to come down? We are very green 🙂 We have read a lot and thought for sure that we wanted the Reflection with the mid bunk but now we want the front living area. We are leaning toward the Jayco Pinnacle. Help! Do not want to make a mistake.

[Chazb]

We looked real hard at a Solitude. I know nothing about the other. We also looked at the Big Horn. We liked the apparent quality a lot better, particularly of the woodwork. Bought one.

[skijlw]

We have 2 Schwintek slides and 2 others on our Jayco 5er. We have not had any problems with the Schwintek slides. They work great for thousands of units if you follow the directions of use. The most important items are to have a fairly level unit, run the slides all the way out while not stopping and hold the switch in the on position after the slide is extended or retracted for an additional 3 seconds after it reaches it's position to allow the sync motors to calibrate. If you look on the Jayco forum about slides the number is small compared to the thousands sold. I can attest to Jaycos excellent warranty service if you do have a problem.

[B_O__Plenty]

goducks10 wrote:
It's my guess that most 5th wheels that have a bed slide are using a Schwintek slide system. Schwintek is a product of Lippert so as we all know Lippert makes most every slide system out there. Like frames, no way around it. There may be another company making slide out gearing but they're rare.
It's either Lippert, Schwintek or Bal cable systems.

Most of the Cedar Creek and Heartland models use hydraulic slides. Jayco uses the Schwintec even on the big living room slides.

B.O.

[goducks10]

It's my guess that most 5th wheels that have a bed slide are using a Schwintek slide system. Schwintek is a product of Lippert so as we all know Lippert makes most every slide system out there. Like frames, no way around it. There may be another company making slide out gearing but they're rare.
It's either Lippert, Schwintek or Bal cable systems.

[B_O__Plenty]

topjimmy wrote:
GD Solitudes uses the same Schwintec system Sooo no difference there.

B.O. Plenty wrote:
I looked at the new Pinnacle. Those problematic Schwintec slide mechanisms are a turn off for me. Looked on the Jayco owners forum. Not too many are happy with those slides. It's a shame as the Jayco was one of the premier units 10 years ago....

B.O.

That being the case...I wouldn't buy either one. There are lots of others on the market in that price range. Don't buy something with built-in headaches..

B.O.

[topjimmy]

GD Solitudes uses the same Schwintec system Sooo no difference there.

B.O. Plenty wrote:
I looked at the new Pinnacle. Those problematic Schwintec slide mechanisms are a turn off for me. Looked on the Jayco owners forum. Not too many are happy with those slides. It's a shame as the Jayco was one of the premier units 10 years ago....

B.O.

[B_O__Plenty]

I looked at the new Pinnacle. Those problematic Schwintec slide mechanisms are a turn off for me. Looked on the Jayco owners forum. Not too many are happy with those slides. It's a shame as the Jayco was one of the premier units 10 years ago....

B.O.

[214skier]

We just bought a GD Solitude in April of this year and love it. We moved up from a GD Reflection 308BHTS. We are extremely pleased with the overall quality of the RV and more important, the level of service GD provides in the event any issue comes up. They are awesome. One example of this--we do not have a deale near our home. GD went out of their way to authorize a local repair facility and to ensure there where no issues or concerns, agreed to pay all shop invoices at the end of each week and send all parts in advance of repairs being made. Oh-yeah, did I mention the warranty manager at GD will give you his cell phone number and encourage you to use it in the even of an issue? Hard to beat.

[Drifter1959]

I see you're in Mocksville. See the people at Terrell Camping for your Pinnacle. Great bunch and great pricing.
Both of the manufactures you're looking into are good choices IMHO.
I have a Pinnacle and found a GD floor plan that is perfect for our needs. We went to look at it and were disappointed.
So I will say that each person has a different level of expectation and ultimately, you will have to live with the unit you choose so choose the floor plan (we love our front living room) that works for you.
Remember, you can't have unicorns and leprechauns, its one or the other.

[Second_Chance]

We're full-timing in a Reflection (337RLS) and like it a lot. There have been a few minor problems - fixed easily - and one not-so-minor issue (axle alignment problem that goes back to Lippert - not GD). We spent a night next to some folks in a Pinnacle who had just pulled in to discover that the lighting "island" above the kitchen island had fallen from the ceiling onto the kitchen island during the day's trip.

Bottom line is that all RVs are going to have issues. GD has a really good customer service track record but only a one year warranty. Jayco offers a two year warranty (I have have no personal experience with Jayco or their customer service). I would recommend choosing the unit that suits your purposes best, do a thorough pre-delivery inspection (operate EVERYTHING on the rig!), and go from there. (I am not, however, a fan of front living room designs.) We paid about 30% off the MSRP...

Rob

[topjimmy]

The OP was asking about the Solitude VS the Pinnacle not the Reflection which I think is a better Value than the Solitude and you expect cheaper electronics,no rear cap, no Vacuum and mid level suspension and pin box ,the Solitude should have more upgrades for the price, if I was in the market for a Mid-level 5er like the GD Reflection it would be on my list for sure

leggy wrote:
I would go with the grand design. We almost got a jayco but ended up liking the reflection's quality much better. In fact we just ran into the couple that bought the jayco we were looking at and they hate it, laundry list of things wrong. Not saying we don't have some issues, seems they all do. The previous comment on inferior quality is right only on the electronics, they are cheap. I don't believe grand design is owned by jayco.

[Sunnyside42]

lawnspecialties wrote:

tmm2good wrote:

Sunnyside42 wrote:


GD is a newer manufacturer that is owned by Jayco, and now ultimately Thor Industries.
Good Luck!

ummmm, NO, not true.

I think Sunnyside may be confusing GD with the Highland Ridge folks.

As for those units, I'd get whichever one gives you the most options and amenities for your money. Both are excellent choices.

You're exactly right. Whoops. :B

[lawnspecialties]

tmm2good wrote:

Sunnyside42 wrote:


GD is a newer manufacturer that is owned by Jayco, and now ultimately Thor Industries.
Good Luck!

ummmm, NO, not true.

I think Sunnyside may be confusing GD with the Highland Ridge folks.

As for those units, I'd get whichever one gives you the most options and amenities for your money. Both are excellent choices.

[grampscamper]

We purchased a Grand Design Reflection several months ago. We're extremely pleased with it. This is our 3rd 5th wheel and by far the best. It has been trouble free so far. We absolutely love it and would purchase another without hesitation. Their customer service is outstanding.
Depending on the dealer you should be able to negotiate as much as 30% discount.
Good luck
Bob