HI all, I have a large fifth wheel looking at a smaller Grand Design Reflection fiver. I don't want controversy over this question, but rather looking for those who own or have owned GD products to see if the quality of product as well as service are what I have heard them to be which is outstanding compared to other companies. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Allen

As a GD owner, I'd have to agree with the generic assessment that their quality is a step above many (or most) other manufacturers at a similar price point. This would apply to rig construction itself more than the "systems" within it. The AC unit, fridge, furnace, water heater, stove, pump, etc. are the same as can be found in many other RV's. But the trailer itself has a little better quality finish on the interior, ours has Dexter axles (LCI frame) and good fit/finish throughout. What they really claim is superior customer service when compared to other manufacturers. Time will tell, but so far I've been pleased. We've had a few very minor issues with ours that we took care of ourselves with minimal effort, but the one thing you can't "repair" is the control board on your water heater. Last trip out, our water heater failed to work. We called GD and they quickly sent us a new control board, claiming that this was the cause of 99% of failures. It took one minute to replace and we're back in business.Stroll over to the GD Owner's forum and read some of the threads in General Discussion. They have issues just the same as many other campers, but owners appear to be very satisfied.

ajacobs1112 wrote:HI all, I have a large fifth wheel looking at a smaller Grand Design Reflection fiver. I don't want controversy over this question, but rather looking for those who own or have owned GD products to see if the quality of product as well as service are what I have heard them to be which is outstanding compared to other companies. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, AllenI won't try and compare it to others which I have never owned. Our Reflection is our second fifth wheel, the first being a Glendale Titanium which is no longer in business. Ours was built in their earlier years when GD was only building 5th wheels and the model range wasn't very big. We were impressed with the assembly quality at the time, the fit and finish seemed a notch above but the materials used were standard for the price range. What really sold us at the time was the layout which has been extensively copied by other manufacturers. The only real criticism I had with our particular model was the 15 inch wheels which are marginal IMO, after coming from a 5er that was 2k lighter and had 16's. I haven't heard of a lot of issues with the 15 inch wheels but I switched to 16 inch wheels and E rated tires. I also uprated the springs. We are on our second set of ST's. We had to prematurely replace the first set because of wear due to a bent axle caused by hitting a nasty pot hole on the I5. No other tire problems.As far as problems go, some of the decals on the front cap are fading and cracking at the top where they meet the roof. I called GD and they sent me a new set which I haven't installed yet and they will probably do the same thing. Still, not bad considering it had been out of warranty for over three years. Only real problems were leaking grease seals on the Lippert axles and the Atwood furnace. The axles were just out of warranty but after some wrangling, Lippert sent me new hubs, bake assemblies and bearings but wouldn't cover the labour. This was a chronic problem and I understand GD has since gone to Dexter axles. After being in and out several times without solving the furnace problem, Atwood eventually gave us a new furnace which has been trouble free. This was all done on warranty. According to a tech who has dealt with a bunch of them, they had a run where the sail switches were too small.We have had our 303 for almost five years now and are still happy with it.Grand Design Owners Forum

We purchased a 2018 GD Reflection 303RLS last May and have been camping several times with it. There is no longer problems with wheel bearing grease getting on the brake drums. The oven/stove in my 2018 is new for this year - not the same oven as previous years - it's very nice and not the el-cheapo one like I had in my Coleman. I has a porcelain toilet, LED lighting with motion activated sensors in the bathroom and pantry. It has auto leveling and black tank flush built in. It has a huge basement where I can haul everything I used to put in my truck bed - yes , that includes 42 gallon Thetford portable tank and my huge RTIC cooler, chairs, table, ladder - the list goes on. It is a rear living plan with an island, and opposing slides, a big screen TV with opposite theater seating that recline and have heat and massage. The heat register in the main living space is in the side of the island - no more dirt and sand traps. The refrigerator shelves have holding brackets that keep your food from rolling around. The cabinet doors shut securely and stay shut during travel. We do not use all of the available storage - and we are by no means minimalists! When I'm ready to go, the leveling system retracts and puts the king pin in the exact position when unhooked - so when it's done, I lower my tailgate and hitch right up, no up and down to get the height correct. I'm a hard one to impress, but I am thoroughly impressed with the materials used and it's fit and finish. I went in it on Saturday after being closed up for a few months, and it still smells brand new inside. I've never been a fan of electric fireplaces, but this isn't just a decoration - it really heats the place up.I bought from General RV in Orange Park Fl and had a very nice sales experience. So far, no service issues, but I have dealt with the service department for other things.Of course, people will say that they are all junk, or I just got lucky. All I can say is that I really enjoy using it, and it hasn't let me down.My advice is to go and see them. Take a tour, they will hook up a battery pack and demonstrate the options. I had a great salesman - will give you his name if you like.On Edit - go to the Upcoming RV show at the Jacksonville Equestrian center - if you live in the vicinity. I compared to other units at the show and several dealerships and non came close - IMO of course.Feel free to PM me with any questions.

The 2019 Reflections are now using 6K Dexter axles and 16" tires on all models per an answer to my factory inquiry.

We have a 2016 GD Reflection 303rls 5th wheel. We are extremely pleased with it. It heats and cools a lot easier than our last 5th a Keystone Outback. Has less air leakage too. We have had to replace the grease seals on the wheels and propane regulator. If I had to do it all over I'd buy the very same unit.

Grand Design Quality | Good Sam Community

Ron3rd
Explorer III
Jul 06, 2021
cwilder wrote:
We purchased our GD 260RD in March, 2021 took delivery April, 2021 - went camping one time (June 11, 2021) came home & slide wouldn't go back out. Its been at the dealer since. Got parts then needed more parts. These parts come from various manufactures that GD works with. Everything is under warranty but the process to get "approval" is stupid. It's a brand new RV...just how long should approval take. Bottom line is this all this falls on GD and their quality control measures. A brand new RV should not be having these problems. Also if they had listened to the dealer in the first place and approved the parts the dealer said was needed, we wouldn't be waiting on more parts.
I'm very disappointed with this RV. If I'm lucky enough to get it back for a planned trip to Maine I will be selling it as soon as I get home.

Sorry to hear of your troubles but that's typical of INSERT BRAND NAME HERE. it's not like buying a Ford from a Ford dealer, or any other car brand for that matter where that's all they work on and either have the parts or can usually get them in a day. It's not uncommon to wait weeks or months for warranty work that is then done incorrectly.
fj12ryder
Explorer III
Jul 04, 2021
Well, the Grand Design Momentum 351M is on our short-short list for toyhaulers, so I hope the quality is decent still. It certainly ticks all the boxes for us.
klr650goldwing
Explorer
Jul 04, 2021
We have a 2014 Grand Design Solitude 369RL. We like it very much. Two years ago we took the trailer to the factory for some work on the bedroom slide. While the trailer was at the factory they did an inspection of the trailer and found out that the kitchen slide had issues too. Then they said something magical: they said, if we would bring the trailer back down to them and leave it for a couple weeks, they would repair the kitchen slide for FREE. They explained that the problem with the kitchen slide was the result of their design flaw. At that point in time the trailer was 4 years out of warranty. They took out the kitchen slide, all the furniture in the trailer, the kitchen island, all the cabinets that were sitting on the floor and then they took out the entire floor. Once the floor was out they welded 39 braces in strategic places and put it all back together again, new flooring, new carpet etc. And charged us nothing. That is Grand Design service. The trailer is like new.
Thermoguy
Explorer II
Jul 04, 2021
neal10a wrote:
I think folks should discuss the engineering differences with specifics rather than generalities. How the roof, floors, sidewalls, suspension, plumping, wiring, underbelly, windows, appliances, entertainment system, factory support and etc.

All RV's are essentially hand built and no two are the same. However, if the engineering, selection of materials and appliances are sound then one has a fighting chance. It takes alot of evalution and research to determine the best personal choice.

This should be it's own post - how RV's are built by manufacturer, not which ones are prettiest. Also, what designs hold better over time. I'm often wondering why RV roofs are rubber and all seem to fail, isn't there a better way?
Crespro
Explorer
Jul 04, 2021
While we like our Grand Design and think it is good quality, there is one feature that impresses me. The moderators on their Tech page on the Grand Design website are all volunteers and provide great support. I run a business with a product support staff and especially appreciate the value of good support.
Lightning55
Explorer
Jul 03, 2021
I bought a new 2020 GD Reflection 31MB last February and although I've had a few minor problems, I think it is definitely better quality than the Jayco that I bought a few years ago. The most noticeable difference is that the GN tows much smoother than the Jayco. The "clucking" was so bad on the Jayco that I installed a Morryde rubber pinbox and it helped a lot. On the Reflection I didn't need to add the rubber pinbox at all. It tows much smoother. Most new trailers regardless of the manufacturer, put these things together with cheap, lightweight materials that don't hold up well.GN is no exception.
36guy
Explorer
Jul 03, 2021
I bought a 2005 keystone cougar 244 fifth wheel brand new, owned it 13 years without a single problem, so, followed the new owners of GD because of their success with keystone thinking I'd get the same results. Wrong. We purchased an Imagine 2600rb, and immediately had undercarriage problems, namely, collapsed springs and later, bent axles, which I had to pay for out of pocket, both because of under design issues, which, in 2020, GD corrected on this model. Since, I've had trim come off, both wall panels in the bedroom have come apart, plumbing issues sliding doors that beat themselves to death while travelling.
I have more, but they're minor, generally, count me as unimpressed.
Campinghoss
Explorer II
Jul 03, 2021
When we decided to sell our dp coach and go back to fivers it came down to GD or Open Range 3X models. Based on floor plans the 3x had what we wanted plus 102 inch chassis. We went with the 3x and have not looked back. I can say the 3X is the coolest in the summer and warmest in the winter we have ever had.

With that being said no matter what you decide on be prepared for the simplest of things to be in need of a tweak there and a tweak here. We have had several and it always hold true.
goducks10
Explorer
Jul 02, 2021
cwilder wrote:
We purchased our GD 260RD in March, 2021 took delivery April, 2021 - went camping one time (June 11, 2021) came home & slide wouldn't go back out. Its been at the dealer since. Got parts then needed more parts. These parts come from various manufactures that GD works with. Everything is under warranty but the process to get "approval" is stupid. It's a brand new RV...just how long should approval take. Bottom line is this all this falls on GD and their quality control measures. A brand new RV should not be having these problems. Also if they had listened to the dealer in the first place and approved the parts the dealer said was needed, we wouldn't be waiting on more parts.
I'm very disappointed with this RV. If I'm lucky enough to get it back for a planned trip to Maine I will be selling it as soon as I get home.

And maybe start the whole process over again. I suggest you hang out on all the brand forums for a couple months.
Or are you getting out of RV'ing?
cwilder
Explorer
Jul 02, 2021
We purchased our GD 260RD in March, 2021 took delivery April, 2021 - went camping one time (June 11, 2021) came home & slide wouldn't go back out. Its been at the dealer since. Got parts then needed more parts. These parts come from various manufactures that GD works with. Everything is under warranty but the process to get "approval" is stupid. It's a brand new RV...just how long should approval take. Bottom line is this all this falls on GD and their quality control measures. A brand new RV should not be having these problems. Also if they had listened to the dealer in the first place and approved the parts the dealer said was needed, we wouldn't be waiting on more parts.
I'm very disappointed with this RV. If I'm lucky enough to get it back for a planned trip to Maine I will be selling it as soon as I get home.

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