Grand Design

[RVER]

ANYone own a Grand Design Solitude Fiver and if you do what problems did you encounter when you went camping first, second and third time? Quality of design, quality of build? Stucture etc.
THANKS, Asking for a friend.

[goducks10]

Lantley wrote:

goducks10 wrote:
If it was cost effective they'd all do it. With the cost of everything going up theses days and at the same time trying to meet a price point it's tough to do.
Montana used to offer a solid FG rear cap. Then they discontinued it and added it as an option. Of course they didn't lower the price. Guess they figured most buyers didn't care enough about it.
It would be easy to include it on most 5th wheels but then they have to give up other bling.

At the end of the day is the rear cap just aesthetics or is it a reflection of quality?

To me it's a sign of better quality. One less seam to worry about. On a flat back you can get a leak from the side or the rear. On an FG back it's only the side as the cap wraps around.
Zero chance for delam too.
Other than that it's all in the eye of the beholder. I think that those that like their 5ers that didn't come with them are going to defend their own decision. I don't think very many would turn down a FG back cap if they had a choice between the two on the same unit for the same price.
As for the MPG increase. Haha. I highly doubt anyone would notice if there's even enough of an increase too notice. Me thinks there's none.

[Lantley]

goducks10 wrote:
If it was cost effective they'd all do it. With the cost of everything going up theses days and at the same time trying to meet a price point it's tough to do.
Montana used to offer a solid FG rear cap. Then they discontinued it and added it as an option. Of course they didn't lower the price. Guess they figured most buyers didn't care enough about it.
It would be easy to include it on most 5th wheels but then they have to give up other bling.

At the end of the day is the rear cap just aesthetics or is it a reflection of quality?

[goducks10]

If it was cost effective they'd all do it. With the cost of everything going up theses days and at the same time trying to meet a price point it's tough to do.
Montana used to offer a solid FG rear cap. Then they discontinued it and added it as an option. Of course they didn't lower the price. Guess they figured most buyers didn't care enough about it.
It would be easy to include it on most 5th wheels but then they have to give up other bling.

[lee_worsdell]

Mine has a flat back also, ugly as hell but I don't see unless we are stopped. couldn't care less.

[countrypastor]

Lantley wrote:

countrypastor wrote:
We have been full timing our GD 367MBH for a year and a half. Have about 1600 miles on it with no problems at all. Really feel like so me of the optional things on it (like lights under the bedroom slides)
make it a brand above the rest.


"Full Timer"
'17 RAM 2500 4x4 Tradesman 6.4Hemi
'17 Grand Design 5th Wheel 367MBHS

That's exactly what GD wants you to believe. More gizmos and gadgets does not equate to real quality. Unfortunately real quality is beneath the floor and behind the walls. You don't see real quality unless you bend down, look behind or crawl under.
The fluff that we see that makes you Uhh and AH is not a sign of quality.

Actually gizmos and gadgets wasn't what I was talking about...Just some nice additions. As far as quality. 2 years full time in the trailer and have had zero issues. My neighbors in a Keystone Montana can't stop taking their new fiver to the dealer for repair or warranty work. A friend of mine who pulls a Forest River Hemisphere has water issues frequently.

Answering the question that started the post, I have had no issues with my GD. They have a great owners forum, facebook page, and app you can use to see what it's all about. PM me and I can share some.

[Mody_n_Domy]

Yet every toy hauler has a flat back. If you are worried about getting better MPG with a rear cap may be you should not buy a 5th wheel. If you spend $70,000+- on a 5th wheel and $50,000+ on a truck whats 3% better millage when you pull it 5,000 miles a year.

[Lantley]

countrypastor wrote:
We have been full timing our GD 367MBH for a year and a half. Have about 1600 miles on it with no problems at all. Really feel like so me of the optional things on it (like lights under the bedroom slides)
make it a brand above the rest.


"Full Timer"
'17 RAM 2500 4x4 Tradesman 6.4Hemi
'17 Grand Design 5th Wheel 367MBHS

That's exactly what GD wants you to believe. More gizmos and gadgets does not equate to real quality. Unfortunately real quality is beneath the floor and behind the walls. You don't see real quality unless you bend down, look behind or crawl under.
The fluff that we see that makes you Uhh and AH is not a sign of quality.

[DallasSteve]

Is a "rear cap" the molded section at the back like the photo below? How much does Grand Design's flat rear end save in dollars? If it's more than a few hundred dollars I'll take the cheap flat rear end. I'm not buying a sports car. If it's just a few hundred dollars I'll pay for it. It does look nicer.

[countrypastor]

We have been full timing our GD 367MBH for a year and a half. Have about 1600 miles on it with no problems at all. Really feel like so me of the optional things on it (like lights under the bedroom slides)
make it a brand above the rest.


"Full Timer"
'17 RAM 2500 4x4 Tradesman 6.4Hemi
'17 Grand Design 5th Wheel 367MBHS

[Lantley]

kdgarrett wrote:
this was posted on the grand design owners

Has anyone else ever wondered why Grand Design doesn’t include a fiberglass rear cap on their fifth wheels like you see on other quality coaches? I did, because I think it looks much better with the cap, so I asked Bill Martin. Here is his response:

There are interior sq.ft. limits for our industry. Solitude uses a widebody chassis at 101" that is about 5" wider than many of our competitors. We are at/near the sq.ft. limits currently on several floorplans. Note that with a wider body chassis, we also have deeper sliderooms that also add to the square footage. Addition of a rear cap would further increase the measured square footage of the coach that we must include to meet code (even though it would not increase the usable space). This would put us over the allowable size on several floorplans. The short answer to your question is that we have opted to provide the most functional and livable floorplan over the aesthetics of a narrowbody fifth wheel with a rear cap

I would have to agree this is a BS answer.However, I'm not totally sure the rear gap is the deal breaker some claim it to be.
I prefer a rear cap myself. I think its one less joint to worry about and it simply looks better.
However if I liked everything else about the rig I'm not sure the cap would be the deciding factor

[goducks10]

I think thats sales guy BS. Highland Ridge has 102"W 5th wheels with 42" deep slides and a fiberglass rear cap. It would be interesting to know what that code states as far as sqft limitations to width and length are.

[gmcsmoke]

meanwhile jayco pinnacles have the exact same floorplan, 1" wider, with a rear cap. both using LCI frames.

[kdgarrett]

this was posted on the grand design owners

Has anyone else ever wondered why Grand Design doesn’t include a fiberglass rear cap on their fifth wheels like you see on other quality coaches? I did, because I think it looks much better with the cap, so I asked Bill Martin. Here is his response:

There are interior sq.ft. limits for our industry. Solitude uses a widebody chassis at 101" that is about 5" wider than many of our competitors. We are at/near the sq.ft. limits currently on several floorplans. Note that with a wider body chassis, we also have deeper sliderooms that also add to the square footage. Addition of a rear cap would further increase the measured square footage of the coach that we must include to meet code (even though it would not increase the usable space). This would put us over the allowable size on several floorplans. The short answer to your question is that we have opted to provide the most functional and livable floorplan over the aesthetics of a narrowbody fifth wheel with a rear cap

[neal10a]

FishOnOne wrote:


I think it's fair to say that the RV industry doesn't invest on real engineering for aerodynamics nor have I ever read any marketing hoopla that their rear caps is designed to reduce air drag therefore improving fuel economy claims.

I heard some Heartland folks make that claim about their rear cap 😉