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Alternatively, Grand Design employs a separate team just to do its pre-delivery inspections. This is a rigorous 300+ point inspection that rivals any quality assurance system in the RV industry. That level of inspection can offer you peace of mind in an industry where build quality is often an issue.
Industry-first Anti-lock Braking System for Towables.
While many RV companies do package a one-year warranty with their campers, these often don’t transfer to secondary owners. Another unofficial forum, GDRVowners.com, serves as an additional resource for information and community-building. The site has nearly 4,000 registered users and has over a dozen subcategories dedicated to issues such as electrical systems and HVAC.
Grand Design Customer Disservice
RV Review: Grand Design Reflection 320MKS fifth wheel - RVtravel.com
RV Review: Grand Design Reflection 320MKS fifth wheel.
Posted: Tue, 12 Jul 2022 07:00:00 GMT [source]
A lot of people I know have also replaced the tires after experiencing their first flat. I think that’s something owners of this model won’t seek out - these are good bits indeed. Like several RV manufacturers, Grand Design is marketing this unit specifically to owners of half-ton pickups. Honestly, the only fifth wheel I’d consider towing with a half-ton pickup is something like the Scamp 19 that we reviewed a while back. While this isn’t all that heavy unloaded at 5,600 pounds I would absolutely not tow this with a half-ton pickup. There is so much cargo and liquid capacity on this I can see you often being closer to that 10,950 pound capacity than you might assume.
2024 Grand Design Imagine XLS 23LDE
Grand Design uses laminated aluminum framed construction on the side, rear walls and the roof of every slide room. The roof has a wood truss frame, which provides a full walk-on roof and better insulation, so you stay comfortable. There is also a no-streak thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) roof covering with a 12-year warranty.
The company really does a good job of creating good will with their owner base. On the upper deck of this trailer is, of course, the bedroom which features a proper 60” X 80” queen-sized bed. Storage and counter space are really a strong suit of this floor plan. The way this trailer was equipped there is a three-person theater couch on the road side in the slide room. Then there’s a large u-shaped dinette in the rear of the trailer. That provides plenty of seating space for entertaining.
Otherwise all the lower deck is fully accessible with the slide in. Further, there are the closets on either side of the bed as you might expect along with hanging storage and drawers on the back wall of the bedroom. The overwhelming feeling I get in this trailer is of space. The bathroom offers good space but somewhat limited storage. Today’s RV review is of the Grand Design Reflection 150 Series 260RD. In some ways this review is different in that friends of mine bought this after we talked about various RVs that they were considering.
Today’s RV review is of the 2023 Grand Design Imagine XLS 22MLE travel trailer. If you find a floor plan for an RV that you like, I strongly suggest you start shopping at other brands. This is the first of three reviews that I’ll post of what is essentially the same floor plan. But each manufacturer takes that idea and runs with it.
Dec 28 Forest River Sunseeker 2550 Class C - space galore
This fifth wheel is 40-feet, 7-inches in length and a gross vehicle weight rating of 16,800 pounds. There is a freshwater capacity of 93 gallons, grey water capacity of 100 gallons and a wastewater capacity of 50 gallons. I can't even list all the problems we are having happen right now. The sun roof over the shower is just pulling apart, going to be some water damage there soon. The stove overhead vent filter cover fell off in transit onto the glass stove cover.
As for boondocking there are nice large holding tanks as you would expect in a fifth wheel. Grand Design includes 165 watts of solar with a second 165 watt panel available. With a fridge this large, though, I wish they offered more solar from the factory. This is something Keystone has really embraced and I think it’s an area where Grand Design absolutely should step up their game. This fifth wheel has a lot of things I really, really like but the steps to the upper deck are on the road side which means a closed slide room specifically blocks access to this area.
With anything this large, you really do want as much control as possible and I don’t feel that a half-ton truck offers that. But you see where I’m going with the flexibility of this floor plan. So many of us, including myself, modify RV floor plans to suit our needs and this is closer to a blank canvas. Motorcycles, side-by-sides, kayaks, eBikes, and so many other things can absolutely be accommodated in this relatively compact trailer. There is also a surprising cargo carrying capacity at over 5,000 pounds. This smaller toy hauler travel trailer certainly can be used as intended but might make a lot of sense even if you never ever use it for hauling toys.
In fact there are a number of forums for this brand where people have upgraded the suspension and tires, but I wish you didn’t have to. Of course everyone is different and you should be aware of what matters in your shopping. For example, the Imagine series is a smooth-sided trailer built with what’s called laminated walls.
In the side walls where they join the back and the roof Grand Design has a four-step seal process that the company claims reduces the need for re-sealing. Furthermore I like that there is no front windshield in the trailer and it’s a smooth front. A windshield makes sense if you have a front kitchen but I don’t want one if that’s where the bed is, and that’s where this bed is. Another thing that’s a total deal breaker for my way of travel is aspects of the slide room.
Based on the Auto Service Research Team study, Grand Design builds high-quality RVs. The company also uses an extensive 300+ independent inspection to ensure that quality remains consistent across every RV it sells. Unfortunately, some people do not have as positive an experience with their Grand Design RVs. Most of the complaints we see center around things coming loose on the vehicle. However, this is a common complaint across nearly every RV brand.
You could just leave the bed down all the time and put in a better queen-sized mattress if you’d like, but that enclosed space would be a deal breaker even for me and I like Murphy beds. Heck, you could even put a garbage can under the sink. There is a queen-sized bed over the cargo area in the back that uses gas struts to enable you to raise and lower the bed. I prefer this to an electric mechanism for so many reasons, not the least of which is that it’s simple and quick. You can bring down the overhead bed with one hand in just a few seconds and return it just as quickly. In fact this is one of the areas where Grand Design makes a lot of noise by using a four-step process to seal places where two major structures come together.
Grand Design’s ducts are in the base of the cabinets. They have created a feeling of good will among their customer base which has translated into strong loyalty. This fifth wheel is the second Grand Design product these friends have purchased and other friends, too, are on their second or third Grand Design RV.
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