GRAND DESIGN Complaints

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? - The frame is failing. It is available to be inspected but must be inspected on site. The camper is no longer safe to drive. After we heard a loud pop when attaching to the truck and seeing the pinbox move into the nose of the camper, we don't feel comfortable moving it. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? After speaking to others who have this same problem, there's the possibilities ranging from exterior doors flying open during transit (stuff in our basement coming out and hitting other vehicles) to causing a major (possibly fatal) accident if the welding to the pinbox completely fails. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? No, they refuse to send a service technician to my location. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? These symptoms have shown since we bought the camper in March 2024, but we didn't know that they were symptoms of frame failure. - The exterior doors do not close properly anymore and don't seal properly. - The weather stripping on the sides of the filon fell out during transit and were loose in the wind. - A visible flex on the driver's side where the nose connects with the rest of the rig - Screws working themselves out - The pinbox is going inside the nose of the camper when attaching to the truck We've been in contact with Grand Design about this issue. Though we've stated that this camper is no longer safe to drive and have sent sufficient evidence of this issue they refuse to send a technician to my campsite to reinforce and transport this camper for repair. I have no safe way of transporting this rig to a dealership, but they insist that I drive it to be inspected.

Frame failure! Driving down the road and noticed the kin box moving up and down into the Rv! I do not feel comfortable towing this Rv I feel it is going to cause a serious accident.

We have had multiple failures of the slides, the tsb that was supposed to fix the sagging problem in the kitchen has now also failed. Presently one of kitchen slides won’t extend. We have excessive frame flex. Recently Grand Design inspected the hitch area and re-welded 3 areas that had cracked and broken welds. Added the larger lag bolts per their service bulletin. They were unable to check the upper deck at the time due to not have the necessary tools to do that. The front cap has separated from the roof slightly. The rear wall has now started to separate from the side walls. We also have a broken part in the suspension. The interior walls have cracked by the kitchen slides. Grand Design has been notified complete with photos. I am awaiting their response. These issues began very early after purchase and have only gotten worse with time.

2023 Grand Design Solitude 2930RL, entry door opens when driving, even when fully closed and locked. This happened to me on Friday 9/6/2024. When I towed it again on Wednesday 9/11/2024 I made absolutely sure the entry door was fully closed and locked. I even explained and showed my wife to confirm it was closed and locked based on my experience Friday. When we arrived home 9/11/2024 and checked the door, it was still locked but the door was open. This is a major safety concern as the door could lead to a collision with a vehicle passing by. It can also lead to objects inside the RV falling out, becoming projectiles and obstacles for other motorists to avoid or have hit their vehicle or worst, their windshield. The door is not part of a smart system so there was no warning notification or message. I have not had the dealership try to reproduce this issue yet at this time. This all happened within 5 days.

Our 2021 Grand Design 395ms has FRAME FAILURE. The upper body of the frame has multiple broken welds and has separated during road use. If the welds continue to fail I have been told the lower half of the 5th wheel will fall to the pavement. If this were to occur during travel it could be catastrophic. This issue was iniitally repaired in thermopolis by a mobile welder. This initial repair failed and we had to contact the manufacturer. They initially told us it would be a couple months before their SRT team could repair. After multiple days we were connected with another mobile repair man from Montana Mobile Repair (Shawn) who stated "This is the worst frame repair he has had to make". After many hours he added extra bracing and support. Grand Design stated we needed to get it home. Approx. 1700 miles back to Michigan and we would need to setup an appointment for service repair. We are concerned with the fact that they are requiring owners to drive such defective units so far and putting the owners and others in harms way. We had no choice but to make the drive. We were denied any other forms of help such as flying the family home or paying for the extended stay until SRT arrived on site for the repair. Our final communication says once we arrive in Michigan to contact Grand Design and they will send someone to pick up our rig and transport it Grand Design.

A thin rubber grommet is used to protect the electric brake wires passing through the axel tube. These grommets wear through during normal towing. This, in turn, causes the wire to short to ground leading to total failure of the trailer brakes. I did not experience an accident but came very close as I was approaching a stopped vehicle and realized I needed MUCH more braking force on my truck brakes to stop my forward movement. All 4 grommets on the 2 axels on my trailer have failed as shown in the attached pictures but only one has resulted in the wire being rubbed through causing the brake failure. A picture of the axel ID is also included. This appears to be a serious design flaw that should be corrected. A quick Internet or YouTube search will show there are many occurences of this!

On multiple occasions during travel, We have had cargo doors and the main entry door open when going down the road. We have been fortunate that we have noticed the door flying open, to where we can quickly stop before losing any cargo. Because these are cargo doors, we carry cargo in these compartments. When the door flies open, there is a huge risk of cargo flying out of the vehicle and creating a hazard for oncoming motorists (flying through the air or upon the roadway). We have adjusted the latches on these doors to no avail. we get them to where they work and hold fine, then will start coming open again. We believe based on other evidence (missing sidewall lag bolts, loose sidewall lag bolts, bent sidewall lag bolts, popping sounds when raising or lowering unit, broken slide mechanisms, excessive sawdust on the inside of the vehicle, doors on internal cabinets unable to be opened due to interference, millwork trim falling off) that there is a frame failure or suspension issue with this vehicle causing excessive flex. These issues pose a life safety risk to any person traveling on a roadway.

5th wheel with frame flex issues. Compartment doors and entry/exit doors open while traveling down the road. The underlying issue is frame flex.

after pulling the camper home from a trip, we noticed that the molding was separating from the frame, after further inspection, we found that a weld was broken up on the frame that you can view from the front propane storage compartment. We contacted Grand Design and Lippert, we were told from Lippert to contact GD, we did that and GD has scheduled an SRT team to inspect our unit at the end of September. IN the meantime, we had a certified welder come and look at it and he told us it is a structural issue and he said not to pull the camper anywhere else, as it is a safety concern!! GD is telling me that they don't think it is a safety concern, but they haven't even looked at our camper. When we took the camper off of the truck, the split on the side near another storage compartment was made bigger!

Awning has started to detach from roller. There is a recall on the awning but Grand Design says my trailer doesn't fall within the recall date. Obviously the issue started before the dates they listed and the recall should be extended.