GRAND DESIGN Complaints

The 2019 Grand Design Imagine Travel Trailer is built of a Lippert chassis, this chassis combined with the commonly used Equal-i-zer sway control hitch is resulting in the trailer safety chains being damaged, which may cause serious damage, injury or death if the trailer becomes separated from the tow vehicle hitch. These chains are also linked to the trailer's emergency braking system. Grand Design should recall and cover the movement of the safety chain's attachment point further back on the trailer frame, to avoid safety chain failure due to damage that occurs when turning and pinching the chains. My small RV dealer in Indiana (Evans & Sons, Petersburg, IN) has seen four of five of these issues in addition to my trailer in the past year. They have reported this to Grand Design, as have I, but Grand Design is not covering the move of the safety chains attachment point further back on the trailer frame. In addition to my trailer and those my dealership have seen, there are several other photos of the same issue online. https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/showthread.php/36086-Repositioning-safety-chains

From factory, vehicle standard build weight of this trailer (nothing loaded) is; 14,200 lbs. Trailer is a two axle design, with each axle rated at 7,000 lbs. Total load allowed by their specifications is 14,000 lbs. Before I add any items normally carried in a travel trailer (food, clothing, etc.) I am already over the axle rating. On a trip with with normally carried items and approximately 20 gallons of water in a fresh water tank (capacity is 54 gallons) I had two tires blow out on two separate roads. (one tire each side about 25 miles apart) Factory now offers upgraded axles of 8,000 lbs. each, bringing axle load capacity to 16,000 lbs. I was unable to determine why the tires failed as they shredded beyond any recovery of the tire structure. Tires were 235/85 R 16 in size, load range 'G' and trailer rated. They were inflated to 110 lbs. as directed by the sidewall. My concern is with the possible defective design of the axles, which may have contributed to the tire failure. Overheated bearings, poor load distribution, unknown at this time.

Crossmember connecting the rear of the Hitch A-frame is starting to buckle inward. From the research done, this is the first step in the complete failure of the A-frame. We just recently purchased the 2021 RV from a private seller and noticed the slight bend in crossmember but didnt think anything of it. After a 1500 mile trip the bend is much more pronounced. This is when I started to research to see if this was more prevalent in this model, which seems to be the case. Contacted frame builder (Lippert) and started the claim process with them and Grand Design as well.

Trailer braking began to diminish most noticeably at highway speeds, making stopping distances much longer. Inspection of the brakes and wiring revealed two of the four electric brake wires had come loose from their type 314 connectors and were completely disconnected. The two affected brakes were the left and right side front wheels. Replacement of the connectors remedied the poor braking. I found the loose wiring myself while inspecting the tires before an upcoming trip. Attached photo shows connectors on the left front wheel with the loose wiring to the right.

Electrical system spontaneously caught fire. Had this happened while on the road or with people inside the trailer, it would have lead to serious injury or death. The issue has been confirmed by the manufacturer and they are refusing to take action or honor the warrantee. The RV has been inspected by the manufacturer and is the in process of being inspected by insurance. There was no warning or symptoms prior to smoke pouring from various compartments of the RV.

We were driving and went through a dip in the road and the whole front end of the A- Frame bent/buckled. We have not had any problems with this in the past, but it is a brand new trailer and we are learning it has happened to a few others all Grand Design XLS series. We wonder if the steel used is not of top quality and is too thin.

The contact owns a 2020 Grand Design Transcend RV. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 21V393000 (Equipment) however, the part to do the recall was unavailable. The contact called the local dealer and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact called an independent mechanic and it was confirmed that the part was unavailable. The manufacturer was notified. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

The contact owns a 2021 Grand Design Imagine. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 21V393000 (Equipment). The contact reached out to the local dealer and was informed that the earliest available appointment to service the recall would not be until October. The contact also attempted to reach the manufacturer but was unsuccessful. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the repair. The contact had not experienced the failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

We used the gas water heater on our Rig. Come to find out, it blew the cover off the water heater, burned the wires and melted the case. We are very lucky our rig did not catch fire.

While towing my rv, the weld that secures the rear axle springs broke. This weld was located on the right rear side of the frame and it snapped completely off the Lippert frame. It allowed the rear axle to move forward and the two tires on the right side contacted each other and the tires started to disintegrate. A tire on the left side was forced out of alignment and the tire shaved rubber until the steel belts were visible. These tires were high grade tires with less than 5000 miles on them. I stopped for fuel and noticed the damage. If I had continued the tires would surely have had a catastrophic failure shortly. This would have certainly resulted in a loss of control and a probable crash at highway speed. Since the tires were rubbing it is also likely a fire could have resulted. I was unable to have the vehicle moved to a repair location and no mobile rv techs would respond since I was in a remote location. I had to hire a local welder to reattach the weld and reinforce the frame on both sides. In speaking with my insurance company it was determined that this is not an unusual problem with welds breaking. The vehicle was not inspected by police as no other individuals or property was involved. Photos of the damage and broken weld were sent to Grand Design and Lippert, the manufacturer of the frame. Photos taken of the repairs performed by the welder were also sent to them. In addition to repairing the broken weld, I had the welder reinforce the left side of the frame holding the axle springs in place so that it would not fail. The unit is now much safer than it was before the repair. There were no warning lights or symptoms for this problem. I stopped purely by chance for fuel and noticed the steel belts protruding through my tires and this is the only thing that stopped a catastrophic failure and probable crash. The trailer has never been overloaded, and was never driven faster than 65. It has never been in an accident.