Hello All,
I've long followed this forum, and I am hopeful I can get some sage advice from the Grand Design owners' community.
My wife and I have a brand new 2022 337RLS (purchased March 2023), and we've launched on our long anticipate full-timing adventure after 27 years of a stressful and often dangerous law enforcement career. And a few weeks in, we're scared to death we have purchased a lemon.
While camping last week, we noticed the coroplast was bellied downward. I got under the rig, pushed up on the belly, and felt/heard sloshing. It was waste water (a combo of black and gray). I pierced the coroplast to release the mess. A few days of troubleshooting later, I have found that there are two problems. One, the black tank gate valve has a leak, and two, the gray tank gate valve is stuck open. I use an extra gate valve at the dump port, so both tanks were emptying through the leak for many days with the mess ponding on top of the coroplast. If that weren't enough, I saw that all of the waste tank heaters were separated completely from the tanks, likely due to poor adhesive. The abysmal quality control hidden above the coroplast has absolutely shocked us and broken our hearts. Piping and wires lay loose, tangled, and unsupported on the coroplast, without a zip tie or wire chase to be seen. It is mind-blowingly horrible worksmanship down there.
We have hung our full-timing dreams on this gorgeous-on-the-outside rig, and we now know that we have made an enormous mistake. I have improvised drain locations in the coroplast, and we are limping along with buckets to keep waste from dripping onto the ground.
As an added bonus, we had a flat tire recently. The 8-lug wheel Grand Design installed on the rig sure didn't fit very well on the 6-lug axles on a 337. It made for a much longer experience on the side of the road for a simple flat tire. If the company can't even put the correct spare on a rig, you know something is badly wrong with quality control.
I called Grand Design customer service, and they expressed no empathy or concern. They simply said try to get a mobile tech or get it to a dealer. I am concerned that this full-timing experience will start with weeks of our brand new rig in the shop. And when I get it back, I'll be looking to trade it in for another rig from a company that takes more pride in its product and gives more support to its customers.
As you may imagine, our emotions jump between anger and despair. Advice, encouragement, and prayers from the forum are welcome!
Brent
I've long followed this forum, and I am hopeful I can get some sage advice from the Grand Design owners' community.
My wife and I have a brand new 2022 337RLS (purchased March 2023), and we've launched on our long anticipate full-timing adventure after 27 years of a stressful and often dangerous law enforcement career. And a few weeks in, we're scared to death we have purchased a lemon.
While camping last week, we noticed the coroplast was bellied downward. I got under the rig, pushed up on the belly, and felt/heard sloshing. It was waste water (a combo of black and gray). I pierced the coroplast to release the mess. A few days of troubleshooting later, I have found that there are two problems. One, the black tank gate valve has a leak, and two, the gray tank gate valve is stuck open. I use an extra gate valve at the dump port, so both tanks were emptying through the leak for many days with the mess ponding on top of the coroplast. If that weren't enough, I saw that all of the waste tank heaters were separated completely from the tanks, likely due to poor adhesive. The abysmal quality control hidden above the coroplast has absolutely shocked us and broken our hearts. Piping and wires lay loose, tangled, and unsupported on the coroplast, without a zip tie or wire chase to be seen. It is mind-blowingly horrible worksmanship down there.
We have hung our full-timing dreams on this gorgeous-on-the-outside rig, and we now know that we have made an enormous mistake. I have improvised drain locations in the coroplast, and we are limping along with buckets to keep waste from dripping onto the ground.
As an added bonus, we had a flat tire recently. The 8-lug wheel Grand Design installed on the rig sure didn't fit very well on the 6-lug axles on a 337. It made for a much longer experience on the side of the road for a simple flat tire. If the company can't even put the correct spare on a rig, you know something is badly wrong with quality control.
I called Grand Design customer service, and they expressed no empathy or concern. They simply said try to get a mobile tech or get it to a dealer. I am concerned that this full-timing experience will start with weeks of our brand new rig in the shop. And when I get it back, I'll be looking to trade it in for another rig from a company that takes more pride in its product and gives more support to its customers.
As you may imagine, our emotions jump between anger and despair. Advice, encouragement, and prayers from the forum are welcome!
Brent
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