Quote:
Originally Posted by thefulminator
I have to ask a question. The Reflection owners I have talked to have repeatedly told me about how excellent the quality and service is on Grand Design products. I've even been told that Grand Design will send mobile repair techs to brand specific rallies to work any issues owners bring up when there. Have you asked Grand Design to look into or repair the problem? What are your experiences with Reflection quality and service?
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To answer your first question is easy, no I have not asked GD about it, for a couple of reasons.
But let me try to answer your second question. When I had a problem worth contacting them over, they have been great to work with. In general the 3 issues were this: wheel bearing/axle failure, refrigerator turning off every 2-3 days, and the toilet vacuum breaker leaking/shooting water.
Keep in mind, we are full timing. We bought it new in 9/2018 in Nampa ID. I think none of our failures should have happened. So as far as superior quality goes, that's a falsehood. They use the same parts and equipment as every other manufacturer. As for their build quality, I would say again, no better than any other manufacturer.
What they do have going for them is pretty good customer service.
As for a mobile tech, I used a mobile tech 2x rather than take it to a dealer. Each time GD made clear they will not pay the truck charge (in our case, $85 for each event) but they do pay for the repair. One time it was for a recall fix and I paid the rv tech and they reimbursed me. The other time it was a Dometic warranty problem on the fridge and Dometic paid the labor direct to the rv tech and I paid the rv tech $85 for the trip/truck charge. In both cases I decided it was worth $85 to me to NOT take my rig to a dealer and lose it for some unknown length of time.
As for the Rallies across the country that are manufacturer specific, if you attend they will fix whatever is wrong, even if you are out of warranty. Whether they bring their own techs or hire local rv techs, I don't know.
The axle failure happened a week after we bought, 25 miles past Price UT (pop 10k?) on a road out into the abyss. We were stuck in Price for a week. GD got Dexter axle involved and they sent 2 new axles and we had Les Schwab Tire Center install them. We paid Les Schwab and GD sent us a reimbursement check a week later. Short back story... There was an unaffiliated rv sales and service center in Price. But we full time and you've read the stories of how long a dealer will keep your rig for repairs. We weren't going to move into a motel. A truck service took off the bad wheel on the side of the road and we limped it back to Price on 3 wheels. LS patched it so we could go to the local rv park and wait for new axles to arrive. The event and repair crossed over a weekend, otherwise it probably would not have taken a week. Les Schwab's bill for the total job was $599. GD did not make a noise about the cost. I scanned the receipt and emailed it to them. They mailed us a check.
Later The fridge kept shutting off every 2-3 days. We'd come back to the rv and it's simply off. It was running on 120v and did not switch to gas, and no error light. Just off. Cycle the on/off button and it started right up. Turned out to be the circuit board. Contacted GD, who put us in touch with Dometic who said take it to a dealer or use an RV tech, but they won't pay the $85 truck charge.
You can see the pattern, I chose to pay an RV tech. Dometic sent a new board to RV tech and wanted the old one back. That took 8 days and 2 trips but the rv tech charges only 1 truck charge.
Who knew there was a vacuum breaker on the back of our toilets? The closest rv dealer is 75 miles from where we're camping. So is a Camping World. The complete multi part kit is only $22. We drive 150 miles round trip to Camping World and did the job ourselves. Scan the receipt and email it to GD and they mail us a check.
When you full time you have to choose when to fix it yourself and when you need to involve the manufacturer. Grand Design has been good about the repairs, but, better quality and workmanship? I don't think so.
By comparison, we had a new Keystone Cougar half-ton tow behind for almost a year, nothing ever went wrong with it. I think it's a complete luck of the draw.
BTW, the the thermal fuse on the refrigerator went out 7 months later. I bought a batch of those on Amazon. Now the water heater only works on electricity not gas... made by, you guessed it Dometic. I didn't bother to call them. I don't want another one of their boards. I bought a Dinosaur Electronics board which did ignite it, but then the thermal fuse has a broken wire. Maybe I broke it or maybe it was that way. Mind you, it's not burned out because if you wiggle the wire the gas will again work. But I can't tell if the loose wire connection is the thermal fuse that's bad or the thermostat it plugs into, because it wiggles at the same time. I have both on order from Amazon. Meanwhile we heat the water tank with the 120v side.
Oh yeah, then there's the case of the burping water pump. We full time, so I'll solve the problem.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure they're not superior quality.
Thanks for your interest. It let me vent a little.
Mike