Voted most helpful review
Jeff Z
Nevada, USA
Reviewed on December 26, 2023
We bought this trailer 2 years old and have had it 3 years ourselves. The original buyer must have had all the initial problems fixed because we have had ZERO problems with it, We take long weekends with it about 6 times a year and it is also used as overflow space from May to October at our...read more
We bought this trailer 2 years old and have had it 3 years ourselves. The original buyer must have had all the initial problems fixed because we have had ZERO problems with it, We take long weekends with it about 6 times a year and it is also used as overflow space from May to October at our mountain cabin. Our previous 5th wheel floorplan no longer worked and I considered just selling it without replacing it until I saw the updated bunkhouse RV models. My wife had come to dislike using our old trailer but LOVES this Grand Design because the bathroom is now up front and the bunk beds are in a separate bedroom in the rear. Now grandkids can take naps during the day and we can still be inside. This model has an unbelievable amount of kitchen countertop space and I like having countertop space along side the stove so I can have ingredients right there ready to add to the pot, and plates right there ready to dish out the meal, etc.
I do have several complaints about design features, some of these GD has revised in newer years. For me, some I have remodeled myself, and some still left to do. The build quality is very good, design and liveability is average. There was a lot of hidden wasted space in the bunk house and a cubby was inset above a stack of 4 drawers. This cubby shelf was only made of cheap paneling so it was only good for pillows. Behind those drawers was another 12 inches of empty space. And the top bunk was very narrow, I was afraid somebody would roll over and fall off it. So my woodworking brother built entirely new full depth drawers that hold a ton more items and we put the "cubby" on the floor so that I could store cases of bottled water out of the way. There was a drawer under the bottom bunk but behind it was about 8 to 10 sq feet of hidden empty space. I removed the drawer and opened up that space for more bottled water and big bags of charcoal, etc. We framed out the top bunk to make it as wide as the bottom bunk to make it safer and more comfortable.
The only heater vent in the living room was in the rear by the bunkhouse door so the front area was colder. Other Reflection models have a heater vent in the steps to the front bedroom so I put one in myself. The heater vent for the bathroom/front bedroom was a horrible design and not efficient so I put in flexible ducts to properly distrubute heat to the bedroom vent.
The kitchen in my 2018 only has drawers under the counters so there isn't a good place to put pots & pans. Newer models had a fireplace put in there and that took up even more storage. Now the fireplace is gone and GD has put in real cabinets for pots/pans and added other drawers. That's a much better setup than I have. I may convert some of my drawers to cabinets.
I didn't like having to open a cabinet door to get to the control panel to turn on the living room lights, so I moved the switch next to the thermostat and made it a dimmer switch. There was only ONE usb charging port in the whole trailer. That's crazy. So I put one in the nightstand in the front bedroom and one in the living room in an overhead cabinet. We dry camp a lot and run off 12v so I needed those usb plugs.
I've beefed up some of the areas GD cheaped out on, such as the plastic saddle pans in the pass through storage. There was no support under them so they would break and stuff would fall onto the road so I could run it over. The wall divider in the pass through was flimsy paneling so I put in 3/4 inch plywood so I could mount battery terminals and other things to it. The shower control valves had no structural support behind them and the whole shower flexed and would eventually crack. So I carefully cut out the panel in the closet to put in extra wood framing to prevent the shower enclosure from flexing and screwed the shower controls to that framing. Reinstalled the closet panel with screws in case I ever need access again.
I put 4 deep cycle batteries in and I have 2 200 watt solar panels that I place on the ground in the sun to charge them. I like to park the trailer itself in the shade to keep it cool, so roof mounted solar panels wouldn't work. I can move the panels to get the best angle. I have a quick connect on the wire from the panels to the solar controller so it's easy to connect them.
Now the trailer is almost exactly how I want it.
Livability
Overall quality
Floorplan
Driving/towing
Factory warranty/support
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