Grand Design SOLITUDE reviews

We are sadly selling our gently used 5th wheel and tow vehicle! We've decided that we want to settle down and enjoy our sunset years in a home. It is now time to share our ability to make memories and travel adventures with someone who will enjoy our camper & truck! Show less

We have owned several fifth wheels and I love this front living floor plan. Plenty of storage space and room The on demand hot water heater alleviates running out of hot water when 3 adults take showers. Cools extremely well with the 3 AC's in South Carolina weather and humidity. Show less

I've owned Grand Design units for years and we're on our 3rd now, a Solitude 310GKR. We hoped that this would fit our retirement plans but I'm looking to sell/trade it for a Brinkley. We've taken our 310 out 5 times now and it's ended up in the repair shop after each trip. #1- The closet wall wasn't anchored to the floor. #2- The hydraulic system failed and had to be replaced. #3- the couches weren't anchored to the floor causing them to crash into the island and damaging both. #4- The wood trim poorly attached and falling off in several areas of the interior. #5- The heat pump for the electric heat on the roof top unit went out. Since Grand Design was bought out, it is no better than any other brand out there, including the cheap units. Components always likely to fail but the quality and workmanship has dramatically fallen. I would not recommend a Solitude as they're badly overpriced for what you get now. Show less

I would not recommend due to issues with slide out seals, auto leveling, toilet flush out leak, incorrectly installed door frames, screw falling off under the master closet and screw coming up through the floor in front of the master closet. Grand Design refuses to replacement the parts that were damaged before we bought the fifth wheel brand new or the parts that have failed to work right after purchase. They are using deny, delay, defend tactics. We have lost months of use of our fifth wheel and see no end in sight. Show less

This is an amazing rig. We purchased this because of the mid-bunkroom. This rig has a TON of storage space, in the living area, in the kitchen area, in the bedroom, underneath. The convection microwave is a huge plus. We’ve used the oven, but we all know RV ovens aren’t the best. The convection microwave works great. I've made biscuits and cookies, etc.. in it multiple times. Refrigerator has a ton of space. We’ve gone on 30 day trips in this rig and had no issues with any of the appliances. We upgraded the batteries because we keep it in a storage facility when not being used. We upgraded to a trickle charger for those batteries for the same reason. Show less

We have lived full time in this model Grand Design for almost 6 years and have been extremely happy overall with its quality. There will always be minor problems with all RV's but we have never had any major issues. this floorpan has been great having that extra room! Plus the basement storage is really nice. Show less

We purchased the GD in 2022 for long term travel. We have stayed in the 5th wheel for 4 months at a time and love the floor plan. It is perfect for a couple during extended camping. Grand Design was highly sought after before 2020 and was highly rated. During our first year of ownership we found trim falling off, entry door not lining up, water leakage around lights on ceiling and a piece of plastic lodged into the rear ac. Things you would not have found during a 6 hour walk through. Warranty has been less than stellar and support has been minimal from GD. We cringe every time we hear of recalls and are hoping we are not the 1% ending up with frame damage and being denied. At this point we love our fifth wheel but have no confidence in the GD models. Our previous RV was a Keystone Toy Hauler 2012 and was built much better than the GD. I will not own another GD model. Show less

We like that there is a large bathroom with plenty of cabinets. Love the wet bar area for more storage but we rarely use the sink. The layout was well executed. The under storage is more than plenty. Should have been made with higher weighted axel better yet should have added an axel due to long back overhang that will drag on any uneven surfaces. Has been a big issue. The company can’t give their wiring semantics bc they don’t follow any set policy. Warranty was an absolute joke. Things (stove, water heater, trim drawers) started breaking 1 week after the warranty ended. The extended warranty was not able to be utilized either. Fine print! The cost has been marked up high and the quality degraded on these 5th wheel. This is really a 60,000. at most 5th wheel. If you pay 100,000. You should get good quality. The company that makes these things seriously lacks integrity. Would we buy same brand? Probably not. There is too much of a monopoly in the RV industry. People are being taken advantage of. Show less

I knew nothing about RV's and less about towing one. This unit has impressive quality. The interior colors are walnut which we liked better than the new "pickled" white new unit have. We lived in it full time for a year. The floor plan gives the most room. The opposing slides open to make the kitchen, dining area and living area very open. The two heated/massage recliners are directly across from the televator TV. The unit has a RV refrigerator(18') so a little small but it can run on propane or electric (or solar). This makes a big difference when boondocking as you can use electric when the sun is charging the 6 100Ah batteries. Or save the batteries to run your AC's in the evening and put the fridge on propane. The park has "iffy" power the solar with compensate. The park only has 30 amp, no problem the solar will compensate. The "Nautilus" plumbing system is super user friendly and making switching between wet and dry camping (or just road days) easy. The lippert leveling system is also easy to use. And the instruction are on the side opening cargo door so you can actually read it without doing the limbo (think Montana). Fully loaded at 15,000 lbs this unit pulls great. All the extras help make it easy to tow with minimal bucking and sway. I pulled with a 2022 GMC 3500 Duramax Diesel (also for sale with purchase of RV) and climbed every hill with ease and the exhaust brake and towing systems controlled the load on the steepest downhills. Awsome. Show less

Review of My 2023 Grand Design Solitude 378MBS: Buyer Beware I purchased my 2023 Grand Design Solitude 378MBS in February 2023 from General RV in Huntley, Illinois. Initially, I noticed minor issues like trim pieces falling off the slides, which I considered typical for an RV. However, by May 2023, significant problems began to surface. My bedroom door frame came completely unhinged from the passenger side wall, and the front bedroom slide started rubbing the floor, leaving wood shavings behind after each trip. I naively thought these issues were normal. As summer approached, I noticed excessive rust on the frame and treated it with Rust-Oleum. Later in 2023, the mid-deck screws began to self-tap out of the passenger side wall. I screwed them back in, again thinking this was normal. By January 2024, my entire slide mechanism failed. When I contacted Grand Design's warranty department, they dismissed my claim. However, a mobile tech in Camp Verde, Arizona, confirmed the motor wasn’t installed properly from the factory and that my bedframe was falling apart. While the tech replaced the slide rails and motors under warranty, I have yet to be reimbursed for the labor expense, despite providing receipts. In March 2024, while traveling from Camp Verde, Arizona, to Mississippi, I lost my roof on the highway. The front membrane separated from the front cap despite my regular maintenance and inspections. Grand Design's warranty department initially gave me the runaround, requesting details down to the brand of lap-sealant used on the roof. It wasn’t until I posted pictures on their social media page that I received a response. Jessica from their social media department helped cover the roof repair under warranty, and I had a Flex Armor roof installed in June 2024. However, I am still waiting to be fully reimbursed for my nearly $1,000 hotel stay during the repair. At the end of June 2024, I discovered a Facebook page discussing Frame Flex and Failure. Upon investigating my Solitude, I found symptoms of frame flex, including front slide failure, roof delamination, and interior damage. Testing revealed over a half-inch deflection of the mid-deck. Further inspection showed that two of the three lag bolts on the passenger side were loose, and the bolts used were the wrong size—3/8 instead of 1/2 inch. Despite notifying Grand Design and requesting an SRT unit to meet me in South Dakota, I was told my unit was safe to tow. After discovering the lag bolt issue, I lost all faith in Grand Design. Lippert, the chassis designer, failed to properly coat the frame, leading to excessive rust far beyond what should be expected in a 2023 model. Despite my efforts to maintain the frame, the rust continues to spread, suggesting a very thin layer of paint was applied over an already rusting frame from the factory. To make matters worse, my front slide is beginning to fail again. There is a crack down the side wall internally, directly underneath the slide, and it makes a lot of cracking sounds when pushing the slide in and out. When the slide is fully retracted, it rubs along the floor, exacerbating the damage. An SRT unit is scheduled to come out in August, but given the numerous negative reports, I have little faith in their ability to address the root cause. I paid over $131,000 for this RV and strongly advise others to reconsider all their options before purchasing a product from Grand Design. Show less