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Starting to put a plan together


Lurch

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Hello everyone my wife and I are starting to put a plan together for our retirement that is a few months away and we have been looking at 5th wheel RVs we plan to full time and pull it with a Volvo 780 HDT and I sure need some advice on quality manufacturers we have been looking hard at the Grand design  solitude 374TH-R  but not having any experience with full timing not sure if it is a brand that would hold up well for years to come any suggestions on a better brand would be appreciated

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I'm at a similar stage of looking/retiring and have reviewed 30+ manufacturers and 100s of 5th wheels online and at RV shows. Your eyes cross after a while. I have a long list of criteria and ideas.  For full-timing one area you really need to pay attention to is Cargo Carrying Capacity (CCC).  The true CCC needs to be determined after you have added all those options and features that may not come from the factory - generators, solar, washer/dryer, extra batteries, etc.  After you take all this away from the GVWR, you still need to have 3,000 of CCC!!  Sounds like a lot, but full-timers get there quickly. Some even tell me they are at almost 5,000lb of "stuff". 

I too looked at Grand Design Solitude 374TH-R and a few other of their models. While they have some innovative design ideas and I think they will do well in the market, I (my opinion) do not believe they are at the full-timer level yet. Some lack of storage, some models have the washer/dryer in the bedroom (someone vetoed that idea!!) and after you add all those options/features, so start to lose out on getting to a 3,000+ lb CCC.

The remaining RV manufacturers on our short lists are:-

  • New Horizons
  • Spacecraft
  • DRV

The first two are customer, so you will get whatever you want BUT you will pay for it. DRV have a number of semi-custom (some choices - pick from 2-3) and a lower price. DRV also has a toy hauler family - Fullhouse - which you may also be interested in.

Other ways of getting information on a manufacturer and feedback on manufacturer/RV, beyond this forum, is to do factory visits or attend a rally by the owners of the RVs from the manufacturer on your short list.

All three of the above manufacturers, and many others do factory tours. Ask lots of questions. Try to take pictures, video!!!  We are doing a New Horizon factory tour next week and then DRV after that.  If you contact New Horizons, ask for Cole Brokenicky. 

A second great option is to attend the NHOG (New Horizons Owners Group) and  Suite Owners groups annual or periodic rallies. The next NHOG rally is Sept 21-25 in Spearfish SD. The DRV International Rally is in Elkhart, ID on Aug 21-25th (factory tour at the same time??). There you will see lots of different real lived-in examples and be actually able to talk with the real owners about their experiences. They do encourage wantabees to attend.

The DRV and New Horizons forums are out there, but I have found that they are not very active. At one stage I checked on the DRV forum and there had been no postings for months. Seems to be active again now. I suggest registering on the (SOITC) Suites Owner's International Travel Club's forums and asking questions. I think you are better off asking on this forum and asking specific DRV, New Horizon or Grand Design questions.

I do not mean to discourage you from Grand Design. Just sharing my experience to date. Good luck with your search.

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Thank you for your fast response  sometimes it is hard to see past the bells and whistles  of the RV to tell if the quality is there and trust me I will check out every recommendation that I receive on this thank you for your time

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A major decision for me was wood or aluminum superstructure. Each has it's pros & cons, followers of either have solid reasons for their choice and your selection of Mfr's may narrow depending which cult you buy into. Good luck!

You'd have to see the movie to understand..........

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Grand Design is a newer mfg.  Principles that came together from other RV mfg. and started their own company.  If you go to the Grand Design owner's forum you will quickly learn that everybody is very happy with Grand Design's Customer Service and more importantly, their customer support.  Factory customer support after the purchase is huge and what makes Tiffin the #1 purchased class A motorhome.  Grand Design answers the phone, monitor their forum and their facebook page and get you your answers.  They are very quick to send parts that you want to install yourself instead of waiting for weeks or months for the dealership service to get an opening......and it's done with no paper work.....just your VIN number.

 

We bought a Grand Design Momentum 376TH (forward living room and 5 slide outs) used (6 months old) and have been very happy with it.  I can tell you that they sure get more than their share of attention.  The Momentum 376TH is the same floorplan as the Solitude 374TH (not sure the difference of the TH and the TH-R?) and we were able to see them both, side by side, at the Orange County RV Show in Pamona.  The living room and kitchen is the perfect set up for full timing.  I retire at the end of Aug and we will be hitting the road.  We were very, very fortunate because you just never see a "used" Grand Design for sale.

Good luck in your search.

2017 Grand Design Momentum 376TH pulled by a 2014 Ford F-350 Lariat, FX-4, dually, longbed

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All personal opinion here.....

Grand Design as a whole is a decent RV.  They are an assembler of Lippert "LCI" parts,  BUT with a great dealer/factory support.  For the price point, they hit the mark.  From reading on their owner's forum, there are no more manufacture issues than anyone else.  Most issues are 3rd party.... The TV quits, AC doesn't work, Tire blows, etc.  

In the last year or so, we looked hard at Toy Haulers with the idea of having one to carry a Smart car, and having the separate area to use as an office.  Grand Design and DRV Fullhouse are the only current manufacturers that can cover most of my build requirements.  While DRV has everything as standard, GD has it as options.  But it's not a direct comparison... Lippert axles, brakes and suspension does not compare to Dexter or MoRyde.

I know of several couples that are full timing in their Grand Designs and are happy with them.

Alie & Jim + 8 paws

2017 DRV Memphis 

BART- 1998 Volvo 610

Lil'ole 6cyl Cummins

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Thank you all so much for your thoughts and suggestions after looking at all the other brands mentioned I think the Grand Design will be my choice strictly from a price point view and it has the floor plan that works for us 

Thanks again

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Hi again Lurch,

I'm sure you will be happy with Grand Design. Just one item you should look at on them, based on information I got today from an RV insider, is their current level of customer service. Historically, they have had a fantastic level of customer service - call and  you get a person, need a part they got it to you directly.  The insider information was about recent changes to that level of support and service. With growth (8 years now) and being bought by Winnebago for a massive sum last year, there was a believe that this customer service had degraded. Might be nothing. Worth checking on the owner forum about recent (not historical) interactions.  But some really awesome designs. Good luck with your decisions and RV lifestyle changes.

Gerry

 

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8 hours ago, TheLongWayHome said:

Hi again Lurch,

I'm sure you will be happy with Grand Design. Just one item you should look at on them, based on information I got today from an RV insider, is their current level of customer service. Historically, they have had a fantastic level of customer service - call and  you get a person, need a part they got it to you directly.  The insider information was about recent changes to that level of support and service. With growth (8 years now) and being bought by Winnebago for a massive sum last year, there was a believe that this customer service had degraded. Might be nothing. Worth checking on the owner forum about recent (not historical) interactions.  But some really awesome designs. Good luck with your decisions and RV lifestyle changes.

Gerry

 

Gerry where can I find factual information on Grand Design being bought by Winnebago?  I can't find anything about this....not on the Grand Design owner's forum, not on a google search and not on the Grand Design web site.

I did find the Grand Design Story however, no mention of Winnebago......  https://www.granddesignrv.com/our-story

I can tell you that my experience, first hand, is that the factory is very responsive to the owners.  They have always answered the phone and are very responsive and they answer emails right away, also.  They do monitor and respond on the owner's forum and on facebook.  I've been an owner for about four months, of a "used" 2017 model 376TH and they've shipped to me three different times, directly from the factory.  I don't know of any other mfg. that does that.

I would suggest to anybody shopping in the price point of the Grand Design models to spend an hour or two in the owners forum and you will quickly see what the owners opinions are of the factory support.....they walk their talk.  https://www.granddesignowners.com/forum/forum.php

 

2017 Grand Design Momentum 376TH pulled by a 2014 Ford F-350 Lariat, FX-4, dually, longbed

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Thanks a bunch Gerry.  Apparently I'm the last one to the party.  LOL

As I stated above.....my personal experience with customer service from the factory has been great.  Not so great with two dealerships, trying to basic parts ordered.

2017 Grand Design Momentum 376TH pulled by a 2014 Ford F-350 Lariat, FX-4, dually, longbed

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We have a 2013 DRV Elite Suites 38RSSB3 with vanity slide.  We have full-timed in it since May 2013.  Overall, we have been very happy with our ES.  However, we custom ordered our ES before Thor Industries acquired DRV in January 2015.  Now DRV is part of the Heartland RV Group under the Thor umbrella.  My observations of the result of this acquisition is that there have been a number of new "models" introduced and dropped.  The delivery quality of a DRV RV has declined - the QC is not as "good" or intense as when DRV was family owned.  Factory support is still good, but now you have to pay for everything, even a handful of replacement bolts.  In my own opinion, the only place to purchase a DRV or have a DRV worked on is Rolling Retreats in Elk City, OK - no matter where you live.  

Our build year still used the Schwintek Electric Slides.  Avoid these on any RV like the plague!  We were lucky.  We got 4 years out of our Schwinteks (we do not have a washer/dryer on the bed slide).  And, when the Schwintek failed on the vanity slide, we were in Tucumcari heading to Elk City!  Once in Slade's shop, he noticed the bed slide Schwintek needed rebuilding also.  So, at this time, we have new Schwintek drive mechanisms after 4 years. Oh, by the way, we probably have around 60,000 road miles on our DRV.

I cannot say enough kind and encouraging comments about Rolling Retreats.  Whether a new or used purchase, they have an extensive prep to assure the unit is ready to go.  If you purchase a custom/new/used DRV from Rolling Retreats, Slade keeps it in his shop until EVERYTHING is examined and tested carefully.  When you leave their property, you know that everything is working correctly.  

Now, that said, we are starting to look to get a new RV.  Several reasons for that decision.  DRV is now our second choice.  We are seriously looking at a 39' New Horizons Majestic.  We plan to tour the plant in early October then make our decision from there.  

A couple of reasons for this decision:

We are the "anti-snowbirds".  We like to snow ski and spend most of January, February, and early March in Pagosa Springs, CO skiing at Wolf Creek.  We are Grey Wolf Ski Club members.  We have experienced -20F in our ES and have been quite warm and comfortable.  We have also spent too many summers, in my opinion, in the Dallas area.  The hottest temperature we have experienced was 103F.  It was tough keeping the interior below 80.  I finally ordered some Magneshade screens for the outside of the windows which helped greatly!  I really like the laminated foam insulation construction of the New Horizons.  Also, NH runs the AC duct work beneath the roof insulation, so you don't have cooling loss in a hot attic.  DRV uses rock wool insulation all around, but the AC duct work is above the ceiling insulation.  Also, DRV hangs the rock wool insulation in the walls where it can possibly separate and drop between the aluminum studs.  

I like the list of options on the NH.  You can add/drop items to actually make an RV "your own".  

Ron & Maureen, and three rescue Chihuahuas

2013 DRV Elite Suites 38RSSB3 with vanity slide

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Geo-Gypsy,

I just visited New Horizons on Friday. Spent the entire day there on a factory and models tour. 9-5!!  Amazing experience, great sales experience and answered lots of detailed questions and showed us every detail!! When you go or call, ask for Cole Brokenicky. They have a brand new Summit model in proto production and it will be at the Hershey RV show. So it should be back and available for your visit.

I happen to also visit a major DRV dealer in Kansas today. Not Rolling Retreats, but I have not but fantastic reviews about them from lots of people.

After going through the New Horizon experience and then going through maybe 8-10 DRV models (only one Toy Hauler unfortunately, and not the one I was most interested in), I can tell you that there is no contest!!  New Horizons is the clear winner. BUT.  Like all things custom, you can get what you want but you will pay for it. :)  DRV has some choices from the factory build, but as you indicated Thor is pushing toward a more streamlined production.  I also think the DRV fit and finish is not as good as New Horizon. Also, we thought the DRV style was dated. Style is always a personal thing, but I do not believe the DRV style has not changed in 10 years. You can have a choice of honey or dark stained cherry wood. 

My view of the top rankings of the RV manufacturers for full-timers (my criteria is lengthy but implies true 365 day RV occupancy, being mobile on a very regular basis - every 5-10 days and travel thousands of miles per year and have the cargo carrying capacity [CCC] (within GVWR) of 3-5,000 lb plus about a 100 other detailed items, I will not list here!!

Pure Customer Manufacturers:

The list of high end manufacturers that have gone out of business since the Recession is a bit scary! Teton Homes, NuWa, Travel Supreme, Carriage, Lifestyle Luxury, Excel and now Continental Coach by Forks RV.

Top Tier Production (with some customization) Manufacturers.

Not saying that other RV manufacturers are bad, but the ones above are at the top of the list against my fairly tough criteria (my criteria). YMMV They also happen to be at the top of the price list of RVs!!!!!!!

Good luck in your search.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We are leaving full time status after almost 12 years.    We have had a 2010 New Horizon Majestic for the last 5 years and it is the ultimate in full time comfort, plus we did many upgrades last year at Mesa, AZ by RVRenevators.     We are listed on rvt.com, both the 2010 New Horizon Majestic 42RLS and our 2008 Ford F550.   Trailer is also listed at rvtrader.com if you have any interest.      thank you.

Steve and Carol

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58 minutes ago, Hopbikers said:

We are leaving full time status after almost 12 years.    We have had a 2010 New Horizon Majestic for the last 5 years and it is the ultimate in full time comfort, plus we did many upgrades last year at Mesa, AZ by RVRenevators.     We are listed on rvt.com, both the 2010 New Horizon Majestic 42RLS and our 2008 Ford F550.   Trailer is also listed at rvtrader.com if you have any interest.      thank you.

Steve and Carol

And it looks VERY nice! Wish I was ready..

Best wishes,

Jay

 

 
 
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