Living in an RV full-time is just like living in a house…sometimes stuff happens, things break, things leak, things wear out. There is a distinct difference, though. When towing an RV, the rig and everything in it goes through the equivalent of a giant earthquake EVERY TIME you relocate. For us that is typically twice a week for 6-9 months or around 20,000 miles every year on often TERRIBLE roads. (No kidding. I recently hit a bump on the interstate south of Memphis that I’m pretty sure had the front truck tires airborne! Thankfully, I wasn’t towing at the time.) With that in mind, I’m surprised we haven’t had more issues in the 8 years we’ve been doing this. Sometimes they are easy fixes that we can take care of ourselves, which have been the majority for us. Occasionally, though, you need someone with a bit more knowledge or better equipment…a great mobile mechanic, a dealership with good people, etc.

So, before I start relating the current issue, let me say that we have always had terrific response and service from the manufacturer, Grand Design, the dealership, and subcontractors. Shortly after we bought our first Grand Design fifth wheel, we had a blowout that took off moldings, ripped out brake lines, and basically scared the crap out of us. We were totally blessed to be at the on ramp from another road, so were able to get well over and away from speeding traffic to get the tire changed. The next blessing was finding a mobile mechanic nearby. He was actually off that day and at home, but immediately said he would meet us at a nearby truck stop to take a look at those brake lines. He was prompt, had everything reattached within a few minutes, charged us $25, and zoomed off on his motorcycle, waving as he went. Wow! Since stuff was ripped out and we were new owners, we decided that we would prefer to have Grand Design check it all out and repair the rest of the damage. A quick call to customer service had us set up with an appointment at the factory repair location for Reflection 150s, and we were on our way to northern Indiana. There we parked in one of several full-hookup sites for customers. In the morning, we vacated the RV at 6:30 AM, and came back in the afternoon to find everything restored. We felt the whole process was smooth and painless. That was in 2019.

Since we, and by we I mostly mean Mr. Wonderful (MW), are pretty handy, a lot of the work and upgrades we’ve done have been without assistance. However, we had an opportunity to deal with Mr. Tyler Brothers at Campers Unlimited in Gadsden, Alabama, last year when we, thanks to our new, soft close tailgate, punched a hole in our front storage door. Solution…Tyler ordered the new door from Grand Design, who shipped it to an address I gave them in Alamagordo, New Mexico. It arrived sooner than promised, and we were once again like new. Early on the trip last year, we also had an issue with our rear landing gear. The driver’s side one would not move, electronically or manually. A phone call to a dealership we would be passing in a couple of weeks gave us a diagnosis and got the part ordered, A couple of weeks later we picked it up. Then, when putting it on, MW got on the phone with Lippert Customer Service, who were stellar. Another problem solved.

Now that brings us to the most recent issue. We were in the middle-of-nowhere Oklahoma when MW noted that the two visible lag bolts on either side of our bedroom keep coming loose. Honestly, the same two bolts in our last rig did, too, and MW has simply checked and tightened them regularly. Now, though, the two on the door side appear to be stripped out. They will tighten somewhat, but then pop past that to loose again. Folks on our forums say there are several more of the same bolts hidden by the steps and covers towards the front of the rig. So, are they loose, too? What, exactly, are they holding together? We contacted our favorite service guy, Tyler Brothers, who is now at the Oxford, Alabama, location of Campers Unlimited. We have found him always helpful and looking out for the customers’ best interests. After a couple of conversations, we decided that, instead of continuing west, we would point Priscilla towards Georgia. There we can drop the fridge, freezer, and personal stuff at Mom’s place. Then it’s only about 1-1/2 hours over to the dealership in Alabama. We’ve read horror stories about dealerships getting a rig in for repair, then not touching it for a month and ending up having it in for 4 months when they originally said 2 weeks. That is why we go out of our way to return to Alabama. They are conscientious about the fact that we live in it, so can’t just have it sitting. The last time they had to repair Priscilla, they promised 10 days, and called on the 7th for us to pick her up. Under promise and over deliver is always the way to go. In the mean time, MW will check the bolts regularly to make sure they are as tight as he can make them for travel.

Before we hit the road again, I read on a forum that those bolts are connected into the frame. Okay, is the side going to separate? I jump on my computer and email Grand Design Customer Support, explaining the situation and our location and proximity to NOTHING, and asked: 1) What are the bolts connected to? 2) Is this something we can fix? 3) Should we be towing it? The response: “Good morning, thank you for reaching out to Grand Design customer service. I am sorry that you are having issues with your unit. The unit will need to be taken to a Grand Design dealer for your lag bolt concerns. This is not a repair that can be done on site at your location.”

Hmmm…did she even read my whole email? Next I sent: “Okay, but we are in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma. Can you send me some type of diagram showing how the wall is constructed. One person said there is actually wood behind the frame and the lag bolt goes through the frame and into the wood. We really don’t want to tow this thing too far without trying to tighten up those bolts, even if it is to go to the dealer. Getting a visual might help.” To which I received: “Good afternoon, Grand Design cannot advise retail customers on repairing and or replacing the lag bolts. There are horizontal lag bolts in the bedroom which you can see, however to get to the other lag bolts, this will need to be done at a dealer because the front filon needs to be removed. This repair cannot be done on site at your location.”

This is where I should tell you that my temper is much more reactive than MW’s, and I was beginning to get a little hot under the collar. I mean seriously, am I corresponding with AI? If this is a person, can she actually read AND comprehend? E-mail #3: “I didn’t ask you to advise me on doing the repair myself. I asked you to tell me how the wall is made. We are in the middle of nowhere and will have to go a danged long way on rough roads to get to the dealer. I’m concerned with tightening up the bolts I can see for the trip, not trying to take the whole thing apart at my site. This is my second Grand Design, and the lack of concern over this situation is giving me pause.” The reply included two drawings of the side walls, neither of which had ANY information on the cross section, and said: “Good afternoon, Grand Design does in fact care, that is why we cannot have retail customers working on their own lag bolts and tearing their units apart. With that being said, the wall is a laminated wall, meaning the aluminum frame has insulation stuffed, and the wall panel all in one piece. 1″ thickness. See prints attached for both of the walls.”

WHAT??!! You can’t have retail customers working on their own lag bolts…????? Needless to say, I was quickly becoming irate. EM #4: “Thank you for the drawings. I would like to point out that I own the trailer now. If I call Chevrolet with a problem regarding my pretty darned complicated Tahoe or Silverado and ask for specs or anything else, they help ME figure out if there is anything I can do to get rolling. It is no skin off of Grand Design’s nose to help its customers who are stranded figure out a way to get things worked out. Maybe try that instead of condescension. As a retired air traffic controller married to a retired industrial engineer I guarantee we are not the idiots that your ‘that is why we cannot have retail customers working on their own lag bolts’ comment makes us out to be.” She doubled down: “Good evening, I completely understand your frustration. Although this is not the answer you want to hear from Grand Design, we only have the customer’s safety and best intentions in mind. However, this is not a repair that Grand Design allows (emphasis added) their retail customers to do on their own. Please take the unit to a dealer and have them submit to add additional lag bolts. You are more than welcome to take the unit to a non-Grand Design dealer if that is better or closer for you. Please have them call in and reference this # 00872756. Thank you.”

Oh My Gosh!!!! ALLOWS???? You won’t ALLOW me to do something to my own unit??!! Now I’m way past irate and on my way to my-head-is-about-to-explode incensed. I stopped emailing for fear of an aneurysm. In the mean time, Tyler had set us an appointment. We tightened up the bolts and hit the road for Alabama. All remained intact, and after dropping our stuff off at Mom’s place in Georgia, we left Priscilla with Camper’s Unlimited.

After some deep breathing exercises and a bit of prayer, my head was no longer in danger of exploding. MW and I were both still pretty irritated by the handling of the situation, though. I decided to write to Don Clark, CEO & President of Grand Design, and it turned into a 5-page missive. I included screenshots of all of the email correspondence, along with my feelings about each and the overall situation. To be fair, MW said it was overkill, and he wasn’t necessarily wrong. It made me feel better, though. Here, I’ll just show you the summation, since it kind of wraps up the story beyond the above emails:

“Do you think she really comprehended my frustration? It was always our intention after her first response to take the rig to the dealer. We were simply trying to figure out if it could make the trip, if there was anything we could do to ensure it did, and what to look for. We already had Campers Unlimited ready to work on it as soon as we could get there. The total lack of understanding was appalling. Then there was ‘this is not a repair that Grand Design ALLOWS their retail customers to do on their own.’ Seriously??!! You know, we own this rig outright. There is no bank, and as far as I know, Grand Design’s ownership interest ended when they cashed the check. Now, I could understand ‘Here is the information you requested, but if you choose to work on the rig yourself, it may void your warranty.’ I could also understand, ‘Here is what you are looking for, but the walls are a bit tricky and this would be best accomplished by a service department.’ What is totally UNACCEPTABLE is ‘Sorry, but we won’t give you the information you need because dumb old you are not qualified to do anything to your rig.’ Would you appreciate that?”

“Do you know what the icing on the cake turned out to be? The repair. We tightened those stripped bolts as best we could, cancelled reservations and cut our trip short by several weeks, and drove to Alabama, praying that everything stayed together. They took us in immediately and said they would get back to us as soon as they could get the information from Grand Design. (Apparently, although folks at the dealership were trying to help us while on the road, Grand Design was not forthcoming and even stated that we had already called in about fixing our own rig.) After taking appropriate measurements to make sure everything was square, they were finally told by Grand Design to UNSCREW THE VISIBLE LAG BOLTS, APPLY SILICONE ADHESIVE, AND REINSTALL. Oh, and apparently they don’t connect the wall to the frame at all. What the hell???? Had we been told that the lag bolts didn’t hold it together, our concern about serious issues might have been alleviated. Moreover, had we been told how to take the measurements for square, then silicone the bolts, we could have done that with the equipment, including silicone, we had already on board, saving us a lot of stress.” 

“I am very disappointed in Grand Design’s entire handling of this situation. We were treated like idiots and made to shorten our trip which cost us money. The worst thing you did, though, was take away my faith in your company and pride at owning one of your rigs. I expected better.”

Within a few days we received an email from a Customer Relations Manager at Grand Design who had been assigned to us at “the request of Grand Design’s executive leadership.” She set up a call and listened to our story. She offered to reimburse us for the costs of changing our trip. The reality, though, it was just a pat on the head and nothing really changed in the end. Well, except that we now have our own personal contact for any issues going forward. I feel certain that the manufacturer still won’t actually “help” people in our situation, although the customer service rep may have been counseled about the wording she used in the emails.

NOTE: The lag bolts connect to a plastic box which acts as a wiring conduit.

Our rig is just a year old, so we will still be part of the Grand Design family for the foreseeable future. Should something happen that requires us to change rigs, I’m not certain. I do believe that all of the RV manufacturers are ostensibly the same at various quality levels. Wouldn’t it be really great, though, if a company made a good product out of quality components, assembled it as if their own children were going to use it, followed up with stellar service, and then, when the chips were down and odd situations arose, actually helped their customers with whatever was necessary to keep it on the road. Is that really too much to ask?

See you on the path!

Talisa