When you ask fellow RVers for suggestions of brands to stay away from and brands to consider, you’ll get all kinds of answers. Unfortunately, there isn’t one brand that is heads and shoulders above the others among the major RV manufacturers.
Grand Design RV is often among the most recommended brands because of its customer service and better quality options. But even this company has naysayers who would never buy from Grand Design again.
Today, we’re looking at the problems EnjoyTheJourney.Life recently discovered when an RV tech came to repair their Grand Design Momentum toy hauler. Let’s uncover these major issues together!
Who Is EnjoyTheJourney.Life?
Tom and Cheri are EnjoyTheJourney.Life. Through social media, they share their full-time RV journeys, give tips and tricks to other travelers, and try to inspire people to live a life of freedom and adventure. Tom lived in his RV for three years before Cheri joined him in 2017. They’ve been traveling the country together ever since.
Their YouTube channel has over 206,000 subscribers, their Instagram account has almost 45,000 followers, and their Facebook page has over 38,000 followers. They also have a website where EnjoyTheJourney.Life shares resources, videos, and blog articles about RV living.
What RV Does EnjoyTheJourney.Life Travel In?
When Tom started RVing, he had a Palomino Columbus fifth wheel. When Cheri joined him on the road, they remained in this rig for two years. But in November of 2019, Tom and Cheri found a used 2019 Grand Design Momentum 381MS toy hauler in Wisconsin.
This unit is almost 44 feet long and has a GVWR of 20,000 pounds. It has a sizeable 15-foot garage, a central living/kitchen area with an island, and a front bedroom. EnjoyTheJourney.Life has been traveling in this Momentum since the end of 2019.
What Common Problems Do RVers Have With Their RVs?
We warn potential RVers and new RVers about the quality of RVs all the time. Although we don’t want to deter you from pursuing adventure and making memories on the road, we also want you to have a clear picture of what’s in store. It’s certainly not all sunrises and evening walks on the beach.
RVs break all the time. Even the best brands have systems and components that fail. Common problems include slide-out malfunctions; leaks and water damage; tire blow-outs; sticky tank valves; issues with the furnace, water heater, and air conditioner; and roof repairs, although the list could go on and on.
Depending on how many appliances, upgrades, slides, and electronic systems you have, you could wind up experiencing more problems. More amenities means more potential issues.
If you’re handy, some of these repairs are easy DIY fixes. It might not be what you want to do on a Saturday morning, but if you can fix something yourself, you’ll save hundreds of dollars in labor costs.
If you keep up with regular maintenance tasks, you can also reduce your chance of experiencing significant malfunctions. However, even the most well-kept RV can have problems out of the owners’ control.
What Major Issues Did EnjoyTheJourney.Life Have With Their Grand Design Momentum?
Tom and Cheri understand RV maintenance. They know what to look for monthly. They have their to-do list before every travel day.
But even as meticulous as they were, their Grand Design Momentum still suffered serious problems after a few years on the road. Let’s look at the three significant issues an RV tech uncovered.
1. Possible Flexing in the Frame
One major issue was the rubber seal around the roof that connects the roof to the fiberglass frame was peeling off. There were two specific locations, one on the right side of the roof and one directly across from it on the left side.
The RV tech mentioned there might be some flexing in the frame for this to happen. Not only could this be potentially hazardous, but there could also be water intrusion.
2. Missing Screws and Open Screw Holes
A second major issue was the screw holes left open in the roof. The RV tech inserted several screws and applied silicone to prevent further damage. However, the holes have been taking on water. EnjoyTheJourney.Life could have water damage along the side of the slide.
3. Possible Water Intrusion
Finally, another spot on the RV that could have been taking on water was at the top of a slide-out room. The slide was rubbing against something as it came in, and this rubbing was taking off the tape that seals the corner. The entire edge of the top of the slide was also open, thus allowing for possible water intrusion.
HOT TIP
Grand Design is releasing a new rig in 2024 and they’re attempting to compete with Airstream! But does it even compare? Let’s take a look!
Is Grand Design a Good RV Manufacturer?
Tom and Cheri own a 2019 Grand Design Momentum. They’re been traveling in it for years. Therefore, the age of the RV combined with their full-time wear and tear make it difficult to assign the blame entirely to Grand Design. Do we all wish our RVs would last for decades? Of course, but that’s not the reality of RV ownership.
Full-time traveling means the slide-outs go in and out more frequently, and the roof and seals are exposed to weathering more often. The systems and appliances are operating daily.
So, full-timers will experience more problems because of the wear and tear on the vehicle. However, the open screw holes and possible frame flexing could be attributed to Grand Design’s team.
Stay on Top of Regular Maintenance to Avoid Major Problems
Keeping a maintenance log and staying on top of these tasks is critical to prevent disasters. You can catch problems sooner before they turn into major issues. But if you never pay attention to your rig, you could have water intrusion for months and months because of a broken seal.
By having an RV tech take a look at their entire rig, Tom and Cheri might have saved themselves from even bigger problems down the road. Although it cost them for the repairs, it could have been much worse had they waited.
When was the last time you took a good look at your RV?
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I watch a bunch of full time YouTube RV’rs, and I’ve seen more of them with frame flex in the past year than ever before. 95% of the ones with frame flex or rubber roof peeling back have a Grand Design rig. Grand Design does a good job with customer service for the first year of new rig ownership, but that’s pretty much gone starting year 2. They also fix rigs at their rallies, however it would be a very long trip for us to go to one of the rallies. We decided back in 2019 to not buy a Grand Design due to issues I was seeing on YouTube, and I’ve very happy with that decision. I personally would never buy a Grand Design. I remember all of the issues that you two had with your rig.