Wow! That's tough Jeff! I'm so sorry. Thank you for showing us how to measure everything. Showing kindness in what has to be a terribly stressful time shows what amazing character you have. I hope you get answers soon!
Sorry to hear about your problems Jeff. Hopefully Grand Design or Lippert will step up, I'm sure lots of rv'rs will be watching the outcome for decisions on future purchases!
Sir I just ran across your channel and I’m not sure about this bucket list stuff that your will to pay for or help pay for. If it’s true I want to say you are an incredible person, and there will be a place in heaven for people like you. I’ve always told myself if I ever won a big lotto. The greatest thing about it would be helping other people.
Two questions, 1) is there any like creaking noises coming from the hitch area during towing or hitching/unhitching, 2) has anyone tried using a camera snake so you don’t have to tear everything apart for examination? Maybe you could make a like 4x4 hole in the deck underneath, put in a very high lumen light and then use a camera to inspect the frame. Could you take some closeups of the out side tell tales that indicates frame damage? Great video!
We did not stick a camera up there but did find all the broken parts of the frame. Its all fixed now, stay tuned for the episode coming soon. It was broken in 17 different places.
Bummer! I hope you get it handled without gettin' killed on the cost Jeff. I'm in a wonderfully built old Fleetwood Tioga Class C, By the way, my Bucket List is to do some ocean fishing.
That sucks for you, having to deal with a cracked frame in your 5th wheel. I feel for you as I was there last summer. Unfortunately Forest River said it wasn't their problem and I didn't even get a chance to talk to Lippert. Mine was one of the first models that rolled off the assembly line using the Rhino Box Technology by Lippert (in Aug. of 2019). My local RV dealer got involved and I also got the insurance involved. Luckily the insurance company came through for me. It was going to be a costly fix since my frame damage caused my slideout (in my front living room to collapse and fall onto the floor, also causing wall and fiberglass damage. Hopefully Grand Design comes through for you and you didn't have a too long of wait to get it fixed so you weren't without a home. I look forward to following the rest of this saga/journey with you on your vids. Thanks for sharing.
@@MyBucketListDay Well as you know, the RVing/Camping season is short in Wisconsin. We went from Middle of June through the end of August being in Limbo with having a RV/Camper to use for our season. Luckily we had friends that let us use their travel trailer while our 5th wheel was at the dealership in limbo with the insurance company. At the end of August we were given the news that the insurance company was going to total out our 5th Wheel RV/Camper. My wife and I were done with Forest River products due to the lack of support from them with our issue so we ended up purchasing a Jayco North Point 382FLRB at the end of August. Labor Day Weekend last September was our first outing/trip with it and we got to use it 5 times before we had to winterize it for the winter. We're looking forward to using it again this April. We elected to go with this Jayco North Point because it had the front living room floor plan that we liked along with an outdoor kitchen (aka wet bar area). The other nice thing about Jayco is that they back their RVs/Campers up with a 2 year everything/3 year frame warranty. They also seem to be built pretty well with the frame, suspension, and axles. Hopefully things turn out well for you in the end with your 5th wheel and Grand Design was able to makes the fixes to it to make it a solid and safe RV/Camper again.
Hmmm, going to have to measure mine when I see it again at the end of April. I have a late 2007 Alpenlite 34RLR. It is on a Lippert frame of course. Alpenlite, Western RV, went out of business in the spring of 2008 so I am totally on my own. We have done well in excess of 100,000 miles put on the trailer and exceed 2,500 nights onboard. Yes, we have gotten our use out of the thing. Our truck, a 2006, has been used for nothing but travel. It has over 270,000 miles on it. We have the telltale crack extending from the bottom corner, driver side, of the BR slide out. We have had that for at least eight years. During that time we have been to Alaska three times and Newfoundland twice. Tried fixing the crack a couple of times but it quickly reappeared so now some eternabond tape covers it. The trim under the overhang has come away a little also. No other signs of flexing noticed. At seventeen years old and all of the use our Alpenlite has had any repairs will exceed the value of the rig in no time at all. At this point we hope to keep it for a few more years. After that sell it or junk it. It still has plenty of life in it however it would best be used put out to pasture as a seasonal somewhere. It also has slide issues, not surprising considering the use frequency, that we know how to deal with. Again, the fix will exceed the value off the trailer. It is tough getting old, trailer and owner. All these years, all the miles, with the exception of spring hanger re engineering, an A/C replacement and a fridge replacement I have been the self taught tech taking care of it saving tens of thousands over the years. Just hoping that we do not have a catastrophic frame failure in the next couple of years. No more trips to Alaska.
Got the same flex in the nose, and had this unit at the factory for other repairs, told them of the flex and its still moves quite a lot when dropped on the truck.
2018 owner here nothing noticeable. Have the bunching of wallpaper front right corner near the stereo and such but everything I can see from the propane tanks and generator area look good
Jeff, sorry to hear about the issues you are having with your rig. Past experiences others have had. LCI is going to blame Grand Design, and Grand Design is going to blame LCI. Unfortunately, neither really wants to pay for the repairs your rig needs. The only recommendation I would suggest is documentation. Every phone call, text, email, and/or request made of you. That is to say, requests made by either LCI or Grand Design. My hope is that you do need lawyers to be involved. I wish you the very best of luck. Be Safe, Be Happy, and my we meet around a campfire.
My bucket list that I am trying to work towards Is that I want to find a Cheap 1999 to 2003 Ford ether E-350/450 long wheel base cutaway with the 7.3 power stroke diesel with a 16 foot fiberglass box. Install a 4X4 conversion. Heavy duty Transmission. And upgraded refreshed motor. My goal is when finished to spend 3 to 6 months in the USA for shake down and then in early spring start to the very north of Alaska taking what ever route amuses me to the north tip and then drive the pan American Hwy all the way to Argentina. Not sure what will happen when I get there.
I have seen many, many videos posted a about Grand Designs issues with cracked frames and water leaks. Both bad, especially when GD says “not my problem).
Having the same issue with my 2022 GD 395MS. My vent pipe separated from my black tank and the wall bolts are backing out of the frame on my deck. Have you had any luck making the repair with anyone? When I called GD they said its not covered under the 3 year frame warranty because I am the second owner. I too am a full timer
Hi Jeff, how is it going with this flex issue? I saw you at TTO this morning, we moved to site 33 on Skimmer from 69 Scallop with the smallest Solitude.
Going through this with our Solitude. This is my road block " We must have a current hitch weight ticket- Cat scale tickets are insufficient because they don't show the actual hitch weight." I can't find anyone to weigh the 5th wheel . Did you have to do this? If so, how did you get yours weighted.
Funny thing, is the only way we civilians can do it is to use the CAT scales. Weigh your truck without the trailer, then weigh the truck with the trailer attached and do the simple math. Otherwise you have to go to a special shop that has a forklift with a scale attached and have them weigh it. Some RV dealers have this set up but not many of them. Good luck, I'm in the same boat as Grand design is requesting me go do that as they will not accept my CAT scale numbers.
Or drag it to texas and give it to ICweld super awesome oilfield, pipeline and heavy equipment guy, but he'd have you fixed up better than new! Sounds like the denial is GD overloading an LCI frame?
I hope someone responds soon. After it is fixed look at the Brinkley. As rv owners we no longer need a company that drags their butt on a safety issue. As I have said before it is a Grand Design unit and I don't care who makes the frame. If it failed then it was missing structure braces and bad welds and they should take the lead admin wise for an inspection and repair asap. After all these years lippert and Grand Design still have not figured out how much moving energy and static energy is applied to the front cap area. Unbelievable.
This is quickly becoming a common occurrence for trailers especially goose neck trailers, I think it’s a combination of terrible road conditions, overloading trailers, I’m not an engineer but the goose neck design just looks weak all that weight is on the front extension instead of below the front of the trailer
Geoff, If more of the manufactures would have their frames built like Riverstone, New Horizons and SpaceCraft, there would be less problems. Most of the frames don't have 4 points of attachment, only 2 points.
Not just Grand Design. All manufacturers using LCI frames could potentially have this issue. To say that GD is junk is just a flippant comment that had no merit.
@@skoffco sorry I insulted you but manufacturer’s have an obligation or need to control their supplier quality with regular visits, review of their practices and qualification of their personnel. This has been going on for a while and obviously nothing has been done.
@@norm4907 I get what you’re saying, but this is not isolated to just Grand Design. This kind of shenanigans goes on through all the Rv and car manufacturers ect,ect, Does not mean that the manufactures items are junk?
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
You're being wonderfully thorough.
Wow! That's tough Jeff! I'm so sorry. Thank you for showing us how to measure everything. Showing kindness in what has to be a terribly stressful time shows what amazing character you have. I hope you get answers soon!
Thanks Diana. I have updates coming soon, stay tuned
Sorry to hear about your problems Jeff. Hopefully Grand Design or Lippert will step up, I'm sure lots of rv'rs will be watching the outcome for decisions on future purchases!
Yep, I will keep all posted on what they do.
Such simple warning signs. Hoping your issues get resolved well and quickly! I enjoy the updates! 🖖🏻😘👍🏻🙏🏻
Thanks so much!
You have a good heart Geoff. I hated to hear about the RV problems.
❤Happy Valentines Day!❤
Thanks so much You too..
Sir I just ran across your channel and I’m not sure about this bucket list stuff that your will to pay for or help pay for. If it’s true I want to say you are an incredible person, and there will be a place in heaven for people like you. I’ve always told myself if I ever won a big lotto. The greatest thing about it would be helping other people.
Yes, its was true during that time period. I will hopefully be doing that again in a few months. Watch and see....
My first bucket list item: Get a bucket. Hope you get your rig fixed properly and quickly.
I have a T-Shirt that starts that way.. Go check it out... www.mybucketlistday.com/merch
Two questions, 1) is there any like creaking noises coming from the hitch area during towing or hitching/unhitching, 2) has anyone tried using a camera snake so you don’t have to tear everything apart for examination? Maybe you could make a like 4x4 hole in the deck underneath, put in a very high lumen light and then use a camera to inspect the frame.
Could you take some closeups of the out side tell tales that indicates frame damage?
Great video!
We did not stick a camera up there but did find all the broken parts of the frame. Its all fixed now, stay tuned for the episode coming soon. It was broken in 17 different places.
Someone who had a Grand Design told me if you aren’t a big RUclipsr GD doesn’t move fast. I hope you get everything figured out soon.
Well I hope that's not true. Stay tuned and we will see how long it takes to find a resolution.
Bummer! I hope you get it handled without gettin' killed on the cost Jeff. I'm in a wonderfully built old Fleetwood Tioga Class C, By the way, my Bucket List is to do some ocean fishing.
Hey Rick, thanks for the comments. Go to this page and complete the form. You just never know??? www.mybucketlistday.com/bucket-list-entry
That sucks for you, having to deal with a cracked frame in your 5th wheel. I feel for you as I was there last summer. Unfortunately Forest River said it wasn't their problem and I didn't even get a chance to talk to Lippert. Mine was one of the first models that rolled off the assembly line using the Rhino Box Technology by Lippert (in Aug. of 2019). My local RV dealer got involved and I also got the insurance involved. Luckily the insurance company came through for me. It was going to be a costly fix since my frame damage caused my slideout (in my front living room to collapse and fall onto the floor, also causing wall and fiberglass damage.
Hopefully Grand Design comes through for you and you didn't have a too long of wait to get it fixed so you weren't without a home. I look forward to following the rest of this saga/journey with you on your vids. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Chad, Sorry you had to go through what you did. Are you all fixed up now and running down the road?
@@MyBucketListDay Well as you know, the RVing/Camping season is short in Wisconsin. We went from Middle of June through the end of August being in Limbo with having a RV/Camper to use for our season. Luckily we had friends that let us use their travel trailer while our 5th wheel was at the dealership in limbo with the insurance company. At the end of August we were given the news that the insurance company was going to total out our 5th Wheel RV/Camper. My wife and I were done with Forest River products due to the lack of support from them with our issue so we ended up purchasing a Jayco North Point 382FLRB at the end of August. Labor Day Weekend last September was our first outing/trip with it and we got to use it 5 times before we had to winterize it for the winter. We're looking forward to using it again this April. We elected to go with this Jayco North Point because it had the front living room floor plan that we liked along with an outdoor kitchen (aka wet bar area). The other nice thing about Jayco is that they back their RVs/Campers up with a 2 year everything/3 year frame warranty. They also seem to be built pretty well with the frame, suspension, and axles. Hopefully things turn out well for you in the end with your 5th wheel and Grand Design was able to makes the fixes to it to make it a solid and safe RV/Camper again.
Hmmm, going to have to measure mine when I see it again at the end of April.
I have a late 2007 Alpenlite 34RLR. It is on a Lippert frame of course. Alpenlite, Western RV, went out of business in the spring of 2008 so I am totally on my own. We have done well in excess of 100,000 miles put on the trailer and exceed 2,500 nights onboard.
Yes, we have gotten our use out of the thing. Our truck, a 2006, has been used for nothing but travel. It has over 270,000 miles on it.
We have the telltale crack extending from the bottom corner, driver side, of the BR slide out. We have had that for at least eight years. During that time we have been to Alaska three times and Newfoundland twice.
Tried fixing the crack a couple of times but it quickly reappeared so now some eternabond tape covers it. The trim under the overhang has come away a little also. No other signs of flexing noticed.
At seventeen years old and all of the use our Alpenlite has had any repairs will exceed the value of the rig in no time at all. At this point we hope to keep it for a few more years. After that sell it or junk it. It still has plenty of life in it however it would best be used put out to pasture as a seasonal somewhere.
It also has slide issues, not surprising considering the use frequency, that we know how to deal with. Again, the fix will exceed the value off the trailer.
It is tough getting old, trailer and owner. All these years, all the miles, with the exception of spring hanger re engineering, an A/C replacement and a fridge replacement I have been the self taught tech taking care of it saving tens of thousands over the years. Just hoping that we do not have a catastrophic frame failure in the next couple of years. No more trips to Alaska.
WOW, thats a lot of use. Very impressive. Why did they go out of business? did they build to good of a RV? they couldn't scale?
Good luck with the frame
Thanks
Got the same flex in the nose, and had this unit at the factory for other repairs, told them of the flex and its still moves quite a lot when dropped on the truck.
Then you should take it back to the factory, because it is very dangerous to drive it when its broke. I learned the hard way.
Dang . Loved it , very very informative. Thanks .
Glad it was informative...
On ours, our frame lost camber and had to back to the factory for re-camber and slide repair.😊
Thanks for the feedback, I need to explore this as well.
Gee, I might have to look at the Brinkley 5th wheel now. Nice video Geoff
Thanks Man, Yes Brinkley is impressive...
Great and sad video. What year is your 376TH? We have a 2017 and no major problems but will follow yours closely. Good luck Geoff!
2021 Jeff, a COVID build
2018 owner here nothing noticeable. Have the bunching of wallpaper front right corner near the stereo and such but everything I can see from the propane tanks and generator area look good
Jeff, sorry to hear about the issues you are having with your rig. Past experiences others have had. LCI is going to blame Grand Design, and Grand Design is going to blame LCI. Unfortunately, neither really wants to pay for the repairs your rig needs. The only recommendation I would suggest is documentation. Every phone call, text, email, and/or request made of you. That is to say, requests made by either LCI or Grand Design. My hope is that you do need lawyers to be involved. I wish you the very best of luck. Be Safe, Be Happy, and my we meet around a campfire.
We'll I having faith that both Grand Design and Lippert will do what's right and get it fixed properly. Still waiting to hear back form Grand Design.
My bucket list that I am trying to work towards Is that I want to find a Cheap 1999 to 2003 Ford ether E-350/450 long wheel base cutaway with the 7.3 power stroke diesel with a 16 foot fiberglass box. Install a 4X4 conversion. Heavy duty Transmission. And upgraded refreshed motor. My goal is when finished to spend 3 to 6 months in the USA for shake down and then in early spring start to the very north of Alaska taking what ever route amuses me to the north tip and then drive the pan American Hwy all the way to Argentina. Not sure what will happen when I get there.
No thats a plan... Let me know if you find that truck??
I have seen many, many videos posted a about Grand Designs issues with cracked frames and water leaks. Both bad, especially when GD says “not my problem).
Hopefully GD wont say that to me.
Having the same issue with my 2022 GD 395MS. My vent pipe separated from my black tank and the wall bolts are backing out of the frame on my deck.
Have you had any luck making the repair with anyone? When I called GD they said its not covered under the 3 year frame warranty because I am the second owner.
I too am a full timer
I'm still in the process with everything. So stay tuned.
Hi Jeff, how is it going with this flex issue? I saw you at TTO this morning, we moved to site 33 on Skimmer from 69 Scallop with the smallest Solitude.
Still working through it. I have to redo the measurements.
Going through this with our Solitude. This is my road block " We must have a current hitch weight ticket- Cat scale tickets are insufficient because they don't show the actual hitch weight." I can't find anyone to weigh the 5th wheel . Did you have to do this? If so, how did you get yours weighted.
Funny thing, is the only way we civilians can do it is to use the CAT scales. Weigh your truck without the trailer, then weigh the truck with the trailer attached and do the simple math. Otherwise you have to go to a special shop that has a forklift with a scale attached and have them weigh it. Some RV dealers have this set up but not many of them. Good luck, I'm in the same boat as Grand design is requesting me go do that as they will not accept my CAT scale numbers.
Or drag it to texas and give it to ICweld super awesome oilfield, pipeline and heavy equipment guy, but he'd have you fixed up better than new! Sounds like the denial is GD overloading an LCI frame?
Yes a bit of denial going on. I'm seeking 3 part repair facilities now...
I hate you are having this issue. But thanks for the sharing and education on how to check this.
Your very welcome..
Will you have to get a new rig..??? Hope it can be fixed and be safe
Me too, I don't want to get a new RIG
Could this be caused by the NC incident of almost tearing off the th door?
That was a completely different RV. Insurance replaced that one with the one I have now...
What models did Grand Design have a fix for?
They did not disclose, but to say there is not one for mine
I hope someone responds soon. After it is fixed look at the Brinkley. As rv owners we no longer need a company that drags their butt on a safety issue. As I have said before it is a Grand Design unit and I don't care who makes the frame. If it failed then it was missing structure braces and bad welds and they should take the lead admin wise for an inspection and repair asap. After all these years lippert and Grand Design still have not figured out how much moving energy and static energy is applied to the front cap area. Unbelievable.
Well Said Donald. You are absolutly correct and yes, Brinkley is Fantastic.... Conversations have started
GD is becoming very popular on RUclips.
This is quickly becoming a common occurrence for trailers especially goose neck trailers, I think it’s a combination of terrible road conditions, overloading trailers, I’m not an engineer but the goose neck design just looks weak all that weight is on the front extension instead of below the front of the trailer
Geoff, If more of the manufactures would have their frames built like Riverstone, New Horizons and SpaceCraft, there would be less problems. Most of the frames don't have 4 points of attachment, only 2 points.
Yea Grady, Room for improvement the more I learn on this...
This has been a common issue sorry to say. More materials, workmanship and engineering.
They are trying to cut costs and don't seem to care on quality.
quality in rvs has sure gone way down over the years!! just gets worse every year
Yes, some manufactures and declined in quality.. However some such as Brinkley has seen this and is delivering incredible RV's
well, first -don't by an RV with a slide out!! Second if you buy an RV you will be busy fixing many things.
Hard to buy one without a slide out.
@@MyBucketListDay order a Dunesport. You can get one with no slide outs
Thats what happens when ya buy a Lippert frame...
You have know idea, stay tuned for my video in two weeks. Reveals how much of an issue...
That just sucks
Yep, Well said
Grand Design = Grand Junk. You’re unfortunately not the first nor last. Isn’t it something to do with corner bracing (gussets) to the upper part.
I believe so Norm, but not confirmed
Not just Grand Design. All manufacturers using LCI frames could potentially have this issue. To say that GD is junk is just a flippant comment that had no merit.
@@skoffco sorry I insulted you but manufacturer’s have an obligation or need to control their supplier quality with regular visits, review of their practices and qualification of their personnel. This has been going on for a while and obviously nothing has been done.
@@norm4907 I get what you’re saying, but this is not isolated to just Grand Design. This kind of shenanigans goes on through all the Rv and car manufacturers ect,ect, Does not mean that the manufactures items are junk?
This is why you should not buy a 5th wheel
Well, that's not a reason, this is a rarity when something like this happens!
Answer - manufacturer used cheapest & weakest framing steel while contracting out all welding to lowest welding bidder 🤪🤷♂️👍
Lippert builds what the manufacture demands.