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That top screw through the canvas cord and rail is used to set and lock the awning rail cord inside of the aluminum awning tube, so that the awning doesn'ts slide out of the aluminum awning rail when traveling and while operating the awning! The area where the awning screw stripped go to a slightly longer screw to get into good wood. Butyl stripping needs to be placed behind rail before screw awning tight against awning. What happens is when tightening the screws the butyl weather stripping squeezes pliable butyl stripping around and into screw holes as screws are tightnend down. My In-Laws were in RV business for 34 years selling JAYCO units and I did all of the service and repair work on every type of RN during the 34 years. I was a picky RV Technician, but did almost all RV work for State Farm, Allstate, Farmers, Progressive, and others smaller insurance companies. These insurance companies knew my work so well all they required was 1 estimate, not the typical 3 estimates! That was nice!

Fully understand why full timers want bigger rvs with more of the comforts of a home, but the way they're built, the more slides and more systems and larger sizes there are, the more failure points you're introducing.

Seems like everyone with a Grand Design Fifth Wheel are going to have a broken frame. You are the fourth person on KZfaq to have frame issues. Amazing all the other owners! Hello class action lawsuit! I wish you luck and prayers.

No Slides !!! Fixing to retire going to do a cargo conversion on an aluminum tandem axle with torsion axles . Going to keep it as simple as possible . It seems like anything else the more accessories , upgrades , gadgets and gizmos the more troubles and that means more money !

To lubricate the cables on your dump valve use motorcycle throttle cable lubricant you can get it at any motorcycle store. It has a needle that will reach down in the cable. It is amazing.

Dave is one of the few good men in this sorry industry. Bless you and keep you Dave ❤

I heard frame flex can happen if you drop the trailer on your truck bed!

I thought everyone knew to get a Robertson screwdriver and go over the screws a few times a year. Been doing it for 40 years on every camper we have had. The camper flexes and they loosen up just part of owning a camper.

The first thing I did on our new 5th wheel was pull off the screw covers, check/tighten all the screws and replace with a better trim molding cover. If I found a screw that was stripped I replace with a tri-fold rivet. I did the same on the rail for the slide toppers and awnings. anywhere they had the screw rails.

Maybe it is from dancing on the roof!

If RVs that are 35 plus feet long were built sufficiently strong to support the features and cargo they are stuffed with the GVWR would far exceed the capacity of most popular heavy duty trucks folks like to buy. Also if I were concerned that a screw may strip the substrate, I would NOT use an impact driver to send it home. Cheers!

So, I had the same thing happen to our Solitude. Our problem was that when we brought our awning in, I was bringing it in as tight as it could go and it was putting pressure on the gutter. I fixed it once and then started bringing the awning in just until it touches. After that 0 problems. But I still check it fairly regularly. Sorry for the issues that were found. I hope everything works out.

I'm glad the word is finally getting out. My truck camper leak was denied until I threatened to post pictures. One hour later they agreed to cover it. Thank God for KZfaq.

I love my RV but I sold it before. All these problems started happening. And yes you have to constantly maintain them especially you guys. You’re constantly on the road. They are rolling earthquake and they all shake part. It’s the unspoken secret, but due diligence will take care of most problems, but it’s a constant battle. Good luck, my friend.

Tom you should do more checking out on your own

Lots of great information ! Thank you Tom …

Well let's see... trailers are stapled together with 1" soft wood framing. Sometimes it's glue instead of a staple. Then we drag them thousands of miles sometimes over rough roads and dirt roads. What could possibly go wrong?

I like the RV factory tours where worker bees are literally running to rush completion, dropping 10% of the fasteners, etc,... likely paid "piece work", not exactly a recipe for quality builds.

This makes me want to sell my camper and run

Result of not doing regular maintenance.

Keystone doesn't put anything behind the gutter trim either, so just inviting water damage. I had to replace part of mine and found a good handful of the screws rusted.

I thought I recognized the campground. We just left there. Love it there our favorite in the area we live not to far from there. That site you are in is very hard to level in. New 500 section is sloped in the back and the rear of those spots are higher than the front. Just FYI. Good to know I have seen his truck in the campground before. We will be back there next month, hope to see you around.

Based on 2 years of watching non stop RV videos what I've learned is to AVOID AT ALL COST: Thor, Jayco, Winnebago, and Grand Design! Avoid buying new if I can, buy used BEFORE 2020.

Tom and Chere have you been to Powel Lake off of Lone Rock Road? Fantastic area has dumpsters and free water just a mile away.

The way Tom speaks reminds me of the Bill Lumbergh character in the movie Office Space

One recommendation for the tech guy. You definitely need to invest in one of these: M18™ Cordless 10oz. Caulk and Adhesive Gun.

After seeing many on U Tube with roof edge leaks/issues..I have done what some others have done. That is to Flex-tape the edges, and of course the list goes on from there. Gravity and water are not our friend's and ''Knock on wood'' no water isssues in the last 8 years!

Great video Tom!!! A special shout out to David for allowing you to film and share his knowledge and experience with us!!!!! Thanx David!!! 👍😃🍻

I went through the Grand Design factory years ago. I was not impressed. I left with the idea thst they got a lot of improvements to make before i will concider one.

Hey Tom, well this morning we just discovered our own 395ms-r might possibly have frame flex as well. We already have been working with Grand Design on trying to get our rig into them but of course, winter in Indiana will be a factor (January) and we planned on working our way down for the Tampa Show but all that may change. In Fayetteville, NC at the moment but may have to make other arrangements. This is getting tiresome being inconvenienced by this but it is what it is, I suppose.

It a good idea to have a R.V. inspection once a year or every 6 months

The problem with trailers in general is weight, it directly impacts your selection of tow vehicle, less weight is always better. So the manufacturers build the trailers as light as they can. They might get away with skimping on a small trailer frame, but a fifth wheel frame has a lot more weight on it and has to be strong enough to last. Sometimes you have to get a fabrication shop reinforce the frame, but this is not as good as having the frame designed correctly from the start. Slides are just going to have problems eventually, water intrusion, mechanical failure. The cable mechanisms are garbage, stay away. Hydraulics are more expensive, so most manufacturers will use some kind of electric motor drive mechanism, guaranteed to eventually fail somewhere.

People fail to realize RVs are not really meant to be towed. Road vibration causes leaks, frame cracks, fiberglass wall cracks, etc. Better to keep the RV stationary, it will last a lot longer. If you must move it, take side streets and don't exceed 25 mph.

Your next surprise will be finding out the wood used in the walls of your RV is not pressure treated and will rot and disintegrate, turning into rotted wood that will support nothing. Any roof leak will rot the walls.

I had to use 3” screws through the awning drip rail, through the wall and into a coat rack because the awning was pulling away from the trailer.

Tom; fyi; just found out that Grand Design used to have Winnebago Corp as their manufacturer, but, in 2016 they were bought out by Winnebago for $500. Million.

You can just use cooking oil for your tank valves and toilet gasket.

Do you think that when you accidentally dropped the trailer, you may have damaged the trailer frame to create some of the frame flex? it took a pretty hard hit and that section is not meant to bear weight.

I am so very sorry for your troubles. This breaks my heart every time I hear another story! It so clear that the people that build. Them actually care than the company executives who will do nothing to make the RV whole. They are more than happy to to take those’d checks from you and the clock punchers are home having a beer. It’s a pretty pathetic look at todays society where NO pride in taken when building these RV’s for their fellow countrymen. If you tried to give me one, I’d have to refuse. I can’t afford the repairs. WAY TO GO RV WORKERS, YOU LAZY MEN AND YOUR LOUSY BOSSES,

Henry Tropicool seal the whole roof.

Impact on screws equals stripped screws, tighten by hand.

This is so sad ); what year is your RIG ? I know you've had it for a couple of years ... anything made during covid years I heard are terrible .. we own a pleasure way van and believe me we've had issues but nothing like this that we know of.. the awning was a recall and never has been right ever since they replaced it ... good luck thank goodness you found Dave the RV tech

Report this to the DOT. If they get enough complaints about your frame unsafe, it can be a recall

Our #1 criteria when looking to purchase a travel trailer was NO slides!! Way too many issues!

There is a way to lube tank cables.A home made pvc fitting that screws on after pull handle is removed.With a Schrader valve 40 psi air pressure after a good squirt of wd40 is sprayed into fitting.Not many know of this !

Exactly the reason we have decided not to purchase. The industry expecting prices at their given levels better shape up on quality.

If you go to get the frame fixed, make sure you disconnect your batteries!. Another RVer did a video on his frame being fixed at the manufacturer and when they welded no one disconnected his batteries and fried a lot of his equipment inside and the batteries. I don't remember which video it was. Hope it helps. So sorry.😢

is this a new unit or you still in your old unit?

What percent of your issues are based around the slides? Just wondering. I went through this with my last trailer that had 3 slides. Never again. My next one will be slideless.

The biggest challenge is finding a reputable RV tech who really knows what they're doing out here in RV-ers world. We've come across the bad & the ok. The best tech is being your own & learning/knowing how to do repairs & maintenance the right way from the time you roll your RV off the sales lot.

Aren't you suppose to only use Dicor on the rubber roof and along the edges? I was told that silicone will eat through the roofing membrane.

After watching this video and reading the comments, who in the world would buy an rv. I'll take the complementary breakfast at Holiday Inn.

Just curious You kept saying “silicone” on the roof sealant I hope your using this as a generic term for sealant Silicone doesn’t seal roof membranes. You need a solvent based sealant Either non sag lap seal or a urethane or manus bond or 20/20 type sealant for the gutter. Manufacturers have gotten sloppy with awning installation locations. The arms are set too high and pulling the gimp rail/gutter off the camper when you close your awning. See it on almost all of them the last couple years.

Oh no! Gee Whiz

I'm still amazed people don't know how to fix their own stuff

Boat owners- nothing is more expensive then owning a boat. Grand design - hold our beer!

I have about 450 hours fixing my 31G and still not done fixing all the crappy build!

Changing your tailgate goes against the engineering of your truck as the tailgate is engineered to give you the maximum fuel efficiency so getting those cut away and wind free are going against the manufacturing design...

grand design quality sucjs and customer service sucks. my first time using pump water flowed on my front compartment f grand design shifty product

Hey my friend, the solution is so easy don’t buy a new RV or travel trailer or fifth wheel get a used one. The old ones are the better the new ones it’s all crap.

What year is your 5th wheel

Just think about how difficult it is to make a large rectangle with giant holes cut in the sides stiff enough to take road loads and maintain it’s geometry. Add manufacturing lack of quality control, trend toward lighter/cheaper materials, numerous penetrations in the shell that must be water tight, etc. etc. and you can see that a quality unit would be, and rightfully should be, really expensive. Maybe the ones built on coach his chairs is are better in that regard, but the slides, man, come on. What do you expect if not perfect. Buyer beware.

“So I smeared silicon on it…”. Yeah, no. That’s not a proper way to seal a hole caused by a manufacturing defect. Sounds hypercritical I know, but dang man yea gotta do it right.

This is what happens when Winnebago buys what are used to be a great company and trailer.

I doubt most homes could withstand hurricane force winds and high richtor scale earthquakes on a daily basis. Thats what these things go through every time you take them on the road. When you take that into consideration, they are built better than you think.

Gotta love those Amish built RV’S! They never camped in one a day in their lives and never will!

Isn’t this a new rig?

You know the mobile Rv guys are in huge demand in my area. The problem is, they are unreliable, do poor quality of work, are more inexperienced than they claim or they want to do all little jobs that require little work. With how many RVs were sold, you better believe they are going to be in more of a demand.

That sucks, what's with all these crappy built RV's on the road??

Four years old and coming apart at the seems, that RV is going to nickel and dime you, time to trade it in and cut your losses.

It doesn't sound as if you are enjoying this part of the journey. Ignorance is not bliss because the consequrences can make us😢. Sad for you, but it is what it is, and ya'll are takin care of business now...nothin like having you house go through the equal of an earthquake every week or two when you bump on down the road to the next destination.

What do u think your getting for 60 to 100 thousand bucks

I realize the Momentum is 'suppose' to be a premier RV, as we've discussed changing from our Class A diesel pusher to possibly truck & 5th wheel, but even the 'premier' unit's have their issues. Well, perhaps I'll stick to the 'fix-it's' on the Motorhome, as often they pale in example to many that others are dealing with! Yet, the cost of so called 'Premier' fivers, at least the higher end one's are WAY above what I paid for my house a few decades back....but I got land with the house as well. At least it's gone WAY up as an asset in comparison thankfully. Thanks for the enlightening video on the momentum Tom! Love your truck btw!

2500 watts at 120v=20 Amp...for 1 hr... Get a generator.

Who manufactured this RV ?

What is frame flex

Where. Is Cherie

It's terrible what these companies do. They should be put in prison, they are overcharging and under producing. Then they don't take any accountability.

Just showing how cheap these RVs are built,live an learn

Grand design is having all kinds of frame problems stay away from them

I wasn’t impressed with grand design. Lower priced Idaho built Jayco was actually much better quality.

Does not matter what the repairman does to that roof...it will leak and leak and leak some more. The construction of the trailer (just like all of them) is comically bad.

Why anyone would buy one of these mental torture devices, made from popsicle sticks and Elmer's glue, is beyond me.

How about you being responsible for how you treat your rig!

Yes, it’s ruined.

I thought everyone knew Grand Design, does not know how to build rvS. Their Pex plumbing is not to code . Risking leaks. They use the swelling cheap wood/cardboard. Rubber roofs in some They suck in every way possible. Have I bought one. Nope cause I did my homework. I drive a winnebago gas Adventure. 2022

lol

Another R.V. Repair Vehicle .😳🤔

RV 101.... If its built in Indiana its problematic money pit.

All trailers are junk. They're built cheap, and sold for too much

It's amazing how cheep & poorly made all these expensive R V are made 👎👎👎👎👎👎👎 .

Why is anyone surprised? RVs are built like junk by design. They have to be in order not to weigh a million pounds.

Grand Design is Grand Junk ! Overpriced junk. Go with Brinkley RVs instead. This is crazy the number of issues with GD. Ever since Winnebago bought GD the quality has gone so far down. You’re now buying overpriced junk

Drinking will make your head bloat.

250,000 parts all built by the cheapest bidders..... Hopefully assembled by sober competent humans!!!

MOLDED FIBERGLASS!!!!!!!

The biggest mistake is buying an RV! All leak

what i get from watching your videos, You're not very mechanically inclined so you pay people to do the very thing you should be doing everyday to take care of your RV. If you paid the least bit of attention to your rig all these issues wouldn't be such a surprise unless its for video content.

RVs are built like trash! Nothing but problems from the day you buy it. When you put it trough an earth quake every time you travel what do you think will happen?