RV Arrival

Part 4 – Manufacturer Build Has Finally Arrived

Welcome to Part 4 of this four-part series of posts featuring our attempts to find a new rig. In our first post, New RV Search we ran down the reasons we wanted to make the move. We also found out that the journey was going to be a rocky road. RV For Sale we took you through the efforts we made to sell outright or go the trade-in route. RV Purchase challenged our abilities to find the right RV. The surge of RV sales brought on by COVID-19 diminished inventories at the dealerships. The manufactures were having difficulty keeping up with demand. Undaunted, we forged ahead with our plans and made our purchase decision. Now for our final installment in this series. After the promised, 10-12 week build schedule our Grand Design Solitude 310GK-R has arrived in Cookeville, TN. Here are the details of the delivery, PDI, and our Shakedown run.

Natasha 2.0 Has Arrived With A Few Surprises

The long-awaited arrival of our new RV has come. I spent the last 12 weeks scouring the Facebook groups, Internet Forums for the Manufacture, and RV type to discover the rig’s idiosyncrasies. It gave me time to review the online manual, research issues, and build lists to address upon delivery. I will be perfectly honest with you, it also gave me a bit of pause with regards to our decision. As I read through the forums and Facebook groups I began to see all the issues that were occurring with the model. I had to remind myself that all RV’s are going to have problems out of the gate. You can’t take a 15,000 lb rolling house down the road without something shaking loose or falling apart. I built a list of the most common issues and came prepared to the PDI with my list in hand.

Surprise, Surprise

We got a call from our sales rep informing us that he decided to agree to upgrade for us to speed the delivery. It seemed the manufacturer ran out of the 7000lb axles that were standard on the rig and upgraded them at no cost to the 8,000lb. I was delighted to hear that news. Not only did we now have 3000lb more GVWR it also came with Copper H rated tires.

The tires were a blessing in my mind. The original equipment was to be G-rated Westlake tires. Now I know there is a ton of bad press on these tires. We had a set of E-rated tires on our last rig and had one fail. It blew out a jack, quarter panel, and flooring in our rig. I was skeptical of the G rated but was willing to give them a try using my TPS monitor this go around. We will see how these Coopers hold up. I can tell you that the ride is a bit stiffer with the G-rated tires and upgraded axles. It’s a bit hard to complain given Grand Design through in this upgrade.

PDI At Dealership

There is a ton of debate out there regarding hiring a Pre Delivery Inspector before you signing on the dotted line for the rig. I would certainly agree with thoroughly inspecting the RV before leaving the dealership lot. I would go as far as recommending that if your new to RVing you have this done by a professional. We had four years under our belt and I felt that I was familiar enough with the working of the RV that I could execute a solid PDI of my own.

The below link to my checklist has been adapted from Tom Boles’ (Grand Design Forum contributor) original checklist.  It has been updated to reflect newer coaches (approximately 2016 – 2021 and beyond). I believe you will find this very useful if you are so inclined to do the inspections yourself. Or at minimum prepare you for questions, and what to look for during your PDI. PDI Document

Our Experience

Our first purchase pre-delivery inspection was overwhelming, to say the least. We were newbies to the RVing lifestyle and got flooded with information regarding the operation of this RV. About two hours into the process it was just a blur. To cap off that day when we got the rig home we had no recall of how to drop the rig off. We managed to unhook and balance the front on one jack :). Now that we were grizzled veterans we could ask questions that would address concerns that came up during our last 4 years.

Cookeville RV and Marine ran a very thorough PDI before we arrived. Grand Design also runs its own 300 points PDI before delivery to the dealership. I am happy to say that after a very hard look at the RV using my inspection list we found very few items that needed to be addressed before signing on the dotted line.

Shakedown Run

COVID certainly created a few challenges with our plans to take Natasha 2.0 out for her first full-on camping trip. We wanted to be sure we could engage all the systems on the RV to be sure they were working properly. Typically that would mean choosing a location in our case that was no longer than a 7 to 8 hr drive away from home base. We choose Destin, FL for our shakedown cruise.

The trip went surprisingly well for your first time out with this rig. With the purchase of any rig, you need time to familiarize yourselves with the operation of all systems. I found myself struggling to get used to the hydraulic leveling system. Our Open Range had a manual leveling setup. I just couldn’t get used to the speed at which it operated and the controls. With a little practice, I found them to be far superior to our last setup.

In the “you learn something new” everyday category. We were having an issue with our water heater, the electric side of things would not heat the tank. We used propane the entire trip. The Open Range used Atwood Water Heaters that had but one power switch. The Suburban on this rig has two electrical power switches, one on the inside the other on the outside. I failed to turn on the outside electrical switch.

Springs

As I mentioned above you are going to have issues with your RV no matter who builds it or inspects it. When I got under the RV to inspect the springs, wheels, and axles I did not notice any major issues that I felt needed attention. Reading the forums and group pages I could not help but notice all the issues folks were having with their suspension systems. We experienced a problem with our Open Range so I was acutely aware of the importance of inspecting this area.

After a very short run, I got under the RV to inspect the suspension again. I found what I thought was a problem with the springs. It seemed the straps on the springs had broken loose. The straps on both front axle springs were either missing or coming apart. Not having the knowledge base to understand the severity of the issue I sent photos off to Cookeville Service and Grand Design. Speaking to both teams they agreed this was an issue but not debilitating.

I managed to fix the strap that was hanging and from what I can gather, GD will be sending replacement springs to the dealer to install. I frankly am not sure of the importance of these straps. They seemed a bit flimsy to be handling the 5400 lbs of weight on that side of the rig.

Waste Tank Sensors

Who hasn’t had a problem with these sensors? They are the bain of any RVers life when it comes to accuracy for any of the tanks they are associated with. I am kicking myself for not testing these prior to leaving the dealership. Assuming that they were all empty why bother. When we got to Destin I thought I would test out to see what if anything they were reading. We have two gray tanks, one read empty the other full. Now that we a surprise seeing how we had not used them that much.

I hooked us up to the sewer and emptied what little water was in each of the tanks. Gray tank #2 was still reading full. Thinking we might have something hung up on the sensor I treated the tank, closed the valve, and waited a few days prior to draining again, the same issue. So we will be sorting this out with our dealer once the RV is in the service bay to address the springs.