2021 Grand Design Momentum

I had noticed the Pin Box flexing, especially over bumps or any rough road or bridge approach. As it got worse I could tell we a lot of flex in the frame area where the Pin Box is located. I contacted the dealer and they examined our RV and determined the frame was flexing due to the bolts connecting the chassis to the actual frame of the RV body being to small and working loose/broke. The dealer replaced the bolts with larger bolts and advised the flex is now within specifications. It is better but it's not great by any means. I'm concerned as the RV gets older the condition will get worse and could even become hazardous. This condition has already affected the value of the RV and when it's out of warranty I'll have no recourse other than to fix it myself.

Our 2021 Grand Design 395ms has FRAME FAILURE. The upper body of the frame has multiple broken welds and has separated during road use. If the welds continue to fail I have been told the lower half of the 5th wheel will fall to the pavement. If this were to occur during travel it could be catastrophic. This issue was iniitally repaired in thermopolis by a mobile welder. This initial repair failed and we had to contact the manufacturer. They initially told us it would be a couple months before their SRT team could repair. After multiple days we were connected with another mobile repair man from Montana Mobile Repair (Shawn) who stated "This is the worst frame repair he has had to make". After many hours he added extra bracing and support. Grand Design stated we needed to get it home. Approx. 1700 miles back to Michigan and we would need to setup an appointment for service repair. We are concerned with the fact that they are requiring owners to drive such defective units so far and putting the owners and others in harms way. We had no choice but to make the drive. We were denied any other forms of help such as flying the family home or paying for the extended stay until SRT arrived on site for the repair. Our final communication says once we arrive in Michigan to contact Grand Design and they will send someone to pick up our rig and transport it Grand Design.

The contact owns a 2021 Grand Design Recreational Momentum. The contact stated that while having maintenance work completed on the RV, the dealer removed the nose cap and noticed that the insulation and the mylar tarp near the rear of the RV was burned. The contact was informed that the wiring on the nose cap had been overheating and causing the burn. The dealer had reconnected the wiring but had not repaired the RV. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,000.

This is an updated report with additional detail. Sorry for any confusion this may have caused. * Baggage door routinely open while travelling. A number of items may have been sucked out of the RV while moving down the road. We try to be hypervigilant and pull over as soon as we notice the door flapping open, and we secure loose items in drawers. * RV doors routinely open. The front door always opens, even though we use the 'deadbolt'. It's usually held in place by a hand rail that folds over the door, but this occassionally comes open, as well. This damages the door, and we're concerned that the metal stairs could fold out. The rear door has recently started openning on travel days. It's hard to tell when this happens, but we have had to pick things up off the ground after making a left turn at low speeds. * Brake eletrical issue. We had the RV in for repair at the manufacturer's service center. They reported that some of the brakes weren't receiving the proper voltage and were thus non-functional. * Front bedroom Schwintek slide mechanism came loose. Slide was partially inoperable, and would start to extend out of the unit during travel. When noticed, depending on how far out it had started to come, we would have to go back into the unit and pull it back in to complete travel day. This was repaired by the manufacturer. * Broken welds on frame. The manufacturer service center replaced the rear steps. They did not identify the broken welds that were causing the floor (immediately above the steps) to sag, and thus allow water intrusion. This lead to the rotting of the floor of the RV. The manufacturer provided an estimate of ~$20k to repair the floor, but didn't include repairing the broken welds. * RV is unlevel / lists to the passenger side. The RV has a lot of heavy items on one side, and nothing heavy on the other side to counter balance it: shower, refrigerator, oven, microwave, and side deck/patio. The tops of the tires are clearly visible when looking a

We are victims of frame failure. First sign was a creaky floor in the bedroom. Screws worked their way out of the wood flooring and pushed up underneath the linoleum. The movement of the nose cap pushed screws out of the trim and seal piece on the underside of the front cap. We reseated screws, upgraded screws, resealed this at least 5 times and now use gorilla tape to avoid water intrusion. The underbelly has fallen down while traveling so we had to reinforce this ourselves. Our driver side bay door will fly open when traveling. It locks but the locks will not hold it closed when the rig starts to flex. We now gorilla tape the door every time we travel to avoid objects flying out of our bay into traffic. The partition between the wet bay and the storage bay has bent. Our front driver side jack is not straight, it points outward. There is rubbing of the shelving and trim in the bedroom. The board that has the slide rollers under the main bed has failed. We have pinched decals on the exterior of the nose cap. The pin box sinks up into nose cap when hitched up. We have a toy hauler however we do not haul any vehicles or toys in our rig. We have had to replace both back leaf springs due to them failing. The main lighting panel has been damaged in transit so that the exterior accent lights will no longer turn off. This is an electrical hazard as well as an annoyance to anyone that camps near us. The roof seal that attaches the roof membrane to the front cap is elevated and not flush. When traveling from TX to Indiana for our frame failure appointment, the roof membrane completely shredded and fell back over the air conditioner. We had to gorilla tape the remaining roof to make it the rest of the way. Grand Design is not issuing a recall yet. Our rig is dangerous for us and anyone on the road with us. Our rig is in the shop right now and we have the highest hopes that it is properly fixed, and we do not have to return like so many others are.

There was excessive frame Flexing in the nose section of our 5th wheel. I inspected the lag bolts in the front section of our 5th wheel that hold the wall to the frame and found 4 bolts missing of the 12 that are supposed to be installed. Also, the bolts that were installed were undersized. I also have damage to the inside wall and cabinets from over-flexing during travel. I have not contacted a dealer of the manufacturer but have been following many other individuals on forums who have had similar issues. I have not had my unit inspected yet, but plan to start the process with Grand Design. The warnings were trim pieces falling off after travel days and damage to the interior wall. I also replaced screws on the outside cap that loosened, and some fell out.

There are hairline cracks in the frame / Axle hanger(s), throughout the entire inside floor there are drops / gaps when a level is put down of a minimum of 1/8" - showing symptoms of frame flex / failure. On the road, the trailer produces excessive sway, bounce, and movement at speeds of 45 mph and above to the point where control has almost been lost on the roadway. It has been towed and tested with 3 different vehicles (2019 F250 Diesel, 2022 F450 Dually Diesel, and 2023 F250 Gas). documentation, video proof, Multiple witnesses, and different drivers all with over 7+ Years up to 30+ years' experience have tested this and have come up with the same results. Upgrades were made to both tow vehicle(s), Hitch(es), and trailer as suggested by Grand Design RV. Grand Design has stated after investigation that the axles on this unit were installed 5" out of the normal manufacturing of a Momentum 31G and there is a 1/2" difference between the driver's side front axle hanger and rear passenger side axle hanger. Trailer has been weighed multiple times with various loading procedures to make sure everything was evenly distributed side to side and front to rear. The trailer has not been overloaded yet the leaf springs were flat before upgraded to heavier weights. Tires have shown uneven wear patterns. Hitches have been set up in various positions per manufactures requests without any success. Grand Design has not taken responsibility nor attempted to fix the issues with the unit even with the proof submitted to them. Instead, they have been combative, dismissive, and try to bully their way out of their responsibilities. I've invested my own funds over the course of 3 years to attempt at rectifying the issue with no success. My family will not even travel in the same vehicle as me because they fear for their safety as I do as well as the safety of everyone on the roadway. This, however, does not concern Grand Design as they've unprofessionally stated to me consistently.