2023 Grand Design Momentum

The upper deck portion of the 5th wheel frame has been moving independently of the walls which is commonly referred to as "frame flex" or "frame failure", as evidenced by the following: a gap between the wall and floor in the bedroom above the upper deck, pin box receding into the trailer, loose, bent, and missing lag bolts which connect the upper deck to the frame, irregular slide operation in the bedroom above the upper deck, man doors in the trailer being out of square, cargo doors opening during travel, separation of the seam between the filon and "nose", squeaky flooring in the bedroom above the upper deck. The manufacturer has offered to transport the trailer to their manufacturing facility and perform what they are calling a "super" inspection if we agree to sign a release and non-disclosure agreement. The structural components of the trailer are covered by a 5 year warranty which should not require a release and NDA. The trailer is not safe and would be irresponsible to use in its current condition. The "super inspection" repair scope is vague, and the required legal agreement should not be required because the trailer is within the warranty period. The trailer spent almost 10 months at an authorized repair facility. The work done at the repair facility did not resolve or fully and correctly address the frame related issues. The repair facility has in its possession approx 400 pictures of the work performed on our trailer which they will not release to us. The work orders associated with the work done during the 10 months that the trailer was in the repair facility are vague and do not detail what was or was not done.

There is a serious electrical issue with the Grand Design Momentum 397ths. There are twenty-three electric outlets throughout the RV. Two are located outside. Two more are dedicated to microwave and electric fireplace. The two for microwave and fireplace are on their own breakers. All other twenty-one outlets are on just ONE 15 amp breaker. Typically there is a maximum of eight outlets per 15 amp breaker or a maximum of 10 amps on one breaker to avoid tripping the breaker. The outlet located on the side of the bathroom vanity under the sink in bathroom located in garage is not a GFCI although labeled as such. There are two GFCI outlets located in the front bathroom and the outlet beside the stove. In April of 2024 Grand Design took the RV from OH to Elkhart IN for repairs and address service bulletins for frame failure. I reported the issue at that time. I was informed the wiring of the outlets are wired according to specs and therefore no changes could be made. There is room for another breaker in the breaker box. We have been living in our RV full time and the breaker has tripped no less than six times per week. This constant overload is only leading to a fire hazards. This is yet another issue and example of potentially life threatening the RV industries refuse to make right.

We were driving through a mountain range and the trailer brakes went out on Trailer. Had to us exhaust brake to slow trailer down and stop. We could have crashed putting my family of 4 at high risk as well as others on the road. This was an extremely scary trip with no trailer braking. Our inverter and battery switch caught fire during a camping trip 8/12/24. My family was put in harm's way with the possibility of the trailer going up in flames! Called Grand Design. They immediately made a ticket for a technician to come replace inverter and other wiring. Grand Design told us we were NOT to use our trailer until all fixed. Grand Design flew a technician out 8/20/24 to replace inverter. Technician held up the inverter to us, it was melted. He said this was completely Grand Design's fault. Also was told by technician to take trailer in for frame flex issues as well from recall by Grand Design. The frame flex was real. We had issues with our slides as well as the body looking crooked on the frame. The RV service center Grand Design sent us to found that there were ZERO lag bolts installed holding the body on the frame. The front corner of trailer was leaking due to the roof failing. Grand Design called for replacement of all cabinetry in front area as well as replace entire roof. This frame flex could have had detrimental outcomes due to the frame not being bolted down. All components that failed have been fixed by a certified rv service center. We have not used the trailer as we picked it up one week ago. We are nervous to use the trailer with all the issues we had. There was no warning to any of these failures.

We are showing many signs of excessive frame flex/failure in our 2023 Grand Design Momentum 397THS. Our baggage/storage doors do not properly fit nor lock. The RV was in the shop from Jan-May 2023 to address this. Had the doors replaced and resealed. They still are not flush with the RV, still barely latch, and have popped open while driving. While in the shop, they addressed but "could not duplicate" the underbelly continuously filling with water when it rains. Excessive amounts of water that saturate all of the insulation-- causing us to drive with extra weight until we can stop and replace it all. Not sure where the water even comes from. Our filon around the hitch is seperating. Our pinch molding on both sides completely falls out. The screws holding front cap to roof popped out, sealant broken. There is wall separation in the lower deck. This causes excess rubbing of the walls, popping trim pieces off, and dust left after any movement of the RV. There is loud creaking and popping as we lift our RV off of our truck. The lag bolts are unscrewing themselves from the frame in the upper deck. Slide in the upper deck is digging into the flooring, leaving indentations, while in transit. Floor creaking in upper deck. Our electrical wiring for our running lights/turn signals/brake lights, as well as our leveling system wires were zip tied to the spindle of our slide. This caused the wires to wrap around over and over and slice themselves apart. In turn causing ALL of those systems to fail-- no running lights, no turn signals, no brake lights, and our jacks would not go down.

The contact owns a 2023 Grand Design Momentum hauled by a 2022 Ford F-450. The contact stated that while driving uphill at 65 MPH and depressing the brake pedal, the trailer brakes failed to respond as needed. The contact pulled over onto the side of the highway and was able to bring the trailer to a complete stop. No warning lights were illuminated. The trailer was taken to a local dealer and was inspected. The contact was advised that the trailer no longer had brake pads. The trailer was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 20,000.

My RV's frame has compromised integrity. During transit, it flexes beyond the allowable range specified by the manufacturer. The inspected frame is available for further evaluation upon request. The flexing of the frame poses a significant safety risk, resulting in cargo doors opening unintentionally and RV slide rooms shifting to the open position while the vehicle is in tow. Furthermore, during my inspection and the subsequent assessment by the authorized service center, I identified multiple critical issues: lag bolts connecting the unit's walls to the frame were found to be missing, loose, and bent. There were also instances where holes existed in the frame without lag bolts. Additionally, cracks were observed in several welds, welded metal reinforcement tabs were broken, and there were indications of torn or sheared metal. Strained and moving parts were also noted, indicated by rust formation and an accumulation of metal shavings throughout the kingpin area. Consequently, the structural integrity of the kingpin, which connects the RV to the tow vehicle during transit, remains to be determined. The manufacturer-authorized service center has confirmed all issues above. Service center technicians, a manufacturer representative, and I inspected the vehicle using Grand Design Technical Service Bulletin 24-001 as the inspection criteria. January 24 - June 24 I observed an accumulation of sawdust in various locations within the RV. This was accompanied by the disintegration of cabinetry. Cabinet doors detached from their frames, trim separated from the walls, and cabinetry began detaching from both the wall and floor. Side tables had contact marks from contact with outer walls during transit. The aluminum garage door surround had cracked welds at three corners. Pantry shelves were dislodged, and cabinets above the coffee bar showed separation at the corners. Trim over the upper deck frame rail detached.

Purchased new June 2023 in Tuscon AZ. No issues until underbelly filled with water and had to be serviced in Albuquerque NM. Issue was not resolved with water pump replacement. Towed to Homerville OH not knowing water leak still exists and where frame flex was discovered. Man doors, propane tank doors, and basement doors randomly open while in tow and stationery. The seal for nose cone and felon broken and screws missing that secure nose to the chasse. May 2024, Grand Design picked up and towed the 5th wheel back to factory for frame flex repairs. A gusset "kit" was added, welded to existing frame. Door locks were adjusted, front man door replaced, one basement door replaced as it was water damaged, and is again. There were missing/never installed lag bolts for upper deck side walls. It is documented the lag bolts were replaced with larger ones and missing ones were added. Rear man door adjusted however still does not close from inside. There are huge gaps along door frames you can see daylight through. On Oct. 5, 2024, we towed the 5th wheel 10 miles to a winter location. When lowering and hitching up there was a very loud metal snapping, explosive sound came from the frame when the weight was put back onto the suspension. It was so very loud it made my heart skip a beat. It was like a cannon ball struck the metal frame. Definitely metal popping and snapping. As of today, Nov 21, 2024, the man door in garage is inoperable, the floors creek from nose to interior door to garage. The floors seem bowed. The front man door randomly opens when people or the dog walk past it on the inside. The basement doors randomly open and are water damaged. The slide in bedroom {holds the bed} is tilted and falling out of the wall. Air leaks all around the slide as if the frame is twisted. Grand Design states an SRT can be here in a couple of months. We are parked on an oversized level concrete pad. I feel the mixed metal the frame is made of didn't hold the welds. Not safe to tow.

For the safety of others I would like to report a potential issue with 2023 Grand Design Momentum 5th wheel trailer where the wheel will separate from the axle. This happened recently on September 15th @ 1:30pm while heading west bound on 1-80 just east of Sidney, NE. We heard a clunk, thinking it was a blowout I checked the rear view mirror only see the tire (drivers side rear) rolling away from the vehicle. We immediately pulled over to the side of the interstate and further inspection found the disc rotor hub/spindle missing from the ale. My understanding is this can only occur if the castle nut that holds the hub on the axle is missing. Further, the castle nut is locked in place by a cotter pin. Both the castle nut and cotter pin were missing. I found some parts remnants by the side of the road. (disc brake pad, broken rotor, brake caliper piston) While investigating the issue further in an attempt to understand what happened, I ran across a recall for a very similar issue NHTSA 23V-455 Curt Axle Grease Zerk.

I was made aware of Grand Design’s Technical Service Bulletin 24-001 concerning issues with undersized and/or missing lag screws possibly be on some models of their fifth wheel campers. I was able to determine that our Momentum 381MS had the undersized 3/8” lag screws used in the construction of our camper. I made an appointment with Campers Inn in Jeffersonville, IN and took it in. I was notified by them on 8-5-24 that there were also 4 missing lag screws. They also told me there were broken welds on the frame. I went there on 8-6-24 and took pictures of the frame and a lag screws. In addition to this, on the only trip we have made with the camper we had issues of both walk through entrance doors coming open while traveling. The entrance door into the garage door came open twice and the door into the main area came open once. I was made aware of this by other motorists.