Grand Design vs Keystone?

[doghouseman]

From my research it looks like all the good RVs are made on the west coast, but I really need to pick up one on the east coast.

So, i have narrowed down to Grand Design and Keystone. Seems like Grand Design could be "all show and no go" as they say. Keystone seems to make a lot of options, but I am really looking for the best quality.

Any recommendations? Or something high quality on the east coast?

[doghouseman]

I found a few places on the east coast (right coast) that sell NorthWoods. One place in Penn, KellyRVs, with really good reviews of customer service. So I will probably be looking for a NorthWoods Nash, or Artic Fox.

[jarata1]

Grand design is so much better then keystone quality wise it’s not even close.Keystone entry level grand design top shelf

[dpgllg]

ford truck guy wrote:
Just MY Opinion from reading notes from folks here - - The Grand Design folks are FAR SUPERIOR after the sale than the Keystone folks..

I have a 2017 Grand Design Reflection 27RL 5th wheel and I have to say that service after the sale for me was extremely poor. I had a lot of issues. Replaced AC 13 months after purchase, on third door lock, replaced electronic board on hot water tank, entire frame is covered in surface rust, plumbing to toilet had fitting disconnect in most inconvenient location and other miscellaneous issues. For the 1st year everything was great then all of the above started. When I discussed with Grand Design I didn't even get a sorry from them.

I purchased based on all the positive feedback on how they treated customers BUT since Winnebago has taken them over that level of customer service has disappeared.

I cannot advise anyone to purchase from them.

Dave

[ford_truck_guy]

campigloo wrote:
I can’t agree with you on this one ford truck guy. I had to contact them twice. One was a question that only they could answer. One, the one that really mattered, was about bogus charges from the dealer I bought it from. The charges were about $400.00. They apologized profusely and within four hours I had an apology from the owner of the dealership and within 24 hours I had my money back. I was very impressed with how they handled the whole thing.
Maybe I just got lucky.

Glad it worked out for you... Perhaps they changed their support ? Let's hope that is the new norm and not a fluke

[campigloo]

I can’t agree with you on this one ford truck guy. I had to contact them twice. One was a question that only they could answer. One, the one that really mattered, was about bogus charges from the dealer I bought it from. The charges were about $400.00. They apologized profusely and within four hours I had an apology from the owner of the dealership and within 24 hours I had my money back. I was very impressed with how they handled the whole thing.
Maybe I just got lucky.

[2012Coleman]

I've had multiple positive experiences with GD customer service. One was a fix for an out of warranty issue. They have a forum where company officials interact with posters and answer questions and help solve issues. I don't think that their purchase by Winnebago has had a negative impact. My advice is to go with them.

[Second_Chance]

We were 4 yrs. 9 mos. full-time in our Reflection (GD) fifth wheel. Put 36,000 miles on it. We had a few issues, but all were with vendor supplied components like the frig. Grand Design really stepped up to the plate when it came to the few warranty issues and treated us more than fairly. We were happy enough that we ordered a new Solitude this winter and took delivery the end of February (great timing, eh?). The list of warranty issues included a cracked sewer line cap (probably from a rock in transit), and an auto-switching propane regulator with a non-functional indicator. Both were replaced by our dealership immediately. Though we're stuck in one place for a while now with the pandemic, we're really happy with the build quality and materials in the new Solitude and can't wait to hit the road again.

Rob

[Arcamper]

We ordered a 2016 Montana with the options we wanted and it has never been back to the dealer. Was it well built or were we lucky. This was the second Keystone unit we have bought new and the first one had no issues either. I would buy another Keystone.

[IDman]

A.B.C. (Anything But Cougar)

[wanderingaimles]

Depends on level of unit. Keystone Montana, Cougar, and a few others are held in high reguard, some others,,,,, not so much. Jayco has a loyal following as does K-Z.
As much as the original build, manufacturer support is what can make the difference, and all I mentioned generally are seen as better than most.

[ford_truck_guy]

Just MY Opinion from reading notes from folks here - - The Grand Design folks are FAR SUPERIOR after the sale than the Keystone folks..

[bikendan]

doghouseman wrote:
From my research it looks like all the good RVs are made on the west coast, but I really need to pick up one on the east coast.

So, i have narrowed down to Grand Design and Keystone. Seems like Grand Design could be "all show and no go" as they say. Keystone seems to make a lot of options, but I am really looking for the best quality.

Any recommendations? Or something high quality on the east coast?

Not sure what you mean by "all the good RVs are made on the West Coast".
There are only a handful of RV brands made out here, with Northwoods Manufacturing, Outdoor RV and maybe Lazy Daze motorhomes being known for the best quality. The other few West Coast RV factories just crank out copies of what's made in Indiana.

I don't know of any other high quality RVs made out here.

[mbopp]

We bought our GD when they were the new kid on the block. GD built its reputation on outstanding service after the sale. When Winnebago bought them GD had explosive growth and introduced new models and product lines. But anecdotal stories seem to indicate the older ones were better built. You can temper that by saying there are many more GD's on the road now and people are more vocal about issues they have posting to social media. I'd buy another GD in a heartbeat and my brother is looking at a GD Solitude.

[campigloo]

All I can tell you is I have a 2010 keystone outback and we’ve been happy with it. It’s had its problems but I don’t think anymore than the rest of them. Most of the problems have been either
my fault or ordinary wear and tear. A couple have been manufacturing defects but that’s about it.