Grand Design IMAGINE XLS 19RLE 19RLE reviews

LIKES: Love the floor plan for just me, my wife and one other (two if they are small children). Knew the space limitations when we bought it, so no issues there. At 6’3” the residential queen bed was a must and is not common in sub-20 foot trailers. Also has enough headroom! Tows easily with 1/2 ton. DISLIKES: The non-ducted AC can’t keep up with the radiant heat coming through the dark nose cap at the front during sunny days, while at the same time keeping the back chilly. The nose cap continues to fade in spite of washing/waxing with RV polish 3 times per year. Won’t buy another with a dark colored exterior. The rain gutters only keep up with light rain. Our left side gutter was apparently installed incorrectly and causes a leak inside the wall that comes out on the floor under the bathroom cabinet when it rains hard or steady. There is no leak unless it rains, so I know its not plumbing related. Have been told by dealer that structural LEAKS AREN’T COVERED by any warranty, even though we opted for the Lifetime coverage. If we don’t sell or trade it in, I will likely remove the gutter and fill attachment holes with putty, or just fill the gutter with eternabond, overlapping onto the roof. Doing nothing will likely result in delamination of siding over time, not to mention mold and mildew in the wall. Overall, I can’t recommend this model due to issues listed. Show less

We wanted a smaller RV and liked the look and amenities of the Grand Design Imagine 19RLS. The salesman said that it was built by the same manufacturer of larger luxury fifth wheel trailers. We trusted him thinking this would be a quality trailer. We were wrong to think this. Our first time out (a one night trip), the air conditioner couldn’t keep this small, no slides, trailer cool. Took it in and dealer said it was working as it should. We assumed the AC must be undersized for the trailer but Grand Design wouldn’t do anything about it. Our second trip was a 2 week trip from SW Colorado to Montana. After a couple of nights, the water heater stopped working and the underbelly liner fell off while we were driving dragging as we drove. That exposed the fact that no insulation had ever been installed even though it was advertised as having an insulated heated underbelly. We spent the next day waiting on a mobile RV repair company to temporarily reattach the underbelly cover. We spent another day trying to find a RV service company to replace the hot water heating control unit so we could have hot water. We had to CB pay out of pocket but did get reimbursed but it used up two days of vacation. Then, while traveling down a busy highway, we noticed from our side mirrors that the weatherstripping on the both sides of outside front trim had come loose and was flapping like bird wings! Embarrassing. During the trip, one of the glass panes on the upper storage cabinet doors cracked and when we got home another glass pane fell out of the door. The sealant used didn’t hold the pane in and we hypothesized that that was the cause of the cracked window, too. Grand Design refused to pay for the these even though it was during the one year warranty period. Since then, at least a fourth of the cabinet door glass sealant has fallen off so this was definitely a factory defect. Never had that issue with our previous Cougar RV which we had for ten years! Another issue, the sliding door to the bathroom won’t close completely due to it not being installed level. Fast forward to the following spring, when preparing for a multi day trip, we de-winterrized the trailer and hooked up the water. Water began pouring out of connections in the pass through storage and under the sink. The connections had not been properly connected with proper connectors — only stuck together with adhesive —which obviously deteriorated during the winter. Water was pouring out of the underbelly. Even though this was an obvious factory defect, Grand Design refused to pay for the repair since it was over the one year warranty period. We recently took a weekend trip and the air conditioner would work for a few hours and then start blowing warm air. We took it back to the dealer and they finally discovered that the air conditioner had been installed without sealing the baffles allowing outside air instead of return air from the trailer causing the AC to freeze up. Again, a factory defect but Grand Design would not pay for the repair. Also, the placement of the AC and no ductwork causes the dinette/bed to be too cold while the area of the Murphy bed is too warm —a design issue. We bought this trailer brand new and owned it for a year and a half, it looks cute but the lack of quality in the workmanship and lack of responsibility shown by Grand Design for said workmanship means we will never purchase another Grand Design product. Show less