Grand Design Imagine XLS reviews

This Grand Design is my 7th. This 17MKE is my 3rd. I used all of them for traveling to work sites harvesting. When not working used for camping throughout western and mid western USA and wintering in Arizona and New Mexico. For the most part I was able to fix problems and issues. All trailers I owned never froze up and I remained comfortable. I sold 3 to my workers and they still have them back to 2018. The current 17MKE had an inoperable awning. Dealer fixed it by replacing the circuit and unity board. It does pay to buy local! The 2150 RB was my first and that was repaired local. They replaced Thetford toilet with an American Dometic 310. Yes. I had issues with other models but had to fix myself or call a mobile rv technician because I was harvesting and my time was completely focused on the thousands of acreage to be completed. I am 78 and can’t work anymore. I bought this 2025 17MKE and it’s for sale because of health reasons. Bottom line…Yes! I would still buy Grand Design Products because of the quality and my personal experience with the product! No RV is perfect! I Have seen people with Airstreams with problems! Read the unbiased reviews on other brands. Make your decision on the top 5. Stay away from the Covid era years! The Chinese tried to kill us and they disrupted the world! The USA will prevail because God is still in charge! Show less

Probably one of the best built travel trailers I have ever owned. The build design along with the spacious floor plan makes this a number one choice of travel trailers. In our 40+ years of camping experience, the Grand Design and Winnebago always stood out as top choices when looking for a new RV. Grand Design sure did everything right. Show less

We looked forever at floor plans trying to find one that would work for teens or adult children. So many have little bunks where they get inside a tube to sleep. Our kids are older so we knew this would not work. We also wanted a big enough floor plan that we could sit inside during inclement weather. I wasn’t initially looking for an island or a fireplace but can tell you that I do love both. This unit has so much storage which is something people complain about often. I love that it sleeps six adults easily. Another thing is that we can all watch one TV together. So often the bunk areas can’t easily view the TV and with this floor plan we can all watch the TV easily. We have had no issues with our unit other than some very small cosmetic things. One of the reasons that attracted us to the Grand Design brand was that they have a really good reputation for a quality unit. I think during Covid when they were making units as fast as they could go (unit years 2021 and 2022) the build quality maybe wasn’t quite as good. We did have an RV inspection done by a third-party before we brought our unit home and I would pay for that again. It gave us peace of mind that all the things worked like they were supposed to before we took it out. It’s a heavy camper so we made sure we had a tow vehicle that could handle the weight. The only thing I wish it had it doesn’t was a king size bed other than that this camper has been perfect. we’ve said many times we’re glad we didn’t buy some of the other floorplans we were looking at because we would have wanted to trade them in already. Show less

This is the perfect family RV. It's light enough to be easily towed and the whole family can spend time together in this great travel trailer. We enjoyed that at 27 feet we could fit into almost any RV spot at least 30 ft and still have plenty of room. There is plenty of storage space and we enjoyed the outside cooktop, where we could make meals outdoors while camping. One of the best features of this RV was the keyless entry. So, every member of our family had access without needing to have their own set of keys. This RV is an all-around perfect RV for a family that enjoys camping and sightseeing together. Show less

Great RV for a small family. Has a queen size bed and a bunk beds. Plenty of walking room and a full bathroom. My family and I have enjoyed this RV. Plenty of storage and easy to tow with a midsize truck. I added an anti-sway hitch that made towing very easy and tress free. Show less

Have owned for 2 yrs. Each year atleast 1 shade has broken. Cheaply made. Handles are sharp on cabinets. My wife loves it and the slide was worked on before we owned it. Had 1 blowout on the chinese tires that came on it. Blew out side panels but grand design helped me with replacement parts. They were great to work with. Show less

We love this rv it pulls great and it’s just enough space for the 2 of us. It may be small but it has tons of storage and the space is layed out efficiently. We’ve spent a week in it and had no issues. The kitchen has plenty of storage for all the food and dishes you want. Plenty of clothing storage around the bed. The bed easily folds out into the Murphy bed, you could do it with one hand. The dinette also folds down into another bed for a couple extra people. The bathroom has tons of storage too. The outside griddle makes cooking even better when you’re in a campground. Show less

The floorplan is the best possible floorplan for the the way we travel. The desk space and the island kitchen have become essentials for us. If you want these amenities in a travel trailer, this is your unit. But it does have down sides. Foremost is the anemic cargo carrying capacity. Forget the factory weights, it will be heavier even dry. you are looking at a 1000# plus tongue weight. And once you add the basics like cables and hoses and a weekend's worth of clothing and food you will be at the weight limit. Distributing that weight is also a challenge as the unit is back end heavy. You will likely need to tow with the tongue slightly down to balance the load, which will increase the tongue weight even more. It is a drop frame to increase storage volume, so depending on your hitch you will be getting close to the ground. We use a P3 and get 4-5 inches of ground clearance. So with the gross weight, tongue weight, rear weight, and then add sail area, plan on a 3/4 ton TV. The math from GD might make you think 1/2 ton, and the fan boys will all say "Like it isn't even there" or "No problems". But you need a 3/4 ton for this trailer. The usual quality issues abound. Gaps in sealant, trim falling off, bubbles in the roof membrane, incorrect PEX fittings, sawdust everywhere. We have needed three repairs and I did all of them myself. The process of returning to the dealer 2 hours away, dropping off for warrantee claim, picking it up again, returning when the parts are in, and final pickup means 8 hours on the road for every issue. Give me a Mobile Tech or ship me the part! But in the end, worth it for the floorplan! Show less

Floor plan is great for two. Murphy bed allows for comfortable sleeping with lots of space during the day. Full kitchen and bathroom make trailer feel like it’s much larger than it is. Full bathroom provides plenty of room. Tanks are good sized for smaller trailer. Show less

This rig is poorly constructed. We’ve owned it two years and put about 10,000 miles on it. Here are the more significant problem areas: 1) Plumbing. Installers used PEX clamps on vinyl tubing. So far, we’ve had six separate leaks and it’s getting worse. Some are in the underbelly. We’ll be forced to complete a major tear down just to get to the leaks. We will then have to replace ALL clamps on the vinyl tubes. 2) Schwintek slide was improperly installed from the factory. Dealer can’t seem to make it right. Still throws error codes. Multi-thousand dollar repair required one year into ownership. 3) Roof membrane is starting to bubble. 4) Kitchen countertop is delaminating.around the sink. 5) Sliding barn door always fell off during transit until I “McGyvered” it for a permanent fix. We hope to sell (dump) it once we fix the plumbing. Grand Design isn’t worth the premium price. Show less