2020 Grand Design Momentum Owner Complaints

I'm submitting this report on our RV because we are discovering we very likely have an issue with the frame which is causing over flexing when it is being towed. This has caused damage inside the RV where the trim and cabinetry are damaging the walls due to more movement than should be occurring. We have notified the manufacturer, Grand Design, for guidance as we've read this could be caused by broken welds in the frame. They requested we send them photos which we have but are still waiting for information back from them. At this point we are concerned that the RV may not be safe to use until we can discuss in more detail the issues we are having and how they can't be fixed if possible. We are aware this is a known issue with this particular model RV. We were told about a TSB that suggested we check to see if the bolts were loose in the front of the unit where the wall and frame meet. We did this and they were loose so we had them replaced with the suggested larger size bolts listed in the TSB. After this was done we monitored the walls to see if we were still getting movement on the walls based on marks we made after the bolt were replaced and unfortunately we still did. Our understanding is the whole front panel of the RV has to be removed so the welds can be inspected and determined if any are broken or compromised and then determine if they can be repaired. Before doing this we want Grand Design to send us information on what to look for. Unfortunately our RV is over the 5 year extended frame warranty they provided so we don't think they will cover the costs although I think there should be compensation if it is determined the frame they used in manufacturing this RV was not strong enough to handle the weight.

NHTSA ID

11745588

Incident

Apr 15, 2026

Our camper has frame flex. We opened a claim in October 2025 with Grand Design. Received a letter stating they would cover any repairs. It's been in the shop now for over a month and they keep telling us the claim is "in review". Our upper deck frame is cracked/broken, our walls are separating, the door opens when we are traveling down the road. The roof is falling apart, bubbled and cracking. Side walls are cracked. We've sent pictures, the shop has sent pictures and we are getting no answers. The newest they are telling us is that it's now out of warranty. The camper isn't safe to tow and they aren't fixing it or providing the shop with details on how to fix it.

NHTSA ID

11731344

Incident

Oct 1, 2025

My Momentum 5th wheel is experiencing frame flex and wall separation . This condition is causing damage to the interior side wall adjacent to cabinets in the bedroom wall. Frame and or wall assembly is excessively moving in transport and during hooking and unhooking from the unit. Unit will be inspected in the near future by a Grand Design authorized service agents. The condition is further degrading the safety of the unit with each use in transit.

NHTSA ID

11731307

Incident

Oct 25, 2024

The contact owns a 2020 Grand Design Momentum RV. The contact stated that while the RV was parked, the contact heard an abnormally loud popping sound coming from behind the sleeping cabinets at the camping ground. The contact performed an inspection and noticed that the 110-volt electrical wires in the RV had shifted during travel and were touching the subframe of the RV. The contact noticed smoke coming from underneath the RV, and the refrigerator circuit braker then tripped. No warning lights were illuminated. The RV was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a failed electrical wiring system and junction box. The contact was informed that the wiring system and the junction box needed to be replaced, and the wires needed to be re-routed. The contact was informed that the repair was not covered under warranty. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 12,000.

NHTSA ID

11702463

Incident

Nov 4, 2025

Mileage

12,000 mi

The contact owns a 2020 Grand Design Momentum. The contact stated that upon hitching the trailer to the vehicle and driving, the entire frame of the trailer was flexing. The contact stated that the failure caused the laundry room door to fail to latch because the attached wall was damaged. The contact stated that the internal trim screws had become loosened, and the trims were detaching. The contact stated that the front side of the frame, underneath the fifth wheel, was cracked on both the passenger's and driver's sides and had significantly fractured and detached on one side. The RV was taken to Bailey's Towing & Auto Body, where it was determined that the frame was flexing excessively. The RV was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Action Number: PE24029 (Structure). The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.

NHTSA ID

11697120

Incident

May 15, 2025

Mileage

10,000 mi

The contact owns a 2020 Grand Design Momentum RV. The contact stated that while in the process of lubricating the wet bolts of the RV, the contact noticed that the rear-most bolts were missing, and the springs were rubbing against the frame. The mobile technician performed a temporary repair at the residence. The RV was then towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed. The dealer determined that the spring brackets needed to be straightened and reinforced and needed to be welded inside the brackets. The wet bolts and axle U-bolts and attachments needed to be replaced, the passenger's side and driver's side rear-most tires needed to be replaced. The dealer filed a warranty claim with the manufacturer; however, the claim was denied because the suspension was not covered under the frame warranty coverage. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Action Number: PE24029 (Structure). The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.

NHTSA ID

11696640

Incident

Aug 16, 2025

Mileage

10,000 mi

Issues with: - original drum breaks failed due to incorrect wiring, requiring 100% assembly replacement. - front wall separation - trim and cabinets moving and separating from walls - missing and broken lag bolts - front weather stripping separated from front cap - excessive sawdust under cabinets after any travel - wallpaper wear showing excessive movement of front bed overhead cabinets during travel - floor joists separating from upper floor - slides opening during travel - leaf spring hangers bending and twisting, and breaking off - spare tire mount failed during highway travel, and spare tire fell off on highway - contacted manufacturer to report in 2024 and they indicated we should self-replace the missing and damaged lag bolts with larger 1/2 inch ones. This was done, and they continue to back out on every trip whether 5 miles or 500 miles.

NHTSA ID

11665612

Incident

May 30, 2021

The frame of my trailer sustained damage due to flexing from poor design. I was lucky and noticed some loud noises when transitioning weight to the king pin on the truck. A lot of creaking and groaning. Because of all of these noises and what I had read online, I had the trailer inspected. The inspection found the frame moving within the structure when the weight transitions from the stabilizers to the king pin. Additional damage was a crack in the structure that holds the wall to the frame and many bent gussets that are designed to give the structure strength. This design is substandard. I understand the whole thing is designed to work as a whole to provide strength, but there are weak areas in this design. First is the use of lag bolts into a soft wood as a method of connecting the frame to the wall structure. This needs to be into metal or aluminum allowing the use of bolts and a thread locking compound to prevent loosening. Lag bolts into wood on a structure designed to withstand dynamic movement of towing is inadequate. This will always loosen over time transferring the load to other areas of the structure and the damage many are seeing. My trailer has been repaired, but I'm not sure if the new gussets and additional lag bolts will be enough because they are still using wood as a structural component. My trailer is a 2020 and the 5 year warranty will expire in September. I'm not sure where I will be after that when the next repair comes. I don't have a lot of pictures because I was out of town when they did the inspection. You can see the break in the wall support showing that the wall was moving after is separated from the frame. The pictures show how this bent the gussets that are designed to give the structure support. Like I said, I saw this problem online and asked for in inspection before I had real problems. If I had waited, the damage would've been much worse.

NHTSA ID

11663007

Incident

Aug 1, 2024

Frame issues with the gooseneck area of the RV. We've got lots of movement with the RV in these areas where it connects with the towing vehicle. We have had lots of movement in the front nose area of the RV causing substantial movement evidenced by interior and exterior cracks and noises when pulling. We have taken the RV to a repair facility and the manufacturer has denied making repairs to make the RV safe.

NHTSA ID

11650645

Incident

Jul 5, 2024

The vehicle is experiencing severe frame flex causing the 2 passenger side entry doors to open while traveling down the highway in addition to rubbing the interior cabinetry against the side walls of the interior and causing the furnishings to be damaged. When the doors are wide open items can easily fly out of the vehicle while traveling making my personal items projectile hazards. The vehicle has been diagnosed for frame issues by an authorized repair facility "Busted Knuckle RV" in Las Vegas Nevada. Grand Designs did not authorize the repair facility to perform the necessary inspection work and Informed the shop that I would be liable for the cost of the initial tear down inspection that can average $5,000.00 The unit has had saw dust and rub marks on the interior since we first purchased the unit and transported it from Texas to our home in Arizona. We were not sure what caused this rubbing of the furniture on the interior and were later informed that this is caused by extreme frame flex or failure. The pinch style moldings that cover the seams on the front cap of the rv have loosened while driving and flap in the wind while traveling down the highway, I have since been forced to apply silicone to keep these in place. This style of molding is designed to stay in place without having to apply any adhesive to them. The doors have opened while on the highway on several occasions causing great concern considering we only use the vehicle approximately 6 trips per year.

NHTSA ID

11648150

Incident

Mar 4, 2023

Roof Membrane separating from nose cap, nose cap separating from roof membrane. 5th wheel pin box sinking up into rv upper deck when lowering onto the truck. Cargo and main doors open during transport. Sawdust on dresser in nose of the RV. Lag Screws unscrewing and/or loose in the upper deck. Stress fractures in fiberglass on the cap of RV. Pinch molding coming loose from underside of 5th Wheel skin. Screws backing out and/or breaking underneath the upper deck nose cap. Insulation underneath the front of the RV is falling off. Back Patio bubbling. Rear axle leaf springs bolt and bushings coming out during transport. Screws on top of the upper deck by rain gutters keep coming loose.

NHTSA ID

11634643

Incident

Jun 12, 2024

On walk through rear awning flew off in slight breeze, took 4 years to get repaired with covid and parts availability, could have just as easily came off on the road, had two 3/4'' screws holding it on and into skin, not frame. Upon looking at bedroom night tables gap at front cap found rub marks on wallcovering and sawdust from rubbing/flexing cabinets from perceived frame flex. back garage man door would open by itself while traveling if deadbolt not used , front man door sticks and screen door has to be opened separately with considerable force. Will be opening a claim for flex frame with Grand Design

NHTSA ID

11630639

Incident

Dec 11, 2024

2020 Grand Design 395M I am writing this with concerns over possible Frame or Structure issues in our unit, the following is a list of objects of concern. 1.Screws attaching underside of nose cap to upper deck breaking 2.Wall next to stairs entering the upper deck showing signs of movement and wearing on wallpaper. 3.Support uprights on left and right side between night stands and upper cabinets are moving and wearing on wall. 4.After a day of travel sawdust is appearing on tops of nightstands. 5.Wallpaper and wall wear on right side of bedroom floor behind entry door near carpet that covers lag screws. 6.Excessive creaking coming from bedroom slide wall when coupling and uncoupling from tow vehicle. 7.Exterior entrance door will not stay closed unless deadbolted (including cargo door) doors have opened during travel. 8.Interior door jams are widening. 9.Pin box is sinking into frame when put in load position on vehicle (suspect frame failure)

NHTSA ID

11630352

Incident

Jun 1, 2023

We have been living full time in our RV since Nov, 2022. We just brought our Grand Design Momentum M-381 in for the front cap replacement as there was frame flex over the past several months that we didn't realize was happening and there were cracks in the top of our cap. Let me explain, we saw evidence of "something" happening like the bedside tables rubbing against the wall and saw dust, the outside cap moldings/weatherstripping flapping in the breeze as we drove down the road, squeaking of our bedroom floor and eventually a separation of the wall at the floor by our bedroom door. We youtubed these issues and came up with several videos and realized we needed to remove the carpeting and see if we had the lag bolt issues and boy did we! We had 2 that were rusted and half way out, one that was sheared off and one that was hanging loosely. We took it into a dealership in LA where they did the frame flex evaluation for Grand Design and it was determined to change out the lag bolts for 1/2 inch ones on both sides of the superstructure. Long story short, the lag bolts worked their way out after one short trip and we were told to bring it into the dealership where they were told by Grand Design to epoxy the lag bolts in, that was in July 2024. At the same time we ended up with cracking in the front cap by the roof and that was scheduled to be replaced. When we brought the RV in for the cap replacement on Nov 7th we mentioned one lag bolt was working back out and Grand Design asked for another frame evaluation and that's when they found out that the lag bolts they epoxied in just 3 months ago were tearing through and the frame. After further testing and removal of the under cap area there was evidence of complete crack of the superstructure frame on the drivers side and evidence of welds in other areas of the superstructure that had cracks in the steel and aluminum. We're waiting to hear back from Grand Design how we are to move forward.

NHTSA ID

11624240

Incident

Nov 7, 2024

Frame failure issues diagnosed on the camper in 2023. We were not apprised of how serious the frame failure was or provided photos of the issues, so we are not sure how extensive the issue was. Repairs were performed by a Grand Design dealer prior to the Technical Service Bulletin being released by Grand Design. The repairs being performed prior to the TSB leaves us somewhat skeptical that they were performed according to Grand Design engineer specifications. Post repairs, we have had some of the same symptoms recurring again (sawdust after every trip, furniture movement, garage wall separation, front cap filon separation, door opening during travel (previously reported to NHTSA), indicating that perhaps the frame issues are persisting or recurring.

NHTSA ID

11624047

Incident

Jan 2, 2023

11/15/2023: Kitchen slide of the RV partially opened while traveling down the road. My husband does have video of this occurring as we have a camera system installed on our RV. 6/25/2024: Kitchen slide of RV "raised up" and landed on an island drawer pull while traveling down the road. The slide could not be "lifted off" of the drawer pull and we were forced to activate the slide and allow it to travel out, causing damage to the drawer pull and drawer rails.

NHTSA ID

11620697

Incident

Nov 15, 2023

Back door of RV came opened while driving down the road. The door is always locked (dead bolt included) and the entry-assist arm folded over the door during travel. Upon parking for the evening, it was noted that the back door of the RV had popped open during travel.

NHTSA ID

11620693

Incident

Sep 18, 2024

A spring hangar on the driver side broke. Luckily it did not cause an accident, nor damage.

NHTSA ID

11606795

Incident

Jul 31, 2024

Excess frame flex. Contacted Grand Design, they scheduled an inspection and then preformed followup repairs. New bracing and support were added by Grand Design.

NHTSA ID

11605321

Incident

Jun 10, 2024

My grand design had the have frame flex fixed twice and it’s still not fixed correctly. None of the aluminum behind the cap was fixed as grand design didn’t want to fix it and lippert would on touch the steal frame.

NHTSA ID

11591176

Incident

Jan 20, 2022

We noticed our pin box on our GD started moving when we hitch up. The wall inside the bedroom is showing wear from movement, the trim around the upper deck came apart multiple times, the flooring inside the bedroom had a hole in it from the bed gouging into it. When hitching up the wall is bulging out on driver side just off of the slide corner. Our slide stopped working and there are Gibs inside the wall of the slide that had sheared off rivets.

NHTSA ID

11577689

Incident

Mar 15, 2024

I have had front flex on my grand design repaired twice already and it’s still has issues. They didn’t weld any of the aluminum back together they would only do the frame, my bedroom walls and cabinets wouldnt get fixed either because that’s cosmetic.

NHTSA ID

11569768

Incident

Feb 15, 2022

We are experiencing frame damage on our Fifth wheel portion of the RV! The welds are cracking, and causing the front of the RV to shift and sag when hitched to the truck! We reached out to the manufacturer for help and they confirmed that we do have what they call "Frame Flex" They consider this a warranty item and we are out of warranty so we are on the hook for a $16000 plus repair bill! We have been in contact with 100's of others who have had this issue, sometimes the frame is repaired by the manufacture under warranty, and other times they get the insurance to pay for the repair! We have been contacted by several individuals who want to pursue a class action lawsuit over this matter! We feel that you should step in and determine if they are selling the correct frame that is fit for the RV they are building and allowing us to drive on the roads in the USA. Since this is not an isolated event there are so many of these RV's on the road with frames that are not built to properly hold the GVWR of the RV! These RV's are currently being towed down the highways and if a complete failure happens while towing the RV could buckle and fall apart on the road! We fell you should investigate and determine if the Manufacturer is in fact using a DOT approved frame for the RV's they are selling! If they are not a recall should be issues and all of the owners should have their units fixed to make the safe for use on the highway!

NHTSA ID

11567917

Incident

Dec 29, 2023

I was informed that I have a broken frame upfront in the Kingpin area. I sent this to Grand Design and they denied any responsibility Grand Design Please find attached the pictures that were taken today (will Attach when sending final) and an email below to Blue Dog RV in Pasco show that I was very concerned about the front cabinets rubbing and asked to have them follow up with you. As you can see that email is dated Sept 7 2022 and is clearly still within the Warranty period for this frame problem. I have tried numerous times calling Blue Dog and left messages but no return calls. I had given them my cell number to call since I was traveling out of state. I did call Grand Design and complained that the Dealer network that they have is terrible and how am I supposed to get things fixed and the nice lady told me to go ahead and find a “local little dealer”. I was able to get it into A’s Parts & Repair that was booked out until June. A's Parts & Repair looked in to it and found the King Pin box has over an 1” of movement and then I was contacted by A's Parts & Repair asking to pull the front lower section by king pin box then to have Micah's custom works to evaluate the damage & then Micah took a look at it said the frame has multiple brakes & not sure how to brace the frame & declined to even attempt it & recommend to return for repair or replacing frame for the toy hauler back to the factory. Manufacturer Broken welds and under reinforced thus causing the cabinet issues. I have included the updated pics of the welds and they feel the whole front cap is moving and their local welding specialist says he cannot fix it due to the extent of the failures. The frame up front in the King Pin area is broken and have broken welds due to flaw in design. I contacted my ins company and Progressive Ins denied claim and states that it is clearly a manufacture design flaw .

NHTSA ID

11550882

Incident

Aug 29, 2022

BROKEN WELDS IN THE FRAME IN 5 DIFFERENT PLACES. The dealership in Grand Junction Colorado has told us the rig is to unsafe to tow it off their lot. The dealership in Grand Junction Colorado are the ones that diagnosed the broken welds in the frame. The RV has not been inspected by the manufacturer. Manufacturer has only asked more questions and asked for additional photos. We walked into the RV and noticed that the cabinets had moved and the trim was hanging down. We first noticed this on June 5th. Called the dealership on June 7th to make an appointment to have them inspect it. The appointment was made for June 16th. That is when they told us we couldn't use it.

NHTSA ID

11472574

Incident

Jun 5, 2022