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Purchased this 2019 Grand Design Solitude 377MBS 5th wheel, and would like to track the work performed on it here on this forum, gathering opinions, experience and advice from all of you, and contributing from my experiences with this rig as well.
Basic specs on this trailer include:
-Build date: April 2018, sold as a 2019 model
From factory load sheet:
UVW:14,464lbs, GTWR: 16,800lbs, empty pin weight: 3150lbs
-P235/80R16 LRG Tires
-7000lb Dexter axles
-Lippert Level Up hydraulic leveling/main slides
-Lippert Schwintek bedroom slide
-Equa-Flex equalizer and wetbolts
Options/maintenance items installed as purchased:
-5.5kW Cummins Onan generator/Southwire Surge Guard ATS 40140
-40# LPG tanks
-3000W Magnum Energy Hybrid Inverter/charger MSH3012M
-4 225aH-6V NPP AGM batteries
-Kodiak disc brakes/Titan Brakerite actuator
-P235/80R16 LRG Triangle TRT01 Tires, date code 1621, spare is a Westlake, date code 5017
-Splendide WFL1300XD washer and DV6400X dryer
-Upgraded king mattress
-Winegard Connect 2.0 4G LTE and WIFI Extender WF2-435
-RVLock keyless entry
Purchased from a private party on December 15, 2023 for $45,000.
December 2023
-Hitch, Andersen Ultimate, rail mount steel, Amazon $804.99
-Roto-Flex Lockout, Blue Ox BXR9005, Amazon $30.69
-Shower hose guide, Valterra PF276012, Brushed Nickel, Amazon $5.76
-Tire covers, 30-32" dia, pair, white, Camco 45323, Amazon $29.57
-Upgrade both AC units
RV Airflow plenum modules, fits Coleman Mach 15, $170ea (should have used 15% discount codes from youtubers!)
-Replace dinette with theater seats
RecPro 70" recliner sofa with console - transferred from my previous trailer
Thank you, Scott. I agree with you, and will pull this to a CAT scale shortly and get the weights so we know where we are at. I was planning to fill the fresh water tank to simulate a load (93 gal full). Will be interesting to see how close we are on the trailer axle GAWR.
EDIT: Scratch that idea - I see my fresh water tank is behind the trailer axles. Will load the trailer with camping gear instead.
The Sterling rear axle on my truck is good for 9750lbs, and my 33" tires will hold 7500lbs combined. I should be under that, but we will see. If too close, I will put medium duty 19.5" wheels and H rated tires on the short list.
She pulled well on the tow home on I-5, level with only extended bump stops engaging the upper overloads, and new Bilstein 4600 shocks controlling the ride. Empty is one thing. Will see how it does loaded. There is a generator, 4 6V AGM batteries and W/D up front currently.
Congratulations on the "new" RV. You should get some ideas here.
There is another whole dedicated forum where you would get far more information, ideas, feedback, and activity for your new to you Grand Design RV.
Nothing against this forum. I really like it. But the other 'not GD owned forum' is a wealth of information with people doing all sorts of things to their rigs.
I would look into upgrading the tires and rims on the 5th wheel to the H-rated Cooper Workhorse tires with 17.5" rims. They are rated for 4k lbs each and are a commercial trailer tire. They come standard on almost all heavy 5th wheels now. I've got close to 50k miles on mine under my Solitude and they still look great.
Congratulations on the "new" RV. You should get some ideas here.
There is another whole dedicated forum where you would get far more information, ideas, feedback, and activity for your new to you Grand Design RV.
Nothing against this forum. I really like it. But the other 'not GD owned forum' is a wealth of information with people doing all sorts of things to their rigs.
Yes indeed - I really like that GD forum too. Been binge-reading posts over there from current back about 175 pages so far. Registered so I could do targeted searches as well - very helpful.
Originally Posted by OBS460
I would look into upgrading the tires and rims on the 5th wheel to the H-rated Cooper Workhorse tires with 17.5" rims. They are rated for 4k lbs each and are a commercial trailer tire. They come standard on almost all heavy 5th wheels now. I've got close to 50k miles on mine under my Solitude and they still look great.
Will do - maybe not right away, as this will be used 4-5 times a year within the state of WA. When we start some longer trips, I would definitely like the load margin those wheels and tires would provide.
Originally Posted by senix
Also it is winter time. Do you need to winterize where you are?
I do - and I just did after I brought it home. Used 40psi compressed air to clear all of the lines, and poured RV antifreeze in the traps. I run a small heater in the unit to keep things dry.
Originally Posted by senix
Start a log book. Either using a computer/spreadsheet or a notebook.
Log in what miles you think are on the rig and then also log trips/round trip miles, repairs and each tire mileage. No chinese tires! They will blow.
Understood. Log has been started. The original Westlakes were replaced by the previous owner about a year ago, with a Chinese brand. These Triangle TRT01's seem to have a good reputation from my limited research. I will see if I can run them until I move to the 17.5" wheels/tires at some point. In the meantime, will keep them fully inflated to 110psi and check them often.
Checking distances between top of truck tires to fender, with the trailer hooked up, I get 7.5" on the front, and 9" on the rear. 5th wheel is empty, so we have some room for additional loading from a ride height standpoint.
No wetbolts in the outer spring attachment points - do you all have a recommendation for a vendor for these wetbolt/bushing parts?
I bought the MORyde brand kit because all of the negative reviews about other kits on Amazon snapping. I also found some at a trailer supply place and grabbed a spare of each size bolt and they seem better than the zinc plated MORyde bolts.
I have a 2022 GD 390RK with similar specs that is a little heavier than yours dry. Yet it has the same max capacity with a lot more storage than your model has. Our front and rear storage compartments are ridiculous in size. I really wish we had optioned for 8,000-pound axles and gained the additional GTWR that GD offers on those axles with the new Rhino frames.
My wife and I live in ours full-time so we have to off-load a bunch of stuff when we travel to keep weight in check. I strongly concur with others to scale your setup the first few times until you get an ideal of travel weight. I was surprised the first time we loaded up and I had a nearby scale and weighed before we got on the road...we were over 18,000! We went back and scaled down to 16,500. Ours is a front bedroom, rear kitchen and we had a single point gooseneck hitch. Our pin weight was normally right around 3,000 because our trailer is tail heavy (kitchen). With our new TS3 the hitch weight is about 3,300 and these days we are normally a few hundred pounds over GTWR at about 17,100.
It also looks like your trailer is similar in dimensions to mine except mine is full-profile. That big sail will be a handful in the wind. That is the reason my wife and I ordered a new F450. We wanted the stability of the dually vs the SRW 3500 we currently have for the 5-10% of the driving that would benefit from it. We have had involuntary lane changes from strong wind gusts and the SRW shuffle gets old after a long day on the road.
It seems like you have some pretty good options and upgrades out of the gate. The disk brakes are one that has been on my list, but we are waiting for do 8k axles at the same time. The 2022 models come with the Coopers already and they are an excellent tire. If you have the coin, make the upgrade.
We have upgraded the refrigerator to a counter-depth full-size residential Samsung which is one of the better modifications we have made. We also put a shock setup on it which helps a lot in controlling the trailer on the road. Inside, I added a pullout trash can, shelving in the bedroom, put a new TV in it (backlighting went out), tossed the king bed, added a queen Tempur-Pedic, and we upgraded the recliners to much comfier ones.
I think the one useless modification we made was leg stabilizers. They don't do much with the six-point hydraulic leveling system and just added weight to a porky rig. The two best mods we made for stabilization was a cheap set of adjustable slide supports that we placed under the rear of the trailer (took the bounce out of the kitchen) and a tri-pod stabilizer under the pin box. That took out 75% of the shaking caused by the washer and dryer in the front closet.
Good advice sir - much appreciated. I will get a baseline weight to start with, and then check it again on our first camping trip in May.
Agree the stabilizers do not appear to be needed with hydraulic six point levelers. I wondered about putting something under the rear and on the hitch, given how far those areas hang out unsupported. I have adjustable slide supports I used for our travel trailer superslide - will try them on the back of this rig. For the pin box stabilizer, any preferred brand/model you like?
As far as managing movement while parked, the best bang for the buck were the slide supports under the rear hitch (one on each corner). The ones I have are double adjustable. They have a screw jack for fine adjustments and pre-loading the trailer and they have a pin/detent system to make big adjustments. As long as your supports are height adjustable and they will fit under there, it is a worthy item to travel with. Mine are not triangulated so I bring wooden blocks to put under each one. I tighten them to apply a slight preload since they are not designed to support the weight like the hydraulic jacks.
As far as a tripod, make sure you get one that will work with an Anderson pin box mount. I am using a BAL 25066 that I picked up on Amazon. It is one of the more expensive versions and you can certainly get them for less. We were skeptical and about to put if back in the box because it took up some precious parking space in front of the trailer. Then we tossed a load of clothes in and ran it through the spin cycle and that immediately changed our minds. We could not believe the difference in vibration reduction when on the spin cycle.
I got rid of my goosneck style hitch (Pull Rite) after I had a hitch failure that resulted in the hitch becoming detached from the bed (with ball attached) and bouncing around. It was not the hitch that failed, but the ball itself. The short version is do not use a ball with a lever on top unless the top is captured to prevent the lever from lifting up under a perfect storm of scenarios and releasing from the gooseneck adapter in the bed. We were lucky and only damaged the hitch and the bed and I was able to beat things back apart and use the hitch with duck tape on the ball to get another 600 miles home.
Since you mentioned a W/D, do yourself a favor and pull them out and inspect the area they are in for mold or soft spots. If not vented properly the moisture from washing and drying tend to gather above and behind them and can soften the wood in those areas. I know on my trailer there is a closet area that can be used for W/D but has no method of removing steam from the W/D, just the H&C water and a drain.
+1 on the Moryde suspension parts, Installed those on mine as well. Same with the tires, you will want to get rid of any China Bombs if you have them. They are only good for a few years before they become a road hazard. Next on my list as well. A polish and wax with a Ceramic base will also go a long way to keeping the sides looking great. Give the roof some love too with a wash or two a year.
If you normally leave the slides out during the summer, close them if you get snow because the snow can cause unseen damage if left open.
